KSP custom control panel project. codename: KONPAN

[mr. engino]

Arduinos are amazing; there is so much you can do with them! Evidently, one of the things you can do is make a customized control panel for your favorite pseudo-realistic space simulation game! And now begins the process of making an idea into reality; my very own space age control panel which will make using my keyboard utterly pointless! This project, and also the control panel itself, will be called the Kerbal cONtrol PANel, or KONPAN, for short. Until it is finished, or I tire of trying to, I will be posting pictures of my progress on this epic project of epic proportions! To start it off, here is a picture of the "pre-pre-alpha prototype" I built just yesterday: image here

UPDATE 1: new image of the pre-alpha prototype; now labeled!

UPDATE 2: Finally out of pre-alpha and now into the alpha development stage!

Edited March 27, 2018 by mr. engino

[hugopeeters]

Cool!

Your image fails to load though...

[Freshmeat]

Good luck on your endeavor, if you want to get rid of your keyboard entirely you will need a Due or Leonardo for the USB keyboard, or hack up an old keyboard for the IC. Check around, other people have made very impressive work using either KSPSerialIO, KrPC, or Kerbal Simpit. Feel free to ask around, people where amazingly helpful when I made my build.

[mr. engino]

On 1/2/2018 at 10:34 AM, Freshmeat said:

Good luck on your endeavor, if you want to get rid of your keyboard entirely you will need a Due or Leonardo for the USB keyboard, or hack up an old keyboard for the IC. Check around, other people have made very impressive work using either KSPSerialIO, KrPC, or Kerbal Simpit. Feel free to ask around, people where amazingly helpful when I made my build.

That is good advice. It's a good thing I found my arduino micro; it has the same usb functionality as the leonardo, but with fewer pins and smaller ram. For now, I'm using the arduino joystick library, as it's simple to setup and use. Sadly, that means I won't be able to add a display to my control panel, but I can change that in the future once my familiarity with the arduino rises.

[hugopeeters]

Hey, now we have a working image. Great work, the first step has been taken! (a small step for man...)

Note that you can always switch from using the arduino as a joystick to using KSPSerialIO or another method. All your inputs still need to be connected to the arduino in the same way.

Good luck with your build. If you have any questions, just ask.

[Pvt. KASA]

Nice!

Are you German?

[hugopeeters]

Just now, Pvt. KASA said:

Are you German?

Dutch!

[Pvt. KASA]

Just now, hugopeeters said:

Dutch!

Close enough 

[hugopeeters]

Well.... sure neighbour 

[mr. engino]

1 hour ago, Pvt. KASA said:

Nice!

Are you German?

American here.

[hugopeeters]

So @mr. engino, tell us more about your plans for the KONPAN!

I have almost completed the physical building part of my controller and am now working on the final bugs and features in the code. Time to get more inspiration for an expansion module!

[mr. engino]

2 hours ago, hugopeeters said:

So @mr. engino, tell us more about your plans for the KONPAN!

I have almost completed the physical building part of my controller and am now working on the final bugs and features in the code. Time to get more inspiration for an expansion module!

Plans?  I don't have any plans, I improvise. My control panel will have several innovative mechanisms for different issues though. Since I found a brick and mortar electronics store near me, I now have another image of my progress; I have now gotten past the pre-pre-alpha stage, and now I'm in the pre-alpha stage! Here is an image of the control panel in its most recent incarnation, enclosure courtesy of Bargain Rocket Parts Inc. Image here. (the red button is abort, the black one is launch/staging, and the switch is my so-called "autodrive" switch; for when you want to be able to drive anywhere without ruining the w key on your keyboard.) 

[mr. engino]

Here it is! KONPAN mk II: bigger, better, moar buttons switches! (At this rate, if I add any more things, I might need to consider getting a better arduino!)

Edited March 27, 2018 by mr. engino

[Freshmeat]

Congratulations on getting a working prototype. I like your approach of doing things a little along the way. The micro can handle your needs for a long time, if you buy some shift in registers to handle the lack of pins. A lot cheaper than a new arduino, and that little fellow is quite capable.

[mr. engino]

On 3/28/2018 at 3:46 AM, Freshmeat said:

Congratulations on getting a working prototype. I like your approach of doing things a little along the way. The micro can handle your needs for a long time, if you buy some shift in registers to handle the lack of pins. A lot cheaper than a new arduino, and that little fellow is quite capable.

Thanks for the support! I do know about the arduino micros' capabilities, but I still want to get a bigger arduino; primarily because I don't really have a big breadboard, and the fact I want to use the micro for another project.