SurClaro Flight Simulator Resources

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:58 pm Post subject:

1. Do you have access to some basic tools, or maybe a workshop?
well, I didn't access to these kinda of things but I could do it with help

2. Do you consider yourself a pretty handy guy, who can make some things if need be?

sometimes

3. Will your "cockpit" be a desktop arrangement of perhaps a control-yoke and maybe a seperate panel with some switching, or do you plan to build a completely stand-alone cockpit? There's a world of difference between those two scenarios. Dan recommended that you visit fscockpit.com, and I heartily endorse that...it's a great place to get some super ideas, and it'll help you establish what you want to build. Please go there, look around, and come back here with maybe a picture or a good description of what you want to build, okay?

well, I want it like a cockpit switches mainly and I have the joystick
I can say like what you are doing in yours

4. Finances are your own business, but you can plan to spend at least a few hundred dollars: The Hagstrom card is about $125, and there's no cheaper way around it that I'm aware of. You'll also need some hardware, such as a bunch of switches

about money maybe it's ok.... and the switches do I have to make them or buy them? both are ok...and the card I will buy when I'm ready and switches are made so I don't buy it then don't know what will happend..AFTER I MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS WORKING AND JUST CONNECT THEM IN THE CARD AND PROGRAMMING THEM..

5. Do you have a volt-ohm meter or DVM, and are you familiar with using it?

I'm not sure what is it and maybe I don't

6. What about soldering tools? You'll need at least a cheapie

OOh of course this is the key to connect the switches with the card or ... I can get one

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well, I like planes and flying when I was a kid I had toys of planes and fighters... I always liked flying.. I want to be a pilot or take flying lessons

when I bought FS2004 I found my dream in it... and I was flying with keyboard I bought a joystick then I was thinking all the time if I can bulid a cockpit atleast a panel with my joystick to take my mouse away from FS
I,ve got the idea beforew I red this topic or seen any websites about this... but I said it will be hard for me and cann't do it...when I saw this topic and your little site I changed my mind and decided to complete what I ...well, dreamed of ... and I saw this 727 project and made me a fire in my mind to get started and told me you can do it...

my cockpit goals is to make FS more than a game to make it a real world flying.. the mouse makes my flight hard and perform it as a game
and trying to fly easier than before...

here is my funny thought about my first bad idea: but please don't laugh Smile

I thought that I can put a board of wood or something like it and make a hole for the switch like AP and make the board above the keyboard and the switch has a stick or same as it... and attached with the key which is z then when I press AP switch it will press the z key and I can make the light or the auto-throttle x key insted of CTRL+. ........ and same for ther rest

well, I think this is a good start to think

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:58 pm Post subject:

.....

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:41 pm Post subject: RE:David's cockpit

Okay, David...very good.

NOTE: I'll respond to your message here, but then I think we should start a new thread...I'll start it and call it "David's Cockpit". This thread is getting very long, and I don't want us to get in trouble with the forum administrator.

>>well, I want it like a cockpit switches mainly and I have the joystick
I can say like what you are doing in yours <<
Mine will be a completely stand-alone cockpit, with all flight simulator controls...much like what you saw in some of the pictures on other cockpit websites. Given your situation, I think it would be wiser for you to start with a smaller concept...maybe a control yoke and a smaller panel with some switches for some of the functions. Do you agree with this?

>>and the card I will buy when I'm ready and switches are made so I don't buy it then don't know what will happend..AFTER I MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS WORKING AND JUST CONNECT THEM IN THE CARD AND PROGRAMMING THEM.. <<
This is a little bit backwards, David. You can't really "make" the switches, but I have a bunch of extras and will gladly give you some to help get you started. As for the card: If you're committed to this project, you want to buy the card first, not later on. The best way to develop the functionality is by actually testing it...you'll be able to flip a switch on your new cockpit panel, and see things happen on the FS screen.

>>here is my funny thought about my first bad idea: but please don't laugh
I thought that I can put a board of wood or something like it and make a hole for the switch like AP and make the board above the keyboard and the switch has a stick or same as it... and attached with the key which is z then when I press AP switch it will press the z key and I can make the light or the auto-throttle x key insted of CTRL+. ........ and same for ther rest
well, I think this is a good start to think>>
Nobody here is laughing at all, and in fact it was very clever of you to think of such a thing. But it probably wouldn't work too well, or at least not reliably. For one thing, there are too many controls and not enough "single" keys that could be re-assigned. The way to go is with the interface card, which merely "tricks" the PC into thinking it is getting signals from the keyboard.

Okay...I'm going to start a new thread for us, and maybe the forum administrator can delete this one to save some space.

I'll call it "DAVID'S COCKPIT PROJECT", so you'll have to look for it under "Add-Ons / Developers"

Garry

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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:01 pm Post subject:

Actually the keyboard isn't such a bad idea, but not put a panel over it, dismantle it...below the keys, and the rubber padding, you have a mesh of flat conductors, if you locate the letter Z and gollow the two conductors all the way to the printed board you will find out the keyboard code for letter Z. Then, remove the mesh, and use wires instead of the mesh. Connect them to a switch and you will have the same effect. This way of doing it is good for about 10 switches. After that, it gets too cluttered, and you won't be able to connect the switches properly.

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 6:35 pm Post subject:

Hey Max:

Yeah...you might remember that that was my own initial plan...a hacked keyboard! And I agree that the "board over top of it" wouldn't work.

As for >>"only 10 switches"<< Nope, I got every key on the keyboard working with "wires"! You know, I hadn't even thought of it before, but maybe I should offer to send him this one, so he can get started! It's here, I'll never use it now that I have the Hagstrom card, and this kid seems passionate about getting a cockpit going. I've got some switches he can have, too. He'd have to do plenty of cotrol re-assigning to allow for single-key programming, but that would still give him maybe 5o inputs or so!

Heck, he could have a "somewhat" cockpit for no $$$ at all, huh?

Garry