Home made Gauges for FS or P3D
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- This is a brief presentation of some gauges I've made for a BeechCraft KingAir home cockpit. They are based on Arduino boards and are interfaced using OACSP library. Many improvements can still be made of course.
Sorry for my English, it's not my native language ... Feel free to contact me if you think I need to change some subtitles ... - Наука та технологія
Very well done but PROP AMP on king air is used to indicate Prop anti ice amp absorption
Hello Luca, thank you very much for the information. I have no knowledge in the King Air systems and when I made these gauges, I only had a look at the FSUIPC offsets to see which one could match with these instruments and assumed "AMPS" was for "amperes", I should have investigate further ! Thanks for your clarification.
Very nice! Great craftsmanship!
Love how professional these look inside and out. Love the fact they aren't glued together like other ones I've seen. I live by the rule of, I'm building it I need to make repairs! This is a perfect example of the tech building like an engineer. Things turn out a ton better when the techs of the world build something because it seems like it is a ton easier to repair and maintain later. Very well done mate!
Thanks for your comment and for the one on the other video. You're right, I don't like glue, I appreciate when things can be assembled and disassembled. I'm reassured when I'm able to easily understand and repair mechanisms, that's why I'm developing these gauges that way. Thank you one more time, all the best, take care.
Excellent work - has given me some ideas for other applications......
Cheers, John
Fantastic job! Congrats!
Simply brilliant!
Congrats!!! That's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G :) I'll try to recreate some of those for different AC :) A-M-A-Z-I-N-G :) Thanks for sharing the IDEA :) I'm really impressed :) It kills the VRI panels. I'm getting to work on it :)
Beautiful work! Awesome.
Thanks Thomas, happy to know the video is appreciated :-)
Excellent work, a great inspiration.
Thanks Thomas for your comment, happy to know my video is still appreciated :-)
perfect work...in all of details....i would like some day, make these like you, congrats
Thanks a lot, if you need any help in the future feel free to contact me. I'm not a professional, just an FS enthousiast but no problem to exchange some ideas !
Looking at your videos, it seems that you're manufacturing better gauges than mine ! Beautiful work, really impressive. You seem to use X27 motors which are much more efficient than 28BYJ ones. I bought some of them, but unfortunately my first experiments were quite disappointing. I'll need to test with the Easydriver you're using. This said, congratulations for your work, I'd like to do the same.
Congratulations Frederic! Well done.
Thank you :-) You said in another comment you were used to program in C# and work with simconnect, I tried many times but I don't understand anything ! I've seen some tutorials but they seem to be for already experienced users. If you know a very simple tutorial (just showing how to read and write a P3D value using simconnect) please let me know. I'm really far from being a professional developper and I need basic step by step instructions to understand from the beginning. This said, I'm happy to know you appreciate my work, thanks a lot !
Hi Frederick!
Yes Sir, I used to combine Simconnect with FSUIPC, to cover more memory addresses.
I'll be glad of helping you, but the only reference I have is the SimConnect SDK Reference.
Let me know where can I send you a portion of programming with Simconnect, with a brief explanation.
Amazing work my collegue !
Thank you Milan :-)
well done impressive.👏👏
Nice work!!!!
Thank you very much. This is really good!
Thank you for your comment, really appreciated !
Really amazing. Your should produce these and sell them.
Thanks for your message. To be honest, I've already considered creating some gauges kits ready to assemble and sell them because it's not difficult to produce and it should be very cheap. Unfortunately, I'm not a professional programmer and I'm unable to deliver a real user friendly soft ... Perhaps in the future if I learn a programming language, but at this time it's not a priority for me.
There is plenty of software for Arduino out there. I'd love to buy some kits for a reasonable price without any software at all.
I agree I would buy kits for these without any software, I am a developer and can code that, but can’t easily make the components!
