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 06/07/2008 I
had a brainwave (oh yes i did). I'm looking to accurately
control all the switches within the PMDG that I can. There
are several which posed a problem. The wipers, the pressurisation
Auto/Man/Alt, Panel Lights etc. These only have an Increase or
Decrease Position level of control. And on top of that, they
also have a distinct Position for each setting. So the easy way out
was to use an encoder to give you directional control, but how do you
know the switch is in the right place. In short you don't.
So i came up with this. Why not 'emulate' a 2 bit gray encoder
using a Rotary switch. Gives you both directional control and a
distinct 'Click Position'. Hooked up to the BU0836 card
which FSUIPC sees as a joystick button allows you to apply the PMDG
macro's which Pete Supplies with v3.81.
I've just got back in from the workshop with great news. It works a
dream :o))
Click on the image on the left for How I did it... reckon I earned a
beer !
03/07/2008 Top
marks today go to Nihad at Simknobs.
Just delivered me the Rudder Trim and the X-Feed Knobs. Beautiful.

Also
one of my pet hates was not being able to set the Speed Refs
Manually-Problem sorted with FSUIPC 'mousetrapping'.
Encoders send the pulse
in thru the BU0836, FSUIPC sees the stick button and then allows me to
assign my 'trapped' option. I'm also retrofitting the EFIS inputs as
well because it frees up keystrokes. I prefer FSUIPC to do the
work on it's own. Click on the Image for a copy of my 737
MIP.mcro file which contains the SPD REF and EFIS functions all mapped
out for you. Goes in your FS/Modules folder with FSUIPC (you need a
registered version 3.81 or higher for FS2004). Next time you run FS,
the SPD REF and EFIS functions will be available to you in the FSUIPC
BUTTONS or KEYSTROKE dropdown menu's as 737 MIP: followed by the
option. See also the item May 25th below and the MIP Page
01/07/2008 Busy
week really. Put in a second
Wideview computer to give me the left and right views in
addition to the left/forward and right/forward. Certainly adds to the
effect. Also lot of people asking me about the 6 packs. I'm
writing it up and will upload the information when it's all done, but
here's the circuit diagram to whet your appetite.
And thanks to the 'Geordie' Flight Crew: Ray Ewart, Sean Nixon
and Jason Carling who travelled all the way from Newcastle to
visit. A great bunch of guys who were fun, inquisitive and
didn't break anything.
 17/06/2008
Thanks lads, all items sold except
the David Clark headset. Ok over the last week or so i've got
hold of the Tiller Indicator plates (for both sides) from Marcus at LAUSITZ
AVIATION and managed to acquire these lightplates from Phil744.
I've had to build these into the sidewall because i haven't got round
to building the side shelf and oxy mask holders yet. NICE and
they backlight too :o))
 Work
on the new Overhead Circuitry continues. I'm almost there. Click
on the image (left) for a .pdf copy of the latest update. But
the good news this week is i've realised how I can drive the 6 pack
LED's based on the behaviour of the overhead
annunciators. Some of the sources are contained in the
latest update to the circuit diagram. Control of the overhead is
now 100% accurate because of the new FSUIPC, it just remains to get
the lighting right and then transfer that action to the 6 packs.
 I
am working on the final wiring diagram and also on an explanation of
the 6 pack wiring which will hopefully brighten up the experience, so
to speak.
Here's some shots of the stripboard i used with the switching diodes
and the six pack clusters. Everything is
working on the workbench so it's just a matter of fitting it on the
next upgrade in July. Finally Gert at Flyware
has allowed us to switch panels in the new v5.6 version of FSXpand
with a keystroke. So, i've attached a USBKeys card to the client
machine and made some rotary switches to send the keys which i will
also fit in the DU plates on the MIP.
28/05/08
SYMULATORY Overhead has been sold to
Norway, my thanks to Bobbo Kristoffersen for his lightning fast
payment. It's being shipped next week.
New Overhead Page is uploaded to reflect the recent changes that Peter
DOWSON has given us in FSUIPC and of course i've fitted the SimMotion
Overhead Panel in the Sim. Lots of new information and Photo's. And
i'm forever being asked exactly what switches to use so there's a
SWITCHMAP .pdf file to help you out.

