rocketeer

Does anyone know (esp. ED Team) if the rocker switches in the A-10C CDU are on-off latched or momentary? From the picture they look level, not one side down and the other up. Sitting level suggests to me they are momentary, or maybe I'm reading wrong form the picture. Finding rockers of this dimension (approx 9 x 20mm) is hard enough. I don't want to end up getting the wrong type.

Right side panels. I also noticed that there is one square knob so it did likewise.

Added a hat switch knob that I stole from my old F22 Pro stick. Also added a big red knob for the Manual Reversion switch as I saw that was so in the actual picture. Added a big long rectangular block for the big round disc in the Inter panel. Also the hard-to-find UHF knobs are done so I'm happy with that. For the KY58 panel, the knob on the left was the same knob from the other big gray knobs but I removed the disc below it with a dremel tool, just to be like the actual knob with the disc.

Ok some updates again. Made replicas of the knobs and painted them, except for the arrow/line indicator painted white. For the CODE and MASTER switches in the IFF panel, I just saw some wood and painted them black. I have a round plastic disc under the white circles, which eventually will be printed white letters on black background. It's great to have these knobs done. Now my panels are looking more '3D' with the knobs instead just flat pictures.

Let me recap. Are you guys saying that the Up position is a latched position like a toggle as Alex suggested, the center OFF position is a transit position, kinda passing by position, then the HOT and COLD are like momentary push buttons? If so, I can foresee using Trigger's method to build a four position triangle switch, but add two springs to the bottom positions one each to make those positions become momentary. Gus, it'd be helpful to see a picture of that switch! Something interesting to build! I guess we'd need that guitar knob.

Thanks for the steps. I've read that one way to diffuse LED light is to lightly sand it till it's frosted. What I/O card are you using?

Nice! Do you have pictures how you put it together in steps? The front was very reflective I couldn't see well. Looks like one big acrylic sheet at the top, then probably another sheet for the letterings, and then one base plate for the LEDs? Would like to see the inside. Thanks for sharing!

I'm a simple guy. I don't try to make sophisticated things for the sake of being sophisticated. If the A-10 cockpit doesn't have complicated switches, all the more better as it'd be easier for me! I think online stores like Digikey have four way switches. Thinking of robbing the hat switch knob from my old broken TM F22 Pro for the Emergency Flight control panel.

Tap Plastics. I use 'clear-lite' casting resin, mixed with MEKP liquid catalyst. 10 drops of catalyst for every one oz of resin. Mix well and then pour into mold. It stinks, so do it outside or open window and have fan blowing outwards for a while. Then the smell subsides. It doesn't take one day to dry, but it'd still feel tacky. After several day it'd be ok. Best to dry in the sun. If it keeps feeling tacky it means you didn't put enough catalyst. Just spray some resin spray to seal it.

Alex, which switch are you looking for? Are you talking about the four way switch in the Emergency Flight control panel?

Yes the drill press vise are made of metal and can easily scratch the knobs. I cut rubber sheets and use thick double sided tape (like sort of foam, bought at one dollar shop) and stuck them to the vise, see picture below. Also, I sawed a small piece of wood and place it below the knob that I am drilling for support, in case the knob slips down during drilling. Then I secure the drill press vise with several clamps.

I got the defog knob for $4.60. I determine the center of the base, then use a drill press to drill it straight. Is there a better way to do this, I'd like to learn.

The following two black knobs I just received from Allied Electronics today. It's very hard to find grey ones, so I bought black and just have to paint them grey. This one below I'd make a mould as I'd need seven pieces, plus the replica will be transparent. That'd come in handy if I want to do backlighting of the knobs later. Just paint it except for the white arrow. Some of these knobs are really hard to find. I'm glad Paul Bliss sells them and Allied Electronics. Now I have more authentic looking knobs, better than those I've been trying to improvise. Now I just need to paint them.

Looks like my printouts are of correct size. The actual knobs match the size of the knobs in the pictures. This one below will be painted black. Most of the knobs in A-10 should be grey.

