Panel Talk

[JimParker256]

Good tip on CommitLift.com. I had forgotten about the presentation he made at OSH. Meant to follow up and order from him. Your post prompted that. Going to see if my IA will approve putting one of these in my '65 Champion 7ECA, which was certified before any TSO requirements... May not work out, but sure worth a try, and if not, I'll have a second set of ports for the back seat.

And, like you, I also will have a cigar-lighter port installed for those "other" needs.

Thanks again for the reminder!

[Flygirl1]

Your welcome! I didn't see him at OSH, and I didn't realize there was so much to learn about USB ports until I looked at his web site. A bit pricey but was convinced it was the way to go. Good choice on putting one in the back seat. Your passengers will appreciate it. Wished I would have put one back there! The cig lighter seemed almost a necessity, many, many uses. Donna

[jaredyates]

I started with a 12v jack on the panel and one in the cabin, and I used adapters to charge the tablets. I installed one USB power supply that was supposed to be able to work, but over time I found that it didn't really deliver the advertised power. Most recently I installed a 5v power supply with plenty of current to power several devices, but found when I tried to use it that the Apple devices look for more than just 5v at the USB, they also look for voltage on the other pins that will tell the device how much power to take. There was a discussion on the aeroelectric list about it. My plan is to add a resistor network to try and get the iPad to take the higher current. Reading the commitlift.com website makes me want to just go back to SAE jacks, being how it sounds like Apple is changing their protocols as time goes on. 5 years is forever in the tablet world, but not in the airplane world.

[JimParker256]

I believe the guys discussing this on the AeroElectric list are pretty confused, and the CommitLift guy has it right. His analysis agrees with what I see from my Anker 40-watt 5-port charger, which charges my iPad Mini 4 even faster than the Apple wall-wart does. I don't believe it's voltage on the "other" pins that controls the charging rates, but the differential voltage he talks about on the primary pins. Re-read his document and see if that doesn't make sense given the instrumented readouts posted in the article. Seems like he figured it out correctly to me...

I'm betting $150 on his design (one for the front and one for the rear seat), rather than try to fudge one up for myself. It would take me a LOT more time to design / build my own, with no telling how many false starts along the way. I'm thinking I'll mount the front USB plug to a 2 1/2 inch standard instrument cutout "blank" on the panel so it's easy to access for service. The device is 2 1/4” wide x 1 1/8” high x 1 1/2” deep, so they should fit the 2 1/2" opening just fine.

But I'm also "future proofing" by adding cigar-lighter style "aux" sockets. I'll put 2 in front (one on each end of the panel) and 1 in the back seat area. I'm also going to put one accessible from the baggage compartment so I can plug in my B-Cool ice-water "air conditioner" on hot days. That one will be wired to a switch (or pullable circuit breaker) on the panel for "on/off" control. Hopefully I'll be prepared for almost anything at that point. And if not, well, I wired it once, I can re-wire it if necessary!

[Flygirl1]

This is the usb in comparison with a dime.

[Flygirl1]

Designing the panel, for me anyway, was by far the most fun part. I moved the little stickies every day until it was just the way I wanted it. My method of madness was electrical on the left and starting on the right. The starting sequence was important because I've never used a system like this before--dual electronic P mags. So everything is in the order of use--up the stack to prime, power to mags, (un)ground mags, start, radio's and visa versa to shut down. D.

[JimParker256]

Looks very clean and neat. Love the integration with the Dynon Skyview systems. What did you use for the "wood panel" look?

I get the L Mag / R Mag switches, but what do the two PMag switches below them operate? I would have thought a single "on/off" switch for each P-Mag would have been sufficient. (But I'm still early in my P-Mag research.)

Also, I'd love to see a full-width picture (or series of pictures) showing your entire panel layout. Mine plan is somewhat similar to yours, thus far.

[Flygirl1]

Looks very clean and neat. Love the integration with the Dynon Skyview systems. What did you use for the "wood panel" look?

I get the L Mag / R Mag switches, but what do the two PMag switches below them operate? I would have thought a single "on/off" switch for each P-Mag would have been sufficient. (But I'm still early in my P-Mag research.)

Also, I'd love to see a full-width picture (or series of pictures) showing your entire panel layout. Mine plan is somewhat similar to yours, thus far.

We took our cut out panel to a decal shop, picked which look we wanted and they printed it up and put it on. Way more expense then I was happy with. Maybe I could have used shelf paper, I don't know, didn't try it. For a lot less $ I wish I would have tried that dip method. Apparently you put it in water and pull it up through the decal and "waalaa, your done. ;-)

All our circuit breakers are underneath on the side as is my parking break and mixture control. Also my headset jacks are on the other side underneath beyond the mixture control. this allowed me to run my headset wire under the side panel so when you look at it there are no visible wires!! I hate wires hanging out all over stuff.

