Wow, nice job on that gauge. You didn't mention one thing, how do you zero the gauge on power up? Being steper motors there is no position feedback. I was really curious to know that.
I forgot about that! Basically- when the Arduino first receives power the code runs through a startup sequence, where each motor turns a set amount of times one way, then the other, then it settles in the middle. The position is then set as zero and known to DCS-BIOS. The lack of psychical stops is the main reason that the needles are press fit and not glued in place. Once the stepper does its startup and settles you can then physically move the needles to the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and you know everything is in the right spot. Having said all that- I very rarely have to physically adjust the needles at all. The fuel gauge never does any high speed moves (like the hydraulic gauges do), so it never really gets messed up. Also- the Arduino Sketch for that one was not mine- I found it shared on the ED Forums. I had a look but cant find my file, or the post on the forums, so unfortunately I can't point you to the full explanation of how it works!
I just finished mech engineering a few weeks ago. Thought I would now love to complicate my life trying to do things like these. I think I will wait a few more years to mature myself in the field a bit more before getting into this level of crazy projects xD.
@@fns58 This IS the way to mature yourself my man. Don't think it will be easier later on. You just have to dig deep and get stuck with it like this guy did. He explains it nicely in this video and it's all said and done....but believe you me, this dude banged his head on the table more than once :) WHICH is just part of it. You want to be better at anything, try to do the impossible with the highest learning curve. Because you will find out 100 other things along the way.
HOLY CRAP, MAN! You’re ridiculously talented! Your attention to detail, craftsmanship, & dedication to authentic, quality parts is un-freakin-real!!! WOW! It would be cool to see a video with an actual Warthog pilot trying out your Sim & giving you feedback!
I had an idea for your liquid nitrogen needle lighting, if you replace that green LED with a UV LED, and paint the white bit of the needle with UV paint (colour of your choosing) it should make it glow nicely
Man you have no idea how much joy you brought to me making these tutorials. i had an idea to make a custom cpu and gpu usage gauge on my pc and this is great!!
Looks like the 10000, 1000 and 100 lb numbers are output by DCS-BIOS. If they are full 16-bit numbers, you'll need to "map" them to 0 to 9. Something like: "digit = map(value, 0, 65536, 0, 10);" That should work - it should never produce "10" because the input number won't go above 65535. It's a pain, really - the P51D fuel levels are output in both gauge form and integer gallons figures.
WoW, nicely done. Very Inspiring. I am almost retired now and have been looking for a project other than honey-do's... I am comfortable with mechanical 'stuff', but know just enough electronics to be dangerous. You offer a lot of information, which helped me decide on this project. A-10 is one of my favorites and it looks like I will finally be able to afford one ;) Truly appreciate your time and expertise, and sharing your hard work. If you have any detailed documents, how-to's, or coding you would like to sell I would be interested. ...BRRRRRRRTT...
I'm don't think I'll ever build such amazing gauges but just wanted to say you're an awesome human being for sharing all that knowledge for free. My work involves both software and hardware (I'm a mechanical engineer) and it always bothered me that there's so much open source content for software and so little for hardware projects. I've already seen great things coming from sites like sketchfab and grabcad, but initiatives like your channel are really inspiring for me. Keep up the great work!
I've said it before but this is seriously one of the best projects on the whole internet. Pushes all the right buttons for me (pun intended). Keep up the amazing work!
On illuminating your gauge needles: Have you considered using fluorescent acrylic needles (or needles with a fluorescent segment), and light them with blue or UV LEDs? That way you get the needles to "light" without such evident reflection from the light bulb tower off the gauge glass.
This is great! Thank you for posting this, it's very satisfying to put this together with the "ebay laser" engraving video and see how everything comes together.
Soooo many questions but all I can say is this exceptional work and my OCD has finally found a buddy. Inspirational! Time to learn, build and buy for the upcoming AH-64 ;)
Do you work in Engineering field? All the parts look professional piece of art! I've learn many stuffs through the videos you posted. Thanks and keep up the good work!!!
