gardnerjr

what are the errors from compiling? what can happen is you get "unprintable" characters somehow in the ide. copy+paste into a browser text box might convert them into someother character. there are all kinds of strange ways this can happen. if you get very odd things like this you might need to look at the actual file in a hex editor, to see what characters are really there or fix them. i'd also suggest using something like git/github for source control, even if you don't plan on ever sharing code with anyone else, being able to see history of your changes and go back to previous versions/etc is super handy. plus with something like github you have an offsite copy in case anything goes wrong.

iirc from when i did this, you end up getting one buffer like that for each line of the CDU screen. there are 9 lines on the screen, each with own bufffer that's 24ch wide. if dcs updates one line, only that one callback gets called. if dcs updates the whole CDU, each callback gets called in turn. if anything changes in that line, that callback function gets called and you effectively have to draw the whole line all at once. if it is getting cleared, the whole buffer contents will just be empty space characters. there's no real "structure" to it, its a 9x24 character screen. the cdu doesn't do any graphics, its just a text display.

the cduLine8Buffer is a declaration of a 24 character long string buffer that holds the results of DCS updating that specific field. the 0x1280 is an address/offset of where dcs-bios should watch for changes (that's defined by the different features of the different aircraft/etc). As DCS changes that value, dcs bios effectively is copying that 24 characters into its (this) stringbuffer. the second param is a callback (a function) in your code that will be called when that change occurs. so basically: DCS changes something at a specific place where DCS-BIOS is watching so it copies the data and then calls your method to tell your code it changed, so you can do something with it

oh nice, you fit it all in a 4x20. I'm thinking about doing similar, making the little side ones show the current channels too, right not it only shows the "active" radio. it's a good suggestion to have them in the order of the cockpit, i honestly have NO IDEA why i have them in the order i do?

yup! and now i'm working on a multi function radio panel that LOOKS like an ARC-210 but actually is ALL the other radios (uhf, vhf am, vhf fm, ils and tacan) that attaches to the side of the left panel. i'm not done with that yet but i'm close! and this one i printed completely, used a cheapo laser to etch, etc. just to see how it would turn out. i might buy a real panel from somewhere, my laser etch is pretty inconsistent and i still have to paint a couple of the knobs.

I can't believe its rolling up on a year since i last posted an update here in this thread! Last time i said, "if i had a 3d printer..." so yeah, i got one of those, an Ender 3v2. I've done tons of mods to that even, and have learned (a little bit!) of 3d modelling to draw out some custom things. So now i thought i'd post a couple updates here! A right side console! As usual, i started with a cardboard prototype, to figure out how big it would be, and how i could mount it. Then some panel parts from pcflights, a usb controller from desktop aviator, a couple of LCD panels and arduinos, and a cdu board and caution panel from TekCreations. after figuring out the size and shape, i realized that a rolling stand might be the best way to do this side, with room inside/underneath to store the joystick and mount. I also decided to add power and usb "pass through" that i can plug the jetseat into. I built it into 2 parts, the "console" with all the electronics, wood frame of things i had around, and a mix of 3x printed and painted plexi for the sides/etc. an inside view of the stand: (since that pic was taken i've also upgraded to a virpil base, and since THEN, i've had to re-print that extension. (i broke that one while stress testing a 3d printed mount to attach the virpil to my desk mount). the gray cable is the extension that connects out of this stand to the jetseat. completed stand, from the other side. i 3d printed ejection and parachute handles and mounts for them, though they're not hooked up to anything. i printed a little box to hold some kneeboard/manuals, bought some decals from various places, and painted the shark face on the side. (i'm thinking about adding some fake panel lines and rivets but haven't found the time The whole setup (though this pic is before the yellow handles and manuals mount.

