Custom Button Box Questions

I am looking to create a custom button box and have some questions

Where does people get the best 2 way toggle switches and buttons?

I am looking to do a solder less connections to the switches can anyone help me there with buttons and switches for that.

If you wire it wrong or if i do solder in the end after learning and a wire is miss soldered or wired will this cause a problem in the computer?

The better you do is learn how make proper solder before start the project.

You can assembly a simple button box without use solder, e.g. using the BU0836X controller and using this type of ON-OFF switch with screw for wires:

https://www.platt.com/platt-electric-supply/Toggle-Switches-1-Pole-Switches/Ideal/774011/product.aspx?zpid=730947

But this will limit your options, is more expensive and is more easy end with bad connections.

If you wire it wrong or if i do solder in the end after learning and a wire is miss soldered or wired will this cause a problem in the computer?

If you mix positive with negative voltage certainly will end with mc "barbecue" smell - and that smell is very bad. :D

So make sure understand what is need do first and not use "trial and error".

Chewy;

As Sokol1 mentioned, using one of Leo Bodnar's interface boards is the easiest way to go.

As far as switches, I get mine from ebay, inexpensive. The only concern in wiring switches for a simple button box is if you use 'Pot's', which require a power lead. Toggle, pushbutton, rocker and rotary encoders switches only require a pos/neg connection so you really can't harm the interface card. To tell wires apart I use white for +, black for -, red and blue for the two positive(+) directions on an encoder switch.

Just as a side note... Understand that in most cases once you start down this road of building switch boxes, its a never ending process. You always think of new things or ways to do or add things.

I started many many moons ago with a simple 10 switch box, which led to building a Cessna simpit, which led to a DC-9 simpit and currently building a Uh-1 simpit. So enjoy and have fun.

I am looking to create a custom button box and have some questions

 

Where does people get the best 2 way toggle switches and buttons?

 

I am looking to do a solder less connections to the switches can anyone help me there with buttons and switches for that.

 

If you wire it wrong or if i do solder in the end after learning and a wire is miss soldered or wired will this cause a problem in the computer?

It's pretty easy to wire it up, and soldering is not that difficult. But Derek Speare's to Leo Bodnar make solder-free boards.

And you can buy solderless switches as well. For example:

https://www.allelectronics.com/index.php?page=seek&id%5Bm%5D=pattern&id%5Bq%5D=dpst+

I am only using Push buttons and Toggles switches (Both 1 way and 2 way) I also saw that i can use the Leo bodnar which is solderless on one side and to connect to the switch itself i can use a spade connect to push onto the pins itself

Also i see that some of the connectors have amperage ratings and so. What do i get?

Also any links to sturdy well made buttons and toggles?

Hans

Switches like below can use a spade connector right

https://media.distributordatasolutions.com/Ideal/images/PrimaryImage_2070-medium.png

I was in the same boat as you,when I started my first buttonbox. I didn't want to solder anything because I thought it would be difficult and take longer etc. So I searched for switches and buttons with screw terminals or push in terminals (not sure about the correct term). But I had to add a connector to every damn wire using a grimping tool.

On my next project I used soldering connections,and after a few tries it went a lot faster than with the other method. If difficulty is your concern, I would advice to give soldering a fair try atleast. Now I prefer it over anything else,atleast for wiring switches. Soldering wires to some small conectors of a PCB may be more difficult though,in this case I used Bodnar boards too.

Just ignore the ratings. They are important if you want to switch mains voltage or large currents, but any switch ever made will be able to handle a few milliamps at 3.3 or 5 volts, which is what all the interface boards use.

I am only using Push buttons and Toggles switches (Both 1 way and 2 way) I also saw that i can use the Leo bodnar which is solderless on one side and to connect to the switch itself i can use a spade connect to push onto the pins itself

 

Also i see that some of the connectors have amperage ratings and so. What do i get?

 

 

Also any links to sturdy well made buttons and toggles?

 

Hans

 

Switches like below can use a spade connector right

https://media.distributordatasolutions.com/Ideal/images/PrimaryImage_2070-medium.png

Yes. But take heed about crimping taking longer.

As for ready made button boxes?

http://derekspearedesigns.com/

Look at the Button Controllers page.

And

http://lynx.dk/ Cockpit Utility Bricks.

And There are a bunch of youtube vidoes on how to make the button boxes for DCS.

If i didnt want to edit the LAU file then i would need certain switch components

For something like the APU which is set to one button i would need a On (On) Toggle? Correct since i will need the toggle to do the same button from toggle on and toggle off.

With the settings of landing gear which has in the options a landing gear up and a landing gear down i can you a On- Off- On Momentary toggle.

is this right

If you just wanted to map it within DCS' Control, Settings, you mean.

Then you need Single Pole, Single Throw (SPST) switch for the on-off like APU Start (A10).

And you need the Single Pole Dual Throw (SPDT) switch for landing gear up and down. *IF* you modify LUA files, you can use the OFF (On-Off-On) as well. For switches like Master Arm, Safe, Train. But if you use DCS Control settings, you would only be able to set ARM or TRAIN (the two ON positions).

When people say momentary switches, they are usually talking about button switches that only fire only when pressed. Like your keyboard switches.

If you just wanted to map it within DCS' Control, Settings, you mean.

 

Then you need Single Pole, Single Throw (SPST) switch for the on-off like APU Start (A10).

