workshop beginner

Caution

This guide is obsolete. See the updated guide for information on building the beginner workshop project.

Workshop - Beginner

The workshop is aimed at everyone who would like to try out building their first device with MobiFlight for enhancing their flight simulation experience.

Overview

You will build a device that uses

• Illumintated push buttons
• Toggle switches, and
• Encoder

You will learn how to configure these devices and how to assign functions inside the simulator so that you can interact with it.

Required parts

• 1x Arduino
• 1x MobiFlight Prototyping board
• 1x USB cable
• 1x body incl 3x lids, Single encoder knob, washers & nuts
• 2x LED Push button (orange, red)
• 1x Single encoder with PCB
• 2x ON-ON switch
• 1x MobiFlight Switch PCB
• XH-JST-Wires: 2x 2-pin, 3x 3pin, 1x 4pin
• 12 screws (5mm M3)

3d print files (STLs)

• Base / Core - workshop-beginner-base.stl
• Dual push button lid - workshop-dual-pushbutton.stl
• Dual toggle switch lid - workshop-dual-toggle-switch.stl
• Encoder lid - workshop-encoder.stl
• Honeycomb/Saitek adapter - honeycomb-adapter-short.stl

For downloading, hover mouse over filename > right-click > Save file as

Exploring the prototyping board

The prototyping board is a great way to learn about MobiFlight and connecting different device types easily and without soldering.

In the workshop we are going to use the highlighted connectors:

• LED 1 PWM - For the LED of the first push button
• Button 1 - For the button pins of the first push button
• LED 2 PWM - For the LED of the second push button
• Button 2 - For the button pins of the second push button
• Switch 1 (ON-ON) - For the first connector on the toggle switch PCB
• Switch 2 (ON-ON) - For the second connector on the toggle switch PCB
• Encoder 1 - for the connector on the encoder PCB

Assemble Arduino and Prototyping board

• Insert Arduino board on the back of the PCB
• Connect the cable
• Connect the cable to your computer

Note: for those who have not brought their computer, they can use one of our laptops, or we can flash it after the session

Start MobiFlight Connector

• Download MobiFlight Connector from the website
• Install MobiFlight by following the instructions of the installer
• Start Mobiflight, see what’s happening
  • attempt to auto upload firmware
  • Arduino Mega Pro mini is ambigious
• Manually upload firmware
  • right click on module and select Upload firmware > Arduino Mega 2560
• Save the prepared config
• Open the config, right click on module > Open
• Explore the devices

Assemble LED Buttons

• Unscrew the fastener from the back of the button
• Put the LED Buttons into the lid
• Put the fastener back on
• Pass the cable through the hole on the back
• Close the lid

Connect LED Buttons

• Use 4x 2-pin cable
• Use LED 1 PWM for light (red)
• Use Button1 for button one (red)
• Use LED 2 PWM for light (orange)
• Use Button2 for button two (orange)

Assemble Toggle Switches

• Put one nut on each Switch, screw it on until half way on the thread
• Put both switches onto the PCB
• Fasten screws to attach PCB to the back of the lid

Connect Toggle Switches

• Use 2x 3-pin cable
• Connect switch PCB Connector 1 to Switch 1 ON-ON
• Connect switch PCB Connector 2 to Switch 2 ON-ON

Assemble Encoder

• Put the Encoder PCB on the back of the lid
• Fasten it with the screws
• Put the lid into the core part

Connect Encoder

• Use 1x 4-pin cable
• Connect Encoder PCB Inner Shaft to Encoder 1

Configuration

We are going to use the parking brake for

• Red LED - turns on when parking brake is set - (output configuration)
• Red Push button - toggles the parking brake - (input configuration)
• Left switch (switch 1) - Set the parking brake (lower position), release the parking brake (upper position) - (input configuration)
• Encoder - control the heading bug - (input configuration)

LED Button (red) - Output configuration

• Create output config for LED parking brake
  • Test the LED
  • Assign it to parking brake

LED Button (red) - Input configuration

• Create input config for Button parking brake toggle
  • use Scan for input > push the button
  • select tab On Press
  • select action Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
  • search for parking
  • filter aircraft for Generic
  • select Parking brake toggle
• Test the config

Left switch (switch 1) - Input configuration

• Create input config for Switch parking brake ON
  • use Scan for input > flip the switch down
  • select On Press
  • select action Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
  • search for parking
  • filter aircraft for Generic
  • select Parking brake ON
• Create input config for Switch parking brake OFF
  • use Scan for input > flip the switch up
  • select On Press
  • select action Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
  • search for parking
  • filter aircraft for Generic
  • select Parking brake OFF
• Test the config by flipping the switch up and down

Encoder - Input configuration

• Create input config for Encoder heading bug
  • use Scan for input > twist the encoder
  • select tab On Left
  • select action Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
  • search for bug
  • filter aircraft for Generic
  • filter system for Flight Instrumentation
  • select Heading Bug DEC
  • click on Copy
  • select tab On Right
  • click on Paste
  • select Heading Bug INC
• Test the config

What to do next?

• Take your device home
• Play around with assigning functions
• Watch the Getting started video
• Join our MobiFlight Discord Server
• Check out our MobiFlight Community Shop
• Build your own things!