My A-10C preparation

Hans,

The latest dcs bios version supposedly fixed the pot noise issue. Still, 10k vs 500k ohm is a lot of difference and there's a risk noise is still an issue given it'd be lot more sensitive.

thanks for your input.

FYI,

i have put up some F16 and ACES II items for sale on ebay under the hardware for sale section.

For cockpit builders, you can use these ejection seat items for other aircrafts such as the A-10C and F-18C cockpit etc.

(if you are not too technical about F-18 using Martin Baker instead of ACES II) :)

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=3581196#post3581196

previously,

i wasn't too happy with this setup. the push buttons wobble too much, and don't fit some of the square holes perfectly. so some of them don't move smoothly. plus the buttons don't lie flat, some sit at an angle, some at different height. looks horrible.

recently i decided not to care about output display and just focus on getting input switches done. this pit has spanned over too many years. so now i decided to change to using square push buttons from the get go, but with round body so it's easier to drill round holes to fit snugly.

then i glue some 3/4" square acrylic from tap plastic to get the size of the button look i want.

now backlighting is not possible. but what the heck. at least pushing the buttons feel right without being stuck in the square holes and those holes that are too big leave too much room for wobble. and now consistent height and all sit flat. :)

previously,

 

 

i wasn't too happy with this setup. the push buttons wobble too much, and don't fit some of the square holes perfectly. so some of them don't move smoothly. plus the buttons don't lie flat, some sit at an angle, some at different height. looks horrible.

 

recently i decided not to care about output display and just focus on getting input switches done. this pit has spanned over too many years. so now i decided to change to using square push buttons from the get go, but with round body so it's easier to drill round holes to fit snugly.

 

 

then i glue some 3/4" square acrylic from tap plastic to get the size of the button look i want.

 

 

 

 

now backlighting is not possible. but what the heck. at least pushing the buttons feel right without being stuck in the square holes and those holes that are too big leave too much room for wobble. and now consistent height and all sit flat. :)

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Thanks Craig.

I made this handle years ago. can't find it. lol. remade a new one.

I like these sliders where when pushed against, they produce a click sound each time.

FILL DISABLE button looks good.

If you use black screws, it will look better.

Continue your great work.

thanks, quick.

emergency handbrake done, using a simple push pull switch.

before and after pull.

i glue an acrylic rod to the inside of a brass tube. drilled a hole to screw the push pull switch head into it to pull it up without the cap that comes with the switch.

next, DVADR.

this is how i decided to mount it. just next to the left console using L brackets.

after adding some LEDs and words to the face.

Hi Shawn, great work.

DVADR is a nice addition

Also, it's good the push pull switch for the wheel brake did the job

Seeing those pictures makes me think that I should have used a toggle with a flat actuator for my seat adjust switch.

I saw a few yellow dots on a panel in those photos. Is that to reference the default position for a ramp start so you can move all switches to the right position quickly before launching the sim?

Cheers

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Thanks Craig.

The yellow dots are to mark those switches that are not functional in the sim, as stated in the flight manual.

Looking forward to more of your awesome youtube videos!

CDU. this panel does have not words on the face, all on the buttons, so i don't even bother with covering the pcb board.

UFC.

Master Caution is one big square button with round body. easy to drill hole for.

Both CDU and UFC were kinda done last time. But the rocker switches were extremely stiff to push. so i decided to redo and use normal push buttons to replace all rockers.

and these two fellas.

Hi Shawn,

When you wire up the cdu are you going to take each tactile to a seperate Arduino pin or create a matrix

Great progress and fast pace

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Craig, i saw your youtube on the matrix before. but i was too slow to understand :doh:

if i can figure it out then i'd do the matrix.

CMSC.

printed paper over some parts of a pcb. lol it doesn't get lazier than that!

Now CMSP.

i like this solution because i get square buttons with round body. easy to drill!

as the buttons are red, so i printed the labels red too instead of grey, it's supposedly color.

securing the front piece and the push pull switch to the rod is the same method-having a piece of acrylic inside the hollow brass rod, drill a hole and screw either side in.

Looking great, but can you do everyone a favour and reduce the size of the photos next time? Your images are HUGE. Not everyone is on superfast unlimited internet.

guys, i think such cockpit floodlight in the past used to be red? nowadays, is it typically yellow, or green, or white in RL?

my simple/lazy solution to the oxygen regulator panel's handles. :music_whistling:

on the left is still a rotary switch on the outer ring and an encoder inside. i've explained in the past how i did it. A bit tricky but with patience it's still doable. you have to open up the rotary switch, taking care of the two ball bearings inside might shoot out and lose them, so you open it up in a big clear zip lock bag to catch the ball bearings.

as for the long spring inside rotary switch, you need to cut it into two parts, and trim them shorter by 10% each. in the middle you put a rod through the hole in the rotary switch, then insert the springs on both sides of the switch, then the ball bearings, then close them without letting the ball bearings fall out, which is the tricky part. without trimming the springs, with the rod taking some space, the springs might be too squeezed so it'd be difficult to load the ball bearings and close up the switch.

below the rotary switch you need to drill a hole into the stem of the encoder to stick the rod in. so that the inner inner above can turn the encoder below the rotary switch.

to the right of the ILS i've changed to a simpler solution than the past. now it's a concentric encoder. one for frequency, one for volume.

Over a dozen F16 and ACES items just got listed for sale

at

https://www.ebay.com/str/therealsimworld.

this one just for show. static display

These are all copies from China and not real parts correct.

Over a dozen F16 and ACES items just got listed for sale

at

https://www.ebay.com/str/therealsimworld.

 

 

 

Hi Shawn, looks good. Whilst you're focusing on inputs to the sim rather than outputs, for the tacan and ils panel it probably wouldn't add much extra time to put one of those MAX7219 4 Digit 7 segment displays behind. Even if you didn't wire it up, it would be there for the future if you then wanted to and would blend in with the panel.

Coloured padels look fine. I've been looking online for switches for this panel and they aren't easy to find or come by.

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DM, yes these are realistic replicas. You will notice i sell several pieces of each item.

1. real parts are limited and hard to find more than one piece at a time

2. real parts cost a lot more than what my price, yet they are old and banged up and scratched

Thanks for the info just wanted to check. I would have never guessed you could find real parts cheaper on ebay than yours.

Combined ILS knob and the base of another knob, to form knob for VHF.

more static radio window display. :doh:

Added a small push button to the back of the switch guard to tell DCS it's being flipped open.

For canopy jettision panel, there is a small lever at the back to detect case open for boarding ladder.

jettison handle extended using another push pull switch.