James do you mind helping me out on a software project I'm making something similar to this but rather for a train simulator
Hi everybody :-)
First thanks to all of you for your comments and your mails. Since that video, I've been asked many times for a tutorial, especially on how to interface P3D with Arduino. As I can't share my whole cockpit code, I've decided to make a new video with a very simple example for a flaps gauge. I think everybody will be able to follow these basic steps to experiment himself wiring and programming.
The link : ua-cam.com/video/WNm6UHQKQuI/v-deo.html
Arduino sketches, libraries and components references are in description.
Hope it will be instructive enough, thanks one more time !
Best regards,
Frederic
Great job. Only one point which I would like to do otherwise is cutting black gauge part also with laser state 3d printing.
Aircraft-grade craftmanship!
Thank you, thank you !
Amazing Amazing Amazing!
they are seriously bieautiful :P clean
Thank you. It let me think that this is the way to start my own project. I have someone with a lasercutter, someone with more experiance with ardiuno and my own skins of cours ;-). I was searching how to make the gauches work on a sim. Try to make a Spitfire MK IX cockpit layout. This is nice to begin ...... many many thanks again.
Thanks for you comment. Soon a new video with a more efficient gauge (based on a Switec X27 stepper), it will probably give you another possible approach of the making part. Good luck for your Spit, very nice project :-)
Awesome work! Could you give some more detailed information about the creation of the foils? I'm about to create a Simpit for DCS
Thanks for your comment. Feel free to contact me via the form on my site : laap.atc.free.fr/contact-en.php
I'll reply with a real mail and it will be easier to share ideas or pictures.
Hope to read you soon.
It is awesome! Have you ever considered to use MobiFlight for driving the gauges and displays? Maybe you want to give it a try!
Yes, I had some tests with MF when starting to learn Arduinos, but finally I decided to program all by myself. This said, thanks to MF team, my first success with an Arduino card was with your soft :-) !
This is awesome. How does the hall sensor know which side of it the magnet is on? Or is it just using the hall sensor and magnet as an initial zero reference?
Hi, you"re right, I can't know if the magnet is on the left or on the right. My needles are small enough to make a complete turn in the gauge, in case of wrong direction when initializing.
The hall sensor is nearly at the mid-range of the graduation. Assuming you're leaving your aircraft "cold and dark", needles should point the zero of each gauge. So, initialization turns needles to the right until magnet is detected.
A better way would be to make a specific holder for each gauge, with magnet pointing sensor just after the end of the graduation.
Finally, I'm actually testing X27 motors (used in automotive) which don't require any calibration : they have end-course inside, my final version will probably be done with them.
Very good job man. I envy you.
Thanks for your comment :-) but don't envy what I've done : I saw your video and you've been able to interface a MCP, the most difficult part. You've found how to manage leds, switches, encoders, displays ... the most difficult is done ! You're doing exactly what I do. Good luck for your home cockpit :-)
@@Frederic_320 Thank you. I can do just functionality while you also do design and beauty. You can do everything that you want to do for sure. Good luck and enjoy.
Great...
Hi could u do a more basic tutorial on how do make flight sim instruments. I really want to make some however I am a bit stuck as to how to get the instrument to communicate with the simulator and how to make it
Is it possible to do something like this with say an altimeter or even gauges like those for the DC3 in FSX?
Every needle based gauge can be done easily, just some shapes and sizes have to be modified. I found dual steppers (with concentric shafts) which can be used for an altimeter for example. But I'm not competent enough to develop an attitude indicator or gauges with moving parts (altimeter with adjustable QNH, VOR with adjustable heading ...). I think these gauges would require some very small and precise parts I can't realize by myself. Mechanical parts and small mechanisms are always a problem for me.
Awesome project. Most homemade gauges I've seen were very laggy and didn't move very well. However, it seems yours run very smoothly.
