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Strix's suggested tool looks like a leather punch. Might I also suggest a simple X-acto type swivel knife - the blade is designed to turn in the handle, so cutting is almost as easy as tracing a line with a pencil. http://www.xacto.com/Product/X3241

Of course it's possible! Most of the "hat" style switches on HOTAS controllers are simply 4 momentary, off/(on) switches arranged around a center post that closes one or more of the switches as the "hat" is moved around. An example of this type of switch: http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1691409-switch-4-way-hat-500-526.html The CMS Switch on the Thrustmaster Warthog additionally has a "press" function, essentially adding a 5th momentary switch at the bottom of the center post. The cursor/slew switch is different - it's an analog mini-stick, essentially a mini-joystick by itself (2-axis). You can salvage this type of switch from simple gamepad controllers meant for consoles like the PS2 or XBox. For wiring switches, there is a ton of information in the forums. A great place to start would be TigersharkBAS's thread, here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=65998 For the mini-stick switches like the slew control, you'll need a controller capable of reading analog axes, such as the boards offered by Leo Bodnar, Groovy GameGear, or Even Brydling, here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=78955 Hope that helps get you pointed in the right direction!

I think $100 for a kit is a fantastic value - It could even be a great jump-start for folks planning to customize or built from other materials down the line. I'd certainly be interested!

Beautiful work, as expected.

I've been reading up on Gene Buckle's collimated display and other similar arrangements/attempts. I found myself wondering whether you could replace the projectors and their projected image with LCD monitors? I realize that you'd have to reverse the image and correct for curvature of the mirror, and that you'd have gaps due to the monitor bezels ... what other problems would have to be solved (other than the obvious $$$).

I'm particularly interested in how well it works out using a projector for the gauges - I'm assuming you'll use reverse projection from the back of the panel?

NICE!!!

I believe the buttons on the Cyborg are PCB mounted, as you'll find on almost any similar grade of controller - but don't let that stop you! You can simply buy the switches and buttons you want to use, the solder them to the existing board, or replace the board (many of the boards in the stick section are very simple, and the circuits can be traced directly to a wire that connects to the main circuitboard inside the base. Many, many folks here have done something similar. Give it a go!

Beg, borrow, steal as much as you like. This is very much a work in progress, as I figure out what I'm doing. The 'instrument panel' is simply a layer of acrylic cut to resemble the front panel - Helios runs the gauges underneath. Matching the gauges to the physical cutouts was fun, but totally worth it. It really helps you 'forget' that it's just another monitor back there, since the only light bleed comes from the instrument faces. There's a couple frames of ABS around the main instruments for a bit more 3-D appearance. The MFD bezels are secured to that panel, which means nothing actually stuck to the monitor; the whole face can just be lifted off.

No, the stick will stay on the side. I'd toyed with the idea of having either mount available, but since I still use the computer for more conventional tasks, I chose to keep the stick out of the way to the side. Changing between two different mounts would put undue wear on that connector, and I'd probably choose to do it very infrequently. Even the keyboard drawer rarely gets stowed out of sight.

Okay, resurrecting this from page 6 with an update. The fuel panel is in place, but there will be no close-up of that bad boy right now - I screwed up the engraving pretty bad, and it'll have to be re-done at some point. Throttle is mounted, and the panels are coming together ... slowly. There's still not a switch or button here that actually does anything. My intention is to paint (which means taking the thing apart) before I wire it up. ... and one with the keyboard drawer stowed:

Don't get me wrong, guys - I'm sincere in saying this is a great move for the community ... I don't regret contributing at all. That's a large part of why I purchased in the first place. :)

To use the Cougar throttle you must connect it to the Cougar Stick. Even though it's the same physical plug, it's not a gameport connection. Just plugging the throttle into a gameport adapter will not work.

LOL - Well done! Next time just strap the camera to your head. :)

I'll admit some hard feelings over paying for it, but I'll still join in with hearty applause for your benevolence. It's a great tool, and that more folks can benefit from it is sure to bring some great additional features from and for the community. Well done. *I should point out that I thought the price was high for what it was ... but paid in support of what it is supposed to become (hardware integration, etc.).

Personally, I'd recommend the TrackIR as your first investment ... touchscreen later on.

Yes, I've used this configuration. Using the TH2Go for DCS fullscreen works very well, but you can't then export the MFCDs to the 4th Monitor (but you can run Helios or similar software just fine). By using windowed mode, you can display the main view on the 3 TH2Go monitors, and the MFCDs on the 4th, but I took a drastic FPS hit and decided it wasn't worth it until some upgrades. YRMV; I'm running a Radeon 4850.

Depends ... constructive for the soul, destructive to the wallet.

Nice progress! It's coming along very well.

That is an awesome setup ... love it!

Correct - Touchbuddy, HawgTouch or Helios could be used to recreate the UFC on your Mimo. Airdog, IMHO, the more info the better. I just figured I'd try to clarify the caps of the various apps available. :)

Export of MFDs: handled by DCS directly. Switch inputs, touch controls: TouchBuddy, HawgTouch, Helios Virtual instrumentation (working altimeter, VVI, HSI, etc.): Helios You can flip "virtual" instrumentation pages using Touchbuddy or Helios (unsure about HawgTouch), but as stated above - since the MFDs are handled by DCS directly, you couldn't display them both in the same physical screen space, because there's no function to swap display configurations on the fly from within DCS itself.

Gus, you are the BOMB! +1 and thanks so much for sharing the info! And thanks to KLaFaille for the update on the -C.

I'll echo the sentiments of others, here. TIR5 was a significant improvement over my TIR4, so I can only imagine how much better it would have to be over their initial offering. I'll also echo the recommendation for the TrackClip Pro, to go with it. It really does make a difference.

When you first connect a joystick, DCS will map it's axes and buttons to a default configuration for "generic" joysticks. You'll have to manually clear the default controls and assign new ones, or multiple controls will be defined for each DCS function, resulting in conflicting signals. After plugging in an additional controller, I suggest immediately going into the control options and clearing all assignments from the 'new' controller, then re-assigning whichever functions you want it to control.