Flaps pushbuttons or pot ?

[Guest PoRrEkE]

I am re-designing my Power Lever Quadrant in 3Dstudio max and I have finished the power levers mechano and I am now at the flap lever.At the moment I am using push buttons for the flaps but I might change that to a slide pot now that I have PHCC (which has 33 analoge inputs on the motherboard) I am wondering which one of the 2 approaches is the best one to chose ?PS. Obviously a rotary switch is out of the question because detents are not spread out equaly over the distance.

[rickalty]

Phillippe:"PS. Obviously a rotary switch is out of the question because detents are not spread out equaly over the distance."You could use a sort of 'home made rotary switch'.... have a wire to a contact on the flaps lever that touches a different contact inside the housing at each detent position.Richard

[tigert]

>Phillippe:>"PS. Obviously a rotary switch is out of the question because>detents are not spread out equaly over the distance.">>You could use a sort of 'home made rotary switch'.... have a>wire to a contact on the flaps lever that touches a different>contact inside the housing at each detent position.>>RichardYeah, microswitches with those "rollers" that get pushed down by a block in the flap handle for example?//Tuomas

[rickalty]

Tuomas:"Yeah, microswitches with those "rollers" that get pushed down by a block in the flap handle for example?"What, "buy" something when you can home make an alternative? :-DRichard

[Guest PoRrEkE]

Richard >> that is exactly what I had in mind.I have a rounded bit on the flaps lever and I have little gaps trough which the flaps lever travels as a result of which one feels detents. I was thinking to fill the detent gaps with a metal sheet and wire it up and then put the metal sheet on the lever rounded bit as well.Only question is .. what material do I use best for this ? What material makes good contacts without getting corroded (or whichever is the word) ?

[rickalty]

"Only question is .. what material do I use best for this ? What material makes good contacts without getting corroded (or whichever is the word) ?"Brass. It's smooth, springy, takes solder beautifully, and doesn't rust.You can buy small brass strips at your local hobby shop spefically for this sort of application. Model railroaders use it by the bucketfull, and any toy train shop will have a wide selecton of different widths and thicknesses.Richard

[tigert]

>Tuomas:>"Yeah, microswitches with those "rollers" that get pushed down>by a block in the flap handle for example?">>What, "buy" something when you can home make an alternative? Well, even though I build a lot myself, I dont build my switches :)//Tuomas

[Guest PoRrEkE]

What is brass ? And what if I just use solder-tin ?

[rickalty]

"What is brass ?" English "Brass" = Dutch "Messing""And what if I just use solder-tin ?"Virtually everything that's sold as "Tin" is actually Tin-plated steel so if you scratch through the tin-plate, you expose the steel, which will rust. Solder is far too soft, and will be rubbed away by the movement in no time at all.Richard

[Guest Caravan_208]

You could also try magnetic reed switches. The contact point is not critical and alignment need not be precise. Check mouser.com for more info.Switches are installed in the correct locations for the flap settings and the magnet is on the end of the flap handle inside the housing. I'm in the middle of setting this up on my B727 throttle quadrant for the flaps.

[Guest PoRrEkE]

That is brilliant indeed :)Will try to see if I can find switches like that in Belgium or from Reichelt.Tnx for the tip, I didn't know that existed.

[Guest Staggerwing]

You can find these type of small magnetic switches being used for alarm triggers for doors and windows. Various sizes are made..Best,

[tigert]

Reichelt finds 2 of those that cost less than an euro a piece when searching for "reed" in the top left search box.You also need a magnet you need to stick to the flaps lever end that goes nearby the switches. It's indeed a very clever idea.//Tuomas

[Guest PoRrEkE]

Indeed .. those are already on the wiki for a few days now ;)

[Guest PoRrEkE]

Check http://www.meder.comThey seem to produce not much more than this. I will contact those folks and ask them which one is the best for us to use.