Hello, thanks for your comment ! These old gauges were made with a very cheap stepper motor. You're right, it was running smoothly but cannot turn very fast. It's OK for such instruments (temp, press ...) but couldn't be used for instruments which require fast moves such a vertical speed indicator or a RPM gauge. But many improvements were made since I created these gauges. I designed new models (see my other videos) which are much more efficient. Last thing, stay tuned, I'm about to upload a new video of a dual needle gauge prototype which runs fast and smoothly ! Hope you'll enjoy :-)
Best regards,
Frederic
Good stuf! Where did You get the magnet holder and magnet and what types? Thanks Ahead
Hi, the magnet holder is designed by myself then 3D printed. Magnet is a 5x2mm neodyme, easy to find on eBay for example.
Hello, You have a magnetic holder used on the stepper motor. Where can you buy something like that?
I look forward to your reply.
Best greetings from Germany
Hello, the magnet holder is drawn by myself using a 3D editor, then 3D printed. If you know anybody who owns a 3D printer, I can send you my STL file. If you don't, feel free to contact me using my form here : laap.atc.free.fr/contact-en.html I'll reply with my real mail.
Frederic, these are absolutely beautiful. Truly great work. How did you etch the circuit boards? I searched the comments and didn't see where that question had been asked.
Thank you Rick for your comment. I've a "pretty personnal way" to etch my boards, here is a copy / paste from another comment :
The PCB is not really etched with the laser. I first cover the copper plate with a paint spray, then engrave the painted layer with the laser. Finally I use iron perchlorate exactly as if PCB had been insulated. I'm proceeding this way because I bought some years ago a stock of non pre-sensitized circuit boards, approx. 10m² ... It's the easiest method I found to realize precise PCBs using my cheap plates.
Feel free to contact me if you want more details, but I'm really not a professional ...
Awesome video !!! It is the only instructable I have found on youtube and I have search extensively. Would you please share the arduino sketch?
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately I don't share my sketches which are related with other parts of home cockpit (and sometimes with Sioc too), but if you need help you can contact me. I'm using OACSP library to make FS (or P3D) and arduino's communicate together. I also use Wire library (I2C communication), Time and SevenSegmentTM1637 libraries (for chrono) and AccelStepper lib for spindles. Hope this will help !
You should have added a surprise for your friend ;-)
=>
put a microphone into some of the gauges, , make em stall and you have to tap/flick em to make them work again :-)
Impressive! May I ask, those printed gauges, they were printed on an ink jet printer?
Beautiful work. Consider part x27-168 for your next build. A purpose built stepper for dial gauges.
Thanks for your advise, I bought some of them but I didn't took time to test. My first experiments (with basic steppers drivers) are not very good, perhaps I need a specific driver for these motors ...
This man seems to make them work : ua-cam.com/video/Og5OlYPBVso/v-deo.html
He leaved a comment below, and I'll have to try with the same Easydriver ... when I'll have some time !
There seem to be Arduino drivers available for these steppers. A quick google search showed a few.
Yes, you're right, but they are quite expensive, I don't want to spend $20 or more before being sure I'll make it work.
I'm not a professional and I've no particular knowledge in electronics, so I always use cheap components ... considering some of them will burn in my hands ;-)
Not sure what expensive is to you but they are around $3/each when bought in lots of 6 or more on amazon and ebay.
Official drivers are much more expensive, but I agree with you, I found drivers around that price on AliExpress and I'll try them soon. I'm sure the x27 stepper is the best one for gauges usage but I discovered it only some months ago and wanted to test them first with drivers I already owned, but that didn't match. This said, thanks for your pertinent comment.
Very nice looking gauges. I am interested in making some. Can you provide information on how to make these gauges?
Hello,
What information do you need ? If it can help, you can download STL and DXF files here : laap.atc.free.fr/download/YT_STL_Gauge_files.rar
This is really nice work, will this tech be adaptable to the datarefs from X-Plane 11? And have you discovered and or tried XP ?
