Oasis 737 Project

[737NGer]

Was going to use it for backlighting! I never thought about the USB port blowing I admitt.

Good thing I didnt't! These bulbs draw a hefty amount of current.

Guess I'll have to wait a while until I get my 5V power supply ready.

[737NGer]

What kind of connector do I need to wire the 'L' and 'N'?

I've been searching for a 'plug with wire' but apparently this isn't the name for it. 

What exactly is it called whatever it is you connect to the 'L' and 'N' terminals on a power supply unit like this one?

[mickc]

Normally you would use a spade type crimp connection.

Steer clear of the cheap and nasty ones from automotive places as you are dealing with mains voltage.  Also, make sure you connect the earth cable.

[mickc]

This terminal labelled 5V ... Does it supply +5VDC to the circuit or does it do something else? ?

This is a Phidgets 1012 card.

The 5v port is used for the inputs.  this 5v goes to one side of your switch(es) and the switched side goes to the input port.

The outputs sink to the ground terminals on the board when activated, and need an external supply on the other side, up to 30v

[737NGer]

Also, make sure you connect the earth cable.

I live in Egypt...There is no earth cable. Just two terminals in each socket.

But since there's no earth, I will only be able to connect to the L and N terminals, but not the ground terminal? Not too sure...

Plus, what brand spade connectors would you recommend?

[737NGer]

How many amps approximately does an average light plate draw?

What is the most suitable wire guage for an average 737 lightplate (APU panel for example ?)

[mickc]

Work on 60mA per bulb, it should have how many bulbs are in the lightplate printed on the back, if not, pop the board out and count them.  I'd change any bulbs that were dim or blackened while you were at it.

24 AWG is plenty for a lightplate, that will run almost 60 bulbs.(3.5A)`

[737NGer]

What do you mean by blackened bulbs?

What type of bulbs are used in the lightplates?

And what guage wire could I use for Korry 318 annunciators operating at 28V?

Thanks,
Youssef

[mickc]

What do you mean by blackened bulbs?

Umm bulbs that look dark when they are turned off.  i usually replace all the bulbs just as a matter of course, then they are all uniform in appearance and should theoretically last the life of the sim.

What type of bulbs are used in the lightplates?

Can depend on the lightplate, most of them have it printed on the back of the board.  6832 bulbs are most common.

And what gauge wire could I use for Korry 318 annunciators operating at 28V?

Same gauge is fine for Korrys.  They pull 160mA (2x 80mA bulbs)

[737NGer]

I've been searching for the past couple of days all over the Internet looking for the 737-700/800 system schematic manuals but can't find a trace of them. All the ones that come up are 737-300/400/500 manuals.

Where can I find these?

[jackpilot]

http://www.smartcockpit.com/plane/BOEING/B737NG.html   

[737NGer]

http://www.smartcockpit.com/plane/BOEING/B737NG.html   

Not exactly what I'm looking for but useful nonetheless.

The schematics I'm actually looking for look kinda like this... (Attached image)

I believe they're called WDM's (Wiring diagram manual) but that's not what it says on this example page. 

[mickc]

SSMs are different to WDMs

SSMs show how a system is laid out and how components are connected etc, where the WDMs show the full wiring run for a system including all connectors & pin numbers, ground numbers etc.

Neither are the sort of thing you will find freely available on the internet, as Boeing are quite hard on intellectual property rules.  You need to make friends with someone who has access to My Boeing Fleet or similar.

[bernard S]

since going down this road tiu will need CMM as well .. and yes Mr Mick is correct they cost a fortune i have rhe scars to prove it lol and thats if you  jump through the hoops as one has to be "approved" ..

[737NGer]

they cost a fortune i have rhe scars to prove it lol

LOL 

Aren't CMM's owned by Boeing's suppliers not Boeing themselves? e.g. BAE systems makes most 737 panels so they have the CMM's

On average how much does a CMM, IPC, and WDM on a single panel cost?

[bernard S]

a basket of fruit your right arm left leg and next unborn child to be scaificed to the sim Gods  i have no idea for 73    but  honeywell start at 4k

[737NGer]

Wow...way more expensive than I thought.

So there are 50 panels in the cockpit let's say only 15 of them are worth getting the schematics for. 15 X 4K = Way more than I even intend to spend on building the sim itself. ?

