When building your flight simulator cockpit you might get to the point where you want number readouts. That can be done in different ways, but the 7segment is probably the most used way of doing it.
When using 7segment displays in X-plane with SimVim, you can use different types of driver ICs, depending on your setup. Most used are MAX7219, TM1637, DM13A, and 74HC595.
The MAX7219 is the most versatile, supporting up to 8 digits on a single IC. But keep in mind that MAX7219 only supports the common-cathode display!
Follow the below table to connect your 7segment displays to MAX7219.
MAX7219 7segment wiring connection
Use the “IC pin” column, and the column matching the number of digits on your 7segment display.
The “SimulConn IDC cable” is only if you are using the SimulConn 7s board. “Function” is describing the functionality of the wire.
| SimulConn IDC cable |
IC pin | Func | 3 digit | 4 digit | 5 digit | 6 digit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | DIG_0 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 2 | 23 | SEG_D | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | DIG_4 | n/a | n/a | 14 | 2 |
| 4 | 22 | SEG_DP | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | SEG_E | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | 5 | DIG_6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 7 | 20 | SEG_C | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | 6 | DIG_2 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | 7 | DIG_3 | n/a | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| 10 | 8 | DIG_7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 11 | 16 | SEG_B | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 |
| 12 | 17 | SEG_G | 5 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 13 | 11 | DIG_1 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| 14 | 10 | DIG_5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 |
| 15 | 14 | SEG_A | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
| 16 | 15 | SEG_F | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
Using a PCB for connecting 7segment displays
Using a SimulConn 7s board makes it a bit easier to assemble and connect the 7segment displays to your cockpit.
The 7segment displays are connected to the flight simulator by means of IDC connectors on ribbon cables.
The IDC connectors are clickable on the ribbon cable, so no soldering is needed for these cables.
In the above table, the column “SimulConn IDC cable” is listing the cable pins used for the 7segment PCB board.
