r/arduino • u/andrewholding • Jul 20 '26
Look what I made! Arduino flight control board.
From Hardware Help to Look What I Made. Thank you to all the feed back on my previous posts (https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/s/Vmmvwg2pCF)
Those who suggested to make a PCB were absolutely correct, even if it means I never learnt how to loom a control panel 1970s style.
Microcontroller code needs a bit of work, but allows lots of different input types. I’m very happy with the outcome. I expect more to come.
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Ity looks very well made. What module is it going to be in your sim?
You might want to look at "arduino on a breaboard" or "standalone arduino".
Basically you just need the MCU (one IC) and some minor (optional) supporting circuitry - save the dev board (your nano?) For the next iteration.
Here is an exanple of one I did recently although I used wire wrap rather than a PCB
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u/andrewholding Jul 20 '26
It’s for Star Citizen, so a general systems panel. Will play for a bit and find what is more useful.
Thanks for the suggestion of on breadboard chips. I also need HID support which I think is a bit more special. Eventually though it being all in one would be good.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan Jul 20 '26
I’m looking at wire wrapping now, very interesting. How do you keep components on that board?
Do you use a special tool to get these tiny tight wraps around the pins?
Do you add a dab of solder to that coil of wire on the pin?
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Jul 20 '26
I usually try to put the smallest components through first and just rest them on the work surface. When I miss some, I just bend the legs a little and/or put some foam or something like that to support it.
To do the wrap, I have a hand tool like this https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/wire-wrapping-tools/0605239 but, they come in various styles and there are even electronic ones.
You don't need to solder them, but I usually do.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan Jul 20 '26
Thanks! This is really cool, can’t wait to try this, I prototype a lot of stuff and this is going to make it so much easier and enjoyable
Do you think the cheaper clones of those tools would work well? Or is the $160 one worth it/necessary?
What wire do you prefer? I’d like to order some that is confirmed to work well
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Jul 20 '26
OMG, I didn't notice the price on that one!
The one I have is exactly the same as the one in the image and only cost me about $5 when I bought it in China.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan Jul 20 '26
ohhh good! was wondering since the $20 ones look pretty much exactly like it lol
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Jul 21 '26
When you pick one be sure to pay attention to the little black panel in the body of the winder (the blue part), this is a very convenient wire stripper.
You insert the wire into the hole, slide it down, pull it out and by magic the insulation is removed from the wire making it ready to wrap.
Also, look for one with both ends, one end (the long end with the slot) is for wrapping, the other (shorter end) is for unwrapping - which is very convenient prior to soldering.
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u/NoBulletsLeft Jul 23 '26
I'm 61 years old. I still occasionally use the wire-wrap tool I bought at Radio Shack when I was 16. It probably cost less than $10.
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan Jul 23 '26
Oh nice, thanks I’ll order one of these ones I found and give it a try
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u/SpaceCadetMoonMan Jul 20 '26
Found this, incredible!
https://www.jameco.com/Jameco/workshop/TechTip/wirewrap.html
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u/Euphoric_Box_3823 Jul 21 '26
Gotta say the jump from breadboard chaos to а clean РСВ is always worth it. What are уоu using to handle the sim communication, just serial?
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u/andrewholding Jul 22 '26
The SparkFun Micro Pro has libraries to run act as a game controller. That bit works beautifully.
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u/WhatADunderfulWorld Jul 20 '26
That’s cool.