23/05/08
I'm working on the new Overhead Page (everything takes time and it's
my hobby not my job) and have completed the new wiring diagram.
This is a much simpler and realistic method of distributing the power
and getting the annunciators to behave correctly. click on
the image (right) to download the .PDF file of the new
circuit. Any comments, suggestions and corrections
eagerly invited
21/05/08
After Pete Dowson's revolutionary discovery of 'Mousetrapping'
and the advent of FSUIPC v3.81. I've got round to fitting
the new SimMotion
overhead panel. I have also discovered a much simpler (and
realistic) way of distributing power to the overhead
systems. I am in the process of documenting it in a .pdf
file (but it all takes time which one of the most expensive
commodities in our house). And just to whet your appetite
here's my latest visitor, James HUNT, on the Gate at Alicante being
the first visitor to fly the new overhead.
18/05/08
I've been a busy lad. Although i was away a week,
since the last item, I have now removed the Symulatory Overhead Panel
and Installed the New one from SimMotion.
I cant tell you how happy i am with the quality and realism of this
overhead panel. Using Pete's Macros in FSUIPC
v3.81, i now have complete control over the overhead switching
without actually having to open it.
Now the added bonus is that Pete allows you to create your own macros
into the bargain based on your action with the mouse. It allows
you to 'trap' right clicks as well (i noticed an extension on the
mouse code here). So the first one i made was a right click on
the Hot Spot for Increasing the Mins on the EFIS. Now the Mins
are increased in stages of 10 feet instead of the 1 foot i had
previously (i had issues with K2M on this item and left it as it
was). So the encoder is connected to the BU0836 board
which FSUIPC sees as a Joystick Button press and the macro rightclicks
on the + side for increase or the - side for decrease. Result 10 foot
increments/decrements :o)
 02/05/08
Peter Dowson does it again :o). GET
THE NEW VERSION OF FSUIPC (v3.81for FS9.1). Peter has
now included a new function called 'mousetrapping' which unlike K2M
does not emulate a mouse click. What it does is read your mouse
action on a switch or gauge and replicates that in code. It then
follows that you do not need the window open for the mouse action to
be implemented. This is great news for controlling the PMDG
Overhead (and some other things like TCAS Test and Set, Setting
Minimums in stages of 10ft instead of 1 ft
etc.). In the zip is a file called
737 OHD.mcro. This file contains all the macro's for the
PMDG737
overhead. So off
to the lab i go and inside two hours, the whole overhead is being
controlled without opening it. I have removed my
Key2Mouse.dll file completely. More soon on the overhead
page. I'm away next week so i'll be sat in an hotel room with time on
my hands and i'll try to get as much upto date as i can.
01/05/08
See the item below regarding the control of the fuel
valves. Well if you have an CPFlight MCPEX1 board, it is
possible to light the Engine and Spar Valve Annunciators (as a digital
output which reads the value of parameters 3590 and 3594) based on the
Position of the Levers. Thanks to Paolo at CPFlight for putting me
right on this one. I'm re-writing the MCPEX page and when i get back
onto it i'll include a piece on how to do it.
 22/04/08
Now here's something for you. i discovered a while ago that the PMDG 737 Idle Cutoff Levers respond to the Fuel Valve command in FS9 and not the mixture commands as do most add
ons. FSUIPC only gives us the 'Toggle' Option in it's menu, which means that synchronisation is never going to be 100% (how many times have you forgot to set a switch before starting up?)
ah! , but i've discovered that you can manipulate the offset in FSUIPC to give an accurate on/off state on the levers.
see the TQ page for details
14/04/08 Well I
haven't been hanging around. Last month i spent a couple of days
putting the floor in. I've only been meaning to do it for
a year :o). So much better, now all I've got to do is work out
the seat rails.
I bought a CPFlight Transponder (because Flight Illusion don't make
one for the BOEING) and ADF which have been fitted into the
pedestal. Both working well. The CPFlight ADF has been
assigned as ADF 1 because i like the way it 'Tunes' and it also
operates the Ident Function where the Flight Illusion ADF doesn't. So
that is now ADF 2.
But my best news this week is that i have got the
second steering tiller in and it's working. My thanks to everybody who
assisted with info on it's operation especially Marcus Menzel, Gwyn
Perrett and Chris Danker.

  08/04/08 Mike
Latham was waiting for the updated YOKE document, so i actually got
round to doing it. Also, since i fitted a second steering
tiller, i 've had a 'few' emails telling me only the captain steers
the 737 on the ground - WRONG. My thanks to Marcus Menzel from
Lausitz Aviation for these photo's and also to Gwyn Perrett for
backing me up on this one. Bjorn Harlin is going to be very
upset that the F/O can steer a $65M Aircraft on the ground :o)
31/03/08 There's
a problem with the 737NG! There is only
one Steering Tiller :o) Now i like to fly from the
right seat as much as i like to fly from the left seat, so that means
i have to take it to the runway in the left hand side and then change
sides when we are in position. NOT GOOD (and
inconvenient). So i decided to ask Dieter
Jakob at Routech for a second
Steering Tiller for the right side of the cockpit. I know
i covered this already, but the second Tiller arrived today and i'm
stunned with the quality of the product. The first one was
good, but Dieter has improved it to the point that it looks just
like the real thing, even down to the white pointer :o) AND it
feels the part as well.
Price today was 59 euro's plus shipping.
I can only say he has a superb mould or he is putting 10 coats of
paint on it to get it this flat. The finish is like a sheet of glass -
EXCELLENT PRODUCT, I'm impressed !
25/03/08 Leo
Bodnar does it again :o) Here's the new BU0836X.
No more soldering or making matrix boards. Just a simple 'Push Fit'
system with each input clearly marked. Great stuff.
Apart from the usual BU0836 functions - 8 analog inputs, 32 joystick
buttons and POV, this card is now encoder ready.