I prefer the shaft for my knobs to be 1/4" D shape. Puting on both screws make it more secure on the flat side of the shaft. This guy doesn't know it's not polite to stare. Now trying them on my make-shift panels. For the two circles above, Tap Plastics sell discs of various sizes. I found one that fits the size above perfectly. Then I used CorelDraw and figured how to put text on a arc. The printouts above of the circles are just testing. The actual printouts will be white text against black background. Also I'd have to add a rectangular block of wood as the knob for these two.

I recently acquired some hard to find knobs from an F-16 site http://aviationsimulationgroup.com/AircraftKnobs.aspx Some of these F-16 knobs are the same as in the A-10, but the cost of $215 for the whole set made me hesitate to buy them, especially when I don't need all the knobs. Thanks to Deadman who told me that the seller Paul Bliss sells the knobs individually for $4 each. I immediately ordered the following except for the black knob which I already had. After making the moulds, I put some casting resin to let it dry, and dry, and dry... These ones below have three small knobs each. You put the knobs in a cup, then you have to hold them down with hot glue. Else they may float up later. I use Urethane RTV from Tap Plastics to make my moulds. After 24 hours, I tear up the paper cup and what's left is the mould. After the casting finally dries, I drill holes below and at the sides, and sand them. The ones on the left were bought. The ones on the right are sanded replicas. As you can see one of them I've already put the 6-32 screws on.

PM me with an email and I'd send them to you.

Welcome back Trigger! Looking forward to see you complete your pit which is already amazing as of now.

This is my favorite so far, real 'press to test' knobs from ebay. They are a combination of push button and knob. You press to test as the name goes, and you rotate to dim the brightness. Haven't done the wiring yet but that's what it's supposed to do!

Some volume knobs are very small, hardly bigger than a 1/4" shaft pot. Personally I don't like using 1/8" pot as they are harder to get, so I try to stick to 1//4" pots. But some knobs only take 1/8" shaft. For this one below, I came across in ebay a seller called West Florida and the knob is just barely wider than a 1/4" shaft, and takes D shape as well, my favorite! Just perfect for the job. I'd probably secure the knobs to the base plates below with the black rings hidden below, they'd look nicer and the top will look less crowded.

Continuing the fun of searching for A-10C similar-looking knobs... For this one, I came across a knob in Fry's with similar shape and a white line indicator. Well, good enough for me. I may add a grey base disc to the knob like the real thing. We'd see.

Oh, ok, pardon my ignorance. So besides being reflective, what does it do, I suppose by its name it's supposed to turn on landing lights? Do you flick it like a toggle or is it a push/pull switch?

sweinhart, have you checked out this site yet? http://aviationsimulationgroup.com/SwitchTops.aspx It is an F-16 landing light gear. Looks similar to the A-10's to me. The landing gear top is $20 painted. I suppose it can be put over a normal toggle switch, and I hope the three jewels lights can be connected to a power source and lighted up like LEDs.

You can pick a specific aircraft to build, or a generic one that can cater to several aircraft types. Then you should also consider whether to build a full pit or a partial pit or just a desktop pit. Then you have to decide how to interface your pit to the PC. If you only plan for a small pit, then you can use the BU0836 or the CH MFP (but that is limited to push buttons and is quite expensive), or use the GoFlight panels. For a big pit, you'd have lots of push buttons, toggles, pots, encoders, displays etc. so you'd need IO solutions like Hagstrom, EPIC, Open Cockpits etc. Do a lot of research, and then some more. Then design your pit on paper. Then enjoy the journey. You'd be acquiring skills and tools. After you've build it, you may initially be impressed with yourself. But your newfound skills may cause you to be disatisfied with some part of the pit and then you redo them. It's an ongoing progress to perfection. The pit is never done!

Next. I sawed some small piece of wood into a triangular shape with a flat top. Then sanded it and glued it onto the plastic disk. This one is kind of rectangular with a fat waist in the middle. Shape wise the two are similar to the actual panel. But upon further comparison I realised that my two knobs were too big, so I didn't make the transparent replicas. That big knob at the bottom of the UHF will be difficult to improvise, unless I combine a cone, a rectangular block and a disc. Will be easiest if I can buy one actual knob to replicate.