The poor mans sim pit

[OldAirmail]

OK... I see HAND TOOLS and metal being formed and other such stuff here.

You are moving DANGEROUSLY close to succumbing to THE DARK SIDE. Soon.... all of you postings will be in the Homebuilt Cockpits Forum Section.

Muuuuhhhhhaaaahhhhhaaaahhhhhaaaahhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.......................

best,

...................john

No can do, Master of DARK SIDE Containment.

All the metal forming was done by dwarves, gremlins, elves, and pixies while I slept. I simply posted the pictures, and claimed all of the credit.

Besides, there's no way I'm smart enough to figure out how to make nice 90 degree bends in sheet metal without a sheet metal brake. Those things are very expensive.

. .
(just use some light taps of a hammer to get a nice sharp fold after bending it by hand.)

[OldAirmail]

It's been a fun long run.

There are lots of better review than what I could have written, so I didn't bother.

What I hope that I did, was to cast a little different slant on some things. Suggest some solutions, and options that others might not have found yet. I wanted to provide a different way of looking at sim pits for those who can't create that full scale cockpit in their home.

There are some beautifully simple, and some beautiful not so simple ways to enhance your enjoyment of flight. Just work on yours until it suits your needs and you're happy with it.

Some may need nothing more than a joystick, others may want it all. I fall above the simple, minimalist, approach. But lack the money, time, and space limits my possibilities. Some day I may build a cockpit instrument panel. But that's about as far as I'll go.

I now have everything that I want. That GPS panel really did complete my "want list". It looks, and works, great.

Unless others want to make comments, ask questions, or just throw their opinion into the ring and tell us what they think, than I have come to the end with the poor mans sim pit.

Thanks for following the many posts that I've made here.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[OldAirmail]

One more thing.

I was looking at the DeskTop Aviator website and noticed that it lists the resolution of their GPS panel as being "620 by 480 dpi Resolution"

I know that it has to be better than that. So I checked.

And I was correct, it is much better than that -

The lowest resolution that I could set it was 640 x 480, and the highest that I could go was 1600 x 900.

.


The normal resolution that it uses is 800 x 600.

[OldAirmail]

A minor update on the Plugable USB to VGA adapter.

I ran into some problems and had to replace the adapter/cable.

Just for the heck of it I counted all of the USB devices plugged into my system. The answer - a total of 17! And once I thought that 2 were enough.

As you might guess, it's a rats nest back there.

So when I say that I THOUGHT that I had the Plugable adapter plugged into the USB 3.0 port, you can understand why I might have been a little off.

As it turns out that cable never did work with the DeskTop Aviator when it was finally plugged into a USB 3.0 port.


To make a long story short, Plugable Technologies spent more than a little time in tracking down the problem. Actually 2 problems.

For anyone who has an Asus Sabertooth P67 mother board, OR ANY motherboard that has a Renesas USB 3.0 host controller in it. If the driver isn't very new then you might not have fully functioning USB 3.0 ports.


Plugable had suggested that I update the Renesas drivers, so I went to the Renesas website and did so with the latest drivers on their site. But before that I also updated the Sabertooth's BIOS (Asus makes that extremely easy, and so long as the power doesn't get cut, it's VERY safe.)

Well, it turned out that the Driver on the Renesas website wasn't the newest by far. So the Plugable people found a much newer one on an Intel website HERE. Not only did their adapter/cable work after that, but I think that I noticed some of my USB devices working a little faster.


The other problem is, I think, unique the manufacturer of the monitor built into the DeskTop Aviator GPS.

Most monitors generate an ID that Windows uses to control just what goes on each screen. That's how I understand it anyway. At any rate, each monitor should have an EDID. The DeskTop Aviator GPS wasn't generating an EDID that my original Plugable adapter could detect, or deal with.

I returned the one that I wrote about to Amazon, and Plugable Technologies sent me the next version up. The Plugable UGA-3000 USB 3.0 / 2.0 to VGA / DVI / HDMI Adapter for Windows and Mac.



The Price difference between the two is only $10 more, but the actual difference is much greater. The UGA-3000 adapter uses the newer DisplayLink DL-3100 chipset. If you're interested, you can go to the DisplayLink DL-3100 website to read about it. I find it interesting, anyway.

