Yet another A-10C CDU+AAP Replica Build

[Orrn]

Hello,

after weeks and month of searching the Forums, annoying other Forum users and planning, I finally finished my A-10C CDU and AAP Replica build.

 

 

For quite a lot of Pictures, I recommend opening my Photo Album for reference when reading this post.

 

 

 

As basic Panels i used the parts from PC-flights (CDU, AAP)

 

Those come in two parts, one clear-acrylic backlight-ready baseplate and one black coated faceplate which are screwed together and hold the labeled Buttons.

 

 

All the electronic parts such as LEDs, tactile switches, resistors, wires etc. I ordered from a german comany, called Reichelt ( https://www.reichelt.de/)

 

As a Controller for the 63 Push-Buttons of the CDU, I planned to use the Leo Bodnar BBI64 Button Box Interface.

 

The Count of 63 Buttons Comes from the fact, that the CDU actually has 67 Buttons but 3 of them are not functional in DCS, so I decided to leave them out.

This is actually convenient because the Button Box interface only supports 64 Inputs :thumbup:

 

For the AAP I used the BBI-32 Interface, also from Leo Bodnar.

 

 

The Base

The first step was to glue the two stripboards together, because a single one was to small.

 

 

Then I used the clear acrylic part of the CDU as a "mask" to arrange the tactile switches on the board. I noticed that a centered positioning of every single switch was not possible due to the nature of the stripboard's hole layout and spacing. This will not become a Problem later on.

 

Following this, I soldered all the switches in place so they could not move anymore.

 

 

The Backlighting

For Backlighting I used exactly 52 Green LEDs (3 mm Diameter)

For Planning I used a resistor-calculator like this

 

As Input I use a 12V-Power supply unit. So I had to wire the LEDs in row:

Each row has a 220Ω Resistor and 3 LEDs (3 x 3V plus the voltage which gets taken by the resistor = 12V).

 

Since 52 cannot be devided by 3, I had 17 rows built as described and one single LED wired to a 470Ω resistor.

 

Mathematically the LEDs are supplied with 15 mA each, wich makes them shine REALLY bright!

But if you assemble the Panels, it gets dimmed, so one can look at it without being blinded.

 

As "connectors" between the Elements in each LED-Row i simply used the legs of the parts I had to clip off anyways. In my Circuit, Red is Plus and Black is GND

 

 

 

 

The USB-Controller

As mentioned before, I used a Plug and Play USB-Controller which gets recognized py your PC as an Input device for easy configuration. Once connected, you are able to configure every input-button in DCS by simply assigning a button (just as with a standart Keyboard)

 

But first, I had to connect every single tactile switch on the PCB to an Input pin and a GND-Pin on the USB-Controller.

 

 

For this, I used two-pin connectors to put onto the pin Strip.

I build a carrier plate from the stripboard - residue i had and mounted the USB-Board onto it. Then I took distance pieces and mounted the whole carrier Assembly onto the Base-PCB.

 

 

After that I started to build the two-wire connectors from each I/O-Pin on the USB-Board to the nearest tactile switch. The actual layout does not make a huge Impact, so I simply opted for the shortest wire length.

 

To Keep Things "tidy" I used cable ties to hold the wires together.

 

The AAP

 

After I finished all the wiring for the CDU-Buttons, I repeated the process for the AAP-Unit.

 

The Panels from pc-flights also come in two parts, just like the CDU.

 

For the AAP electronics i sawed out a smaller Base-PCB and connected it to the CDU-PCB with four screws.

 

Then I screwed the BBI-32 USB interface for the AAP onto the carrier Assembly for the CDU (piggy-back-style). This way I have both USB-Connectors sticking out on the same side.

 

The Backlighting-LEDs have the same layout as the others from the CDU (3 in a row).

Note: today (25.05.2020), the Backlight for the AAP is not yet finished and not in use.

 

 

 

The Display

 

Unfortunately, finding a LCD-Screen in the Right size, with the Right connectors and for the right puropose was not that easy.

 

I wanted the Display to have Display-Port, HDMI or at least DVI or VGA for simply connecting it to my PC.

 

The second most important was the size of the screen. It had to fit into the recessed Opening in the Panel and the Controller had to be really flat so that I was able to fit it between the backlight-panel and the PCB.

