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3d - Printworx

Arducopter or Megapirate six position switch Transmitter mod

Started by pheasant_plucker, Tuesday,January 29, 2013, 18:52:25

Previous topic - Next topic

pheasant_plucker

I am going to fit a 6 position rotary switch to my faithful old Hitec Eclipse Transmitter in place of one of the rotary channels for use with Megapirate software. I';m going to do it on the Eclipse but the same procedure is valid for any Transmitter with a rotary channel.
I have never seen anything other than a miniature potentiometer used for the rotary channel and six position rotary switches in this format are either expensive (£30 plus) or hard to find. However it';s not impossible and an Ebay search came up trumps for me last week when I found a seller in Americal with ex military grade rotary switches in mini format with selectable stops.

[attach=1]

The next step is to work out the resistor values for the six positions. I';ll cover that in the next post.

Gerry

The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

KK1W

Quote from: pheasant_plucker on Tuesday,January 29, 2013, 18:52:25
However it';s not impossible and an Ebay search came up trumps for me last week when I found a seller in Americal with ex military grade rotary switches in mini format with selectable stops.


Gerry

Gerry, is this the eBay listing ? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Grayhill-56P30-01-1-06N-30-Deg-200mA-1-Deck-1-Pole-6-Positions-Pole-Non-Short-/181071463266?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a28b34362

Thanks!
Jim/KK1W

pheasant_plucker

Close but not exactly the same. As long as it will physically fit in your tx it will work. I only paid £6 inc p&p for mine. Most of the switches sold are plastic bodied and 25mm in dia with a 6mm shaft. These are metal bodied half inch with a 1/8" shaft. Worth looking for.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

QuadBod


pheasant_plucker

The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

KK1W

Jim/KK1W

pheasant_plucker

No he listed some more after I bought mine so keep checking. I';ll try to update this tomorrow night.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

QuadBod

Thanks plucker,

I contacted the seller, and he has relisted it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/330866270255

Anyone up for a group buy?

$6 (£4) for the switch, but $10.50 (£7) for postage. How';d you get it shipped so cheaply?

Cheers,
Matt.

pheasant_plucker

£3.49 For the switch £2.86 postage & packaging
It was just on a buy it now at that price. New these switches would be well over £40 each.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

#10
Some progress as time allows.

The (dusty) transmitter. I am going to convert the left hand trimmer as the right is already on a three position switch for Multiwii
[attach=1]          [attach=2]

Inside the case showing the rear view with the pot to be converted on the right and the left hand one has no wires attached due to the previous conversion
[attach=3]          [attach=4]          [attach=5]

Give your knob a good pull and it will come off in your hand. Now you can remove the pots retaining nut using pliers.
[attach=6]

Finally the Pot is free.
[attach=7]

This is the new switch. It';s actually quite a bit smaller than the original pot which is a really nice problem to have.
The number of "ways" of the switch is controlled by pushing the wire stops gently in to the body in the positions between 6 & 7 and  8 & 1
This gives six positions. With this type of switch you can have 2 to 8 depending on stop location.
[attach=8]

with the washer fitted to the switch then in to the hole the pins are locked in place.
[attach=9]

More to follow, Next post we';ll look at resistor values and wiring it up.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

Gaza07

[url="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN6zN99iLCIJea5FCQPKf_g"]YouTube[/url]   [url="https://www.printing-3d.co.uk"]printing-3d[/url]  [url="https://www.thingiverse.com/Gaza07/about"]Thingiverse[/url]  [url="https://www.3d-printworx.co.uk"]3d-printworx[/url]

pheasant_plucker

Here is the schematic diagram for wiring up the switch.
The original pot is 10k so we divide it up to give us an equal share at each switch position. At the end of it';s travel the resistance is never zero so we buffer it with a resistor at each end. I have put the Hitec eclipse wire colours on there but you just need the outer wires from your pot to connect to the resistor ends and the middle one to the switch centre pin.
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

#13
If you don';t know the resistor colour codes you will need help identifying them. There are two common systems, four band and five band. In each case the last coloured band identifies the tolerance of the resistor which isn';t really an issue for us so red 2% or gold 5% will do. Read the colours from left to right with the tolerance being the last band.

Four Band Resistors
1.2k   (Brown, Red, Red)
[attach=1]

1.5k   (Brown, Green, Red)
[attach=2]

Five Band Resistors
1.2k   (Brown, Red, Black, Brown)
[attach=3]

1.5k   (Brown, Green, Black, Brown)
[attach=4]

Once we have all this together we just need to wire it up.

Gerry

The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

So far these are estimated resistor values but should be ball park for what we need which is a linear spread of pulse widths from the transmitter. The equivalent of turning your pot through 6 equal steps. You can if you wish use multi turn cermet trimmers instead of resistors. They will cost more but you can adjust each one individually to give the exact switch position in the flight planner.
Something like this ebay listing http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/9-5mm-Multiturn-Cermet-Trimmer-Pot-Resistor-2K-4pk-/120855333131?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item1c238a090b
You would need two sets at £1.05 each plus £1.50 p&p - £3.60 in total.

