The whole point of the blog is to document the progress of building the simulator environment, so here is how it looks so far. NOTE: I claim to have no skills other than basic hand tools and a persistent vision of how things should look when it's finished. EVERYTHING is in prototype stage, and will probably stay that way...
MONITOR MOUNTING FRAME
The legs were give to me, and I liked the back-angle idea for mounting the surprisingly light 39" monitor, so I drilled a few holes and mounted the HUGE flat-screen mount directly to it.
While the corner bolts were certainly large enough, there was little real stability. The design flexed, and made me nervous enough to come up with a few cross-braces. Lucky I live 3 minutes from Home Depot...
(Why YES - that *IS* an R2 Astromech droid back there!)
This would make an ideal place for the angled footrests. I was originally thinking of rudder pedals, but I have another idea to put metal or pvc leg supports off of the pilot seat with pivoting foot pads. A linkage will run back up the arm to potentiometers in the seat base itself, with spring returns. So, the footrests will suffice until I get the leg pieces built. The forward pod really needs stability, and I can use this as a lower mount point for the center console instruments some day...
This was the preliminary setup. Only one MFD so far, but ideas were flowing quickly at this point.. The Mimo 7" Touchscreen would work well as a center console display, so that went in after slapping a piece of MDF to some PVC electrical conduit and junction boxes. Strong, adjustable, and had a bit of that "tech tubing" look I was going for.
Classic, blurry phone camera view but as you can see it's functional. Stability was really not too much of an issue, but the finished unit will be supporting an additional 2 22" monitors off to the sides as well as a center console to mount the instrument panels and controls to the "Forward Pod". My design is based on the idea of separate, interlocking elements: A forward (Display) pod, control pods, and the command chair and overhead controls pod. I am still working out the details on modular wiring connections between the pods so I can swap them out, and move the seat to accomodate different sized pilots.
A shot with better lighting, showing more of the gizmos attached Despite the pic, the monitor WAS level... Or maybe it wasn't. Fixed regardless.
You can see the two PVC control "pods" - they are simple 1" Schedule 40 PVC frames, and a few USPS boxes to mock up possible ideas for control panels. The Saitek X45 Flight Stick & Throttle are resting gently on MDF plates. I did not mount them down yet as my desk chair's legs bump into the frames and they set too far out of the "comfort zone". I held off closing them in until I was set on controller placment and angle. It's very easy to add or modify the frames at this stage.
Both Thrustmaster Cougar MFDs are mounted to another MDF panel along with the Mimo. And yes, I left the base on the TV - it made a convenient shelf for now.
I "stickered up" a second keyboard for additional controls, but between the sticks and the MFDs I rarely have to use them. A second keyboard sits on the PC.
I have already logged 7-8 hours on this prototype setup, and almost as many hours taking notes and deciding on what is most important to accomplish next. My summer "busy" season has let me down so far, so my construction plans are on hold, unless I dumpster dive form materials and barter for labor. Time to play with switches and wiring (I already have that stuff on hand!) A Teensy3 board is en route for switch and lighting controls. I may not have a place to mount the control boxes, but I will have controls! Prototyping is ongoing...
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Now that it's playable, time to look into building the pilot's chair. The controller pods will connect to a frame that the chair slides into. The front monitor/control pod is a separate unit from the chair module, and the controller pods are linked to each other and the chair "nests" into that base. I wanted to mount controls to the chair, but couldn't find an easy way to get out of the sim! My original design featured an overhead console that arced over the headrest with displays and controls. I still like the idea better than mounting yet another forward-hanging mass from the monitor supports. Another 2 monitor/control panels are going to come off of either side of the head via adjustable arms
Egress will be from the left, after backing the pilot's chair away from the controls. The wall on the right will be a mock-up of the craft's interior, but the left side will either be a heavy cloth drape or a partial mock-up. A full enclosure has to wait until I find more room.
The monitor *IS* higher than most sim setups. That's because the pilot's chair sits higher than a typical fighter "bucket"seat. This is a command chair, and the ship is not pulling massive Gs- she's a mercenary freighter!
More as I gather and organize my notes. A LOT of sketches and design ideas have come together as I wait for the manpower and the supplies necessary to build the seat.
Both Thrustmaster Cougar MFDs are mounted to another MDF panel along with the Mimo. And yes, I left the base on the TV - it made a convenient shelf for now.
I "stickered up" a second keyboard for additional controls, but between the sticks and the MFDs I rarely have to use them. A second keyboard sits on the PC.
I have already logged 7-8 hours on this prototype setup, and almost as many hours taking notes and deciding on what is most important to accomplish next. My summer "busy" season has let me down so far, so my construction plans are on hold, unless I dumpster dive form materials and barter for labor. Time to play with switches and wiring (I already have that stuff on hand!) A Teensy3 board is en route for switch and lighting controls. I may not have a place to mount the control boxes, but I will have controls! Prototyping is ongoing...
-----
Now that it's playable, time to look into building the pilot's chair. The controller pods will connect to a frame that the chair slides into. The front monitor/control pod is a separate unit from the chair module, and the controller pods are linked to each other and the chair "nests" into that base. I wanted to mount controls to the chair, but couldn't find an easy way to get out of the sim! My original design featured an overhead console that arced over the headrest with displays and controls. I still like the idea better than mounting yet another forward-hanging mass from the monitor supports. Another 2 monitor/control panels are going to come off of either side of the head via adjustable arms
Egress will be from the left, after backing the pilot's chair away from the controls. The wall on the right will be a mock-up of the craft's interior, but the left side will either be a heavy cloth drape or a partial mock-up. A full enclosure has to wait until I find more room.
The monitor *IS* higher than most sim setups. That's because the pilot's chair sits higher than a typical fighter "bucket"seat. This is a command chair, and the ship is not pulling massive Gs- she's a mercenary freighter!
More as I gather and organize my notes. A LOT of sketches and design ideas have come together as I wait for the manpower and the supplies necessary to build the seat.
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