What it comes down to, as far as I'm concerned, is that the UGA-3000 adapter is a MUCH better choice for anyone who wants to, or like me, NEEDS to go the USB to (whatever) monitor route.

Aside from the UGA-3000 adapter being much faster with the newer DisplayLink chipsets, it also comes with adapters to connect it to VGA, DVI, or HDMI. More than likely any monitor you'll buy in the next few years will have one of those connectors.


Did I say that it's fast? I plugged the UGA-3000 into a USB 2.0 port and watched a wide screen movie!

OK, if you have an old slow system with an outdated video card, you may not (will not) have the same results. But if your system is fairly good, then the UGA-3000 adapter is more than good enough.


They have more expensive adapter/cables that probably do more. Someone who's interested in having the "fastest" system, may care. Not me, I'm more than happy with this one.

[OldAirmail]

Extra dials for the Pro Flight instrument panels

Back when I originally installed my Saitek Pro Flight Instrument Panel I remember many people couldn't find the promised extra "dials" from Saitek.

As I had to totally wipe and reinstall FSX, I found them again. They're here - Extra dials for the Pro Flight instrument panels





For some reason they're only on the UK Saitek website.

Want more? Try SimViations own downloads.

Or FSX Times..


And don't forget to mod the knobs.


.

.

For a little chuckle this is from a website in 2007.

[OldAirmail]

Somewhat "OFF TOPIC"!

This may apply to very few people, it's about refilling inkjet cartridges.

Inkjet printer companies make most of their money NOT from the printer, but from selling you more inkjet cartridges. Fair enough, they have to make it some way, right?

To make sure that you get the best print that you can most, if not all, of the manufactures install chips in their cartridges to count the number of times used. At a certain point the cartridge stops working. It doesn't matter if there is ink in the cartridge or not. It stops. Period.

I used to refill my ink cartridges, but when they started doing this, I switched over to a laser printer and have never looked back.


So it was with complete surprise when I stumbled on to this - Canon Resetter for Canon CLI221 / PGI220.

I'll keep on using my laser printer, but for anyone still using inkjet printers this may be worth looking into. (Or is this info common knowledge and I'm the only clueless person here?)


(I guess that I had better tie this in to the "poor man simpit" part. Otherwise the mods won't let me land here again. )

So here's my one, and only, tip on refilling an inkjet cartridge. Use one of those throwaway plastic shopping bags underneath the cartridge that you're re-filling.

And now you can print out that beautiful flight sim screen capture to show all you friends.

See! I really was able to tie it in with flight sims.

[OldAirmail]

Touchscreen instrument panels!



It's been a wile since I've posted here, but I noticed a couple of touchscreen monitors at very good prices.

Monoprice 15-inch 4:3 LCD Touch Screen Monitor for $171
and
Monoprice 17-inch 4:3 LCD Touch Screen Monitor for $196

I sure that there are others around, I just happened to notice these.



They could make a great "touch screen" instrument panel that would let you forget about using your mouse.




Or you could spend even more money for 6 of the Saitek Pro Flight Instrument Panels at only $130 EACH!

Lets see... $130 X 6 = $780

[OldAirmail]

I've put this in the hardware section because in my ButtKicker post I found the ButtKicker to be, not great, but just "ok".
I think that I'm about to change my mind!

If it does all that it promises' to do, then I'll recommend the ButtKicker 110%.

WHAT AN EFFN' KICK IN THE PANTS!!!!

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED FOR THE BUTTKICKER!!!!

OPUS IS ON A ROYAL ROLL!


First part - OpusFSX Version 3.36 Released
"Opus Software is proud to announce the release of OpusFSX version 3.36." (Big deal. So what.)

The "so what" is this;

"The ButtKicker Gamer 2 device control adds another level of realism to your simulation experience. The device attaches to your chair or underneath a false floor and generates vibrations during flight. Up to three ButtKicker devices can be assigned to an audio output and associated with a DHM X, Y, or Z accelerometer data axis. The ButtKicker options include taxiing, engine vibration, turbulent bumps, flaps, spoiler, landing roll out, and landing gear effects. Installing a dedicated audio device such as the Sound Blaster X-Fi Go PRO USB sound stick means that all low frequency BK audio control signals are completely separated from the normal simulator sound and will hence have no effect on your current sound system or current audio output."