Thanks for your comment. I tried XP many years ago but I've not been very satisfied with it. So went back to FS. I've no idea if it's possible to interface XP with hardware, what I can say is I only use FSUIPC standard offsets (does XPUIPC have a list of available offsets too ?) and its ability to run lua plugins. So, if XPUIPC can run lua plugins and has offsets for gauges values, I don't see any problem for my gauges to work on XP. But there is probably other ways to proceed in XP, I don't have any knowledge on that soft.
You should have a look at XP 11 as it has made leaps and bounds since FS and P3D. I have enclosed 2 links to show what it looks like now.
I am also experimenting with FFeedback controllers for use with XP11 and beyond.
Robert Phelps
ua-cam.com/video/yaKNlvOTvrU/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/aQ8mqxnGc4U/v-deo.html
jagjet Interfacing with X-Plane's datarefs is very achievable with Arduino - much nicer than FSUIPC offsets too :)
Thanks for your input and response, X Plane is and has been a much better way forward. I understand that many of the MSFS and P3D users have a lot invested and are not as likely to make the switch to X Plane. As a 30 year Corporate Jet Captain I have seen the clouds and the snow and well of it, where it counts......and my observation is that you can spend more money but for the entry price you can not find a more realistic platform. I still every 6 months in the 6 axis torture box and they aren't cheap either so, make your best impartial guess and put your money down.
Wow, these are amazing! your elegant design and construction are fantastic. I have to ask though, you show your plastic pieces and a circuit board on what looks like a laser honeycomb. Was your circuit board also etched on that laser? Thanks for sharing this great video! I hope your having a lot of fun flying!
Thank you Paul. The PCB is not really etched with the laser. I first cover the copper plate with a paint spray, then engrave the painted layer with the laser. Finally I use iron perchlorate exactly as if PCB had been insulated. I'm proceeding this way because I bought some years ago a stock of non pre-sensitized circuit boards, approx. 10m² ... It's the easiest method I found to realize precise PCBs using my cheap plates.
That is a great way to create the etching mask. I look forward to giving this method a shot! Thanks again for sharing!
Hi, your contact form page doesnt work unfortunately 404 error ;) Great project but had some questions. Which soft do you use for 3D design? Thanks
Thanks for your comment. Just sent you a private message with my mail. Hope to read you soon !
Tiny cad is very popular for 3d-printing
Great Job and really like to watch this many times and I wish I would made one.. would you tell me what 3D design Software that you use? its really nice if I can simulate the movement of the needle like that.. thanks in advance
Hi Reza, thanks for your comment. I was using SolidWorks because I had an access to that soft with my previous job, but it's a very expensive software and I can't buy it for a personal use. So I'm now using Fusion 360. This said, the 3D animations in my videos were made with SW, I don't have enough knowledge for now in Fusion to do the same.
Amazing ! What's the laser cutting machine you have ? You mention that you bought on ebay but can you state a model name ? I couldn't see anything on the video apart from the control screen & panel
My laser machine has no specific reference, it's a generic model. Specs are 50W CO2 Laser with 50x30cm working area.
I can"t find it on eBay anymore, but it is very similar to this one :
shenhuilaser.en.ec21.com/offer_detail/Sell_RF_5030_CO2_50W--6425183.html
Ok I see what kind of machine it is. Thanks !
Good day to you Frederic I hope all is well with you and yours. Can you tell me please what laser cutter you are using to cut the panels with? I have already ordered myself a Creality Ender-2 3D Printer which will more than satisfy my needs but not sure about the laser cutter or CNC machine. All the best and thanks for sharing your project with us.
Cheers
Jim
Hi Jim, I'm using a cheap Chinese CO2 laser sold on eBay (50W, work area 50x30). I don't own a CNC and I can't compare, but I can imagine engraving would be better with a CNC. Laser makes engraved parts a little dark and they are not perfectly visible without backlight. This said, in that video, panels are printed on paper + transparent film, no relation with laser which is only used to cut Plexiglas. Perhaps you saw some of my A320 videos with backlighted panels, these ones are effectively engraved with the laser. Feel free to contact me if needed.