@Camelany chance of also publishing this to the amazon kindle fire store thing? just realized i have a kindle fire that i use for nothing anymore, and i could totally use it as a kneeboard. but you can only install apps from the amazon store, not the full google play store?

trackir completely changed the game for me. and now that i have it configured and set up the way i like it, i don't think i could play without it. while the the jetseat isnt that same level, it is also a great way to get more information without seeing it on the screen. high g's? are the airbrakes out? did i just get hit by something? you can feel it in the seat instead of having to look.

in what you pasted for not working: void printChar(int row, int col, unsigned char c) { int16_t x = 13 + col * 19; int16_t y = row * 32 + 6; // myGLCD.drawChar(x, y, c, 0x07E0, 0x0, 3); } the // at the beginning of the line myGLDC.drawChar line makes it a comment, not code, so this printChar method doesn't actually *do* anything. remove the // and it should work? if that doesn't compile, presumably the library for the 5" has a different signature for printing text?

sounds good. i snagged a pack of JSTs on amazon to see how those work out, thanks for the tip!

wish i had a pic from a little more of an angle, but also an 80/20 setup (a monstertech knockoff?) the left panel is also clamped to the desk, you just can't see the clamp. its probably right near the limit of what it should hold without breaking my cheapo desk. the center is actually lower now, and i 3d printed an extension for the joystick. i'm building a right panel, but instead of clamping to the desk, i'm going to make it a roller cart, which maybe i'll be able to put the left console into? this desk is also my home office, and the kids play games there too so i have to be able to pack the whole thing up. the left console is just one usb, the main console is usb, power, hdmi, and the right will be usb+power, (plus power+usb out for the jetseat) when i finally build a collective, i think i might need to either mount it to the chair, or get a new chair that's more accommodating?

So far, when i have a few sets of wires to connect from one section of a panel to another, i've been using dupont style connectors. but i have a couple of places where i have like 8 or 10 pin connectors and making them is a pain. and then they aren't "keyed" in any way, so i have to make sure i use the same color wires or some other obvious way of marking which way is which. (i had some 4 pin that were 2x2 which has all kinds of ways to orient it wrong!) pic for context, since i had to take the whole thing apart to get the display out and fix it, then put it all back together (a rather large flaw in the design!) i've seen some going with network style RJ45/etc, but it seems that the connectors are relatively huge (and the wires relatively small in comparison?) for my power connectors for the led backlighting, i'm thinking about switching to male/female plug style connectors since which one is which doesn't matter at all. What are y'all using? what do you recommend? any clever easy to use ones i've never heard of before?

help us help you. what is it doing? what is it not doing? things i see, without having this device or anything to actually try this. you're calling the same `showNumberDec` in 3 places, once when the 1 changes, once when the 10's place changes, and to the *pointer* value of the letter change? and all 3 of them are setting the full contents of the display? from a quick scan of GitHub - jasonacox/TM1637TinyDisplay: Arduino library to display numbers and text on a 4-digit 7-segment TM1637 display module. i'm presuming you want something like this in the 10 change, to only set the first segment of the display // showNumber( value, leadingZero, width, segment) display.showNumber(newValue, false, 1, 0); // set 10's place to 0th (first) digit this in the 1 change, to only set the second segment display.showNumber(newValue, false, 1, 1); // set 1's place to second digit then this in the channel change to only set the 3rd segment (nothing sets the 4th segment) display.showString(newValue, 1, 2); // show the string part in just the 3rd digit

Slaw, all of your devices look just amazing. the thrustmaster or whatever rudders i have are "good enough" to get by, but i'm working on hording up some cash to be able to get some nice ones, and all of yours look like beautiful devices to own. can't wait to see more info. by then i'll maybe be able to afford one