If you still don't understand, or can't believe your great luck, OpusFSX has incorporated flight effects into their software to control the ButtKicker! I can't wait to feel the plane touching down!


"Aircraft and DHM turbulence has been greatly improved. Bump Aircraft turbulence has also been improved ..."


"Joysticks or controllers with POV (Point Of View or 8-Position Hat switches) can be used for Live Camera Control axes functions..."


"More Australian Site Effects have been included bringing the total number of site effects to 67. Site effects introduce additional turbulence and wind shear..."


"For added realism the height range for automatic cirrus generation is now determined by the aircraft's current geographic latitude."




There's also a Beta Version 3.37 Available

"Bump Aircraft turbulence improved with 1,2 or 3 DOF options."


Live Camera Control (LCC) enables you to make adjustments to the current eye point for any VC, 2D, or Custom view using either,

• 6-axis GamePad controllers such as the Sony Playstation 3 GamePad



• the arrow keys within the LCC dialog

• any assigned joystick buttons or key sequences specified via the Shortcuts dialog.


The list of improvements go on and on.



REX Essential PLUS as far as I can tell has the best cloud textures, but for flight sim weather I think it would be very hard to beat OpusFSX.

At the moment I have to sort out a few computer problems. But as soon as I can, I'll reinstall the latest version.


FSX just gets better and better!

[OldAirmail]

EMUTEQ NC165

If I ever find a job again, or if I were to build a cockpit mockup, this is something I'd like to consider.



The EMUTEQ NC165 at £240 ($394.70) looks to be a nice step up from the Saitek equipment, but a little less than some others.

FTW - it's also compatible with FS2004. If anyone would like a real review I'll tell you where to send the money.

[OldAirmail]

OPUS THE BUTTKICKER!

This is so exciting, I hardly know where to start!


First off. If you have a ButtKicker, download the BETA copy of OpusFSX. Read the OpusFSX Beta ButtKicker Audio Control manual.



If I remember correctly OpusFSX is only a demo in the sense that it's time limited to a half hour at a time. It's not feature limited, so you can play around with it quite a bit.



Now if you DON'T have a ButtKicker, you're in deep dodo. You're going to have to return all your , ummm.... All your Year End presents (see how I cleverly got around the Merry "C" word).

Y'up. Get them all together and return them to the stores so you have money to buy a ButtKicker. Be creative if you have to... Got any organs that you don't REALLY need?



So just what does this do?

It lets you send certain frequencies down the wire to the ButtKicker. For the most part you can modify the frequencies, volume, and often the duration of different FSX events such as the landing gear going up/down.



How good is it?

Remember THIS IS A DEMO built into their main software.


Again, How good is it?

With my eyes closed and the plane slowly rolling along I can feel the difference between the runway and the ground.

They do warn that your sound card may have limitations and they recommend buying the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Go! Pro USB Audio System.

Cost? Only $25.



It would probably be better to show you a few pictures, than to tell you that my butt's buzzing.


This is the main Opus screen. Once you have Opus set up and working click on Configure.




Next click on Enable ButtKicker Audio Control




This is a rather interesting bit, YOU CAN COTROL THREE (3) BUTTKICKERS! Is anyone rigged up for a co-pilot?




This is also where you might find a problem. I had 3 choices for the speaker system to use. Only one worked, but it worked VERY well.





When I bought my ButtKicker I thought that individual events in FSX would cause the ButtKicker to respond. Didn't happen.

BUT NOW YOU CAN TUNE THE OUTPUT OF FSX!

Overall it works VERY well, but they do warn people that it's still a work in progress.

And most of the problems have to do with this being tied to the FSX internals. The only big problem that I noticed was that the sound/feel of the landing gear going up/down is off. But they're working on that.

Remember: These ARE NOT sounds added to the ButtKicker. These are event driven sounds passed to the ButtKicker.





Consider the Opus software as an essential part of the ButtKicker.

Bur it's also the best FSX weather system that I've found.

[OldAirmail]

More on Opus & the ButtKicker

A word on the ButtKicker.

I've had one for a while and was less than happy with it.