If we would have chose the e-mag instead of the P-mag we could have used one on/off switch. The P-mag has an internal alternator/generator in it. It powers itself after a certain RPM is reached. The P-switch, (white one) or AKA Power switch, allows you to shut it off once your at 900rpm or so and check it. They are explicit on start up and shut down procedures so having it in the necessary order will keep me from doing it wrong until I get used to the system. These little gems also require a simple air blast to set the timing and "waalaa" your done. that simple!!. Can't wait to fire them up. We have had freezing fog for days now and haven't been able to even start the engines. Hoping tomorrow afternoon this will clear enough to get it done. I have over 3000 photo's and I can't find the darn thing and then my card keeps messin up, but will post a photo ASAP.

[Flygirl1]

Eric, taking a closer look at your panel and noticed an engraving in the center. It looks removable. Is that an access panel? And LOVE the bear hawk!! D.

[Flygirl1]

Jim, these panels are missing the carb heat and cabin heat push pulls. The holes are started though. Also we have red led's under the glare shield which is not in this photo either. A note on the glare shield-- We sprayed a light coat of flex seal and it looks great. Gives it a bit of texture and I think it will stand up to the sun. But I have to admit I covered it up with black shelf stuff. Not sure what it is called. Keeps your plates from slipping around. The curve on the Patrol panel didn't allow me to set things up there. The shelf stuff does the job. D.

[JimParker256]

I really like the clean, simple design of both your panels. And I am definitely "stealing" the idea of putting things in "start sequence". That just makes an incredible amount of sense. Great job.

[Flygirl1]

Jim, steal away. You know what they say--"Imitation is the highest form of flattery"!! Beside, I'm getting a lot of my ideas from my Citabria. D.

[JimParker256]

Had to laugh at your comment about getting panel ideas from the Citabria... I guess am too, but mostly "things I do NOT want to do..." Of course, mine is a '65 7ECA, so they may have gotten more "ergonomic" since then. My "mixture" and "cabin heat" knobs are identical (unlabelled) chrome knobs. The mixture knob is on the far left, and the "cabin heat" knob is 1.5" to the right of it. The label for the mixture is black, and the cabin heat is red... Talk about counter-intuitive, when you're used to leaning with the "red knob"...

About the only thing I'll carry over directly is the idea of having a "pencil shelf" in front of the panel.

[EricP]

Eric, taking a closer look at your panel and noticed an engraving in the center. It looks removable. Is that an access panel? And LOVE the bear hawk!! D.

Yes, that is a "custom" panel Brent added. But it is just decorative and not removable. We will have a removable panel from the center of the glareshield but this is just a permanent decorative panel. Brent claims it get us "style points"!

[EricP]

We just added the cigarette lighters as a way to add power. I guess we could also add the USB but I think one is as good as the other from my standpoint.

[EricP]

Here is the current state of the panel. We didn't get much done for a while. I had to work down in Texas for 3 weeks running and Brent took time off for a knee replacement. He can be such a whiner! As if an operation should slow him down!!

Anyway here is the latest. We got the basic wiring done and we got Brent's prototype "Relay / Fuse Box" installed and working. Please note we had to add momentary switches to the panel below the fuses. The LED lights at the top of the box light up when the switch is powering the circuit. The fuse is in line with switch and LED. The white buttons at the top are just programming buttons. Yes, I did have to learn how to program the box!

[EricP]

OK, I recently found out that the Grand Rapids Tech. Sport EX and Mini X can both be used as a "tuning head" for the TRIG TT22 transponder. They indicate that is a $500 savings. I like that!

[Flygirl1]

" I installed a dual panel mount USB I got from Commitlift.com. They are located in Sisters OR and take up just about as small an area on a panel as possible. The web site is very informative and worth a visit. Lots of informative info on USB's and how they work. Nothing wrong with a cig lighter, have one of those too"

I had the opportunity to use the Commitlift USB port yesterday and it works as advertised--a really fast charge. This is way better than the cig plugs. They appear to be more of a trickle type charge, where as this one is super fast. D.

[EricP]

" I installed a dual panel mount USB I got from Commitlift.com. They are located in Sisters OR and take up just about as small an area on a panel as possible. The web site is very informative and worth a visit. Lots of informative info on USB's and how they work. Nothing wrong with a cig lighter, have one of those too"

I had the opportunity to use the Commitlift USB port yesterday and it works as advertised--a really fast charge. This is way better than the cig plugs. They appear to be more of a trickle type charge, where as this one is super fast. D.

I think this must go in the Bearhawk! Thanks for the info.

[JimParker256]

I purchased two of the CommitLift.com USB outlets, one for the panel, and one for the back seat area. I'm thinking of using an iPad Mini (RAM tubing mount) as the "panel" for the person in the back. With the Stratus 2 (and its built-in AHRS), the screen could be split with EFIS display on one side, and map on the other. Having somewhere to plug in the USB cable for phone and iPad would be really nice.

However, having seen it now, I'm thinking I might be able to get my IA to sign off on installing one of them in my Citabria (CAR-4 type certificate does not require TSO'ed "anything"...). We'll see how he feels about it.