I used to design instrument panel for flight simulators. Your build quality look extremely good for a DIY. Are you laser engraving the face plate? We were using 6mm cast acrylic with multiple coat of a special white paint and 2 coat of final color then laser engraving the artwork.
Hello, i know if you already solved your oled screen problem but you might have the same i had : if you use U8G2 lib to control it you HAVE to convert your number variable (int, float, long...) to a String. By the way, I love what you do
Sir that is some ingenious work and design! When my mother in-law quarters free up I may have a project to work on in retirement. They both should occur at the same time!😀😂
Goddamn this so cool! I saw your other video about your set up vs VR. I'm running VR myself but if I had the space, money, and know-how I'd pick your set-up any day of the week. The immersion must be mind blowing.
Woah, your cockpit is really amazing! Your next step IMO should be to build a collimated display. And a HUD! You can probably use a cheap spherical mirror (plus one or two other projection optics) and a small oled display for it.
No, he cant do a collimated HUD. Because it's useless, when you project picture on the wall. HUD projects picture to infinity. Wall projection is plain flat picture, with no parallax, projected on the wall 5-10-15 meters in front of you. Marks on the HUD and on the terrain just don't fit.
What? I'm not saying his HUD should be collimated. I'm saying that rather than using a projector screen to render the outside, he should build a curved parabolic display so that the focal plane of the outside view is rendered at infinity so you eliminate parallax. It'll feel much more realistic when flying at high altitudes
I love the explanation videos. They are really insightful to someone (me) who is planning and building their own cockpit panels. Mine are a hodgepodge collection to make a general purpose cockpit for VR, but I'd still like them to look and act right. The one thing I would love to know is how you did the lighting circuits. I'm kinda copying your LED layouts for my panels, but I am pretty much a novice when it comes to planning out circuits and dimmers with LEDs.
Generic account Having removed, torn apart, reassembled, reinstalled and loaded more GAU-8 gun systems, I can attest that after you do it hundreds of times, loaded hundreds of thousands of 30MM rounds , cleared umpteen gun hot lights and jams, it loses its appeal after doing it for 10 years. Now I get to fire as many rounds and drop as many munitions I want without ever getting that god awful, unremovable grease on my hands and clothes. 😁😁🇺🇸🇺🇸💪💪👍🏼👍🏼
i am so bloody amazed with all the hard work you did on this....but that's all part of the hobby fun....unfortunately i fly dcs in VR so there's no point in having all this.... but i'm still VERY JEALOUS
Been watching your vids really good mate your attention to detail is awesome. Any chance you can do a more in depth demo of the laser cutter you are using. Thanks.
Hi there! Where did you source the PCB board for the coaxial stepper motor? I am working on a project that uses one of those steppers and am not a fan of the solder tabs at all. It seems like PCB is the way to go, but I have never designed one myself before. It would be great if I could use the same one you have. I also didn't see the file for it on your download page/website. Thanks in advance!
Regarding the fuel total number: According to Wikipedia, the internal fuel tank capacity is 11000lbs So 5500 each. You could use that with the gauge position to "map" a value for each tank, then add them together to get your total number. This is what I did for my P51 "mockpit" total gauge. Unlike the A10, the P51 doesn't have a single total available, but DCS-BIOS does output the gallons values for the 3 internal tanks. Alternatively, DCS-BIOS outputs the 3 most significant digits of that display...
I am wanting to make an instrument driven by a servo motor. You said the gears came with the servo? Can you share where to find the servo that comes with the gears?
