Has anyone here bought from desktopaviator.com?

[TripRodriguez]

Looks like a cheaper source for a lot of the parts I'm planning to buy in the next week or two, anyone know if they are trustworthy?

 

I need a bunch of pots, rotary encoders, and toggle switches and I'd rather buy from a fligh:(t sim shop than ebay if the price is similar and they are reputable.

 

Their USB PCB's however appear to cost more than Bodnar. :( I'll probably use Teensy mostly.

[Warhog]

Virtually all of my parts are from Chinese sellers on eBay. Toggle switches around $2.75. Rotary encoders around $1.70 and Arduino boards for $2.75 (Nano's). The parts are good quality, free shipping and no sales tax. The flight sim stores, and this is just my personal opinion, are a huge rip off when it cones to selling electronic components. How they stay in business is beyond me. They buy the same parts as I do and then mark them up for resale. Just buy direct from China and you will save a lot of money...or not. It's only money.:smilewink:

[Rogue Trooper]

Yes!

My pulse generator boards are from them, reliable and good fast Emails.

[TripRodriguez]

Virtually all of my parts are from Chinese sellers on eBay. Toggle switches around $2.75. Rotary encoders around $1.70 and Arduino boards for $2.75 (Nano's). The parts are good quality, free shipping and no sales tax. The flight sim stores, and this is just my personal opinion, are a huge rip off when it cones to selling electronic components. How they stay in business is beyond me. They buy the same parts as I do and then mark them up for resale. Just buy direct from China and you will save a lot of money...or not. It's only money.:smilewink:

 

That's what I normally do, but if it's only a (very) minor cost difference or same price I'd much rather support someone like this with my money.

 

Incidentally, when I've bought toggle switches from china before about one in five either works hard or breaks. Often can open them up and do surgery! :smilewink:

 

Toggle switch covers and such have been 100%, never bought rotary encoders before though or inexpensive pots so not sure what to expect in terms of bad units.

 

I didn't look real hard yet but that guys prices on toggles and such seemed very close to ebaying chinese parts, then again, his toggle switches had identical appearance to my cheap junk chinese ones as you say. This way though they come faster, he might replace faulty units, and I support a US hobby supplier. I'll pay an extra 10% for that happily on a $150 order, much more than that though and I can't afford to "do the right thing". :)

Edited March 25, 2017 by TripRodriguez

[TripRodriguez]

@warhog John, your work is beautiful. I have a couple questions for you.

 

First, how do you make the labeled panels to mount the switches in? They look spot on! I'm working on this particular problem myself right now but not sure how well it's going to turn out. I don't need them backlit, but I want them labeled and to look correct like yours.

 

Also, can you possibly link me to the rotary encoders and nanos from sellers that you have purchased from with good results? I've only ever bought a chinese Arduino once (an UNO knockoff) and got screwed for a whole four dollars or something like that. =P

Edited March 25, 2017 by TripRodriguez

[Warhog]

@warhog John, your work is beautiful. I have a couple questions for you.

 

Thank you Trip. I got a lot of help from the people here and all their contributions in terms of tutorials, photos of their work, etc.

 

 

First, how do you make the labeled panels to mount the switches in? They look spot on! I'm working on this particular problem myself right now but not sure how well it's going to turn out. I don't need them backlit, but I want them labeled and to look correct like yours.

I use a CNC mill to engrave the labels onto engraving plastic. My panels are actually made up of three layers: two layers of .125" clear acrylic and one layer (the top) of engraving plastic which is .06" thick. The acrylic is really easy to work with and being clear, it helps with backlighting. But regardless of the backlighting, the acrylic is quite strong and will easily support anything you wish to use in a panel such as gauges, toggle switches, displays, etc. The key here is having a quality CNC machine to do the engraving for you. Unfortunately they are expensive and then there is a rather long learning curve for the associated software you would need to use to design the panels, create the engraving and cut out the details. The upside is you can fabricate virtually any part you need for a cockpit from knobs to labels, to circuit boards.

 

 

Also, can you possibly link me to the rotary encoders and nanos from sellers that you have purchased from with good results? I've only ever bought a chinese Arduino once (an UNO knockoff) and got screwed for a whole four dollars or something like that. =P

 

I use, almost exclusively, the Arduino Pro Mini. I buy them from this seller and I have never had a single issue with them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pro-Mini-atmega328-5V-16M-Replace-ATmega128-Arduino-Compatible-Nano-/200957063666?hash=item2ec9f971f2

 

I use the 5v version as apposed to the 3.3v Pro Mini except when I want to use an OLED. The OLED displays and some other displays are normally 3.3v. You need to match board voltage to display voltage so you need to buy the 3.3v board in those situations. One more caveat... the Pro Mini does not have a built in USB to serial chip on the board so you need to buy a separate serial to USB adapter to program them. Very inexpensive...

