metalnwood

I am using bilagos program to start and stop the service. it has been working but it stopped for me at some point. i ended up having to take its usb plug out and it started to work again. have you got the in game res set to 1920x1080? if its larger that could offset it. The judder means i can't use it for too long, not sure what framerate i am getting so it may not be 75 frames anyway. I can race on it for a long time, i just finished an hour of racing on it at 75fps. No bad feelings afterwards. When the software is working well 75 seems good. Of course more can be better.

Nice one :) Being in NZ I don't think I will see mine saying shipped..

I think the largest risk of buying a DK2 if you care to use it for a long time is that there may not be any long term commitment to it. From the day that CV1 is released the DK2 may not be compatible with the SDK's that are released. You may be lumped with a unit that you thought you could use for longer as your backup or on a second pc. As we have found with new DK's there have been new SDK's that are not backwards compatible and I wouldn't have any expectation that when CV1 is released that any new software using the SDK's from that time forward will ever work on the DK2.

Yes, that one that was sent to everybody and I feel a lot less important now :)

I just received an email from oculus to check my details as they are shipping soon.. Hopefully that means I am near the front lol.

Yes but we have to remember we are using some of the more complex aircraft in DCS that have many challenges when thinking about using them for VR, that doesn't mean VR cannot translate in to a great experience for flight simming. It's just that what it is good at might not be what they guys at the ed forum do most of the time. I am not modifying my pit but I will add the rift and use it for what it's good at and not use it when my screen and helios is better. When the rift matures there will be things where being in a vr pit is not so much of an issue, i.e. WWI scenarios, ww2, gliding, formation flying, air racing.. I am sure there are a lot more scenarios that work well with a rift and just a HOTAS + perhaps the odd bit of voice control where the immersion will blitz a monitor. At the end of the day it is horses for courses, while a monitor will be better for some things, the immersion of the rift in others that don't have any peripheral issues will be better. Of course some people will just like it one way or there other full stop :)

I agree that the first incarnation might not be great for reading some of those small displays. I don't see much of an issue if there is an in game mouse that works well in the rift so I can use the MFD like that in the future. Certainly not as good as using the MFD on the touchscreen but if the rest of the experience is worth more than having to use a mouse for MFD's then it's an OK tradeoff. I have said it before though, I like flight sims. Since the A10 came out it has been my most used sim because I get the most enjoyment from it. I don't have any allegiance to it though so if DK2 comes out and I get more enjoyment flying in the swiss alps in a glider with a feeling of actually being there then thats what I will be doing. The rift will work better in some cases than others, I think it's clear to most that the first iteration will not be near perfection for complex cockpits with lots of small text and little dots to look at on the horizon. On the other hand, I have done my fair share of summing where I don't need to look at complex pits and small dots on the horizon. DCS is my current flight sim fad but the rift could change that if I get more enjoyment in less complex civ aircraft with a better sense of flying, I know the best experience on day 1 will not be in the a10 but thats where the technology is starting, not ending.

That display, 2560x1440 resolution has been rumoured for the CV1 for quite some time, it's the next logical step from 1920x1080

Where in NZ are you? I ordered first day, I don't know when it will arrive but if you are in auckland you can try it. EDIT, ah i remember , you are way down south. Must be cold about now :)

His name is practically tabasco, i thought he could take it.

doublepost

Longer is def beter for helis. I cant remember at what length the spring will not not the stick up. I seem to remember that at 8" it wont recenter but it wouldnt fall forward. You can probably shorten Zahrys after you get it, check with him. It sounds like you only need to figure out if you want the stick to remain centered and not fall forward when you let go of it.

No! The longer the more precise it is, I wont argue about that but go too long and it can be too long movements for the arms, it wont hold its own weight so the stick wont center itself etc. I sold mostly 4" ones, I think 3-4" is best if you do not have a requirement to make it longer. Around that length you get the benefits of an extension without any problems. You could ask Zahry what he most often sells to get an idea as well.

Line it with chilli powder to remove plastic smell.

I ordered first day, I don't know when it will arrive. Being in NZ I might receive it later than if I was in the states as they are doing that geographic prioritisation thing... No matter, I have a new HP calculator to tie me over in the mean time lol. I am really looking forward to trying it out for racing, I hope it rids me of triple screens on my racing rig. On my flying rig I will be keeping my current setup and using the OR where I prefer it. It may not be on complex aircraft like the a10 but it may be in gliders or civilian aircraft more for VFR. If that kind of flying draws me in more with the rift than an a10 without then thats fine, I choose to fly what I like to fly the most. For me at least it's not going to be a matter of only flying one title and deciding on the rift based on that. I will use it for what works and where a normal screen is better thats what I will do as well. What I do think is that it will have some value, even if it is just for the occasional bit of fun in some titles I might not normally play. It's only $350 bucks at the moment. As for a scam, well that depends on how much value you see in it. Some people might pay more than retail for something and be so happy with it they don't think they got a bad deal. Apple vs apples I don't know what you can buy off the shelf that makes the pricing of this at the moment a scam. You can't compare it to diy otherwise everything is a scam.

