How to connect things to a BU0836X card

[627hen]

nigelmtb thanks for your reply! how many buttons switches etc can i fit into it?

also can i put 7 segment displays in

Thanks and once again hope all goes well!

[nigelmtb]

@627hen 32 buttons/switches plus up to 8 rotary encoders - all information available on Leo's website. It's an input only card so no, you cannot use it for 7 seg displays.

[627hen]

Thanks this has been very helpfull. Just wondering where it is possible to find those push buttons. Please get back to me ASAP I am starting my A330 cockpit and I need the materials!

Thanks in advance! Hope all goes well with yours!

[nigelmtb]

@627hen All the switches in this video were purchased in Maplin's, They are expensive though, so pretty much every other switch of every type that I used in the project came from RapidOnline, an electronics shop. Hope that's ASAP enough for you!

[TheDantonable]

I think it is the terrible postal service of brazil, that sucks and miss lot of packages...

[TheDantonable]

They dont ship this board to brazil... why?

[nigelmtb]

@TheDantonable I have no idea.

[mranderson1304]

Hi Nigel,

I've 2 questions: You mention that you have for example "button 1 and ground" and that you need both, do you connect one wire from the switch to button 1 and the other to ground?

Also, if you're connecting one switch to 2 buttons, what do you do with the ground, as surely there are 4 holes on the card for only 2 wires?

Sorry if these seem silly questions, I want to get as much theory behind me before I start to build. =]

Craig

[nigelmtb]

@mranderson1304 Hello! Yes, you connect both BUTTON and GROUND. The switch will not work otherwise. Why would you connect one switch to two button controls? You can do it though, just split the wires out into a Y and connect the relevant ends to BUTTON and GROUND. It will work. Visit my forum for more!

[dtipton61]

@mranderson1304 The gnd terminals on the 0836x are all tied (bussed) together at the board. You could jumper all the gnd terminals of your switches together and have just one gnd wire going to a single gnd terminal on the 0836x. The other side of the switch would go to its "button" terminal. Matter of fact, the E37 rotary you can also get from Mr Bodnar comes with a small PCB that brings the gnd for each switch (5 ea) out to a "COMN" gnd point. One gnd for 5 switches. -dtipton-

[entsman50]

Hi Nigel no worry i just googled it and see i use it with the peter dowson fsuipc....works great....

[entsman50]

Hi Nigel

I have this and have just plugged it in my usb port and looked at fsx controls and see it is registering on the dropdown menu...to assigne say a switch do i just turn it on and off to activate? i dont see the BU listed as 32 outputs so i assume thats all you do? thanks Nigel

[testaccount152]

I stumbled upon your website and it has been of great help since this is something I have wanted to do for quite a while. How much do you estimate the cockpit will cost to build?

[nigelmtb]

@testaccount152 So far the cost is at about £2000 including the PC and some power tools, all materials etc. Hard to say what the final cost will be.

[NickMalef]

Great video !!!

Thanks for the info. Actually I just received my BU0836X, and I have it infront of me right now. I am starting connecting the lights panels of my 737NG, except since I do not have an overhead, I am installing those to my pedestal.

Thanks again

Nick

[maradonajedis]

Hello thanks you for this video it's very good but i'm from spain and i don't understand very good the sistem and if you can explayn me the sisten in a very easy english (to translate on google).Thanks and a good video.

[Sotgar]

Is it obvious which wire goes into which hole? 1 Goes into lets say B24 and the other goes into GND (Ground), does it matter which one is ground?

[nigelmtb]

@Sotgar Hi there - good question. The answer is it really does not matter. A simple on-off switch will always work, regardless of which way around you connect the wires. And don't worry - you cannot damage the card this way!

If you were talking about more complex switches like a rotary encoder then it does matter but with most types it is pretty obvious which one is the ground pin (usually one in the middle of a group of three). Again, you cannot do any harm.

[Sotgar]

@nigelmtb Thanks for answering :) I'll be ordering the BU0836X card and some switches soon. I'm also building a cockpit, but then for helicopters.

[nigelmtb]

@Sotgar Oooh I'd love to do a helicopter! Good luck with that!

[jackwall5]

First up .... great information here .... really useful .... your detail is fantastic with some great tip. Thanks fella.

P.S. You made me smile with " OK guys, hello again ...ammm ... I've been inundated with, ah, 2 requests ..." Surely, it take a few more than just two!

[nigelmtb]

@jackwall5 Thanks very much... And I think it was just two or so! My videos don't get massive views (it's a narrow field of interest I guess) but they are here to help, not get 10000s of views. Glad you enjoyed it!

[gio94b10]

where u get the toggle swith and the encoder?

[nigelmtb]

@gio94b10 Consider a google search perhaps??? Or eBay?? I got the encoders from an eBay shop called Sure Electronics. The toggles are from Maplin, Rapid Electronics and eBay.

[Calib00m]

Great tutorial, have been all over the net trying to figure out the basics of custom making game controls. Thanks.

[8celebrating8]

Thanks so much for these very precise and informative videos Nigel!

I'd like to ask what you think about: if i take a cheap, ordinary USB keyboard, take away its plastic keys and solder instead of them switches and rotary encoders, do you think this can replace the BU card?? I know that a keyboard will probably not appear as a joystick controller, but nevertheless the keys should be able to be set up as controls because after all it is a normal computer keyboard?

[nigelmtb]

Thanks for your comments... To answer your question, what you want to do is entirely possible! It's a perfect solution for toggle switches or the sort of thing you would use a push-to-make switch on. There are websites too - google 'hacking a keyboard' or something like that!

Nigel.

[8celebrating8]

@nigelmtb

Thanks! Actually i bought yesterday a cheep keyboard and opened it to see if things can be soldered to each key's contacts. Not possible though! : each key presses a hittle rubber disk/hat that on its turn presses over a quazy-nano metal "lanes" imprinted over thin, transparent vinil plastic. If one tries to solder the plastic will melt :D

I think this card you use is more simple and versatile unit that can be used and remodeled.

[8celebrating8]

@nigelmtb

Also, by chance do you have a hint about how to program a normal off/on switch (like for example one of the lights: nav or strobe) onto FSX which normally uses 'one-push-buttons' for such functions (like joybuttons do not have two positions). I mean, i don't want to switch four times an on/off button in terms to execute 'lights on--lights off'. Probably FSUIPC allows this?? THANKS!

[8celebrating8]

@nigelmtb

...a little later,

actually i found intersting article under "hacking keyboard" header too. Thanks for the tip!

[SSKtobbe]

@nigelmtb I cant find a guide that show me how to hack a keyboard and then connect some relays etc. Do you have any?

[authommo]

Great video with lots of information. Thanks.

[alexjarratt]

Hi Nigel, it's Alex here (Alexpilot), excellent video, just found this video by mistake, just realised who it was! lol...Mr NigelD himself!

Excellent Video!

Alex