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6pin-FTDI-FT232RL-USB-to-Serial-adapter-module-USB-TO-TTL-RS232-Arduino-Cable-/401090868113?tfrom=180953299346&tpos=top&ttype=price&talgo=undefined or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-USB-2-0-to-TTL-UART-5PIN-Module-Serial-Converter-CP2102-STC-PRGMR-Free-cable-/310511987503?tfrom=180953299346&tpos=top&ttype=price&talgo=undefined

I bought a handful of USB to serial adapters for use with the Pro Mini so I don't really bother with the Nano that much. I also started my cockpit using the Pro Mini. Back then I designed a boiler plate circuit board layout specifically for the pin outs on a Pro Mini. That way I could easily adapt my circuit layout to the requirements of the panel I was building without having to start each design from scratch.

 

However, there are a lot of people that prefer the Nano.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-USB-Nano-V3-0-ATmega328-16M-5V-Micro-controller-CH340G-board-Arduino-Cable-/201539955347?hash=item2eecb7aa93

I have several of these in my cockpit as well as a couple of Mega's. The Nano has a USB to serial chip on board and mini jack for a USB cable thats normally included with the board. That eliminates the need for a separate USB to Serial adapter.

 

As to rotary encoders, these have been a staple in my cockpit. I have only had 2 out of maybe 50 fail on me. So for the price I am not complaining.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5pcs-Rotary-encoder-switch-EC11-Audio-digital-potentiometer-20mm-handle-/311425031956?hash=item488260df14

 

 

As to Chinese sellers, these are a short list of the ones I deal with on a regular basis:

 

http://stores.ebay.com/TxHang-Electronic

 

http://stores.ebay.com/Czb-Electronic

 

http://stores.ebay.com/MobileV-Eletronics-Shop?_rdc=1

(excellent place for toggle switches of any configuration you might need in the A10 cockpit. I have purchased around 70 toggle switches from these people and they have all been 100% satisfactory)

 

And my favourite store is:

http://stores.ebay.com/Satisfy-Electronics

Good prices, fast delivery (relatively:smilewink:) good selection of whatever you need.

 

Hope that helps.

John

[TripRodriguez]

Thank you for the very detailed answer! I'll be ordering some parts via those links in just a few days =).

 

A CNC mill that can handle 4' x 8' sheets is my current dream machine hehe! No way I could buy one but maybe a home made one might be possible once I crawl out of the credit card debt I accrued in building my motion sim (and getting married).

 

I looked into the engraving material when I started in on my new panels, that stuff is really pricey =(. It's $112.50 for a 2' x 4' sheet, but I guess given that a single sheet would be enough that's not all that terrible.

Edited March 26, 2017 by TripRodriguez

[TripRodriguez]

@warhog Mostly on those stores I see mini toggles but almost no standard 1/2" mount size toggles. Do you use the minis? Seem a bit small to me.

 

On those rotary encoders you linked, a couple questions. What do they mean 20mm handle? Doesn't seem to make sense to me and there is no explanation. What is the shaft diameter (for buying knobs)?

 

Also it says with switch, is it a push switch as well as a rotary or?

 

My ebay shopping cart is filling up fast! :pilotfly:

 

PS- Do these look ok for my pots? http://www.ebay.com/itm/311774782730

Edited March 26, 2017 by TripRodriguez

[Warhog]

Search store for toggle switch. Go to second last page and you will see them

 

Or

 

http://stores.ebay.com/MobileV-Eletronics-Shop/_i.html?rt=nc&_nkw=Toggle&_sid=214999698&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=3

 

Scroll halfway down page.

Edited March 26, 2017 by Warhog

[TripRodriguez]

@Warhog Got em' =) Of the stores you linked that was the last one I searched LOL.

 

I'm wanting to place this order, so if you are still here see if you can answer my other couple questions if you please sir. :helpsmilie:

 

Also, if you ever want to come on down to the US by and try out the motion sim you are invited =D. I'm about 2 hours drive from NYC.

 

Search store for toggle switch. Go to second last page and you will see them

 

Or

 

http://stores.ebay.com/MobileV-Eletronics-Shop/_i.html?rt=nc&_nkw=Toggle&_sid=214999698&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=3

 

Scroll halfway down page.

[Warhog]

Thank you for your offer Trip. I've actually been to Scranton as well as Harrisburg on my way to Gettysburg. I'm a bit of a civil war enthusiast. I love Pennsylvania. Some of the prettiest country I have ever toured.

 

The rotary encoders (I'm referring to the blue ones) have a 20mm long shaft. The shaft also acts as a momentary on push button. I believe the shaft dia. is 6mm which is the standard dia for most knobs. The pots you linked are interesting but I can,t comment on them as I don't use pots in my cockpit. I use rotary encoders instead of pots. The noise that is often generated by pots cause a great deal of jitter in the signal line. To avoid dealing with that problem I just use rotary encoders. They produce a much cleaner signal.

