Auto Pilot button box project

[rc flyer]

Thought I might share project I have been working on to recreate the autopilot panel in the A2A V35 Bonanza. It basically consists of a 3D printed panel and housing, a USB encoder board, some buttons, an automotive electric window switch, and some tiny LEDs. I bought all parts at Amazon for around $50 and had many buttons and LEDs left over. By far the hardest part was designing the 3D parts in Fusion 360. Of course this is not just limited to the V35 as it's just basically a button box. I tried to come sort close to the actual appearance of the one in the V35. Here are some pics of the construction. I'm thinking of making the STL files available on Thingaverse if anyone is interested in making one themselves.

The little spaghetti wires are the LEDs. You could leave these out if you don't fly in a dark room.





Here's all the switches and LEDs wired up.




Panel from the front



Here it is installed in the enclosure, that's the USB wire coming out of the back and the top laying on the bench.



Here's the assembled panel screwed down in my "cockpit" with the LEDS on.



I used the A2A input configuration tool to assign the buttons and it all works great. Again if there's some interest I'll post the component URLs and more details.

Steve

[Tomas Linnet]

you may have to take a look at this, I'm don't see any pictures: https://www.a2asimulations.com/forum/vi ... 23&t=50279

[rc flyer]

you may have to take a look at this, I'm don't see any pictures: https://www.a2asimulations.com/forum/vi ... 23&t=50279

Can you see them now?

[AviationAtWar]

Yes, they're there now. Cool project!

[rc flyer]

Yes, they're there now. Cool project!

Good, and thanks for the compliment and reply.

Steve

[dvm]

Very nice, I wish more simmers would make their own hardware and as you know it is not all that difficult. It adds another dimension to simming. You may have seen my posts over the years as I have fabricated a switch panel, console and throttle quadrant.They all use one joystick controller (Leo Bodner). I am curious as to what module you are using. I also made a second switch panel using a keyboard controller and eliminated the keyboard ( the keyboard is an immersion buster). You might take a look at Sparkfun Electronics for a parts source. I bought some of my toggle switches and other parts from them as they are generally cheaper than Amazon for some items. Keep up the good work.

Vince

https://www.sparkfun.com/

[AerialShorts]

That looks great and the LEDs are a really nice touch! I did similar for my rig but used a DSD circuit that’s unfortunately buggy and unreliable. The Leo Bodner stuff looks really good too. I know another guy using those circuits and he likes them a lot. Very versatile. I should revisit my design to bring it up to snuff and add lighting even though I run VR. It looks very trick all lit up! Also love SparkFun. Good place, good selection, good prices. Amazon has too many third party unreliable sellers that gouge now too.

[rc flyer]

Very nice, I wish more simmers would make their own hardware and as you know it is not all that difficult. It adds another dimension to simming. You may have seen my posts over the years as I have fabricated a switch panel, console and throttle quadrant.They all use one joystick controller (Leo Bodner). I am curious as to what module you are using. I also made a second switch panel using a keyboard controller and eliminated the keyboard ( the keyboard is an immersion buster). You might take a look at Sparkfun Electronics for a parts source. I bought some of my toggle switches and other parts from them as they are generally cheaper than Amazon for some items. Keep up the good work.

Vince

https://www.sparkfun.com/

Hi Vince, yes I've seen and been inspired by your projects over the years. I agree about adding another dimension to the hobby. I got into 3D printing a few years back and among many other things have made some quite useful accessories to compliment my "store bought" hardware. As a retired CNC electrician I recently decided I would start teaching myself all about the world of Arduino . In fact I had planned to use an Arduino pro micro in this project but with state of the world now it didn't get to me before I came upon the board that I used. The one I got from Amazon is called the Quimat Zero Delay Arcade USB Encoder, though it goes by other names from other sellers. For $9.49 I figured I'd give it a shot and so far I'm glad I did. Basically a plug and play Game Controller for Windows. I looked at all the Leo Bodner boards and while really nice they seemed to be overkill for this project. It's funny you mention Sparkfun because I bought their EasyDriver board (at Amazon)while learning about stepper motor control with an Arduino Uno. I didn't even think about them having a store but I'll check it out.

Here's a pic of the board

[rc flyer]

That looks great and the LEDs are a really nice touch! I did similar for my rig but used a DSD circuit that’s unfortunately buggy and unreliable. The Leo Bodner stuff looks really good too. I know another guy using those circuits and he likes them a lot. Very versatile. I should revisit my design to bring it up to snuff and add lighting even though I run VR. It looks very trick all lit up! Also love SparkFun. Good place, good selection, good prices. Amazon has too many third party unreliable sellers that gouge now too.

