I'm in the process of building my first switch panel with a Leo Bodner BBI-32 board, which will be the last piece in the jigsaw for my newly built generic MIP I would like to take advantage of the many connectors on the board and looking at getting a couple of rotary encoders for both baro pressure and heading bug when flying GA. I'd like to purchase from Leo if possible, but unsure which encoder would be suitable and any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Depending on the functionality you'd like to have it will be either CTS288 or CTS288V (with an integrated push button). They are sturdy, reliable and provide a positive click feeling when operated. In some cases (like creating a radio stack) an ELMA E37 would be great (two concentric encoders with a push button)- very durable, used in real avionics, but more expensive.

I'm using both CTS and ELMA in 737 MCP/EFIS and radio stack modules- they are great! 

11 minutes ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

I would have used Arduino boards like the Leonardo or Micro (or knock-off) myself, cheaper ($20 or less), tons of resources for them, easy to program and many many options for Rotary Encoders and more.

Totally agree, but the TS has already built his panel based on BBI-32 board and would like to buy the encoders from Leo as well (specific enough IMHO). So the choice is limited, while all the options that Leo is offering are excellent.

21 minutes ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

I would have used Arduino boards like the Leonardo or Micro (or knock-off) myself, cheaper ($20 or less), tons of resources for them, easy to program and many many options for Rotary Encoders and more.  With Arduino IDE you can control everything about the board is a C like language and then upload the firmware ... there are a ton of Arduino Libraries you can including in your "sketch" (code) for free that can do most of the dirty work.

But specific to your question, Mouser is a good source:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Alps-Alpine/EC11E1530401?qs=fMKjfF2mFojU5MCfcmU28g%3D%3D&mgh=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAgJWABhArEiwAmNVTB1d7eOJPTHv8L2i-VY-TxIgxOImeZ7TdFZdBg_vDCYZs9u4PqalOFhoCL7wQAvD_BwE

They also provide datasheets and ECAD files so you get precise measures to make sure it fits your needs, V range, AMP rating, etc.

Cheers, Rob.

 

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, SergeyPe said:

Totally agree, but the TS has already built his panel based on BBI-32 board and would like to buy the encoders from Leo as well (specific enough IMHO). So the choice is limited, while all the options that Leo is offering are excellent.

Thanks fellas, the problem is, I am a complete numbskull when it comes to all this  I guess what I am asking is simply what encoder would be best for the two applications I want to use them for, ie. an encoder for the heading bug and one for changing baro on the altimeter. I have read about one pulse and two pulses and 16 detents and 12 way! I have no idea what this means! Some have 5 connections others have 3. The encoder you put a link to Rob has 30 detents (???) Sorry to be so word not allowed, but this is my first dip of a toe into the world of electronics!

23 minutes ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

It was just a sample, you can filter on MOUSER search or even easier, click on the "Chat" window on their website and tell the person what you are looking for and he/she will narrow down the results and give you links.  MOUSER support is VERY helpful ... MOUSER is a little more expensive than Amazon but that's due to shipping costs from MOUSER.  I'm an Amazon Prime member so that "yearly fee" covers my shipping (and I've saved a bunch of money on shipping) and Amazon are VERY good about getting items to me quickly (often next day or two day).

There is no "one solution" based on your requirements, sorry, you'll have to do some research to get the correct size you want, detents or no detents, stops or no stop (free rotating), what sort of knobs you want to fit on the rotatory shaft (hence why you need to know the precise shaft diameter and height) and you also need to know the power requirements Volts, Amps, Resistance and that will be determine by the BBI-32.

I've been down the road you're going, it's never as "easy" as it seems and that's why fully or partially "canned" solutions can be better for some.  What I recommend you start your research with is:

• Determine which is more important to you, style/size of knob or rotary
• If knob style is primary, then locate a knob you like (suggest you have alternatives also) then find a rotary shaft size/length to fit the knob
• If rotary is primary, then find the rotary with your requirements and will fit into your BBI-32 current requirements, the lower the current requirements in Amps, the likely the better but not always and then find a knob to fit the rotary

If you are looking for real world knobs (or replicas) they are going to be expensive, if you are looking at more generic knobs they will be much cheaper.

BTW, if you want to get real fancy (like one of my projects that I'm not going to discuss too much because competition is EVERYWHERE) there are motorized rotary encoders which are really cool, especially when combined with customized firmware (aka Arduino) you can for example automatically set rotary position to last saved state values, this is very cool when say setting cockpit dimmer knobs ... kinda neat watching one's knobs move into position to match the last saved state so the VC lighting is as I left it and will also adjust backlighting on the physical panel (if one has LEDs setup) ... there is a really nice way to do very high quality (no bleed) backlighting.  Is there a market for this level of detail/automation/quality?  I have no idea but I'll find out. 🙂

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Cheers, Rob.

 

 

 

18 minutes ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

Oh yes, pulses ... incremental (quadrature) ... they provide distance and direction the shaft turns ... you will need this for both Heading and Baro as they can be rotated in both directions and you'll need to know increment direction vs. decrement direction.

Cheers, Rob.

 thanks for the informative reply Rob, very much appreciated. I guess rotaries are in a different class to the toggle switches I have used so far! I'll follow your advice and see where I go with things. Cheers.

5 hours ago, SergeyPe said:

either CTS288 or CTS288V (with an integrated push button). They are sturdy, reliable and provide a positive click feeling when operated

I concur, I have loads of these (both kinds) from Bodnar and they work just great.

3 hours ago, Rockliffe said:

 Some have 5 connections others have 3

Howard, you get three connectors for a basic encoder - that means it connects to two inputs on the board plus one common ground. With the centre-push you get an extra two connectors - it's basically just an extra switch. Don't worry about pulses etc. - the Bodnar board does all that for you. You will need to download the BBI-32-Config program to tell the board which inputs are going to have encoders connected, but you can just accept the defaults for all the parameters.

28 minutes ago, MarkDH said:

Howard, you get three connectors for a basic encoder - that means it connects to two inputs on the board plus one common ground. With the centre-push you get an extra two connectors - it's basically just an extra switch. Don't worry about pulses etc. - the Bodnar board does all that for you. You will need to download the BBI-32-Config program to tell the board which inputs are going to have encoders connected, but you can just accept the defaults for all the parameters.

Ah wow, I now understand Mark. Many thanks matey, appreciated. 

Hello guys, I bring this up for some questions.

I have a MCP panel made with MJOY32 and it works great, the only problem is I used a 20position-20pules encoder on it.

As I tried with the 737 Full simulator panel, it came with a 32-position encoder, that's why it's quite pain to change heading or altitude with my setup....

With some search, I bought some 32position-16pules one, but it doesn't work with MJOY which need a full pulse for every detente...

I can't seems find a 32pules one, or even a 30 pules one, could anyone help?