SIMCMP COM & Annunciator Panel
COM / Annunciator panel
Overview
Overview
- Seven selector buttons for COM1, COM2, BOTH, NAV1, NAV2, MKR, DME
- GPS / NAV (CDI) select
- OMI indication
- Interact nicely with Flight Simulator
- Uses FSUIPC code to integrate with FSX/P3D
- Uses ArdSIMX to integrate with X-Plane 11
- Price: $200 USD + S&H (generally $11 in continental US)
Build
This project needed a bunch of LEDs, 25 total in fact: 7 for buttons, 2 for GPS/NAV indicator, 3 for OMI indicators, and 13 for the annunciator.
LED Driving Problem: Any given AVR microcontroller pin is allowed to source up to 40ma, and the total power draw needs to be below 200ma for entire device. 25 LEDs could draw up to 25 x 20ma = 500ma, way more than an Arduino could source. And, I want the whole project to be driven from a single USB connection and no external power supply.
LED Driving Solution: Use the handy MAX7219 chip. It's intended to drive up to 8 digits of seven segment displays, but can just as easily drive up to 64 single LEDs. And, it takes just 3 control pins from an Arduino (plus 5v and GND) and needs only 2 capacitors and 1 resistor to support it. The MAX7219 "strobes" through the LEDs in sequence such that really only one LED is on at any moment but flickering way faster than the eye can tell. This solution solves the overall power issue and reduces wiring complexity (when all 25 LEDs are lit on the board at max brightness, total draw on PC USB is 120ma (Arduino itself takes 70ma so LEDs are just taking 50ma).
Switches: The eSwitch 5501 series seems like a good fit, it's a switch with built in LED.
Annunciator: I wanted the words like L VAC R, L FUEL R, OIL PRESSURE and VOLTS to light up behind a dark panel. After some trial and error, I found that putting a row of red or yellow LEDs behind a smoke acrylic panel lit things nicely. The words were printed on transparency paper via ink jet printer.
Prototype: Started with a 6" x 2" .01" spaced perfboard, and you can do that. But, for me the wiring quickly turned into a rat's nest so I made a custom circuit board to simplify things.
Arduino Source Code
Full source code is posted on Github at https://github.com/SIMAV8/SIMCMP1
PC Interface Source Code
PC code flavors also available at https://github.com/SIMAV8/SIMCMP1
- The project can be driven by Link2FS (config files on github) or
- by FSUIPC interface program (full program and source code on github)
- Program is ready to go, you DO NOT need to code anything
Full Documentation Package for FSX/P3D version in PDF
This project needed a bunch of LEDs, 25 total in fact: 7 for buttons, 2 for GPS/NAV indicator, 3 for OMI indicators, and 13 for the annunciator.
LED Driving Problem: Any given AVR microcontroller pin is allowed to source up to 40ma, and the total power draw needs to be below 200ma for entire device. 25 LEDs could draw up to 25 x 20ma = 500ma, way more than an Arduino could source. And, I want the whole project to be driven from a single USB connection and no external power supply.
LED Driving Solution: Use the handy MAX7219 chip. It's intended to drive up to 8 digits of seven segment displays, but can just as easily drive up to 64 single LEDs. And, it takes just 3 control pins from an Arduino (plus 5v and GND) and needs only 2 capacitors and 1 resistor to support it. The MAX7219 "strobes" through the LEDs in sequence such that really only one LED is on at any moment but flickering way faster than the eye can tell. This solution solves the overall power issue and reduces wiring complexity (when all 25 LEDs are lit on the board at max brightness, total draw on PC USB is 120ma (Arduino itself takes 70ma so LEDs are just taking 50ma).
Switches: The eSwitch 5501 series seems like a good fit, it's a switch with built in LED.
Annunciator: I wanted the words like L VAC R, L FUEL R, OIL PRESSURE and VOLTS to light up behind a dark panel. After some trial and error, I found that putting a row of red or yellow LEDs behind a smoke acrylic panel lit things nicely. The words were printed on transparency paper via ink jet printer.
Prototype: Started with a 6" x 2" .01" spaced perfboard, and you can do that. But, for me the wiring quickly turned into a rat's nest so I made a custom circuit board to simplify things.
Arduino Source Code
Full source code is posted on Github at https://github.com/SIMAV8/SIMCMP1
PC Interface Source Code
PC code flavors also available at https://github.com/SIMAV8/SIMCMP1
- The project can be driven by Link2FS (config files on github) or
- by FSUIPC interface program (full program and source code on github)
- Program is ready to go, you DO NOT need to code anything
Full Documentation Package for FSX/P3D version in PDF
| 20161125_simcmp1_documentation.pdf |
Project build pictures
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