 

After searching the Internet for many Hours I came across this Screen

 

Since it had everything i expecteded and the dimensions seemed to fit nearly exactly, I ordered it from Amazon.

Note: There are several Distributors like OSOYOO or Kuman or else. They all ship the exact same LCD-Screen with the exact same Circuitry, just a different brand Name.

I ordered this one: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07D49C1XJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The screen was shipped in around 10-15 days from China, even during the corona-situation.

 

As I unpacked the screen, I noticed that the Circuit Board was fitted to the backside of the Display with double-sided adhesive.

 

In order to fit the screen into my CDU-Assembly, I had to divide the screen and the Circuit board with a very sharp knive VERY CAREFULLY, so I did not hurt the flat-flex connector cables which are veeeeeeery nimble.

 

Also I had to remove the GPIO-Pin-Header on the backside of the Circuit board, because it was taking up to much height. I removed it by simply, but also very carefully clipping and sawing it away, piece by piece. I Always took Attention, not to bend the board or the screen.

 

After successfully removing the adhesive and the GPIO Pin-Header, I simply folded the screen onto the back side of the Circuit Board and attached the Screen with double sided adhesive tape onto the rim of the clear-acrylic plate.

 

After that, I finally was able to screw everything tight, put in all 5 cables (this is not optimal, but it works) and put the damn Thing to work.

 

After flying for a couple of Hours, I have to say that I am very pleased with the Outcome of this 6-Month Project. The CDU-Replica is a perfect Addition to Input devices like the TM-Warthog or the MFD-Screens and makes flying the A-10, and especially using the CDU much more fun and "naturally Feeling".

 

 

Of Course I was not able to cover every little Detail in this post. I had to lern About electronics myself and I even had to learn how to solder, because I never did this before. All in all, this Project was a rewarding and educational experience.

 

If you have any Questions on any Detail, feel free to contact me!

 

Also, I am open to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism!

 

Fly safe!

[DW2020]

Very impressive piece of design and construction. Can I ask how many hours it took?

 

Sent from my SM-T515 using Tapatalk

[Rudel_chw]

Very impressive piece of design and construction. Can I ask how many hours it took?

 

Impressive indeed.. he said it took 6 months, I wonder about the total parts cost :)

[Orrn]

I cannot recall it 100% accurate, but i guess about 30h. Most time-intensive work was the soldering.

 

 

However, planning, reading into the Topic etc, took more than that :D

 

 

While aiming for a low pricetag, that did not succeed. The Overall cost were ca. 300 €

 

 

The most expensive parts were:

- CDU-Panel from pcflights 50€

- AAP-Panel from pcflights 27 €

- BBI-64 USB-Interface 46€

- BBI32 USB-Interface 29€

- LCD- Screen 27€

-Tactile Switches 14€

 

 

and of Course, lots of small bits and pieces!

Edited May 25, 2020 by Orrn

[Rudel_chw]

Thanks a lot for these additional details, still I can't help but envy your do-it-yourself skills.

:thumbup:

[Deadman]

Great job and a very well documented! Thanks for posting your work!!

[longuich]

Did you make or buy the button caps ?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

incredible job!!

[Orrn]

Did you make or buy the button caps ?

 

I bought the caps from the electronic supplier reichelt.

 

 

To all who reacted: thanks so much for your appreciation!

 

Before I started this projekt my "crafting" skills were actually not very good.

 

I did not know how to solder or how to wire Electric circuitry.

 

It was an interesting learning process! I can only encourage everyone to learn Things like that, It is very rewarding.

[Warthog4569]

I am an electrical engineer, but this stuff is very impressive to pull off for not knowing anything prior to this project. I am in the process of building a full cockpit myself. GREAT WORK!!

[sharkfin61]

Breathtaking!

Made this my shining example, I just hope, I'm not too old to learn electronics and soldering the right way.

[andy_j_white]

Hi there! This sounds amazing... I've been wanting to make an AAP and CDU for my setup for a while. 

 

I would love to replicate this but I can't see the pictures - the links are broken

 

Can you please point me to them?! 

[KLUTCH]

your photos are now dead links, please could you reupload if you get the chance?