Airbus Master Switch

[NNomad007]

A lot is going on right now, but as im sure you all know and understand, my project is at one point where i cant actually show a thing, mostly cause its all a mess. Several parts are being built as we speak, and trully weird experiences are going on at the same time, but ill do my best to keep you all updated on how things are going.

Here are my Master switches. They took me almost 1 week to get to that stage and a lot of frustrated atempts in order to be presentable. They are still in the RAW form but as you might see, i would say they are 80% ready. I still need to trim them .0015 in order to place the ENG1 and ENG2 tag, drill to fit the 2 locking toggles and the screws, test them, a final polish...paint... and here we go.

cheers to all

Alex

[AndyT]

Alex,
That's nice work. What kind of weird things have been happening?

[NNomad007]

yes i did andy..

i think they are uploaded now...go check them out

Cheers

[NNomad007]

Mostly blowing leds apart... destroying multimeters, glued/burned fingers while learning how to solder....... the usual day in the park... ..

[AndyT]

Oh. OK. Normal things for beginner builders, and a few experienced ones too!

[NNomad007]

Indeed... I just hope i wont burn the damn place or my wife will have a serious conversation with me...

[Efe Cem Elci]

Yeah sounds like the usual. When you said weird, I think Andy like myself assumed something much more complex. Someone here had suggested this to me so I can pass on the experience, you should look to get a cold soldering tool. Here in Europe they are not as cheap as they are in the US but definitely worth their weight in gold. I think I still have some of my middle-of-the-night-you-shouldn't-even-be-working-on-this-get-to-bed burns from the old hot soldering iron.

[AndyT]

Totally slipped my mind. Thanks Efe.
I have a 'Cold Heat' soldering iron. It's saved me from some serious accidents. It was knocked over by my granddaughter once. Had it been a regular iron, there would have been burns on her, the floor and myself. But with my cold iron, there was no damage and no burns of any kind.

I paid about $20 for it at Radio Shack about 2 years ago.

[Efe Cem Elci]

That sounds like a close call Andy. Glad that you were using the cold heat iron and no one got harmed. We don't want anyone to get hurt in the process of cockpit building but at least when it is us we can take comfort in the fact that we are simply suffering a consequence of this hobby we are pursuing.

Alex, a while back the topic had come up very similarly when I had complained of working odd hours on the sim and thus burning myself multiple times. The cold heat soldering iron was suggested and I found a few at the local mail order store but had held off getting one till I at least wore down the new front I had bought for the old one (human nature I guess).

Then one night I happened to catch the cable of the iron with the cables running out of the MCP and managed to yank it over the edge of the table onto my leg, where it bounced a few times on its way down before settling on the convenient cranny created by my foot right at the ankle. The very next day I ordered the cold heat iron and didn't touch the soldering till it arrived a few days later. Not only is it advantageous because of the instant hot, instant cold ordeal but the added mobility of not having a cable does wonders for control while soldering.

I hope you will at least consider it.

[Michael Carter]

You guys sound like you've had better luck with yours than I've had with mine.

I've had one for several years, but I stopped using it after the first or second attempt. It never gets hot enough, takes too long, and the tip is too wide for fine work. Forget about SMT work altogether. I don't ever seem to be able to get the tip right where it needs to be to heat the contact.

Never have burned myself with a soldering iron in thirty years.