Your Opinion Please?

[No Longer Active]

Hello,

Look at this picture of this nav / com radio.

http://www.beanie-air.com/beanie_images/avionics_stack.jpg

There appears to be 4 rotary encoder style knobs.

Are they 2 pairs of knobs (1 for KHz and 1 MHz) x2 ????

Surely these are not dual encoder style, such as push and turn for 2nd selection?

May seem like a dumb question, but I'm guessing, that the older style radio's didn't have this dual rotary mechanism....

Cheers!

Alex

[Geremy Britton]

sounds about right Alex. 2 rotaries for each side of the radio. one for the full integers and the other for the decimals.

[fweinrebe]

I had a similar broken radio and had a peek inside.

Geremy is right the one side for the Mhz and the other for the decimal parts. Normally these knobs include a gear set to turn a drum on which the digits are attached to. I guess it also uses an optical Gray code encoder that translates their position to a digital signal. Or a rotary switch with many positions and a lot of wiring.

Building that one yourself will be, mechanically, a difficult challenge. I would just use 4 rotary encoders and make the digits with 7 segment LEDs. Use a rotary encoder with large detents.

These knob radios needed quite a lot of effort to turn. Not like the rotary encoders we use.

[RadarBob]

I think these are 50kHz channel spacing (360 Channels) only - Looks a bit out of place below the Garmin - But probably a lot easier to drive!

18x1MHz and 20x50kHz.

Might be easier to copy one of the Main/Standby window types.

Cheers,

Rob

[Mike.Powell]

If that's the radio type that interests you, you might be able to buy a used one and use the switches and drum displays. It's possible that this model is getting old enough that people don't want them in their planes any more. I've picked up older radios at swap meets. You might get lucky too! Try Trade-A-Plane and Ebay.

[No Longer Active]

Hello,

The reason I pointed this picture out, was because I thought all radio's had this dual encoder type mechanism, I can quite imagine how 'chunky' these older radio's are and the 'old' feel they have to them...

But it got me thinking......

As much as I am building a new style bendix radio, I thought that it might be nice to recreate and 'modernise' one of these older style radio's, but giving it a much more up to date look! I would only use this as my secondary radio, considering I wouldnt use it that much!

You never know I could go for this 'retro radio stack look'.....

I haven't seen many Cessna 152/72/82 home cockpits with retro radio stacks!

Would be like restoring an old classic car!

****ALSO****

I need to pick your brains guys....

How do I implement 7 segment displays into the radios.....just the displays only!.....ol yeah...and cheaply......

This is one for Mike I guess?

[Matt Olieman]

Those are definitely old radios and as Geremy said, left knob full digital and right decimal digits.

Surprised they're still being used. There should be plenty around in piles being given away :)

Matt Olieman

[No Longer Active]

There should be plenty around in piles being given away

Sadly not in the UK....

Again...not too sure if I am going down the retro route yet, due to lack of functionality, as the newer Bendix King radio's do exactly what the modern pilot needs.....

Like I said, I will make my Bendix King radio, and may remake an old classic, but it sure will be one eclectic radio stack, maybe a little to strange, as the mix of old and new looks quite odd at times.....(as pictured...a Garmin and a classic?)

Weird!