How To: Build a A-10 flight panel controller

Thanks for the work you put into this Tiger. I was wondering about maintaining state between the sim and your panel for the functions that toggle. Do you always set your panel a certain way before launching A-10?

Hey there. Thanks for appreciating it! ;-)

Yeah, for the moment I either run through the shutdown procedure after landing or do it before I unpause a mission. I was hoping at one point that the "set switches to controller" option in the Options screen would have done this automagically but it appears it doesn't.

This is a problem with the Warthog controller and home built panels.

Thank you for these videos. I purchased the board before I even got through the 3rd vid :p

 

Huge help. Just wish there were better options for the momentary switches on older games :)

 

Looking forward to seeing how your mode toggle switch comes out.

 

 

Anyone having difficulty finding an appropriate enclosure box? All I've got around here is a radio shack without much stock. Any tips would be appreciated as to where I might search.

 

-rc

Thanks mate....yeah that project could be a while off yet but I am assembling the parts for it.

TigersharkBAS, I just wanted to thank you again for these excellent videos. I was able to order all the parts, assemble everything, and get it up and running in DCS with minimal trouble. The hardest part, really, was just getting the very thin wires that come with the GP-Wiz40 (which seem to actually be for solder connections, requiring users like myself with screw terminal switches to cut off their ends, carefully cut off some sheathing, and then delicately twist the individual wires around each other) to not constantly snap when moving things around. After a few tries, though, I've got it all working. I did an AHCP, minus a few of the switches, as my first project just to test it out. It's brilliant -- thanks again!

Yo Greg,

That is awesoe...just awesome. So glad to see people taking my vids, turning into their own project and posting them in this thread.

Glad you enjoyed the videos and thanks for sharing your project. Happy everything worked out well. I wish I could give more advice other than paper to make the panel writing......maybe for a future video.

Thanks for sharing greg.

Really like the way you explained the switching system in your videos... i have made a panel... it looks nice but doesnt work... reason i dont know jack about electrical works... would really appreciate if you couls guide me and answer couple of my dum questions...

1. i have installed toggle switches, but dont know if they are the right one... like usage and Amps n all?

2. the OC card in which the wirs go into, if it is not available in my market, would any expert be able to make it...?

Looking foward to hearing from you...

Really like the way you explained the switching system in your videos... i have made a panel... it looks nice but doesnt work... reason i dont know jack about electrical works... would really appreciate if you couls guide me and answer couple of my dum questions...

 

1. i have installed toggle switches, but dont know if they are the right one... like usage and Amps n all?

2. the OC card in which the wirs go into, if it is not available in my market, would any expert be able to make it...?

 

Looking foward to hearing from you...

1. I am positive almost any toggle switch will work for. With voltages and amps we are using from an interface card, your toggle switch will be rated for much larger than we are dealing with. Don't pay too much attention to that.

2. Making these cards is not trivial. The electonics is simple enough but also need to program the chip which performs the USB interface. The amount of time and effort put in would far out weigh the cheap price of 39 USD for something like the GroovyGameGear board. Only a real hobbyist would see the fun in making a board from scratch. A woking knowledge of programming chips would be required as well.

GroovyGameGear ships to a lot of places. You sure you can't get one from them?

Snipes what did you make it out of? Im wanting to use plastic sheet, spray it black and then use a stencil and engraver to make the Labels so I can hopefully backlight it.

I see yours looks quite authentic with the cut out corners, like the panel is mounted.

Nice.

Visit http://simpitbuildup-tnt.blogspot.com/, its a very crude version... turned out to be good cause it was made with sheer enthusiasm... its not back lit but i was thinking of using diffused UV light to lit them from up above... like they'll glow in the dark... i hope... this costed me about 5 dollars in total...

Snipes what did you make it out of? Im wanting to use plastic sheet, spray it black and then use a stencil and engraver to make the Labels so I can hopefully backlight it.

 

I see yours looks quite authentic with the cut out corners, like the panel is mounted.

 

Nice.

1. I am positive almost any toggle switch will work for. With voltages and amps we are using from an interface card, your toggle switch will be rated for much larger than we are dealing with. Don't pay too much attention to that.

 

2. Making these cards is not trivial. The electonics is simple enough but also need to program the chip which performs the USB interface. The amount of time and effort put in would far out weigh the cheap price of 39 USD for something like the GroovyGameGear board. Only a real hobbyist would see the fun in making a board from scratch. A woking knowledge of programming chips would be required as well.

 

GroovyGameGear ships to a lot of places. You sure you can't get one from them?

Heres my AHCP front an rear images... is it going okay so far???

what wouyld be the next step... or i have to take two back???

Looks good snipes!

Looks good snipes!

It looks good but it should work as well... thats where you come in, :)...

Are the toggle swtiches the one i should be using...?

Hey there. Thanks for appreciating it! ;-)

 

Yeah, for the moment I either run through the shutdown procedure after landing or do it before I unpause a mission. I was hoping at one point that the "set switches to controller" option in the Options screen would have done this automagically but it appears it doesn't.

 

This is a problem with the Warthog controller and home built panels.

Heres a tip from Blackshark panel building. Pause the game, then flip all your switches once. Unpause. They should all take the the controllers state.

It looks good but it should work as well... thats where you come in, :)...

 

Are the toggle swtiches the one i should be using...?

Yes. You need double throw switches for any switch that has 3 states (On, Safe, Train) and a single throw for anything with 2 states.

Your top switches look like double throw, the middle like singles and the bottom like double throws again.

I think the laser is a tri state switch now? May need a double throw switch for that.

Wait..just checked image. They are all double throw switches so you are good.

Wait..just checked image. They are all double throw switches so you are good.