 

And yes, I know first hand just how quickly ones cart can fill up. :lol:

[TripRodriguez]

Thank you for your offer Trip. I've actually been to Scranton as well as Harrisburg on my way to Gettysburg. I'm a bit of a civil war enthusiast. I love Pennsylvania. Some of the prettiest country I have ever toured.

 

The rotary encoders (I'm referring to the blue ones) have a 20mm long shaft. The shaft also acts as a momentary on push button. I believe the shaft dia. is 6mm which is the standard dia for most knobs. The pots you linked are interesting but I can,t comment on them as I don't use pots in my cockpit. I use rotary encoders instead of pots. The noise that is often generated by pots cause a great deal of jitter in the signal line. To avoid dealing with that problem I just use rotary encoders. They produce a much cleaner signal.

 

And yes, I know first hand just how quickly ones cart can fill up. :lol:

 

In the Gazelle at least there seem to be some functions that are only available on analog axes, though quite a few offer both options and maybe I'll convert as many pots to rotary encoders as possible.

 

Is there a simple way to use rotary encoders where only "axis" binds are available in DCS?

[Warhog]

Is there a simple way to use rotary encoders where only "axis" binds are available in DCS?

 

Probably. But coding it is very much over my head. If you have to use pots, I understand there are some smoothing routines that help reduce the noise. I can't offer much more than that as I never took the time to investigate.

[Brewnix]

Hi, Warhog I was wondering for the Pro mini boards what are you using to program them? Thanks!

[Warhog]

Hi, Warhog I was wondering for the Pro mini boards what are you using to program them? Thanks!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-USB-2-0-to-TTL-UART-5PIN-Module-Serial-Converter-CP2102-STC-PRGMR-Free-cable-/310511987503?hash=item484bf4eb2f

 

I purchased 5 so I could have several boards running at the same time until I got the RS485 bus up and running.

[Brewnix]

Thanks! I am sorry you did mention that in previous post I skimmed over and I didn't take note.

[Sokol1_br]

Is there a simple way to use rotary encoders where only "axis" binds are available in DCS?

 

Certain USB controllers like VKB NJoy32 (no longer available for DIY) and DIY Arduino PRO micro/Teensy 2.0 + MMjoy32 allow you set on firmware for encoder buttons generate a virtual axis, assignable for games controls that require analog axes.

Edited March 29, 2017 by Sokol1_br

[TripRodriguez]

Certain USB controllers like VKB NJoy32 (no longer available for DIY) and DIY Arduino PRO micro/Teensy 2.0 + MMjoy32 allow you set on firmware for encoder buttons generate a virtual axis, assignable for games controls that require analog axes.

 

Excellent, if i have any issues with my pots I'll look into this and start swapping them out for rotary encoders. :thumbup:

[TripRodriguez]

@Warhog On those blue rotaries you suggested, do you know the mounting hole diameter?

 

Looks like its maybe a hair bigger than the 6mm knurled shaft to me. I want to get my panels started so need to know how big to make the holes!

 

Also, do I need to supply power to these or any special wiring?

Edited March 31, 2017 by TripRodriguez

[Warhog]

@Warhog On those blue rotaries you suggested, do you know the mounting hole diameter?

 

Looks like its maybe a hair bigger than the 6mm knurled shaft to me. I want to get my panels started so need to know how big to make the holes!

 

Also, do I need to supply power to these or any special wiring?

 

Quest. 1. .27" dia mounting hole.

 

Quest. 2. I don't know how you are planning to interface with DCS so I can't really say. I use DCS-BIOS/Arduino for everything. that means providing a ground for the centre pin and the A and B pins go to the Arduino board. No power needed for this setup except to the board of course.

 

 

John

[WildBillKelsoe]

Quest. 1. .27" dia mounting hole.

 

Quest. 2. I don't know how you are planning to interface with DCS so I can't really say. I use DCS-BIOS/Arduino for everything. that means providing a ground for the centre pin and the A and B pins go to the Arduino board. No power needed for this setup except to the board of course.

 

 

John

 

Excuse me but arent these 5v? They should be powered by the arduino which is in turn powered by the usb port?

[Warhog]

I think a google search "wiring rotary encoders to Arduino" will answer the question in excellent detail.

[TripRodriguez]

Yep, should be just as simple to hook up as Bodnar rotary encoders and Bodnar boards.

[TripRodriguez]

Since a few people in this thread were very helpful, I thought I'd show off my first bit of photo worthy progress!

 

I fly 100% in VR so the gauges etc. are not functional, just flat images. All switches and rotaries will be functional. Don't mind the missing "O", it will be replaced LOL.