But wait, there's more! The next thing i wanted to do was replace the fire pull stickers on my panel with indicator lights for gun ready, steering, canopy, etc. those 4 lights would handle the left, right fire handle spots, so i had to think of something to put in the middle where the apu sticker is. i decided on making a single missile launch light in a similar style to the other indicators. Then i decided to make something like the NMSP to fill in the blank space below the MFD's. i found some green backlit pushbutton switches that seemed like they'd work. as part of all this, i'd need to power a whole bunch more lights and switches, and the nano i was using to power existing things wouldn't have enough inputs. at first i was going to use another nano or the uno i already had, but then also realized i don' t have any more usb spots in the hub inside the panel, and so the simplest solution would be replacing the nano with a mega. So here's a sample of the incoming parts: First, i tried to manually etch some text with a dremel to make those things. but i couldn't make anything small enough and consistent enough to meet my (arguably) low standards so I bought an el-cheapo laser cutter/etcher off amazon (like $150?) I wanted something small and effectively throwaway if it didn't turn out to be useful. I don't have the time, energy or space to buy a good one after experimenting a little bit i found some settings that worked reasonably on the plexi i had, as long as it was painted first. here's the missile launch one test lit: the scratches etc in the paint were entirely unintentional, but now i like that it has a weathered look. unfortunately all of them are way too bright when lit, so i think i might wash them with a layer of thinned black paint to hopefully dim them a little. The nmsp turned out to be a big pain. making a mini panel with all the buttons wasn't super complicated: Height, and width wise, this will work where i want to put it. you can see it mounted up to the mega, which i intended to mount on the back of the monitor stand inside the panel. i ended up using the laser etcher on super low power to cut the text and triangles out of black electrical tape, which i then taped on to the fronts of the buttons. vinyl would be a much better and more long term solution, but for now the electrical tape seems to be fine? you can also see some servos i was experimenting with to put in the fuel panel for the hydraulics gauges. (i know they won't be perfect or even that correct, i was more just looking for something to fill in the space and be able to tell when the hydraulics are changing/dead. But the problem came to be this: depth-wise, there's not a lot of room with the monitor there behind it, so there's no way for these deep buttons to fit. my first inclination was to carve out some space in the "floor" of the panel. After doing that, it wasn't enough. the monitor stand was also in the way. so i planned on cutting the bottom of that out to make room. but even then i was going to have to move the entire monitor stand back, which would mean the monitor would no longer be right up against the front where the mfds are. so then i thought, maybe there's a thick bezel on this monitor case, maybe if i take the front of the monitor case off, there will be more room. When i took the monitor apart, i realized that the display size is a lot smaller than the monitor frame, and that the display was glued to the front side of the case. i melted the glue to remove the lcd panel, and that lcd panel is almost exactly the size and shape of the mfds outer frames. i could take the display and controller out of the frame, and glue the display directly to my plexi front, and not need the monitor frame OR the monitor stand taking up all that space inside the panel! Somehow i have no pictures of this whole part of the process. After removing the monitor stand from the equation, a LOT of things got simpler inside the panel. it became a lot easier to wire things, i could mount the arduino (and now the lcd controller) on the back side of the frame instead of hidden behind the monitor stand. the bottom nmsp buttons now had room and simpler wiring, and the new indicators that were mounted above the panel also had simpler wiring and room. it also meant there was now also easier space and access to add switches to turn on/off the mfds as well. i made little mounts to hold the switches, and mounted those as well. if i had a 3d printer, i thin this would have been much simpler and had much better results. the mounts i made are fine, but i might re-make these parts if/when i buy a printer. Here's the newly upgraded panel, with the new additions (you can see how bright the steering engaged light is, it washes out entirely in the pic, and i need to get some fabric/somthing to fill in the slot for the landing gear lever so that doesn't bleed so much light from the backlighting of that panel) new features: 5 indicator lights above the mfds trivial servo based hydraulics gauges in a new mini panel etched on my cheapo laser etcher nmsp panel with all functional and lit buttons and able/stow switch. that mini panel has 2 more pushbuttons that i haven't figured out what to map to yet power switches for the mfds the arduino has a couple empty spots left left to do: i need a whole bunch of switch covers/caps some more cleanup doing the math on the switch covers/etc i'd re do if i had a printer, its almost to the point that its cheaper to buy a lower end ender 3 or something than to keep buying other people's parts. i'm also super tempted to print and build some of the authentikit stuff, just because i find that project awesome. my kids also want a 3d printer for who knows what, so now i'm evaluating getting a reasonable one, not a cheapo like i did with the laser.