I'd like to say yes- but there are some big hurdles that I can already anticipate. First- my PC has no more video outputs left, and the new(ish) ARC-210 radio panel will very likely need one. Also- the Scorpion HMD will be unusable with my projector setup (but ill definetly give it a shot in VR)
The Warthog Project you could use a usb screen. I’m currently talking to a guy who is sourcing 5” x 5” monitors for the MFCDs and those screens are USB ones. Your other option is to drop another video card into your PC (if you have a slot free that is). It probably isn’t going to take much bandwidth so I’d probably go with a USB screen if you could find find one the right size. I’m currently trying to put together my own Hog pit so I was cursing under my breath as I even had sourced parts for the radios that don’t even work lol. Under the flap of the ARC-164 radio are the fill connector, zeroing rotary switch... and two unique trimmer pots. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254595815079 This obsession really gets to you lol
Quick question. What software are you using to cut and engrave the panels? I'm new to it and using light burn. When I export a dxf of the gauge face from Fusion to light burn it looks messy. How are you doing it? Sifted through your videos and website and didn't find the answer. Thanks
the problem with them is you lose positionability. They only run forwards or backwards when the PWM changes higher or lower than "mid"- you cannot direct a continuous servo to a specific position
Have you lowered the output voltage of the Stepper Motor Driver V44 A3967 to 5V and then managed to let it run quietly? The VID28-05 would also work with a voltage of 4.2V, but I found no low voltage driver. I will try to control the stepper motors directly using the Arduino. You have implemented an impressive project. When I see the curved screen, I'm always speechless.
what do you do with the arduino ono? connect it to some sort of master arduino/controller, or do you just connect it to some usb hub? (like the dozens of other arduinos?)
I would love to learn how to do that. Looks like a fun hobby and just maybe, one can make some money... You must feel a sense of satisfaction when you complete a panel. What is a good way to start learning? Any book recommendations? 🍺Cheers Do you sell them? You should create a “lego-like / IKEA package “ with instructions for people that want to dive into electronics with little experience. If that’s possible.
Wow, nice job on that gauge.
You didn't mention one thing, how do you zero the gauge on power up? Being steper motors there is no position feedback. I was really curious to know that.
I forgot about that! Basically- when the Arduino first receives power the code runs through a startup sequence, where each motor turns a set amount of times one way, then the other, then it settles in the middle. The position is then set as zero and known to DCS-BIOS. The lack of psychical stops is the main reason that the needles are press fit and not glued in place. Once the stepper does its startup and settles you can then physically move the needles to the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and you know everything is in the right spot. Having said all that- I very rarely have to physically adjust the needles at all. The fuel gauge never does any high speed moves (like the hydraulic gauges do), so it never really gets messed up. Also- the Arduino Sketch for that one was not mine- I found it shared on the ED Forums. I had a look but cant find my file, or the post on the forums, so unfortunately I can't point you to the full explanation of how it works!
Wow... the amount of passion and absolute artisan pride that goes in to your build is completely inspiring.
I just finished mech engineering a few weeks ago. Thought I would now love to complicate my life trying to do things like these.
I think I will wait a few more years to mature myself in the field a bit more before getting into this level of crazy projects xD.
@@fns58 This IS the way to mature yourself my man. Don't think it will be easier later on. You just have to dig deep and get stuck with it like this guy did. He explains it nicely in this video and it's all said and done....but believe you me, this dude banged his head on the table more than once :) WHICH is just part of it. You want to be better at anything, try to do the impossible with the highest learning curve. Because you will find out 100 other things along the way.
HOLY CRAP, MAN! You’re ridiculously talented! Your attention to detail, craftsmanship, & dedication to authentic, quality parts is
un-freakin-real!!! WOW!
It would be cool to see a video with an actual Warthog pilot trying out your Sim & giving you feedback!
I had an idea for your liquid nitrogen needle lighting, if you replace that green LED with a UV LED, and paint the white bit of the needle with UV paint (colour of your choosing) it should make it glow nicely
I'm stealing that idea!!
I second that. The combination of uv-leds and lume is absolutely mesmerizing
Man you have no idea how much joy you brought to me making these tutorials. i had an idea to make a custom cpu and gpu usage gauge on my pc and this is great!!
Looks like the 10000, 1000 and 100 lb numbers are output by DCS-BIOS.
If they are full 16-bit numbers, you'll need to "map" them to 0 to 9.
Something like: "digit = map(value, 0, 65536, 0, 10);"
That should work - it should never produce "10" because the input number won't go above 65535.
It's a pain, really - the P51D fuel levels are output in both gauge form and integer gallons figures.