 

And you need the Single Pole Dual Throw (SPDT) switch for landing gear up and down. *IF* you modify LUA files, you can use the OFF (On-Off-On) as well. For switches like Master Arm, Safe, Train. But if you use DCS Control settings, you would only be able to set ARM or TRAIN (the two ON positions).

 

When people say momentary switches, they are usually talking about button switches that only fire only when pressed. Like your keyboard switches.

From what i read here

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=89226&highlight=warthog+position+switches

SPT will not work without lua work. To get it to work i would need a ON (ON) switch

Also i was just looking to bind the commands like landing gear up and down to a momentary toggle like below

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/10545

Basically have it set to toggle up to have gear go up. Then it the switch will return to center. Then toggle down to have gear go down. The switch will return to center

You could also use a simple on/off switch as long as you use 3rd party key assignment software like Xpadder or SVmapper, etc. This makes it possible to send key commands to the game even if the switch is only powered when in the on position. It’s an extra step but it frees up lot of room on your circuit board for more switches.

You could assign gear functions so that when the switch is flicked up to the on position, the gear up command is sent, and when flicked back down to the off position, a gear down command is sent.

Thanks Jocko...Im going to get XPadder for the $10

One quick question... Can i only use XPadder for my button boxes and do the CH Products HOTAS (Fighter Stick, Pro Throttle, and Rudder PEdals) that i own in game and not with XPadder? Want to make sure i dont have to do everything through XPadder then.

For some reason edit button is not working again..

Last Question

Does XPadder work with windows 10?

Yes, XPadder will see your controls but you don't have to/need to use XPadder to assign functions to your stick/throttle, etc, unless you want to.

I'm currently using a TM Warthog throttle and VKB-Sim Gunfighter stick with TM Warthog grip installed via VKB-Sim's WH adapter. I use DCS options/controls screen to assign joystick/throttle DX button presses to various functions. I use XPadder to map key assignments for my panel switches first, then I go into DCS and use the controls screen (KEYBOARD ASSIGNMENTS) to make sure the key presses generated by XPadder match the ones in DCS. If you don't want to use the default key assignments DCS has, you can change them, but they must match the ones you use in XPadder.

ie: Let's say I'm using a simple SPST toggle switch. For Gear UP, I choose SHIFT-G to be generated by XPadder when the switch is flipped up (physically ON), and CTRL-G for gear DOWN, when the toggle is flipped back down to off. I'd then go into DCS and make sure SHIFT-G and CTRL-G were assigned to Gear UP and Gear DOWN respectively.

I find separate commands for gear UP and Down vs. a simple toggle command like "G" less prone to errors - if you air start a mission and forget to first check that the gear switch is physically up before hitting fly, you'll have the gear and the switch out of phase. :mad: Now you have to slow down, hit the G key on the keyboard to lower the gear in the game and then use the physical switch to raise it again so the switch state will match the game state. With two commands, you could just flip the switch up and continue on your merry way, since the gear is already up in game, the game will ignore the command. :)

Well worth ten bucks!

Yes, it works with Win10.

Thanks Jocko that helped alot i didnt know Xpadder can do toggle off commands

Guess that was a older version that didnt have a press button on release?

• Thanks iVVChewy9141VVi and all the respondents,
  

This is a great thread. It has answered a few questions I had concerning switches and programing, but for something a little more complicated.

If I wanted to make a box that had a variety of:

• buttons
  
• switches(2way,3way,momentary)
  
• rotary switches
  
• pots
  
• joystick
  

Would one board work or would I need multiple boards?

I was looking at this http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=94&products_id=300&zenid=21337d8f031d12d98a073cafe91269de

Up to 64 buttons or 32 rotary encoders connected directly to their dedicated inputs. 
Each encoder uses two button inputs.
There is no need to use any matrix wiring at all.
Four buttons can be assigned to POV Hat switch.

If my understanding is correct. The limitation of the board would be how many inputs (button pushes, toggle switches, rotary switches), encoders(pots), and joysticks I want.

What would be the best software to use for this?

I use TARGET with my TM-WH pretty successfully. Is there something like TARGET that could give me similar flexibility?

..and Happy New Year!

I think I can answer at least some of your questions, having chosen Bodnar boards for my button boxes.

You are correct that you need to know how many inputs you are going to be using. Bodnar boards typically allow 32 inputs for switches and buttons, although the joystick cards also have inputs for hat switches which you could also use for switches and button inputs.

Rotary switches are nice, but depending on the number of switch positions required you could run out of inputs real quick. Rotary encoders are a good substitute, and only take two inputs.

Software used could be JoyToKey, SVMapper, XPadder.

Hey jocko417,

Thanks for the quick response. I've been remiss on my DCS time. Welcome to the new year, LOL!

Decided to go with a Teensy 3.6. Has lots of inputs and is a little cheaper.

Ran into an issue: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=200292

Other than that I think I can have working box by the end of Jan.

Thanks Jocko that helped alot i didnt know Xpadder can do toggle off commands

 

Guess that was a older version that didnt have a press button on release?

A old free version of Xpadder don't have "on press" and "on release" functions - not sure if this version work in Windows10/64. Maybe in compatibility mode...

This functions is available in registered version, is the "Add Hold zone" for button press and "Add Release zone" for button release.

End of Jan has come and gone, but I did get the keypad buttons working. No sweat. Also got my Oculus Rift working as well.

Working on a small attachment that gives me a left and right mouse button and a scroll wheel(probably an encoder) small enough to attach to a the WH right throttle. Just under the Coolie switch and Slew control. I could then map those to the UI layer to give me mouse buttons in VR.