Asi

[Kerbo]

You might want to consider buying a small lathe, like a TAIG or Sherline to help with the tricky concentric parts.

I have considered a lathe many times, then my wife gives me that look.

Back in college I did an engineering internship and had access to a very nice, fully stocked machine shop and a master machinist. Boy do I miss those days!

One of the many things I like about Mike Powell's first book is how he has figured out how to make the instruments without the need for a lathe or mill. I am getting passable results with a small drill press, a band saw and basic hand tools.

[Kerbo]

One more picture update before bed time. I fired up the soldering iron and got most of the board populated, then stuck it on the ASI.

[CrashEd]

Fantastic work wriley!

I almost went down the build-your-own-route, but I found the USB link the tricky part. It would be great to see how you've written your software USB interface. I've always used FTDI chips and gone with rs232 at the software end.

Great mechanical skills too. If you need any more faceplates let me know. I have some left over from my Simkits gauges before I sold them...

[Kerbo]

It would be great to see how you've written your software USB interface.

I would be embarrassed to share my beta code right now. Once it is fit for public consumption I will be releasing the hardware and software design for my USB boards as open source.

[Kerbo]

I fixed some minor issues with the PCB and declare the hardware build for the ASI complete. Now I need to finish my MIP so I can put this sucker on it. The fun never ends!

Note: The cool white faceplate is courtesy of forum member Tripacer, thanks!

[CrashEd]

Beautiful work mate, well done.

[Bjarne Horsbøl]

Hello Wriley

I Follow your project and I am impressed of what you are able to do.

I do not have your skills, so my first attempt is a MIP with an LCD screen.


You can buy almost everything you need for Heavy cockpit building ...

but a "simple" thing as an 80 mm bezel seems to be impossible to buy.

I really wonder why .............


Now to my question !

Did you make your bezel with an CNC machine ?


Best Regards

Bjarne Horsboel
Copenhagen, Denmark

[BlackWidow]

That is some fantastic work. this has definitely inspired me to purchase Mikes book and attempt a build myself.

[Kerbo]

Hello Wriley
Did you make your bezel with an CNC machine ?

Hi Bjarne,
The white plastic bezel was made for me by member Tripacer. Everything else was made by me with basic hand tools.

Happy simming!

[Kerbo]

While on vacation I managed to squeeze in a few hours of coding to get my ASI working with FSX. Even with only one gauge it was very rewarding to see my hard work pay off with a working instrument. The software is alpha quality and needs a lot of debugging but it works! At some point in the future I will be releasing all this software and firmware as open source for the curious.

I didn't get a picture of the ASI sitting on my desk while I fly, but here are some screenshots.


The interface software (usbSimCentral) and FSX


Calibration tool

Time to build another instrument!