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-   -   Rocker switch action and conventions (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=157609)

Snowflake 02-11-2018 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by az_gila (Post 1238676)
One more variation based on Rob's comments. Add a "label for dummies" as a separate strip above the switches. It does make the switches look neater. The oval icon would illuminate to give a quick visual indication of ON

YES. That looks great. Tell them *once* how to use the switches, and it's clear it applies to all of them.

az_gila 02-11-2018 10:18 AM

Thanks to all
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflake (Post 1238696)
YES. That looks great. Tell them *once* how to use the switches, and it's clear it applies to all of them.

Yes, and a thanks to all that commented. I think this will be the final design, and it is interesting to see the progression to get to this result.

Only two custom items needed from rockerswitchpros.com - an upper oval and the modern electronics on/off symbol/icon which is not in the library. Hopefully it won't be too expensive.

Sam Staton 02-11-2018 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by az_gila (Post 1238671)
Did you label the ON position in any way?

The illuminated LED means ?on?.

RV10Pilot 02-14-2018 04:50 PM

Led Indicators
 
It does seem LED indicators for the carling v series rockers are hard to find. But would this work it is in stock V1D1KXXB-000-XLU1 Carling Rocker Switch On-Off with 2 Blue Leds, Single Pole, Spade terminals from spemco.

az_gila 02-14-2018 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RV10Pilot (Post 1239579)
It does seem LED indicators for the carling v series rockers are hard to find. But would this work it is in stock V1D1KXXB-000-XLU1 Carling Rocker Switch On-Off with 2 Blue Leds, Single Pole, Spade terminals from spemco.

Unfortunately it doesn't have two poles which make the VPX switch hook-ups much better.

Two blue LEDs would look good though. :)

CubedRoot 02-15-2018 01:12 AM

Well, good news. I found a gang of 5 Carlings in my shop storage, and about 25 laser etchable blank actuators from when I was tinkering with these things a few years ago.

I also found a metric ton of the APEM switch covers and a couple of APEM switches (These are the exact ones that Aveo used for their RockRack switches a long time ago).

They are in a 5 gang bank, and they are white, blue, amber, red and green LED lighted.

They are single pole, single throw, with the top and bottom indicators individually wired (they have their own terminals). These are the OFF-ON switches that can be wired to carry a +12v load of several amps, or even a switched ground for VPX wiring. I'll wire them up to mimic a VPX install

I'll get them wired up on my 12v bench power, and laser cut a jig for them. I couldn't find my old jig :-( Once I have the jig made up, I'll etch out a couple of these blanks with the artwork in this thread, so you can see how they'd look in each of the colors and combinations.

The blues are SUPER SUPER bright, so are the whites, I hooked the indicators up to see what color they were and those two were blindingly bright without actuators on them.

Is there any specific layouts or icons y'all want to see? A good variation would be better for me, so I can find the right power/speed/DPI settings on my laser to get a good quality etch on these guys.

jtate747 02-15-2018 11:06 AM

I like the discussions in this thread and am most likely going to use the dual independent lights Gil mentioned and the oval (ON) at the top of the switch.

I am thinking of installing the following Carling switches in mine;
Master
ALT
Avionics Master
Nav Lights
Strobe Lights
Boost Pump
Pitot Heat Landing Light

and Maybe -
Cabin Light (Glareshield LED)
Panel (switch) Lights
I am still playing around with how I am going to work all (or most of that) with my VPX box.
Also if I understand it right, you can dim LED lights, but you have to use a "pulse" dimmer. Not sure how well this works, so that is why I am thinking of installing switches to have the ability to completely turn OFF those lights. I am leaning toward a dial for those now - with an OFF detent.

CubedRoot 02-15-2018 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by az_gila (Post 1238676)
One more variation based on Rob's comments. Add a "label for dummies" as a separate strip above the switches. It does make the switches look neater. The oval icon would illuminate to give a quick visual indication of ON -


I'll try to engrave a couple actuators like these tonight and stick on this 5 gang of switches I have so you can see how it looks.

Heres a preliminary video I did for another thread thats similar in discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyA_-9YOK8M

I'm going to laser cut a "panel" to hold this 5 switch gang after work today, and then etc a couple of actuators with these graphics to get a feel for the power/speed settings I need. I'll shoot a video of that tonight when I get them done.

I will say, the actuator I done in that video above, you can see the closer the engraving is to the center of the switch the better it illuminates. I can etch any portion of the actuator with anything techincally, but the closer it is to the edge, the fainter it illuminates.


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