In it's crudest setup it simply sends a lot of lower frequency sounds to whatever it's attached to, usually a chair.

This'll do several things;
ONE it'll make the chair rattle like all heck until you can track down all the sources of buzzing & rattling. Trust me, you want to set up your chair in the middle of the room until you can track down all that rattle.
TWO it'll make your chair into a sounding board. You really can hear most of those lower frequencies, especially when there cranked up. On the other hand, too low and you won't feel anything.
THREE ALL of those sound events that you WANT to feel will get blended together. That, essentially, is what the ButtKicker does - it plays any bass signals that it receives. There are some adjustments on the box that will help you to filter out some of that sound, but you can't be all that picky.


To cut this short, I did refine my settings to the point where the ButtKicker was performing much better. It was great with most music (especially classical).

In so far as flight simming, it was just above ok. I wouldn't have given it a strong recommendation.

And now Opus is in the process of building a process whereby they can inject discreate low frequencies into the ButtKicker, changing everything.


As far as I'm concerned, this can be done in one of two ways.

When you first download the software to see if it'll work for you, you have to select a sound source. I had 3 choices, only one of which worked. And it worked VERY WELL.

The ButtKicker worked as before BUT the Opus software injected these values into the mix so that you could tell when the landing gear went up/down. You could actually feel the plane hitting the landing strip with a thump.

These events can easily be distinguished from the normal rumbling sounds of the aircraft sent though the ButtKicker.

Here, again, is the settings chart from within OpusFSX.





But there is a second way.

Opus recommends a Creative Soundblaster USB cound card if you computers sound card doesn't work out well.

So I bought the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Go! Pro USB Audio System for myself for Christmas. It's realativly cheap at $26.



Basically, you plug the ButtKicker directly into this device. The OpusFSX software will (after a simple sound device selection in the software) now send those frequencies directly to the ButtKicker AS THE ONE AND ONLY SIGNAL.

From that point on you will not get any of the ButtKicker buzzing that you were used to. But on the other hand, You'll feel all the other events more distinctly.



I've tried it both ways and then reconnected the ButtKicker to the computers' sound card. If you never had a ButtKicker, you might prefer to go through the SoundBlaster only.


So did waste $26? Nope. I have a small shaker that I intend to attach to the computer desk. The software will run THREE transducers!



If you do try the beta software remember this - It's still under development. There will be problems & crashes.

In the end, though, it WILL make a very big difference.



END NOTE - I tried both methods on every TYPE of plane that I have. So far it works best with the large commercial jets.

[OldAirmail]

Good grief!

Looking at all those typos make me want to cringe.

My only defense is that I wrote all that before I went to bed at 2am in the morning.



Just another point or two.

The ButtKicker is a very nice piece of equipment. Very well made.

But it does take some understanding and a good sound card to make it work well.

That at least, was my experience.

Even as it is now, the OpusFSX beta sound enhancement and the ButtKicker together make a significant improvement to FSX.

[OldAirmail]

For anyone who buys the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Go! Pro USB Audio System.



Unfortunately, like most computer products that you buy today. this will com with some useless bloatware.

If you only intend to use it for enhancing the ButtKicker, you probably don't need, or want, the full software instillation.

If so, just do the following.








You may be able to get by with less, but I know that this works.

[OldAirmail]

For those who don't know, my "sim pit" has to fit in a relatively small area. And the desk that it sits on is my one and only space.

For the past year or two I've used two 9 inch USB monitors, along with an old program that lets me set up flight gauges on them.

The monitors sit in a track attached to the edge on a shelf over the desk.

It's great because I can pop them in the slot, attach the USB cable (no power cable needed), and I'm ready to fly in two minutes.

This is how it usually looks.




But because I like to fly the old, slow, planes I never tried the new fangled "glass cockpit" planes.

WHAT AN IDIOT I'VE BEEN!

There's more than one way way to use those two monitors for instruments.

I guess that I don't have to say another word.

[Hestntonpms]

Hey, I still use my Saitek X-45 too!
It still works great and honestly the only thing I do not like about it is the fact that I can not control the thrust individually like on my Cyborg but the feeling I get using the X-45 is much better than the Cyborg, I just have a problem switching to something new when I have something that works great .