Tutorials
Building the Opencockpits COMM
Building the Opencockpits NAV
Building the Opencockpits ADF
Building the Opencockpits XPDR
Radio Pedestal Circuit Diagram
Backlighting the Opencockpits MCP
Simple and Cheap Home-Made Panels
December 2008 Builder of the Month
avionics
The avionics are an integral part of any aircraft and also simulators. After a lot of investigation I decided to purchase Boeing style radios from Opencockpits which were the best value for money around. At purchase all components to complete one COMM radio cost approx. 100 Euros and the complete pedastal set comprising 2 x Comm, 2 x Nav, 1 x ADF & 1 x XPDR came to about 450 Euros including shipping. Not bad value by comparison but be prepared for some serious soldering and cabling!
However as of December 2008 Opencockpits offer a complete plug & play comm & nav radio for around 130 Euros each and they come with backlighting. If you are little technically shy this is probably the better way to go. Purchase, install, configure and fly!
But for those of us that like a challenge I have complete instructions on assembling the kit form of each radio. This tutorial assumes that the user already owns the Opencockpits Mastercard as the associated 7-segment Display cards need to connect to this unit in order to operate. You should also have an understanding of the software SIOC which is used to program the different functions of the radios.
Take a closer look at each completed radio then click on the centre pages to go the assembly tutorial for each one. Alternatively click on the pdf tutorials listed in the right column of this webpage to download.
DISCLAIMER: Please use these tutorials at your own risk. The author claims no responsibility for hardware or electrical damage as a result. These tutorials are made available as a guide only and represents the process, views and opinions of the author and not of Opencockpits or any affiliates.
COMM Radio
NAV Radio
ADF Radio
Transponder
The completed pedestal radios all fired up and plenty of places to go!
The nightmare within! Display boards attached directly to the underside of the radios. Also the mastercard connection board for the first 36 inputs. My radios just happen to have 36 switch requirements so this worked out perfectly.
Cabling is kept to a minimum also.
Tracing broken wires is a little bit of a chore however so I make sure I get it right first time.