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Kimchoc

Small question from new builder

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Just reading the Computer Pilot mag about home cockpits and they mention printing "labels" on the home printer for the various "switch faceplates". I have 2 questions please.1. the label material for my printer, is it available at Office max/Depot? That type of place? What is it called? 2. Where would one get the picture,tmeplate,etc to put in my graphics program? are they using photoreal pics? Sine my knowledge is limited, please keep the reply in a form I can understand. LOL Thanks, Gary

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Guest PoRrEkE

Never heard of printing labels with home printer ..What I used was a label printer from Dymo.

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Well, you can get "sticker paper" sheets - print those with laser and maybe put scotch tape on top, and it would work pretty ok.Dymo is more durable and you can have dymo labels with white text which works rather well over dark panels.//Tuomas

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let me explain little better if you haevnt read the CP mag. Not looking for the names of switches. Yeah i could get a 2.00 label maker and do that. It is the whole faceplate of the box. Heres the quote from the mag..."....some cheap switches and a vinyl sticker on which he printed the transponder 'face' with his own inkjet printer"Under a picture of the sticker..."Label design, ready for printing on a vinyl sheet. Any graphics program will do." Leads me to beieve that it is something that the authors did in their home. I have seen this before in some of the cockpit sites I have viewed in the past. I though it was common place...these faceplates are boxes with lines and holes for switches on some type of sheet material....I can probably find something out at Office Max about the type of sheet material but I was hoping somebody had some templates to share..

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Guest MikePowell

Here are a couple of items that sort of, but don't exactly, address your questions.Self adhesive paper IS available from office supply stores like Office Max, Staples, and Office Depot. It's the same stuff that self adhesive laser printer labels are made from. It's simply not scored into small label sizes. You can print on it with a home printer.Any kind of drawing program that can direct output to your printer can be used to make panel layouts. TurboCad works extremely well.If you don't have a color printer, or if the quality of the printer you have is not what you would like, copy stores like Kinkos can make large format, high quality color prints on regular paper. They may have self adhesive paper as well, I don't know, never asked. I have used Kinkos to make 11" by 17" color proofs of book covers, for less than $2 each. Resolution is very good at 1200 dpi. I supplied the images in PDF format. They may accept other formats as well.I think a Kinkos print covered with a 1/8" clear plexi cover would make an outstanding panel front. Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.com

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Ahhh, the infamous Mike...eheheheh I know your site well.. Excellent, You know what I am thinking then. I am familiar with the Kinkos printing. they have done a few things for me just as you described. Now just to come up with just exactly how to make a these templates. The contirubing author of this article in CP mag was Ken Peckam. Dont suppose you know of him or how I would contact him? taht would be my most direct answer wouldnt it? I was hoping someone had some files hanging around on their computer or they knew of a site that has them for download... seems like the first cockpit you build would be on the cheap like this. Might be wrong though. Like I said, I'm new to cockpit building.Thanks, this info will get me started....

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Guest MikePowell

Ken runs B&B Sim Technologies, I believe. The site is: http://beta.hometown.aol.com/krazypir8/myh...e/business.html . His email address is listed on his site. Ken posts as "Blowhole", mostly on the simFlight's Cockpit Builders Forum forums.simflight.com If you post a question there, I expect he will respond.I don't know of anyone who has panel templates to share. The approach I've taken on instrument faceplates is to start with sales literature or pictures from Ebay as inspiration, then draw in TurboCad. The same approach should work with panels. TurboCad is relatively cheap as payware CAD programs go, but if you're looking for freeware there are a few listed on my site's links page. No personal experience with them, so can't say how good they are. Perhaps someone can suggest a good freeware CAD (or other suitable drawing program) for making panel templates.Really, there is no magic to developing templates. You can make whatever you want. Make photorealistic King avionics panels, or make a bright purple panel with a large switch labeled "Enable Warp Drive". Pick up a catalog of surplus electronics (i.e. cheap parts, something like All Electronics or Electronics Goldmine), and find some neat looking switches, then do a panel layout around them. Build the panel and use it. Post pictures of it here. Make notes of what you like/don't like and plan for version 2. By the time you're working on version 3, you can be infamous too! :-lol Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.com

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Ha !! Great info and ideas again. I was able to locate Ken and got some more good info from him. Yes, great minds are thinking alike. At the moment I would be embarrassed to post a pic of what I built the other day. I took an old Gravis gamepad, made a box for it so only the buttons would show and screwed it to the desk. LOL Instant autopilot box. Well actaully it took all day to build. ehehe,,ahahaah, tks again, Gary

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Guest MikePowell

Gary,Glad to hear you were able to get in touch with Ken. Please keep us undated on your projects.Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.com

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>Ha !! Great info and ideas again. I was able to locate Ken>and got some more good info from him. Yes, great minds are>thinking alike. At the moment I would be embarrassed to post>a pic of what I built the other day. I took an old Gravis>gamepad, made a box for it so only the buttons would show and>screwed it to the desk. LOL Instant autopilot box. Well>actaully it took all day to build. ehehe,,Hey, we all start from the embarassing first tests, dont worry.. :)I used laminated paper for my panels, that works good too - or the plexi like Mike said.This is laminated paper, the fuel valve: http://aerodome.net/gallery-kuvat/album21/IMG_5507.sized.jpgHere's a pic of our radio panel, same material:http://aerodome.net/gallery-kuvat/album21/IMG_5169.sized.jpghttp://aerodome.net/gallery-kuvat/album21/IMG_5167.sized.jpgThe backing plate of the radios is made of plywood.Oh heck, just browse through http://gallery.aerodome.net/album21 and it should give you some ideas - it is in reverse order, recent pics first, so start from the last page :) That's the pics a friend of mine took of our club sim. Also my own gallery has stuff about the same sim: http://tigert.gimp.org/gallery/MIKFor info about the sim check out http://wiki.varxec.net/MalmiAviationClubSimAnd good luck - dont rush into building yet before you figure out what you want to build, and why :) Small projects like MCP are good for starters since you dont end up building something huge that needs to be torn down later when you decide another type of an aircraft would suit you better :)//Tuomas

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Oh Man. now we are talking. Laminated paper? How about a shot of what that stuff is as you are making it? Not familair with that term. The finished result is near perfect and I cant tell how you made it ! Thanks again to you guys. I have a vision...eheheheh and it doesnt include anymore Gravis gamepads. LOL

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Guest stevelep

Laminated paper ... how that work ?You print it on paper put it between to special plastic transparent cover and put it in a laminator which "glue" them together with heat ?It's that what you talk about ?For my panel I make the design with Adobe Illustrator with multiple layers: - back with anthracit texture I've scanned (better than just pure color)- buttons and switch (used only to design the panel)- drill guides to make an transparent drilling sheet- texts- extra designs like shematics, lines ....I send the picture to a photo lab like a digital pict, the print is better than an inkjet print... BOBOther tips: look with google picture search engine about logos from garmin, bendix, etc... you'll find a lot you can put it on your panels ...

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