Best regards,
Frederic
Many thanks Frederic - I appreciate the information. I hate to ask but would you be able to share the 3D file for the parts you printed for the magnet holder? All the best and I look forward to seeing more of this project in the future. Cheers.
Jim
No problem Jim, just send me a private message with your mail and I'll send you the ST filesL
...and done - thanks again Frederic
Cheers
Jim
I have no idea how to send a private message but I too would really like to use your stl file to get my magnet holders printed. Your tutorials are clear and I am going to finally try to make the gauges I want. I already have these stepper motors as well as X27's
Hi Andrew,
You can download STL files here : laap.atc.free.fr/download/YT_STL_Gauge_files.rar
Hope this will help :-)
Good luck for your gauges ! (X27 is a better choice for gauges who don't need 360° rotation and they work fine without driver)
I liked this first music. Could you please say the name of this music?
Music is from Nicolai Heidlas, titles are at the end of my video.
Thanks
Great Job! This video should help many simbuilders build great working gauges. How can we contact you via email with questions?
Hi Steve, thanks for your comments. You can contact me using the contact form of my site : laap.atc.free.fr/contact-en.html
I'll reply with my real mail.
How did you get the printed pattern to be glossy? It looks like you printed them on paper and then glued them to the PMMA. Did you put some kind of lacquer on it afterword?
The pattern is printed 2 times :
1/ with colors on a standard 80g white paper sheet
2/ black and white / mirrored on a transparency film
Both sheets are glued together (with a glue spray), opacity is then increased and the transparency film makes the result glossy. The ink (trapped between both sheets) is also protected.
Could you tell me how you connected your device and P3D? I want to know how I sent the information from P3D to the device and connected it. If you can not share the program you have developed, please share where you need to import the edon values provided by P3D. I watched the video well!
Hello, I think all information you are looking for are in my second video : ua-cam.com/video/WNm6UHQKQuI/v-deo.html
First part concerns electronics, then programming (with FSUIPC offsets) and at the end I show what is needed to make Arduino and P3D communicate.
If any questions remains after that video, feel free to ask.
These are cool however current draw from nav lights etc will not show up on your prop amps indicator. Thats what the volt/loadmeter overhead is for.🖒
Thank you very much for this information. I've no knowledge in B200 avionics, I just did these gauges for a friend and didn't searched for their real behavior. I'll change my code to match a little more with the real life !
Really good and professional job! I really want to know the type of glass that you use in the front area just before the last layer (at 6:29)?
Hello Nikos, Thank you for your comment. The glass is made with a clear PMMA sheet (3mm). It's easy to find and it's manufactured by many brands : Plexiglas, Perspex ... It's a perfect material for laser cutting or CNC machining. I'm buying it on Amazon as many resellers are located in Germany, but I also have some resellers in my country (France). Depending which color and thickness I need, I can find it locally or sometimes in other countries. If you're using a laser machine, make sure the raw material is "PMMA" : the clear acrylic sheets we're finding here in our local physical stores are not PMMA but another material which cannot be cut by the laser, it burns and sometimes ignites ...
@@Frederic_320 thank you very much! and so you can order it black and with the laser you can engrave-paint it?
@@nikosgeorgakis6759 Right. If you engrave black PMMA with a protective adhesive, it's possible to apply white paint or an UV solder mask to fill engraved parts only. But I prefer to start with a white diffusing PMMA plate, then paint it with a black spray and engrave. That way it can be backlit, not possible with black PMMA.
@@Frederic_320 You Rock thank you!!!!
Hi, really great work, would like to know if you made them for sell
Thanks for your comment :-) No it's not for sale, I've created these gauges for one of my friends They couldn't be sold because they have to be programmed especially for the home cockpit where they will be mounted. They are very far from a PnP module, I'm really not a professional programmer at all ...
