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Main => Builders Discussions => Topic started by: Mark Hurst on January 16, 2015, 08:54:53 AM

Title: My home-made panels
Post by: Mark Hurst on January 16, 2015, 08:54:53 AM
I designed a couple of panels people might like to see. These are built with an acrylic sandwich and graphics printed on paper with an inkjet printer. They can be backlit although I have yet to do that part!
Title: Re: My home-made panels
Post by: iwik on January 16, 2015, 01:00:22 PM
Nice work Mark,
Been looking at doing something like this but wondered how black the background would be.
Les
Title: Re: My home-made panels
Post by: Mark Hurst on January 16, 2015, 01:13:27 PM
Quote from: iwik on January 16, 2015, 01:00:22 PM
Nice work Mark,
Been looking at doing something like this but wondered how black the background would be.

Thanks. My initial experiments with a laser printer were disastrous (probably cos it's a cheap laser) but with bright white paper and inkjet it is phenomenal. I use HP 100gsm paper and use two copies to get the density for back-lighting. If you don't want to back-light, one page works really well. You can use acetates but I found I needed to layer three or more to get the density. That makes it hard to get crisp graphics and it makes the sandwich thicker so you start to approach the limits for installing some of the components.
Title: Re: My home-made panels
Post by: Mark Hurst on February 13, 2015, 04:20:56 AM
If anyone's interested in building these panels for themselves, check out the following links...

Building the GPS+ panel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDIDFFIAyAY)
Building the Autopilot+ panel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVR9toNGG1o)
No programming required (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgNW1aM3hpk)

You can also visit the forum (http://www.almostaviation.com) for more info. Or just go straight to the eBook (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S75IY2Q)!
Title: Re: My home-made panels
Post by: Trevor Hale on February 13, 2015, 06:46:27 AM
Mark, I have watched your video's before but your profile pic doesn't look like you in the video.  I never put 2 and 2 together. but either way.  You have a nice way of doing things.

Trev
Title: Re: My home-made panels
Post by: Mark Hurst on February 13, 2015, 08:03:09 AM
Quote from: Trevor Hale on February 13, 2015, 06:46:27 AM
Mark, I have watched your video's before but your profile pic doesn't look like you in the video

Thanks Trevor, that was a twenty-years-younger me! Perhaps I will change my avatar :)
Title: Re: My home-made panels
Post by: jackpilot on February 13, 2015, 08:21:35 AM
No prob to show your mileage  Mark, very few ladies on the Forum.  :D

And anyway, experienced pilots have an edge!  :laugh:

Jack