What is this panel-mounted checklist device?

[Vance Harral]

Not actually a Mooney question, this gizmo is in a recently acquired 172 at the flight school where I teach.  But we have a lot of experienced aviators here, thought one of you might have seen one.

As shown below, there is a charming, vintage checklist gizmo at the top of the radio stack in this airplane.   Pushing the buttons causes them to light up, and pushing a lit button turns the light back off. Moving the switch from "take off" to "landing" seems to invert the state of the buttons: whatever is lit goes dark, and vice versa. That part is straightforward enough, but while checking out in the airplane this weekend, I discovered that the lights sometimes start blinking, for seemingly inexplicable reasons. I think they might be tied to a switch on the throttle. Like, maybe if you move from idle to non-idle or vice-versa, and you don't light up (or extinguish) the lights, it blinks to get your attention that you haven't completed the takeoff or landing checklist?

Anyone know the make and model of this thing, maybe have a link to a manual? I think it would be funny to be the one guy at the school who is fully "checked out" (pun intended) on the operation of this thing.

 

[201Mooniac]

I haven't seen that one but here is something similar: https://buddycheckbox.com/

[Aerodon]

That's kinda neat for its time.  So if you have landed, then flip the switch on and all the lights light up.  Press them one by one as you go through the checklist and they go off.  Then flip the switch when you are ready to land and they all come on again?

Never used one, but that's my guess.

 

Aerodon

 

 

[Vance Harral]

Yeah, you've got the gist of how it works.  I think you can choose to interpret the lit state as "done" or "not done" either way, but the manual for the thing probably has a suggestion for one way or the other.

What I'm really interested in is what mechanism causes it to blink.  Seems like the intent is to signal to you that you haven't completed the checklist; but I'm not sure what's causing it to decide that.

[Aerodon]

Maybe just a timer to check things like fuel enroute?

[Vance Harral]

Good guess, but the first time it blinked at me was taxiing from the runup area to the hold short line for initial takeoff.  This was after fiddling with it during the runup.  The aircraft hadn't been powered up for more than about 10 minutes, so seems unlikely to be a simple timer.

[dkkim73]

Oh my, I really want one. That is not just cool, it's astronaut/nerd cool. 

I'll bet we could hack up a re-configurable one with an El Gato streamdeck or similar. 

 

[N201MKTurbo]

I could build that out of a couple 7475s and a lamp diver chip. Or a little PIC and a driver chip. The most expensive parts are the light up buttons. 

[EricJ]

Many EFBs will do this, too, and are very configurable.

 

[dkkim73]

10 minutes ago, EricJ said:

Many EFBs will do this, too, and are very configurable.

 

As one old guy once said, "C'mon man!" 

I want clicky buttons...You kids these days. 

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, dkkim73 said:

As one old guy once said, "C'mon man!" 

I want clicky buttons...You kids these days. 

Here ya go:

https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Plastic-Boards-Message-Planning/dp/B09P8511J9

...runs away... 

[dkkim73]

Keep laughing until the EMP happens... I'll still be happily checking off chores.

[PT20J]

One of Richard Taylors books had a chapter on checklists. I still recall the last item: Wedding ring -- ON.

[Hank]

On 8/12/2024 at 9:08 PM, EricJ said:

Here ya go:

https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Plastic-Boards-Message-Planning/dp/B09P8511J9

...runs away... 

I like the little pictures. But "Tanks--FULLEST" will be a difficult picture to draw . . .

[midlifeflyer]

An early electronic checklist!

[N201MKTurbo]

I think that panel was a one off home brew panel. If you look at the panel above it, you will notice it isn't using mil spec switches and lights and the overlays looks like they were made on the same engraving machine as the take off/landing switch. The labels in the checklist buttons look like they are printed paper strips. The technology was available in the 70s to make this panel. Plus the low vac light is covering the label on the "STN" switch. that wouldn't happen on a production piece.

[Vance Harral]

I agree that the panel isn't factory original, so I suppose it's possible the "checklist indicator" is a one-off device.  I'm flying the airplane again tomorrow and will - with the indulgence of my commercial student - fiddle with it some more.

Speaking of the "STN" switch, we've yet to determine what that switch is connected to (if anything).  The current guess is that STN means "station", but we're unsure what "station on" and "station off" might select/indicate.

[N201MKTurbo]

13 minutes ago, Vance Harral said:

I agree that the panel isn't factory original, so I suppose it's possible the "checklist indicator" is a one-off device.  I'm flying the airplane again tomorrow and will - with the indulgence of my commercial student - fiddle with it some more.

Speaking of the "STN" switch, we've yet to determine what that switch is connected to (if anything).  The current guess is that STN means "station", but we're unsure what "station on" and "station off" might select/indicate.

It probably has something to do with the DME selector.

[Vance Harral]

11 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

It probably has something to do with the DME selector.

Maybe, but there's already a separate NAV1/NAV2 selector for the DME.  The DME itself is a KN-62.  I can't find any mention of "station" in the KN-62x manuals, except for its ability to indicate "time to station".

[N201MKTurbo]

1 hour ago, Vance Harral said:

Maybe, but there's already a separate NAV1/NAV2 selector for the DME.  The DME itself is a KN-62.  I can't find any mention of "station" in the KN-62x manuals, except for its ability to indicate "time to station".

But I don't see a DME in the stack. Is it hiding somewhere else?

[Vance Harral]

1 minute ago, N201MKTurbo said:

But I don't see a DME in the stack. Is it hiding somewhere else?

Yes, off to the lower right, see attached.  Makes it easier for new students to ignore this ancient piece of tech.