I agree, MDF is bad because it gets used badly in places where it shouldn't for no other reason than cost savings. Other than that, it has it's place and can do a good job. It's like so many things in engineering, there is usually something better with better properties you can use but that has to be weighed up with costs and where a cheaper material meets the needs of a product then there isn't really an issue. MDF gets used where it shouldn't and there is no defending that. If a smart consumer knows this and is happy to save some money knowing this then that is fine but most of the time they don't know this and wonder why their bathroom vanity is expanding. I would often choose to not use MDF and in it's place use a marine grade ply because I need clean edges. Otherwise MDF is fine. Sorry, I don't believe in the theory that MDF should never be used because there are better ways. It's only better if it does a better job and that really depends on what the job it is doing is. Given what the OP is asking I take his level of expertise below what is required to take boards and joint them to make a glue up. Sheet goods are your goto for your diy here, imho.

While we are debating the pro's cons of MDF, however you make it, using ply or other sheet goods it does seem like a lot of work to do nothing other than be able to mount a slide for your joystick. I would suggest you go and get a piece of timber the 200mm width that you need and a quick release clamp and just clamp that to the bottom of your desk so it protrudes out the front. Yes, you would have to do it every time but it only takes a few seconds and how many times would you have to do it before it consumes more time than building what you are suggesting? Anyway, might be a good ides just to see if you like it there anyway. Re the MDF debate :) mdf should only be used with screws in the side of the panel if glue is used as well. You dont want a screw taking all of the load. These days I just use nail guns with MDF to hold the glueups together. Filling the sides of the mdf is as easy as running a bead of glue down the edge. It will take more than one coat to make it look smooth, depending on the paint but then again, if you are after a good paint job it will take more than one coat regardless. MDF can be used for this purpose fine, you just have to know how MDF can fail and avoid constructions to promote that. Having said that, I would take a nice piece of ply over MDF any day but it's 2-3 times the price.

ajax, the entire thing is being made to go under the desk, it isn't just the slide he wants to make to put on his desk. MDF will paint fine, if you want to paint it. It's best to seal the edges and for a diy guy the easiest way is to put glue on the edges first. Only takes a few minutes then you can paint after it is dry. As mentioned you need to pre drill the sides when screwing in to MDF. MDF will take some moisture but it will not take sustained and repeated moisture without swelling. I have mdc stuff I have made for years lying around and it is fine, I suspect a lot of us pit builders do as well. Thats why it is strange that it is so popular for the core of kitchen and bathroom cabinets as it shouldn't really be used in such wet areas but it is strong enough for the job.

What you are making is fairly small so with a bit if bracing behind it will be fine. Think of almost all flat pack furniture, it's all made from 3/4" sheet and a lot of it is either mdf particle board at it's core.

Nice one Devon, glad to see you sorted the issues :)

I agreee, 18mm - 3/4" mdf, pre drilled will be OK for that size table, bit will want some additional bracing on the back of it though.

The one I linked to from digikey, I didn't look closely at the specs but if it is the one Leo sells it is OK, you can get them with more pulses per turn and you may like that more. At the end of the day, if you are trying to get something that will behave exactly the same as something in the aircraft then you will then first need to understand exactly how they work and then make a mechanical mechanism to gear up or down the turns required and use an encoder with or without tactile feedback to mimic it properly. If on the other hand you just want to have it work and work well then you are overthinking it imho :) I still have an old go flight panel, lots of people are using them I will turn the knob nd tell you how many detents on it. thousands of guys using these panels to do exactly what you ant and they are happy as larry :)

An optical encoder will give you no detents if you want to have one like that. A detent on an optical one would probably only be there for tactile feedback. VOR, altimeter etc all come down to the software, it's not the encoder that determines how much something moves but how you interact with the software. For example, for the VOR, one 'click' (partial turn) of the mechanical encoder can be one degree, thats what happens with them most of the time in sims. It can take a while to go around 180 degrees when you do that so software will often change it, for example, in 5 degree increments when you turn the knob faster and one degree increments otherwise. This allows you to do fast changes in values as well as fine changes. A mechanical encoder that every pit builder here and all over the place is using will do the job fine. Any other type and you will still have the same issues, if you need fine adjustments its hard to do large adjustments (and vice versa )unless you have the software help you, in the end it doesn't come down to the type of encoder. I honestly think there is a misunderstanding of how you would operate them in a sim because I and everyone else I know has never found the problem you are describing? Or at least the problem I think you are describing.

Doveman, they are what you are looking for I believe. When you said no detents and infinite adjustabailty I assumed you were talking about not wanting a 12 position switch or similar. The optical encoder will not have the detents but the others will, thats fine, thats what they all have. It's what lets you easily change the freq in the increments available. The switches don't have a hard stop, they can turn in any direction infinitely. The optical encoder is complete overkill and would be harder to use and not in the package you would want. Trust me, the mechanical encoder is what you are after ;) The ones you got are fine.

Oh yes, ebay of course. Another pretty amazing place if you are playing around with electronics is aliexpress.com looking around at arduino stuff there you will be amazed what you get for the prices. You just have to be sure if you are buying one or ten for the price.