Hi guys,which do you guys prefer using for a trim wheel? Pot or encoder? I think ( i have no idea yet) an encoder would feel too smooth for a trim in a piper/cessna. But maybe some friction form a rubber piece would help. But how about an airliner? one thing i would like about an encoder is that i do not need to reset the trim before loading a flight since an encoder is endless while a pot is about 270deg. How about a multiturn trim. If you guys use pots, from all the plans and tutorials around, do you guys have a hardware trim gauge to help reset the trim before everyflight? or do you guys just mess around with it. Would like to hear your opinion on it.

Use a potmeter and a joystick axis. Let the trimwheels drive the trim position gauge, and let the gauge itself drive the potmeter. That way, trim gauge position = trim axis position. Let the software logics disregard trim axis input while autopilot is engaged, and run the trimwheels to match indicated trim position with actual trim position.I believe FSUIPC has the feature to disregard axis input if the autopilot is engaged.Or you could use a simple encoder, the kind that gives output on one pin if you turn it clockwise, another pin if you turn it counter-clockwise. Then let each "tick" equal one input on the keyboard. Use gears so that you get one or two tics per revolution.Or you can use a servo to drive the trim gauges, and run the wheels just for eyecandy. The only time you trim by turning the flywheels, is during maitenance or those extreme situations where nothing electrical works. Just don't simulate such situations, and you'll be fine.KEEP IT SIMPLE! :) And remember: If you don't gonna use it, don't simulate it. Use time and money on other, important pars!For instance: Use the "SERVICE INTERPHONE" switch to switch on/off the powersupply that controls the interface(s)...-Vidar Fagerjord-

Sorry. Buti don't quite understand your first suggestion. A potmeter? Is that the same as a potentiometer? Is the trim gauge the gauge in the sim? My rough understanding is that the potmeter is a hardware meter/gauge. And the trim wheel(hardware) is connected to a potentiometer. The potentiometer drives the trim position gauge in the sim(software). And the sim outputs to reflect the position on the potmeter(hardware). Do you have pictures of this setup? I've tried googling for pot meters and all i get are pics of potentiometers. Nothing special.

Sorry, my bad!Yes, potmeter is short for potentiometer. Or in other words: a variable resistor, either linear or radial.What I mean is:- The potentiometer acts as a joystick axis, and controls the trim setting.- The trim gauge is the little needle beside the trimwheels on a 737 TQ (Throttle Quadrant)The motion of the trim wheels does NOT need to interact with the trim settings at all! It is pure "eye-candy". If you choose this approach, you WILL save a lot of time.What I suggest is:Let a servo drive the trim gauge. To do it as simple as it gets: Use the trim potentiometer to hold the trim gauge needle! Then use a servo to position the trim gauge. That way, the trim gauge will ALLWAYS show the accurate trim setting!To trim manually, you use the switches on the yoke to turn the trim wheels. The trim wheels is connected to a special kind of rotary encoders. The type I suggest works like this:GND on pin 2 and 4LEFT turn on pin 1RIGHT turn on pin 3Couple the encoder to the trim wheels by any means you like (gears, belts, whatever). When you spin the trim wheels forward, you'll get outputs on one pin. Each output means one keystroke to lower the aircraft's nose (or trim down). Since the encoder likely will give you about 20 "clicks" per revolution, you'll need to gear it down a little. It all depends on how much you want to trim per revolution.This might be a trial and error scene.And here is one of those that small things that really puts the icing on the cake:If the flaps is extended over a certain setting (flaps 1 on the 737, I think), the wheels turn very fast. In flight, with the flaps retracted, you do not need to trim fast. But when the ground races towards you at 176 knots and -500 feet per minute, your need speed! (and by that I mean RPM, not drugs...) This is where the logics would kick in.When the autopilot is engaged, you disregard any inputs from the trim apparatus. Just make sure that the trim potentiometer equals the trim setting.There might be other solutions to my idea, and I am still cooking on it. But I hope you can use some of the ideas I have. In fact, I am not sure if you will ever need the trim potentiometer.Anyway, allways remember to Keep It Simple, Stupid! :) The KISS approach will allways be cheaper (you've got to luuuv that), easier and faster to implement.Remember: You are NOT building a contrapment that will fly in real life! Even though you will find yourself at FL300, you are still inside your own home. Therefore you DO NOT NEED to have everything in the sim working like the real deal. You do not need the SERVICE INTERPHONE switch coupled up at all (put it to something useful, like main powerswitch for the interface cards PSU), but you should mount it for eye-candy purposes.It is very easy to get yourself lost in details, and to forget the big picture. It is not relevant how many revolutions the V/S wheel need in a real 737 to increase V/S by 1000 feet per minute. Just make it so you can use it without frustration. You do not need to get the left hand and the right hand 737 trim wheel from 2 different manufacturers, like the real deal. (There is LOTS of stuff you will find out that isn't interesting at all. The fact about the trim wheels is one of those...).So to sum up: Keep It Simple, Simmer! And give me feedback if my ideas do work for you.CHEERS! :)