A million pounds craftsmanship cockpit, absolutely nuts
Terrific job, some nice simple ways of controlling the gauges.
Your build quality looks amazing. (As someone who can't drill a single hole in line with itself.)
Its a nice touch of the ' Warthog Project' shown on the back panel for the guage
WoW, nicely done. Very Inspiring. I am almost retired now and have been looking for a project other than honey-do's...
I am comfortable with mechanical 'stuff', but know just enough electronics to be dangerous. You offer a lot of information, which helped me decide on this project. A-10 is one of my favorites and it looks like I will finally be able to afford one ;)
Truly appreciate your time and expertise, and sharing your hard work. If you have any detailed documents, how-to's, or coding you would like to sell I would be interested.
...BRRRRRRRTT...
Thank you! I have been looking for several years for someone to show how something like this is done
I'm don't think I'll ever build such amazing gauges but just wanted to say you're an awesome human being for sharing all that knowledge for free. My work involves both software and hardware (I'm a mechanical engineer) and it always bothered me that there's so much open source content for software and so little for hardware projects. I've already seen great things coming from sites like sketchfab and grabcad, but initiatives like your channel are really inspiring for me. Keep up the great work!
Please keep it up!!! Just a simply stunning project! I’m beyond jealous
I've said it before but this is seriously one of the best projects on the whole internet. Pushes all the right buttons for me (pun intended). Keep up the amazing work!
Great information for home cockpit builders out there! I'm setting a target for myself to create a Concorde home cockpit in 5 years
On illuminating your gauge needles: Have you considered using fluorescent acrylic needles (or needles with a fluorescent segment), and light them with blue or UV LEDs? That way you get the needles to "light" without such evident reflection from the light bulb tower off the gauge glass.
This is great! Thank you for posting this, it's very satisfying to put this together with the "ebay laser" engraving video and see how everything comes together.
Soooo many questions but all I can say is this exceptional work and my OCD has finally found a buddy.
Inspirational!
Time to learn, build and buy for the upcoming AH-64 ;)
This was a random recommend on RUclips but I had to sub just for the amount to effort you put in.
I really want to make one of these with my friends when I can finally see them again. I think it might be a pretty cool summer project.
I grow more impressed with every video I watch. Awesome!
Это надо быть одержимым симуляторами самолетов, либо быть в прошлом пилотом...чтоб замутить такое! А вобщем, конечно круто!!!
Dude, I fly 737s IRL. Are you available to fix the gauges in my flight deck ? You are amazing !!
737max?
Scott L About 14,000 hours on 737classic and NG. Mostly NG
Absolutely stunning mate! Keep e’m coming!
This is awesome. I'm going to change those stupid displays in my car and my motorcycle to proper analog gauges now.
Do you work in Engineering field? All the parts look professional piece of art! I've learn many stuffs through the videos you posted. Thanks and keep up the good work!!!
I’ve recently flown with you on 4YA, was a pleasure to see your skill in the A-10!
Haha, was that the one where I kept getting team killed? Everyone in that server seems to pick on the lonely Hog driver!
The Warthog Project think so... Gosh, sometimes people are crazy 🤯!
Very cool. You can always put some green foil over the white leds. Or use a slice of your screwdriver handle :)
I wish I had the space, and time, and money, and skills to do this! Great setup!
I used to design instrument panel for flight simulators.
Your build quality look extremely good for a DIY.
Are you laser engraving the face plate?
We were using 6mm cast acrylic with multiple coat of a special white paint and 2 coat of final color then laser engraving the artwork.
From what I remember, the faceplate is white. He then paints them black, and then laser engraves the paint off where the letters should be.
Holy shit this is the first video of yours I've come across. INCREDIBLE STUFF! Time to Binge watch all your videos lmao
Ma quanto ti è costato questo FANTASTICO simulatore di volo ????
Non è un videogioco ....è REALISSIMO ...