Thanks, yeah the little LEDs I used are great for lighting small areas. Prices and quality can vary wildly on Amazon (just like many other online retailers) so you do have to be careful and do a little research before poking that little "Add to Cart" button. I have to say though I've been very happy with the things I've bought there for my projects (and it's a bunch ). Sometimes I do overpay but it's worth it to get the item in a couple of days.

Here's the LEDs I used. There are 25 of them and a whole bunch of resistors to use them at different voltages.



Here's another project I used them for:

[dvm]

Looks like you did good. This board is all you needed and for 10 bucks how can you go wrong. I didn't even know something like that exists. 12 buttons and one axis if I am getting it right. I wound up using all 8 taxis and all 32 buttons with the Bodner board when I finally finished. As I said looks great and sounds like you had fun which is what counts.Don't know anything about 3D printing but I am old school and just plain old.
Vince

[rc flyer]

Looks like you did good. This board is all you needed and for 10 bucks how can you go wrong. I didn't even know something like that exists. 12 buttons and one axis if I am getting it right. I wound up using all 8 taxis and all 32 buttons with the Bodner board when I finally finished. As I said looks great and sounds like you had fun which is what counts.Don't know anything about 3D printing but I am old school and just plain old.
Vince

HAHA, I"m probably older than you at 70. The 3D printing thing can be a hobby in itself, but if I can do it anybody can. You're right about the connections, I didn't try the joystick connection so I don't know what the resolution would be.
I might need your help on my next project. I want to recreate the autopilot altitude selector on the V35. I'm thinking of using an arduino pro micro connected to a dual concentric encoder and a display (LCD, LED, OLED, etc) to read out set altitude. I might of bit off more than I can chew on this one

Steve

[dvm]

I am curious about the 3d printing, do you have a machine ? I saw some at Amazon for $250. but for me I am not sure how often I would use something like that.One of the biggest pains when making my hardware were the labels. I used a photo and just cut out the labels, kinda mickey mouse but it was the cheapest and easiest. As I said I know nothing about 3D printing on a small scale. I am 73 by the way !

[rc flyer]

I am curious about the 3d printing, do you have a machine ? I saw some at Amazon for $250. but for me I am not sure how often I would use something like that.One of the biggest pains when making my hardware were the labels. I used a photo and just cut out the labels, kinda mickey mouse but it was the cheapest and easiest. As I said I know nothing about 3D printing on a small scale. I am 73 by the way !

Wow...you are old but you're only as old as you feel, right? I got my printer a little over 2 years ago. It is made by one of the most popular Chinese manufacturers called Creality. Mine is the Ender 2 (no longer made) and I paid a whopping $139 for it. It is a pretty small machine with a build volume of 150mm X 150mm X 300mm. You have to consider what size most of your projects will be and go from there. Even if you want to make something larger than your machine is capable of you can design it in sections and glue them together if needed. Their biggest seller is the CR10 with a build volume of 300 X 300 X 400. This machine has many variants and is of course more expensive. If my Ender 2 ever quits I would buy the Ender 3 which has a build volume of 220*220*250mm. This is a good compromise on price and build volume and has a large community online who can help you. It goes for around $189. Also the advantage of a smaller machine is that the print bed warms up faster and the quality of print can be better since the table and axis arms have less mass you can print at a higher speed and still have good accuracy. In other words, don't buy a big printer just because you think you might "someday" want to make something that big. Another thing to consider is who is going to design the thing you want to print. You have to have a 3D model before you can print. There are free programs out there you can use. A good starter one is called Tinkercad. It's an object based cad program that is easy to use for simple stuff. That's the one I started out on. Now I've graduated to Autodesk Fusion 360 which is a profession tool, it cost big bucks if you are using it to create commercial products but free if you use it for personal use.
Here's something I drew up last night as a little nostalgia decoration. This is pretty close to the max size( L X W )of my print bed. If you can tell me what it is I'll believe you are really 73.

[Lewis - A2A]

Nice AP Panel and $50 isnt too bad at all, esp if it means future projects too thanks to the left overs hehe

cheers,
Lewis

[rc flyer]

Nice AP Panel and $50 isnt too bad at all, esp if it means future projects too thanks to the left overs hehe

cheers,
Lewis

Thanks Lewis, future project is already started. I'm trying to make the autopilot altitude selector from the V35 panel.

Steve