I have used the BU0836 card with the Opencockpits (2
bit) CT288 encoder to make an EFIS
UNIT for the test rig, but Leo tells me that the BU0836 range can
now handle several types of encoder. So we can use rotary
encoders and translate their action into Joystick Button Presses
(either single or repeated) based on a rotary control. LEO
advises that the final price of the BU0836X will be around the £45
mark. Contact LEO HERE
26/02/08 Test
Rig EFIS running (see item below). All I need now is to order a
nice Faceplate to finish it off. The connection diagram
has been updated and the 'How To' document uploaded. Click on the
images below.
FSXpand v5.5 now released in Beta - Get it HERE
24/02/08 Spent
a few days putting the new floor in so i could bolt down the F/O Yoke
and that used up a lot of my spare time. But the best bit over
the last week is that Leo Bodnar has sent me a BU0836
Joystick Controller which can support directional 2 bit encoder
inputs and output them as joystick button presses. So i've connected
up some CTS288
encoders from Opencockpits to it and they work a
treat. Leo tells me this is not an official feature yet as
it's still in the test phase, but when i tell you there's nothing to
change, believe me, it works flawlessly. So much so that I have
been building an EFIS unit for the test rig and it works a
treat. Documentation to follow, it's nearly finished.
If you have purchased a BU0836 from Leo since 1st
December, he tells me the encoder firmware is already on the chip. All
you need to do is run the Configuration utility to tell the card which
switch pairs you want to use for each encoder and it's all taken care
of. The remaining switch connections remain unaffected as do the
Analogue Inputs.
I have only tested this with the CTS288 encoder and it's
perfect. Here's
the data sheet in case you have an encoder of an equivalent type
and here's a link to the
configuration utility if you want to test it out.
10/02/08 Well i
had a couple of hours to play today, so i went ahead and assembled the
control wheel onto the yoke and here's the finished article, neat eh
! From the prototype, i got all the distances and then had a
proper base made which mates up to the CH Rudder Pedals nicely.
All the internal parts have been 'refined' and Roberto
Soriano's
Control Wheel fitted. I've connected it up, calibrated and
been out flying with it this afternoon to find what needs to be 'tweeked'.
I've taken photo's of the new parts and updated the build document HERE.
09/02/08 As I
said previously, i have finished the CiM Flightdecks Overhead, so i
have turned my attention to the Rear Overhead Panel. Have a look
at this.....I'm really pleased with the effect. It's all dummy,
with the exception of the Dome Light Switch and the Gear
Annunciators. I've ordered some minature volume controls
and knobs so i can finish the Audio Panel. All i need to do
then is make an Oxygen Gauge. I've also made the
holder plates to attach Roberto's Boeing Control Wheel to the Yoke
Assembly and i hope to get that done next week.

 30/01/08
Ok I know I didn't update for a couple of weeks, but you know how it
is. First the OVERHEAD is finished, I'll post pictures
on the Overhead Page later in
the week. I've been busy making all the matrix boards so i can connect
it up to the system. Now we are also
getting the finished Yoke ready. The base has been finished
and I found a guy, Roberto
Soriano, in El
Salvador making Boeing 737 Control Wheels (my thanks to Gwyn Perrett
here). Take a look at this for US$120 (plus $35 for the
switches fitted). just 4 days to despatch and a week to get here
- awesome.
The chart plate is of course an extra from Engravity.
e-mail Roberto here
or see this
item. Boeing 737 Checklist also added for
download.
Madame bought me the CPFlight Transponder as a Christmas Gift and that
has also been fitted in the pedestal. Also added a new
connection diagram explaining the use of diodes for the Opencockpits
USBKeys card.
05/01/08
Happy New Year Chums :o) I managed to get hold
of a Pair of 737 Pilots Seats before Christmas. I am eternally
grateful to Andy McCall for
selling them to me even if I did have to borrow the money off the
Bride :o) They are in absolutely amazing condition and
i've spent a bit of time re-doing the velcro on them and putting them
on castors so we can run them back and forth to give us room to get in
and out. When I put the floor in i will put proper rails down. Bjorn
Harlin was insanely jealous and reminded me of how many fat arses had
farted on them and i would need to have them sterilised. Sorry Bjorn,
they are immaculate and don't smell at all :o)
Also had the first visitors of the year John
Boothman and Neil O'Toole from
FEDEX at Manchester Airport. Two really nice guys who were
really interested in the workings and had a great time doing the
approaches to Milan Malpensa 35R and Liverpool runway 27 - Thanks lads
for your time and interest.
06/12/07
Ok the cold weather has arrived and it's time to call it a day for
this year. The cabin has heaters so at least i can build some
hours over the winter. This is where we are at right now

Plans for next year.... Install the new CiM
Flightdecks Overhead, Put a floor in, Build the sidewall shelves,
Yokes.
04/12/07
Bjorn Harlin has introduced me to SWEDFLIGHT
Scenery Design. Specialising in all Main and not so large
Airports in Sweden. So i went exploring Stockholm Arlanda,
WOW......Check these out , i'm off to Gothenburg :o)
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