Wow your amazing.. how can I order some gauges I want to build another flight simulator and I’m interested in your work
Thanks Nemo for your comment. You can contact me directly by mail, I'll give you more information.
Awesome job! Would you be willing to share your sketches and code for us fellow enthusiasts?
No, I can't share the sketches because they are related with my own sioc script and my home cockpit. But if you have any question about programming, feel free to contact me using this form : laap.atc.free.fr/contact-en.html
I'll reply with my real mail.
Try simvim it's hassle free ua-cam.com/video/-ndIrXbre2U/v-deo.html
Long time ago now. As a real pilot. I don't understand how you can go to all this effort and detail and not put the moulded black bezels around the guages like they are in all aircraft.
have anybodybuild arduino and tft display gauges, because have wery cheap build and need only make code. 3-4" tft dispaly shot good gauge, same thn new garmin gauges have.
Where did you learn eletronics?
Wait how do u interface fs and those gauges?
If you are an electronics technician, your question is probably ironic :-) I've no particular knowledge, I learned with Arduino's tutorials and Google was my teacher. My schematics are certainly not very "academic", they just do the job ... Gauges are interfaced with Fs using OACSP library (Open Airbus Cockpit Serial Protocol), which makes Arduino cards able to read and write FSUIPC offsets in real time. Other cockpit builders are using Arduino's without OACSP library, for example here (sorry, in French) : simua320.jimdo.com/logiciels/ (section Overhead softwares).
These gauges are interfaced using OACSP library for Arduino (Open Airbus Cockpit Serial Protocol). Each arduino card contains its own code, but I think it's also possible to interface them using more user friendly GUIs like Mobiflight for example.
Hi, u should make a kit and sell it on ebay. :)
The hands are too dark. But otherwise very nice! :-)
Thanks Gerhard for your comment, you're totally right, that's the main problem of placing leds backwards. I tried different materials including clear PMMA (light transmissive ?...) without success. Actually I have no other solution than the main MIP lightning for dark hands.
@@Frederic_320 Hmm … is it possible to place LEDs left and right to the hand? Or perhaps integrate a micro LED (SMD) into the hand itself and use thin wire from a transformer?
No los vendes
If it's a question, no, I can't sell that kind of gauges which are very far from PnP and ready to use hardware. As you can see, my pcbs are not very professional, my wiring isn't optimized, 3D printed parts are not perfect ... I'm sure end users are expecting much higher quality. But I'm still looking to improve them and try to make a generic model which could be included in different aircrafts.
Gread job! You inspired me to do similar project using those cheap stepper motors. Before i wanted to use servo. But this is better solution... Here is my first attempt: ua-cam.com/video/wM7fjNgfmNg/v-deo.html cheers (3d printed)
That's all well and fine if I had a $5,000.00 3d printer. Take that Home Made out of the title. I hand make all my stuff out of plastic and a drill press converted to a milling machine. That's homemade.
I don't have a $5000 3D printer too, mine was bought on Kickstarter for approx $1000 and my laser is a cheap Chinese one sold on eBay. I'm not a professional manufacturer, a technician or an engineer, I didn't asked anybody to create parts for me, everything has been made in my living room by myself so I think it's really "home made" even if (I agree) everybody doesn't have a CO2 laser and a 3D printer at home. Please don't confuse home made with hand made. This said, you can do exactly the same with a drill and a saw, even the magnet holders and the spindles can be realized without a 3D printer, just require some imagination. Now, it should be nice to make a video explaining how you realized your milling machine (I don't own a milling machine and I'd be interested) instead of leaving such useless comments to those who spent time to share their personal experiments.
We call those people "Trolls"
On a happier note, Nice work on the gauges, very easy to follow along and very impressive work as well. Thanks for sharing.
Frederick, Thank you very much for your videos!! Don’t worry about the idiots!!!
You can get a decent 3d printer for under $500 these days.
Don Cornwall $5000 3D printer? What shall you print with it, human kidneys?! 😂