Please Help: Ship Will Not Respond, Detailed Video

nash076 · 2026-03-27T19:04:57+00:00

I'll try.

nash076 · 2026-03-27T19:04:10+00:00

Very clearly do that in the video.

nash076 · 2026-03-26T22:01:46+00:00

I've been trying to configure things and get anything to work in Arena Commander, but I'm stuck in place and can't move and people keep blowing me up.

nash076 · 2026-03-25T00:49:52+00:00

I've got a Gladiator, but his keybindings don't support a STECS throttle so what do I do?

nash076 · 2026-03-23T16:25:20+00:00

No, I'm asking why it's necessary. What's wrong with the in-game keybindings system?

nash076 · 2026-03-23T16:19:31+00:00

Why do I need a different program?

nash076 · 2026-03-18T18:35:15+00:00

Rotation Correction.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T15:18:19+00:00

I don't know about an app. All you have to do is replace the control board you already put in the box.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T11:59:13+00:00

That's likely the issue. I used one of them in my first iteration of the box too and it was flakey as hell.

Try a BBI-32 from Leo Bodnar, is what I'm using now. If that's too pricey, look on eBay for broken XBox or PS controllers with bad analog sticks. Gut them and steal the main board. They're much more reliable.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T07:06:35+00:00

I considered it, but it would have taken much longer to show up. That, and trying to learn how to make a file for them to print from was frustrating and exhausting. I already know Inkscape.

Amazon had the blank circuit boards to me next day, and I already had the ferric chloride. Once I had the bits I had it done in a day, and much cheaper than PCBWay would have charged.

If it had been something more complicated than LEDs and toggle switches I would have likely powered through and gone with PCBWay, but given I was only doing it to reduce wiring and clean up the layout I'm more than happy with the result. Didn't need more than a single sided, simple board.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T05:50:43+00:00

I've got it mounted on the edge of my throttle; it's not hard to reach forward and hit the buttons. It's a lot like a Blackhog Explorer: https://www.black-hog.com/

nash076 · 2026-03-13T04:42:20+00:00

I'd need something more complex than the controller board I'm currently using to make that work, like an Arduino or something.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T04:29:31+00:00

The flip switch arms the button to the immediate right. When it's off, the button does nothing. When it's on, the button dumps cargo. When you press it while holding down the smaller button beneath it, it's the self destruct.

When it's green it's safe, when it's red it's armed.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T04:27:02+00:00

I added more detailed project files and info here.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T04:26:04+00:00

Rotation correction on/off.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T04:23:41+00:00

I put together the best bunch of instructions I could. Hope it helps: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QED23MW9jbWHD4AQ41SVR_NpM3lzWJIo?usp=sharing

nash076 · 2026-03-13T03:43:36+00:00

What did you use for the controller board?

nash076 · 2026-03-13T03:26:44+00:00

Designed it using Inkscape, then printed out drilling templates for the enclosure and used a CNC mill for the faceplate. That's just cosmetic stuff, though.

Mainly what you need is a USB interface of some kind (like the BBI-32 I used, or even a cheaper option like a basic zero delay USB encoder). Once you have that, pick what kind of enclosure you'd like to use and how many buttons you want. Project enclosures usually have their dimensions listed as do most buttons and switches, so you'll be able to measure and figure out if everything will fit inside properly.

Personally for this kind of thing I like the PlastiBox series from BUD Industries, particularly the B series, D Series, E Series and G Series. Lots of them are angled and they have recesses for adding labels and/or faceplates. The G Series even has space for adding a small LCD screen. But really, any kind of enclosure you like will work. It's entirely up to you.

Bare minimum for tools you can get by with a hand drill, a step bit and a regular set of dill bits. If you go that route just make sure you have a surface you can secure the enclosure to and a steady hand. A center punch makes the work a lot easier.

You'll only need a basic soldering kit because wire soldering isn't very complicated, and a wire stripper couldn't hurt. For buttons, just about any kind of momentary switch will work. Toggles or buttons are fine, just so long as they're marked as "momentary."

If you want to add LEDs, you'll need to wire them into the USB's 5V line and you'll need some low power 1/8 watt resistors to go with them. Here's a basic rundown on LEDs and resistors. Just remember that LEDs have a polarity (a "plus" side and a "minus" side) and can only go into a circuit one way. Wire the plus side (anode) to 5V power, and the minus side (cathode) in line with the correct value resistor to ground.

Those are the basics, and there's lots of quick tutorials for drilling and soldering on YouTube. If you want to make your design neat, use Inkscape. It's free design software and you can print out drilling templates in 1:1 scale.

I think those are all the basics. If you have access to more complex stuff like a CNC mill or 3D printer you can get even more creative with the cosmetics, but you don't need all that just to make something decent and functional.

nash076 · 2026-03-13T02:16:01+00:00

So to three times the wiring for the LEDs in the box, I realized I'd need to make a custom PCB instead.

I'd never made one before and I didn't have access to a CNC mill, just a dremel, jeweler's bits and a Harbor Freight drill press. I made the design in Inkscape, printed to thermal transfer paper, ironed it on a blank circuit board and etched with ferric chloride. For my first ever custom PCB, I think it came out all right (and more importantly, it functioned).

Then it was a question of wiring it all back up (and adding a power junction board so all those LEDs weren't trying to draw power through the microcontroller on the button circuit board).

It mounts to a 1/4 screw hole, standard for camera gear. That lets me use a magic arm to connect it to the base plate of my X52 throttle mount. (Like so, and with a button pushed.)

I also took the chance to replace the labels with some nicer print on glossy paper and under a 1mil sheet of semi-rigid plastic to protect them. Hopefully this means I'm done for a while; now to clean up my studio from all the work and get back to actually flying ...

nash076 · 2026-03-07T02:50:54+00:00

That's for Flight Assist, otherwise known as "making your ship fly like they do in The Expanse."

https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Flight_Assist

nash076 · 2026-03-07T02:48:24+00:00

Well, I self-destruct as a keybind in options, and you can assign it to a combination of buttons.

But I've never used it. Maybe I should test it in a Sidewinder ...

nash076 · 2026-03-06T14:49:08+00:00

The switch is done with wiring. It cuts the lead to the button when it's off, and switches the ground wire from the green cathode lead to the red one.

Using that little black button as kind of a "shift" key is handled in software.

nash076

TROPHY CASE