Bendix datalink panel as cockpit keybord

[fly_ebos]

Hi,

In my search through ebay, I came across a Bendix datalink panel and that made me think.
It has all 26 keys, arrows, space, shift,....so could something be done to interface this into my cockpit and get rid of the keyboard?
What the heck, it only costed me 30 dollars so I went for it.



One week later I received the item and got started unscrewing the box, removing all unnecessary hardware, untill I got to the keypad itself.
To my great surprise it was wired as a 'simple' keyboard matrix. Wiring matrixes was new to me, so a lot of trial and error was involved.
But after half a day of trying I got the whole keypad working through a Pokeys card!



From time to time this item pops up on ebay, usually sold by 'swift46', which I can highly recommend (it takes 7 days to get it from the USA to Belgium)
If you're interested, you can find the wiring scheme below:

The flat ribbon cable that comes out of the panel needs to be cut and then shrink extension wire to it to hook it up with any interface device (Pokeys I recommend as it requires no diodes for matrixes).



The ribbon consists of 20 wires but you don't need them all as some are for backlighting.
I'll number the cables 1-20, starting from the left

cable1=column G
cable2=row1
cable3=column F
cable4=row 2
cable5=column E
cable6=
cable7=
cable8=column D
cable9=
cable10=
cable11=
cable12=row 4
cable13=
cable14=
cable15=row 5
cable16=row 3
cable17=column A
cable18=column B
cable19=
cable20=column C

I use 5v for backlighting and that is sufficient. After an hour on it produces quiet some heat actually.
I did not register which remaining cables are combined but the bulbs used do not have polarity so you will have to try several combination and see which ones give you the best backlighting results. I ended up with a nicely lit up panel 



Hope this helps someone

[727737Nut]

Great job and thanks for the pin out!!  Gotta love those Pokey cards!!  Once people figure how cheap they are and powerful they are everyone will want one.

[jetpilot]

Hi Fly_ebos,
I bought one exactly like this, with the same purpose, six months ago but I have not had the time to work on it yet. Thank you  for the info. That make my work way easier.
Roberto

[ETomlin]

Very cool. I'm guessing it's the standard 5.75" format in width?

[fly_ebos]

Don't know in inches, but it fits the pedestal perfectly!
Height is the same as the audio control panel.

[ETomlin]

Thanks for showing us this.

[fly_ebos]

Got the backlighting sorted out now aswell!

[Flying_Fox]

Could you tell more details about backlighting? I've bought this datalink panel too.

Thanks!
Nick

[fly_ebos]

Sure Nick. What you need is 5 volts to light things up. I'm using a computer PSU to supply 5v to my FDS IBL distribution board. If you have followed my instructions from the top post you will have 8 cables left on the back of the datalink panel, that makes 4 pairs of lighting. You have to trial and error a bit to see what gives you the best results.

Hope this helps
Thomas

[jackpilot]

Nick
You cant really go wrong testing as these are bulbs and polarity not an issue.
I would try it with a 5v power adapter though as the PSU will trip off  at the slightest short.
Jack