As part of another project, I needed some push button switches on the dashboard that would be in a convenient location, but out of the way so I wouldn't activate them accidentally like bumping them with my knee. There's a blank spot to the left of the steering column, and that's where I decided to locate them. When I removed the panel below the steering column, there happened to be a screw right below that location, so it enabled me to rig up a small push button panel without drilling. I hacked away at a 3" x 6" sheet of black anodized aluminum until I got something that looked like this:


This is what it looks like mounted to the left of the steering column (lower trim piece unclipped):

The bottom part doesn't have to be pretty, because the trim panel will cover it, like so:

For my switches, I decided to use Cherry MX black keyswitches, for several reasons:
- The push feel is nice
- LEDs can be added
- Any custom keycaps can be used
- The square shape is efficient for the space (I can squeeze in 8 buttons there)
- The circuit under control is at TTL levels

I mounted the Cherry switches to breakout boards and mounted them to the anodized aluminum sheet with nylon standoffs. I trimmed an adhesive felt pad to a smaller size than the keypad and stuck it to the back so that there wouldn't be any rattling or scratching of the truck panel. Here's what the result looks like:



Yeah, it looks hack-ish but the Doc Brown look is ok with me. This is sort of a trial run anyway, and I can clean it up later. I mounted the switches with the LEDs at the top so they would be more visible from above. I used a 5v source for the LEDs. Topped off with black translucent keycaps.

The resistor values that I used for the LEDs helped to dim the brightness of the LEDs so that it wouldn't be annoying at night. LEDs are entirely optional but I thought I'd wire them up just for fun. Night time view:


It probably wouldn't take a lot of effort to make a nicer version of this. There's ways to cover up the guts, but I'll leave that for later.

Parts used:

3" x 6" anodized aluminum sheet (Black) - inventables.com 24908-07
Cherry MX Black - amazon.com B07RSWRHR9 (x8)
Translucent Black Keycaps - amazon.com B00F10VSR8 (x2, I used the four arrow key keycaps, twice)
Cherry MX Switch Breakout - sparkfun.com BOB-13773 (x8)
M2 nylon standoffs and screws - ebay
Trimmable felt pad - hardware store
LEDs - assorted supply
Resistors - digikey.com RS112-KIT-ND (resistors should be 1/6W for clearance reasons)

 

You can’t post about mysterious doc-brown switches and not explain what they’re for. That’s just evil.

 

Which are for offensive and which are for defensive accessories? And do you have ejector seats on just the passenger, or the rear seating positions as well? I can think of so many uses for these.