Oct 02
I recently taught myself how to use Autodesk Eagle in order to create custom panel electronics with a much more professional look and to keep things working. It’s taken me about a year on and off to learn it, but having recently made my first few successful PCBs, I’m really happy I invested the time …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/10/02/pcb-design/
Jun 13
I actually finished this a few weeks ago, but I keep tidying up wires and stuff when I can. In the past few months, I finished rewiring the Garmin 530s, transponder and audio panel from Customsims. The board they sent was absolute garbage. I also completed the landing gear switch with LEDs, got all the …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/06/13/finally-finished/
May 08
I finally gave up trying to work with the poorly designed board from Custom Sims and connected each of components (2 GNS 530s, 1 audio panel, 1 transponder, 1 autopilot) into 3 Arduino Megas directly. I spent the weekend connecting jumper wires one by one, and got everything working better than ever. All of the …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/05/08/almost-finished/
Mar 05
After multiple versions, I finally managed to adapt a 3D printed stick extension, wiring and mount. The Hotas flight stick is so smooth and accurate with seemingly infinite resolution, it just feels like the real thing. On my first test flight, I greased the landing at 35 FPM, which is much smoother than my normal …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/03/05/new-control-stick/
Mar 05
This tutorial series is meant to teach some basics and more advanced features of using ArdsimX. I won’t waste your time going through setup and installation, as it’s all located on the SimVim site. It’s very simple and the SimVim site is full of great info. After many emails back and forth with Vlad and …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/03/05/ardsimx-tips-and-datarefs/
Feb 03
Working on creating a few custom panels lately. The goal is to create a transponder and autopilot, using the Glowforge for front panels and and Arduino Uno or Mega with ArdsimX to interface with X-Plane. Still need to figure out how to create a good button panel circuit board, that’s next on my list. I …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/02/03/transponder-lcd-programming/
Jan 01
In real-world flight training, it’s easy to get overloaded. It’s easy to get distracted by cockpit electronics and the Garmin 430/530 can be challenging if you aren’t familiar with it. Although I read instructions for it and watched many Youtube videos about them, I had limited hands-on experience as my time in the aircraft is …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/01/01/garmin/
Jan 01
I’ve taken the last couple days of down-time to study up on using the wonderful app, Fritzing, to help me design custom interface circuit boards for better back panel connections. Although the front of the sim looks pretty great right now, the back is a spaghetti mess of wires and dodgy soldered connections. Here’s a …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2018/01/01/spaghetti-wiring-problems/
Dec 09
While training in the Diamond DA-20, I’ve become very accustomed to using the control stick over a yoke. Since I built my home sim, I have been using a Saitek AV8R joystick rigged to the seat to act as the control stick, but it’s a very weak representation of the real thing. At the I/ITSEC …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2017/12/09/hotas-warthog-control-stick/
Nov 21
Many people ask what tools I use to create my cockpit panels. Here is my most used tool to get the job done. X-Carve 1000mm X 1000mm CNC: I’ve been using the X-Carve since it was first released as the Shapeoko. I absolutely love this tool. Since I primarily only cut wood on it, I …
Permanent link to this article: https://m1sims.com/2017/11/21/toolset-part-2-x-carve/