[bernard S]

delt3d

[737NGer]

What is the difference between the Amp DC Buses and the Amp TRUs in Prosim?

I cross-referenced various Boeing schematics and the term TRU is often interchanged with DC BUS.

[mickc]

TRUs and DC Buses are 2 entirely different things.   TRUs (Transformer Rectifier Units) Convert 115v AC to 28v DC to supply the DC buses.

The values in Prosim indicate how many amps are flowing through that particular item. So the current draw on a DC bus can be different to the current draw of one TRU.

Normally TRU 1 supplies DC bus 1 and TRU 2 -> DC BUS 2, and TRU 3 supplies the battery bus, but this can change depending on the bus tie relays, standby / normal relays etc, its not a simple system.

[bernard S]

very  very  true  and fair  comment   i  have all  DC  anf AC buses  with  TRUs functioning in short  complete electrical including  grou d power APU.. BATTetc  not easy but well worth effort to have electrical respond per the aircraft   and yes 74 electrical panel is huge

[737NGer]

That makes sense with the DC buses but why does Prosim have both TRU amps and DC Bus Amps?

In the real 737NG Meter panel there are no pins called DC Bus Amps, just TRU Amps.


To add to the confusion:

The TRU 1 and 2 Volt readings are taken from DC Bus 1 and 2 but TR3 volts are measured directly. How come Prosim has labelled "DC Standby Bus," but not just TR3 volts?

functioning in short  complete electrical including  grou d power APU.. BATTetc  not easy but well worth effort to have electrical respond per the aircraft   and yes 74 electrical panel is huge

That is exactly what I'm trying do but an NG in my case.

How did you get the Volts and Amps supplied to respond to changes in the aircraft i.e. How did you get Prosim or PSX to control the Voltage and Current signals to all the meters and panels?

[mickc]

That makes sense with the DC buses but why does Prosim have both TRU amps and DC Bus Amps?

In the real 737NG Meter panel there are no pins called DC Bus Amps, just TRU Amps.

The section you are showing in Prosim is the numerical values section, these numbers are just system calculations and not all displayed on the panel
Also the meter panel  will show the battery bus and standby power bus.

The TRU 1 and 2 Volt readings are taken from DC Bus 1 and 2 but TR3 volts are measured directly. How come Prosim has labelled "DC Standby Bus," but not just TR3 volts?

Prosim does not need to calculate the voltage of any TRUs, only the current.  Only buses have voltage variables in Prosim.  If you are referring to "Volt TransBus 1" & 2, that is not related to the TRUs, they are the AC transfer buses - a totally different thing.

How did you get the Volts and Amps supplied to respond to changes in the aircraft i.e. How did you get Prosim or PSX to control the Voltage and Current signals to all the meters or components?

I'm trying to get a meters panel to dsiplay actual voltages and amperages but the only thing I can think of is to use a digital potentiometer connected to an Arduino and depending on the resistance of the digi pot I'll get varying Amps and Volts. Problem is that how will an Arduino withstand 115 VAC without blowing up?

U WOT M8? 

Prosim does all this and calculates the values for you.  Use the "Electrical Panel Upper Left" and other matching ones to run the digits at each section of the display.  These numbers change according to the DC & AC rotary switch positions.

I'm mot sure what display you are running, but you are trying to do it with an Arduino, why would you need 115v AC??   
You can do it with 7 segment displays or a VFD display (most realistic)  Also i think there is an option to have it on a small LCD display now

[737NGer]

U WOT M8? 

Prosim does all this and calculates the values for you.  Use the "Electrical Panel Upper Left" and other matching ones to run the digits at each section of the display.  These numbers change according to the DC & AC rotary switch positions.

I'm mot sure what display you are running, but you are trying to do it with an Arduino, why would you need 115v AC??   
You can do it with 7 segment displays or a VFD display (most realistic)  Also i think there is an option to have it on a small LCD display now

LOLOL 

The reason why I need to supply the display 115 VAC is because I'm using a real elec meter panel - and these take measurements directly - you don't send it data to display.

[mickc]

An NG metering panel or classic?  You will still need to send data to it to display current.  The NG panel uses a 0-5v signal for the current metering