Arduino virgin need help with rc plane upgrades

Hey.

I still have my Arduino v card and am looking to loose it on a head motion controller fpv conversion of an me262 jet.....

One of the things I want to do is have a gauge that displays flap position like this pic.
digflapindicator
The led bargraph are too big for the cockpit without lookin stupid....

I want to make it out of 0402 smd LEDs if I can get them tight enough to fit inside a gauge molded into 3d printed dash. If not q0603 smd leds. But the resistor thing confuses the hell out of me... I get the concept, but when I go to buy what I think I need alliexpress has it written I ways i don't understand . So to make things easier I thought I would ask a little help. Firstly this is the data for the LEDs I'm looking at.

0402
YELLOW
Volume MM: 0402 1.00.5
Brightness MCD: 80-100
Voltage V: 2.0-2.2
Current MA: 15-20
WHITE
Volume MM: 0402 1.0
0.5
Brightness MCD: 200-300
Voltage V: 3.0-3.2
Current MA: 15-20
Color temperature K: 6000-8000
YELLOW GREEN
Volume MM: 0402 1.0*0.5
Brightness MCD: 50-80
Voltage V: 2.0-2.2
Current MA: 15-20

Or
0603

(Color)                  (V).      (mcd).     (mA).     (View°)

-YELLOW. 2-2.2. 100-200. 20ma. 120°
-WHITE
-YELLOW 2-2.2 50-80. 20ma. 120°
GREEN

-RED. 2-2.2. 100-200. 20ma. 120°

I've decided I prob b using the position of the servo like a potentiometer as a reading to update the Leds in my flap position bargraph...

Any sugestions on the best way to do that because getting a servo that has the extra wire and outputs it's position. Cause yes I can do that, but if there's something I can add onto a servo to make it work I may do that

Also anyone have any good ideas on how to hav a red light activated while gear is up and q green one when it's down?

A few different things have been thrown around like photosensitive ir that the legs would break the beam of and be the switch. Also limit switches, could alsouse the same premis as the flaps with servo potentiometer.....

I more thing, should I power it seperate to the planes.power?

Whats your best ideas an advice before I pop my Arduino cherry..... Thanks guys, sorry to ask so much of U guys on my first msg. But don't worry, I have other things reflex gun sight, what sensors are best to use, making pitot tube etc... Lol

Thanks guys and gals

You may want to consider using End flow fiber optic filament
Then you could have your LED board inside the plane and use fibre optic's to get the light to the gauge. Then LED size would not be as important.

Also:

a microswitch activated by the gear doors.

Hi @schmerzdj
welcome to the arduino-forum

what is an arduino "v-card"?

So this means you want to wear a helmet and control a RC-plane shaped like a ME262 with head-motions???

A ME262 is a plane that requires pretty advanced experience to control it


Even if you would use a flight stabilisation-receiver system like a Spectrum AR637
or a bavarian daemon

Because if you are in a stall the stabiliser can't rescue anymore

This just a matter of supply-voltage, LED-forward-voltage and LED-current

current-limiting resistor = (supply-voltage - LED-voltage ) / LED-current
with example numbers:

Yellow LED voltage 2.0 to 2.2V
(5V - 2V) / 0.015 A = 200 Ohms

White LED voltage 3.0V
(5V - 3V) / 0.015 A = 133 Ohms

You have the servo-signals anyway. You can read in the servo-signals into the arduino and then control whatever you like based on this measured values (pulse-with) of the servo-pulses.

If this is a real flying RC-model you have to do "sniff" the servo-signals in a way that the signal stays in shape. This is possible but the circuitry must have a high input-impedance. And I would do tests with an oscillosope to really check if the signal stays in shape.

If you are using a s-bus receiver and s-bus servos
picking up the servosignal reduces to a single wire

Adding potentiometers that are mechanically connected to the servos to me seems to be a lot of work and to me this seems to be less reliable than picking up the servo-signals

best regards Stefan

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