You are right sir they all are double throw swtiches except the smaller ones... i am going to need one double throw switch for ALT SCE...

Question

Hi there,

Thought I might share with you my experience in building a toggle switch panel from scratch with little to no electronics experience (but I picked things up and did a lot of research on it.

 

I intend to post How To videos in the coming week so stay tuned.

 

*** Many thanks to C. van Lint for his inspiration, support and for helping design the 74121 IC circuit featured later in this thread ***

 

 

Background

I use CH products. I have a Fighter Stick and Pro Throttle. When the Warthog HOTAS came out I was very impressed. It looked brilliant. And although I could probably afford one, my CH products sticks have never let me down and I guess you could say I was brand loyal to them.

 

Still, those toggle switches and buttons on the Warthog throttle...they were niiiiiiiice. The feeling of flicking the APU Start switch must be awesome.

 

I decided that it would be a fun project and more satisfying to build my own panels for common functions used in the plane. Particularly for ramp start up because that is when you are flicking the most switches.

 

I decided to begin with, I would replicate the Electrical Power panel. 6 toggle switches that are crucial to starting the aircraft.

 

It should be USB based, require little to no software to implement and be a realistic as I could make it for under a 100 bucks.

 

I bought an enclosure and realised there was still space so under the Electrical Power switches I built some other toggle switches slected from other panels, mainly to power the plane up. I chose Boost Pump switches, the APU Start and the L/G Warning horn button.

 

Here is how the panel looks so far.

 

 

Stay tuned for further post and videos. This will be an evolutionary thing and explain the in's and outs in what I hope is fairly simple language so anyone can try.

 

Here is an example of the result we are shooting for. This is a prototype box that is kind of my development and experimenting platform.

 

 

 

Part 1 of How to Make an A-10 Panel is here:

Please find here Part 1 of my 3 part series on making your own panel.

 

 

Part 2 is here:

 

 

Part 3 is here:

 

And a quick vid about toggle switches:

 

Finally...how to configure your panel in A-10 correctly:

 

Answering Pika's Question on how to mount the board in your project box

 

How to wire up a switch with an inbuilt LED.

In one of your video you mentioned that we can use usb interface cards from an old joystick and configure its keys on the command options on DCS A10C...

i just attached an extra joystick along with my actual one on my pc...

in the options menu it is now showing both of them at the same time with same buttons configuration...

what i wanted to check was if i could use the slider for throttle on one them and the stick on the other... will it work or no... and it didnt... there was no clash of configuration or something...

any clue why it is not working...

by the way the default joystick i am using is Microsoft forcefeedback and saitek evo for the slider...

Idea: thinking of opening the saitek and coverting it into a Homemade HOTAS...

Need guidance...

I cant help you with that and I think you should also make a new thread for it in this forum.

Have you spent any time testing out the Roto-x inputs on the groovy game gear board?

Hi RC,

Unforunately not. From I can tell it has a strange quirk where you can only use rotary switches that come in multiples of three (3,6,9,12).

I haven't experimented with it...nor have I experimented with the joystick compatible x,y inputs.

Sorry I can't be more helpful there.

In one of your video you mentioned that we can use usb interface cards from an old joystick and configure its keys on the command options on DCS A10C...

i just attached an extra joystick along with my actual one on my pc...

in the options menu it is now showing both of them at the same time with same buttons configuration...

what i wanted to check was if i could use the slider for throttle on one them and the stick on the other... will it work or no... and it didnt... there was no clash of configuration or something...

 

any clue why it is not working...

 

by the way the default joystick i am using is Microsoft forcefeedback and saitek evo for the slider...

 

Idea: thinking of opening the saitek and coverting it into a Homemade HOTAS...

 

Need guidance...

When you first connect a joystick, DCS will map it's axes and buttons to a default configuration for "generic" joysticks. You'll have to manually clear the default controls and assign new ones, or multiple controls will be defined for each DCS function, resulting in conflicting signals.

After plugging in an additional controller, I suggest immediately going into the control options and clearing all assignments from the 'new' controller, then re-assigning whichever functions you want it to control.

After plugging in an additional controller, I suggest immediately going into the control options and clearing all assignments from the 'new' controller, then re-assigning whichever functions you want it to control.

Not only is it a good idea, but for me, was required to stop DCS from crashing to desktop.

When you first connect a joystick, DCS will map it's axes and buttons to a default configuration for "generic" joysticks. You'll have to manually clear the default controls and assign new ones, or multiple controls will be defined for each DCS function, resulting in conflicting signals.

 

After plugging in an additional controller, I suggest immediately going into the control options and clearing all assignments from the 'new' controller, then re-assigning whichever functions you want it to control.

Feed,

Thanks...

Did what you mention in your text, system gives the following error when i click "OK" in order to proceed...

Dont have any idea what it is... do you know anything about it...?

Tiger Shark,

Sorry! for deviating from the course of this thread but will revert back to it when this issue is solved... cause after this i need your guidance...

Feed,

 

Thanks...

 

Did what you mention in your text, system gives the following error when i click "OK" in order to proceed...

 

 

Dont have any idea what it is... do you know anything about it...?

 

 

Tiger Shark,

 

Sorry! for deviating from the course of this thread but will revert back to it when this issue is solved... cause after this i need your guidance...

Problem Solved... Heeeha...

If anyone else having a similar problem check this out http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=69180&page=3

Tiger Shark

Bro we are back on Track... ;)

Damn you TigerShark, you made me order that module.:D

Bought the one whit soldering contacts though, don't like the idea of wires

coming lose and then figuring out where they should go again.

Anyway, someone here knows a place to get switches for a decent price?

Cheapest i found was in a local store for €2,50 or ~ $3,00

And that was for an simple on-off single pole switch.

:-)