phiatt
Member
Hello Guys,
My name is Philip Hiatt, it's been a while(I think?), since I posted on this forum, if ever. I ran across this thread in the past and once again this morning. I revisited an old project I started about 8-10 years ago when I started building my first home built, VP-2. Like most of us I didn't have a lot of money to throw into gauges and flight instruments, So I started designing my own. Being a long time Electronics Hobbyist and doing it for a living I had many resources to pull from. After several moves and having to relocate, I wasn't able to commit any time to it. But here recently, in between jobs I have nothing but time. All in all, the plan is to make something affordable( less cost than a panel of steam gauges), simple and portable(used on different aircraft), and reliable.
It uses an Arduino for data gathering, Tachometer, 8 thermocouples, 8 analog inputs, Airspeed via MS4525D, MPL3115A2 Altimeter / Baro (does the calculations for you) and using a 4D Systems 7" LCD module for the display. Here is a pic of the prototype PCB for the Arduino. All signals are connected to the adapter via IDC cable - Screw terminal breakout(pictured below). So far, the cost amounts to ~$90 electronic parts(Mouser, prob less in the future), ~$10 for the PCB, ~$190 for the 4D Systems Display, $6 34 conductor ribbon cable w/IDC, $10 for the breakout and ~$10 Arduino Mega 2560(Ebay). Total approx $310, which is already less than one instrument I have in one of my planes. As the project progresses, I should be able to reduce the overall cost by implementing the bare minimum for a working system. The plan is to use this in an upcoming ultralight project; for testing it will be retrofitted into my current air worthy airplanes when complete.


For those of you that may be interested, I am trying to document my progress on my blog, Airplanes, Aircraft, and pretty much anything that will fly. I have the PCB off to Fab, all electronics parts are on the way, and the 4D LCD was ordered yesterday. Code for the Arduino isn't going be too hard, I have already started designing the Panel Front. If anyone has questions or comments, please feel free to ask....or comment.
Thanks
My name is Philip Hiatt, it's been a while(I think?), since I posted on this forum, if ever. I ran across this thread in the past and once again this morning. I revisited an old project I started about 8-10 years ago when I started building my first home built, VP-2. Like most of us I didn't have a lot of money to throw into gauges and flight instruments, So I started designing my own. Being a long time Electronics Hobbyist and doing it for a living I had many resources to pull from. After several moves and having to relocate, I wasn't able to commit any time to it. But here recently, in between jobs I have nothing but time. All in all, the plan is to make something affordable( less cost than a panel of steam gauges), simple and portable(used on different aircraft), and reliable.
It uses an Arduino for data gathering, Tachometer, 8 thermocouples, 8 analog inputs, Airspeed via MS4525D, MPL3115A2 Altimeter / Baro (does the calculations for you) and using a 4D Systems 7" LCD module for the display. Here is a pic of the prototype PCB for the Arduino. All signals are connected to the adapter via IDC cable - Screw terminal breakout(pictured below). So far, the cost amounts to ~$90 electronic parts(Mouser, prob less in the future), ~$10 for the PCB, ~$190 for the 4D Systems Display, $6 34 conductor ribbon cable w/IDC, $10 for the breakout and ~$10 Arduino Mega 2560(Ebay). Total approx $310, which is already less than one instrument I have in one of my planes. As the project progresses, I should be able to reduce the overall cost by implementing the bare minimum for a working system. The plan is to use this in an upcoming ultralight project; for testing it will be retrofitted into my current air worthy airplanes when complete.


For those of you that may be interested, I am trying to document my progress on my blog, Airplanes, Aircraft, and pretty much anything that will fly. I have the PCB off to Fab, all electronics parts are on the way, and the 4D LCD was ordered yesterday. Code for the Arduino isn't going be too hard, I have already started designing the Panel Front. If anyone has questions or comments, please feel free to ask....or comment.
Thanks