It has been a while since my last post.  I haven’t been idle, just busy working out a plan of attack.

Today I finally completed the initial prototype of my backlighting.  Initial fielding will be in my pedestal, then I will redo the MIP.  The first attempt seems promising, and as you can see, I’ve learned how to create PCB’s and solder SMD LEDs to them.

I tried two different type of SMD LEDs.  The larger ones are 3528’s in warm white (ACTIVE and STANDBY), while the smaller ones are 0603’s in white.  I think I prefer the 0603’s and while they are much smaller, they are easier to solder then the 3528s as they have protruding contacts that you can get to much easier with a soldering iron.

I hope to knock out the VHF and NAV panels this week, and I’ll post video as I get through them.

Here’s a video of the prototype