È stupendo . Complimenti 👌👌👌👌👌
I wan't do do something like this, but for the Huey or upcoming Kiowa
A-10 fly's around
A-10 in a Maui voice: "Ya starein at a demigod"
Hello, i know if you already solved your oled screen problem but you might have the same i had : if you use U8G2 lib to control it you HAVE to convert your number variable (int, float, long...) to a String.
By the way, I love what you do
Sir that is some ingenious work and design! When my mother in-law quarters free up I may have a project to work on in retirement. They both should occur at the same time!😀😂
I learn so much from your videos!
Goddamn this so cool! I saw your other video about your set up vs VR. I'm running VR myself but if I had the space, money, and know-how I'd pick your set-up any day of the week. The immersion must be mind blowing.
What a passion project!
Woah, your cockpit is really amazing! Your next step IMO should be to build a collimated display. And a HUD! You can probably use a cheap spherical mirror (plus one or two other projection optics) and a small oled display for it.
No, he cant do a collimated HUD. Because it's useless, when you project picture on the wall. HUD projects picture to infinity. Wall projection is plain flat picture, with no parallax, projected on the wall 5-10-15 meters in front of you. Marks on the HUD and on the terrain just don't fit.
What? I'm not saying his HUD should be collimated. I'm saying that rather than using a projector screen to render the outside, he should build a curved parabolic display so that the focal plane of the outside view is rendered at infinity so you eliminate parallax. It'll feel much more realistic when flying at high altitudes
I love the explanation videos. They are really insightful to someone (me) who is planning and building their own cockpit panels. Mine are a hodgepodge collection to make a general purpose cockpit for VR, but I'd still like them to look and act right.
The one thing I would love to know is how you did the lighting circuits. I'm kinda copying your LED layouts for my panels, but I am pretty much a novice when it comes to planning out circuits and dimmers with LEDs.
You solved my problems. Great video, helped tons. Thank you
bloody brilliant mate
Can’t wait till you build a working GAU-8/A Avenger!
Generic account Having removed, torn apart, reassembled, reinstalled and loaded more GAU-8 gun systems, I can attest that after you do it hundreds of times, loaded hundreds of thousands of 30MM rounds , cleared umpteen gun hot lights and jams, it loses its appeal after doing it for 10 years. Now I get to fire as many rounds and drop as many munitions I want without ever getting that god awful, unremovable grease on my hands and clothes. 😁😁🇺🇸🇺🇸💪💪👍🏼👍🏼
Brilliant work!
Ozzy Man needs to do a show on YOU! Really good work....
Love the electronics, I can mainly understand that. But how do you extract all the instrument data from the sim?
He uses "Dcs bios" to get the data.
Hey man, just discovered your video and this is amazing. Great work
Amazing
Great and amazing work!!
awesome pit. lots beautiful work
Is there a video on the design and construction of the actual gauge itself? Really interesting in making one for automotive purposes
TALENT, just talent!
> How much do you like flight simulators?
> Yes
i am so bloody amazed with all the hard work you did on this....but that's all part of the hobby fun....unfortunately i fly dcs in VR so there's no point in having all this.... but i'm still VERY JEALOUS
mixed reality.
Been watching your vids really good mate your attention to detail is awesome. Any chance you can do a more in depth demo of the laser cutter you are using. Thanks.
Amazing work as always!
awesome. just speechless.
Fantastic Video, thanks for sharing your knowledge.
At night in combat aircraft most gauges are either Red or Green. The reason for Red is it doesn't hurt your night vision, or Darkness vision.
very interesting and true
Sick stuff brother.👍
Great series, I am jealous...
That is VR in beast mode
Hi there! Where did you source the PCB board for the coaxial stepper motor? I am working on a project that uses one of those steppers and am not a fan of the solder tabs at all. It seems like PCB is the way to go, but I have never designed one myself before. It would be great if I could use the same one you have. I also didn't see the file for it on your download page/website. Thanks in advance!
Amazing work.
this is next level, wow
Regarding the fuel total number:
According to Wikipedia, the internal fuel tank capacity is 11000lbs
So 5500 each.
You could use that with the gauge position to "map" a value for each tank, then add them together to get your total number.