You would solder one of the outer pins to the centre one then connect them in place of a resistor. These are obviously a lot bulkier than 1/4watt resistors but you shouldn';t have any issues placing them in your TX case just make sure that they are well insulated.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

Now we can wire it up.

Here are my resistors. It';s hard to see the colours here but it';s obvious once you get them together.
[attach=1]             [attach=3]

I started by putting the 1.2k resistors on to pins 1 and 6 it';s easier to leave the tape on one end while you do this.
[attach=2]

Finally all of the other resistors were connected in a Daisy chain around the switch pins forming a continuous bridge between pins 1 and 6.
You can wire them remotely fro the switch if you wish but this way is more compact.
Don';t forget to solder the white wire to the centre pin first before you do the resistors. Once done the outer wires are soldered to the free ends of the 1.2k resistors.
[attach=4]

All done and ready to go back together.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

I just need to fit a knob now but I can either buy one or I can fill the centre of the original with epoxy and push it on the switch. Once the epoxy is set you have a working knob which matches the TX. Best way to do this is to put some cling film over the shaft of the knob to stop epoxy spoiling your case. Fill the hole in the knob with epoxy, lightly grease the switch shaft (you may wish to pull your knob off in future) Prop the transmitter upside down then push the knob over the shaft. Support it until it';s set then pull the cling film out.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

KK1W

Thanks again for the info. I ordered two switches this morning. Only needed one but....

I was thinking, since it can be a seven (or eight) position switch it might be nice to set it up for seven but wire it so position #1 and #7 are both stable mode. Then, if you panic and need to get back to stable mode just turn the switch until it stops, you don';t need to remember which direction to turn.  Just a thought (every now and then one surfaces, then drops back to the depths again  :smiley:)
Jim/KK1W

pheasant_plucker

Remember the resistor values are only a guestimate at the moment. I will meter the original pot and work out the exact values required when I get some more time which could be next week now.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]


teslahed

This is a nice idea - might have to give it a go myself.

I guess there is no reason why you have to replace a rotary dial with a six position switch though? Presumably you could use any of the auxillary channels that are tied to a switch or dial?
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

pheasant_plucker

A switched channel has the resistance preset and built in to the main circuit board. Not impossible but not easy to do unless your experienced and can trace the circuit/identify components.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

I have revised the resistor value and the amount of them to give a wider more linear spread of positions. I decided to use 5x 2k resistors and after measuring the pot do away with the end pair. This mimics the original 10k pot better and gives full range of movement on the switch.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-4-Watt-Metal-Film-Resistor-packs-of-100-500-Quarter-0-25-1-4w-w-25-1-arduino-/251132294699?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=&hash=item3a78a6b62b

The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

The original knob from the Eclipse didn';t fit the switch and looked odd as it didn';t fit over the nut. I was hunting around and found an old Futaba challenger TX with a knob. Further investigation showed it to be a machined aluminium knob with a grub screw (they don';t make them like they used to) I still had to do the epoxy trick but the knob fits over the switch mounting nut beautifully. I';ll grab a photo when I';m happy the epoxy has set hard.

Gerry
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

pheasant_plucker

Here it is with polythene still in place until the epoxy sets.

[attach=1][attach=2]
The man serving me in the canteen said "Look, You can see the face of Jesus in the Margarine" The Asian guy next to me replied "I can't believe it's not Budda"
[url="http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif"]http://www.namfc.co.uk/pictures/fly.gif[/url]

DarrenG

Just ordered an 8-pos switch from this guy. Will be a project for later on, assuming there is enough space inside the 9XR for this mod.
[b]Darren Griffin[/b]
@DarrenGriffin, @TheMacFixer & @PocketGPSWorld
Sky-Hero Little Spyder with Naza V2, Arducopter Quad with Pixhawk and Emax 250 with Naze32

firey1

Quote from: DarrenG on Friday,May 24, 2013, 14:31:11
Just ordered an 8-pos switch from this guy. Will be a project for later on, assuming there is enough space inside the 9XR for this mod.

The 9XR has smaller internal area for the dials than the 9X the above 6 position switch kit will not fit in the same place as the original
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles

DarrenG

I opened it earlier to disconnect the brighter than the Sun ';Ready'; light and saw it was a bit tight for space there.

Oh we';ll, if it can';t be made to fit I';ll just slap it on eBay listed as ';Arducopter 6-Position Switch'; and make a profit ;)
[b]Darren Griffin[/b]
@DarrenGriffin, @TheMacFixer & @PocketGPSWorld
Sky-Hero Little Spyder with Naza V2, Arducopter Quad with Pixhawk and Emax 250 with Naze32

firey1

Quote from: DarrenG on Friday,May 24, 2013, 20:58:28
I opened it earlier to disconnect the brighter than the Sun ';Ready'; light and saw it was a bit tight for space there.

Oh we';ll, if it can';t be made to fit I';ll just slap it on eBay listed as ';Arducopter 6-Position Switch'; and make a profit ;)

yeah mines still sitting in a box
will prob fit it to one of my 9x transmitters and leave the 9XR stock
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles