Custom Controller Parts

[Wonderstruck]

Hey guys!

I am interested in building a custom controller for KSP. I have a few quick questions on where to get hardware for the project. I plan on using keyboard emulation for input and an arduino for output. I will use Zitrogen's plug in for output. So my questions are: 1) What is a good and cheap source of SPST toggle switches? I am a high school student so I have a limited budget. 2) Ok so here is a stupid one probably: What are the vertical type gauges called and were can I find them? Ones similar to the ones on the Space Shuttle flight deck:

Thanks for reading. I will probably be back with more questions in the near future

[X-SR71]

I can totally imagine Jeb going ballistic with that panel!

[Liowen]

Well the toggle switches could most likely be found on ebay or any site that sells electronic bits, most likely bulk will be the cheapest way to go. As for the gauges I am not sure what they are, but they look similar to the old HI-FI gain read outs (I believe they are nearly the same thing), and those most likely read pitch, angle, and other things like that. Even though there are electronic readouts they are a redundancy in case of a blackout.

[stibbons]

Best I've seen for that style of meter is analogue edge meters. Get a voltmeter that measures to 5V to make sure it's easy to drive with an Arduino. But they don't seem to be especially cheap.

[Freshmeat]

Look for bargains on ebay. My budget was around $100, but that was buying in danish (very expensive) eshops. However, I will have to gut mine due to going cheap in the electronics. So I guess above figure is in the ballpark. As for the specific meters, I have not seen them. Good luck and remeber to share your progress.

[Wonderstruck]

Thanks. Are Chinese toggles worthy? or will they just die on me after like a day?

Also, my master plan is a full enclosed KSP cockpit (this will take a long time.) For now, I will build panel by panel.

What building material would be appropriate? I want them to look and feel like something out of an 1960's spacecraft. Basically I want to capture and reflect the spirit of the Apollo program in my work.

Thanks,

Wonderstruck

[skyfire322]

Looks like the vertical gauges are for fuel (sorry for the large image)

[sal_vager]

Starting to see quite a few of these threads now, and GD shouldn't turn into the hardware forum.

I've been thinking where these should go and no where suits, what we really need is a place for fan made hardware.

So that's what I made, and your thread will be the first to have that tag Wonderstruck, congrats and good luck with your build

[MrOnak]

Thanks. Are Chinese toggles worthy? or will they just die on me after like a day?

Practically every off-the-shelf electronic part you buy anywhere on this planet is manufactured in China. Personally I buy whatever electronic part is much cheaper from China than it is here on ebay and from a Chinese vendor with free shipping, wait 4 weeks and continue happily. Usually I end up ordering a spare piece or five and still spend less money (compared to buying locally) but I never had a dysfunct piece sent to me yet.

The question pro or con China is not quality, it is whether you're willing to wait for customs to clear your order and pick up one from the customs office every now and then. For me, the money saved is worth it since I'm not in a hurry to get anything done. It's worth to note though that not everything will be a lot cheaper from China than locally, so it's worth checking.

What building material would be appropriate? I want them to look and feel like something out of an 1960's spacecraft. Basically I want to capture and reflect the spirit of the Apollo program in my work.

Personally I'll use wood for the structural part, a single aluminium sheet for the top side and matte grey paint for every thing else. Wood is incredible easy to work with, of course doesn't conduct electricity (which makes mounting the electronics trivial) and is structurally sound from 5mm upward.

[richfiles]

Those meters, as in just like what's on the NASA hardware, specifically are not typically common. I've never seen ones identical to the fuel meters in the Apollo/Shuttle.

What comes INCREDIBLY close, are a number of edgewise panel meters, particularly the ones manufactured primarily for industrial and power generation applications. First, for those with less available budget, and possibly not as much space to spare in their control panels, the GE/Yokogawa 185 Edgewise panel meters are a great choice. Yeah, stick with the 185 if you are on a budget. They are smaller, but still bigger than most cheap chinese made edgewise meters. These measure in at approximately 3 inches (7.35 cm) tall. I see them on ebay all the time, and you can find them for $10 to around $25 USD. Just be patient and wait for the right ones to pop up for sale. Ideally, you want 0-5 volt DC. 5-0-5 is also doable, but you need a dual supply driver, or a driver with a voltage divider derived ground to control them. If you end up finding a deal though, say, like 0-10 volt DC meters, you can just use the PWM outputs to drive a single transistor/MOSFET driver to boost the voltage.

If you want TRULY epic meters... Go with the GE/Yokogawa 180 Edgewise panel meters.

I have four of the 180 meters... They are BEAUTIFUL! 6 inches (14.7 cm) tall! You can remove the screws in the back, and the whole outer shell slides off, so you can replace the scale and label panels also! Sadly, the prices on these are ridonkulous. I settled with 20 mA DC meters. It'll take a little extra hardware, but basically, I'll build a voltage controlled current source (x4) to power them. I got these meters for a STEAL. The guy didn't know what he had, and had a "Make an Offer" button on ebay... He was selling 2 pair... I offered $11 a pair, for both pairs... and he accepted!

That is WORTH building voltage controlled current sources for! :0.0: <--stereo amazement... cause you know... got the pair of pairs!

And if you want to go WILD... Go with International Instruments 1251 Dual Edgewise panel meters... They are rare as can be!

I'm aware they are upside-down, but the three on the right... Those are the 1251s. The two on the left are 1151s.

The pics below... I'm negotiating for some of those meters. First time ebayer... Very... frustrating. They don't get how it works, and I'm just being patient, cause I KNOW I will never get a better deal in my life for these 1251 meters. I'm trying to get 3 of them, but the person who handled the auction is now out on business, and all communications have been through him, away from his office, back to their company... Fun.

Totally worth it!

Ah, found a nicer picture of them: The 1151 and the 1251. Both are the same size as the GE 180 meters.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh! Remember!

You can replace the legends (the label plates).

Just print up ones that look like the Apollo/Shuttle ones (with the white on black scales), and you'll be rocking the retro(grade) look in no time!

- - - Updated - - -

Oh! Another trick you can do... If All you can snag are the 185 meters, the little ones, you can technically flip one upsidedown and butt it next to another one. If you redo them with white on black labels, like in the NASA hardware, then the labels may slightly mask the seam, and you can "fake" dual edgewise meters, like the ones in the photo. They'll turn out a tad bit wide, but keep an eye out on ebay, you sometimes find slim versions. Two slim version butted together would be almost the perfect size to mimic the NASA ones!

Also, if the tiny, anemic needle style indicator of the 185 doesn't float your boat, cut out a triangle of paper (colored to your liking), and glue it to the needle. As long as it's light weight, the needle will still move. Be aware that if you peg the meters, you could damage your paper arrow. If the meters have adjustable stops, make sure they are adjusted so they don't let the paper get slammed into the ends of the meter movement's travel.

As for driving them, you have to be a teensy bit creative. On the arduino, you have to essentially invert the PWM output for the flipped meter. 100% output for nada, and 0% output for maximum scale.

That's the cheapest way to do dual edgewise meters... Unless you stumble upon an ebay noob and get epic lucky!

Edited July 25, 2015 by richfiles

[richfiles]

If you do find an acceptable edgewise meter, this is a detailed photo of one of the NASA models. If you print new scales, this is basically what to model them on.