This is what I did for my P51 "mockpit" total gauge. Unlike the A10, the P51 doesn't have a single total available, but DCS-BIOS does output the gallons values for the 3 internal tanks.
Alternatively, DCS-BIOS outputs the 3 most significant digits of that display...
Nice JOB, Congratulations
Hey. Awesome work. Are you willing to share the wiring and code for the fuel gauge stepper?
What is your real-life profession? Your work is incrediable!
I am wanting to make an instrument driven by a servo motor. You said the gears came with the servo? Can you share where to find the servo that comes with the gears?
Will you be doing updates for the new A-10C II updated cockpit?
I'd like to say yes- but there are some big hurdles that I can already anticipate. First- my PC has no more video outputs left, and the new(ish) ARC-210 radio panel will very likely need one. Also- the Scorpion HMD will be unusable with my projector setup (but ill definetly give it a shot in VR)
The Warthog Project you could use a usb screen. I’m currently talking to a guy who is sourcing 5” x 5” monitors for the MFCDs and those screens are USB ones. Your other option is to drop another video card into your PC (if you have a slot free that is).
It probably isn’t going to take much bandwidth so I’d probably go with a USB screen if you could find find one the right size.
I’m currently trying to put together my own Hog pit so I was cursing under my breath as I even had sourced parts for the radios that don’t even work lol. Under the flap of the ARC-164 radio are the fill connector, zeroing rotary switch... and two unique trimmer pots. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254595815079
This obsession really gets to you lol
@@NeoMorphUK Where are you sourcing the 5x5 screens from?
Diode663 guy is selling them n Facebook under the name Cube Sim.
Diode663 ruclips.net/video/T7aUKxidvMk/видео.html
Realy good job mate wow
Nice work brother ! And how you did to syncronize the simulation information on PC with the real gauge ?
Hi!
Do you know where I can find the panel lighting fixtures that they have in real aircraft for the gauges? Need them for my F-16 engine gauges.
Just awesome
Quick question. What software are you using to cut and engrave the panels? I'm new to it and using light burn. When I export a dxf of the gauge face from Fusion to light burn it looks messy. How are you doing it? Sifted through your videos and website and didn't find the answer. Thanks
So, when you going to add some force feedback to that joystick? ;) astounding work so far dude, keep it up
Continuous rotation servos would help you a lot.
the problem with them is you lose positionability. They only run forwards or backwards when the PWM changes higher or lower than "mid"- you cannot direct a continuous servo to a specific position
You need you own self contained oxygen system sealed from the outside for that extra level of realism..
Another great video!!
There's another stepper with a clear post in order to light up the needle. BKA30L-F1
Are you excited for Microsoft flight simulator? I wonder if they would do a military plane expansion pack.
The problem with the oled fuel display is because it's in lbs. If it was in metric it would just work ;-)
do you have a video on the software/firmware you use to control all these guages,screens,switches etc
Very nice.
Keep up the great work! Cheers!
Nice job...
please make a video how you interface the hardware to the software
Have you lowered the output voltage of the Stepper Motor Driver V44 A3967 to 5V and then managed to let it run quietly? The VID28-05 would also work with a voltage of 4.2V, but I found no low voltage driver. I will try to control the stepper motors directly using the Arduino.
You have implemented an impressive project. When I see the curved screen, I'm always speechless.
what do you do with the arduino ono? connect it to some sort of master arduino/controller, or do you just connect it to some usb hub? (like the dozens of other arduinos?)
I would love to learn how to do that. Looks like a fun hobby and just maybe, one can make some money... You must feel a sense of satisfaction when you complete a panel. What is a good way to start learning? Any book recommendations? 🍺Cheers Do you sell them? You should create a “lego-like / IKEA package “ with instructions for people that want to dive into electronics with little experience. If that’s possible.
Amazing!
magic
Can the value of the digital readout be calculated in the Arduino from the sum of the values two analog indicators?
Could you shift the project to airwolf helicopter flying, fighting?
Very cool
Where can you buy these servos with the included gears? I cant find these anywhere.
What is the cost of the manufacturing the whole cockpit?