rocketeer

thanks guys for the info. good to know that the required size is much smaller than I expected, though I noticed the temp gauges are sized down pretty small. I also noticed that you squeezed in the gear panel, but without the flaps gauge. I suppose that can be added with ease? As I said above I'd also like to add the fuel gauge on the right. So I think 27" would suffice for all the gauges to be displayed.

I saw the E3 demo pictures of the tm warthog and the scsimulations pit with a screen displaying the mfcd and gauges. What would be the ideal size tv for that? 40"? If so to include the gear/flap panel and fuel panel would require another 10"? I'd like to display the flap and fuel gauges in addition to the others. I suppose we'd have the full selection of gauges in Helios to choose from?

This is exciting to see Helios for A10C. I suppose everything is cutomizable and resizeable by users, drag and drop etc?

Although ED has added many categories, I noticed that some categories only have a few functions added, not all switches in the added panels were added. Still, many categories and many switch functions have been added in this beta version, which is already awesome. I foresee many more to come.

I justed shared my tests in the thread http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1033868#post1033868 As you know Beta 3 is out and many switch functions (hundreds) have been added to the keyboard.lua. I tested assigning them to my leo board. I tested the AAP engage/disengage button in the LASTE panel, the load button in the VHF AM panel and the Oxygen Indicator Test button. All worked like charm. Just follow the steps I outlined in the thread above and if you have a big input hardware like BU0836X (which I don't have!) or Xkeys or OC cards, you'd be able to get them hundreds of switches functioning immediately, at least the simple ones like toggles and push buttons.

Good news guys. Ok I said earlier that only a few panels now appear in the Options/Control panel. If you have some input hardware like a leo board, it will appear as a column as BU0836 in the key assignment screen. Just select the desired category in the drop down list, find your function, then select the JOY button. This is the simple part. It works. Since the LASTE panel exists in the drop down, I selected that category, then the AAP engage/disengage function, then assigned to JOY BTN 12 on my BU0836. Fired up the sim and went into training to verify. Pushing down my push button wired to the leo board is mirrored in the sim. Cool! Now the more interesting part. What about the many functions added to the keyboard.lua (which is now twice in file size in beta 3) that don't appear in the control panel for button assignment? I learned this from Kuky (thanks Dude!). Here are the steps again. 1. Connect your input hardware. eg. BU0836. Fire up the sim. Let it detect the hardware. It'd add a file eg. BU0836 Interface {F92F83B0-DB0E-11df-8001-444553540000}.lua to the path \config\aircrafts\joystick. When you edit it later you'd have to give write rights else you can't save. 2. Go to the adjacent folder 'keyboard' next to the joystick folder, open up the keyboard.lua. Make a backup copy. Even though you won't be editing this file I found out that when I make changes to the BU0836.lua this got changed somehow. Once inside, choose a function you want, say you want to test the oxygen indicator test button in the environment panel, which doesn't exist in the key assignment window yet. You look for it and copy it from the keyboard.lua and paste it to the bottom of the bu0836 lua file. eg [789] = { ["up"] = 1505, ["name"] = "Oxygen Indicator Test", ["category"] = "Environment System Panel", ["down"] = 1505, }, -- end of [789] 3. you add the section in red. If you have a physical button button wired to joy button 12 in the leo board (verify which joy buton in the windows joystick controller control panel), then below is JOY_BTN12. I assume you know how to wire the leo board pins! [789] = { ["combos"] = { [1] = { ["key"] = "JOY_BTN12", ["reformers"] = { }, -- end of ["reformers"] }, -- end of [1] }, -- end of ["combos"] ["up"] = 1505, ["name"] = "Oxygen Indicator Test", ["category"] = "Environment System Panel", ["down"] = 1505, }, -- end of [789] 4. Save the bu0836 lua file. 5. Launch the sim again. Go in and press you push button. The sim will do likewise! Note: the stuff in red will the same for all toggle/push button functions, except change your joy button number. I can't say it'd work for the more complicated pots/encoders, rotary switches etc. I tested it again for the VHF AM panel load button. Worked like a charm. Note: once you do the above, the category you added now appears in the drop down list. Conclusion: now we have hundreds more switch functions to use compared to the original keyboard.lua. Thanks ED! Even if you can't find the category or the switch function in the key assignment screen, as long as you can find it in the beta 3 keyboard.lua file, do the steps above, copy and paste into the joystick input file, in this case the bu0836.lua, then add the section in red and watch the switches come alive! This is really awesome. The only problem is I don't have my OC cards yet! I tested push buttons in three different panels and all worked! Go hook up some buttons and enjoy! And thanks Kuky!

Comparing the old key commands list to Beta 3's, I found a few new categories that appeared. LASTE Control Panel Electrical power control panel Fuel system control panel Emergency flight control panel Circuit breaker panel Intercom control panel Auxiliary lighting control panel UHF Radio CDU panel UFC CMSP Panel CMSC Panel Lighting Panel Armament HUD Control Panel Landing gear panel Navigation Mode Select Panel TACAN Control Panel ILS Control Panel HARS Control Panel Stall Warning Control Panel VHF FM Radio Control Panel Environment System Panel Fire Extinguishers System Left MFCD Right MFCD Stability Augmentation System Now when I went into the sim's options menu, all keyboards commands, I only saw a few of these new categories. Not sure why the rest didn't appear. Also not sure if those that don't appear on the options screen if we can just copy them to a input device like the leo board's lua to make them functional. If so, that'd be great as it means now many panels can be made functional if you have the input hardware for them. We'd have to verify and test them.

Funny I heard otherwise from an economist, who joked about everything being made in China, except cheap beer and local hookers.

Thanks Gadroc. This is very impressive and exciting! Just drag and drop an action to a switch. Wow! I have read and understood the steps to make an easy toggle switch work with SOIC and LUA as per Oakes' example. And was prepared to learn the more advanced steps for rotary switches, pots and encoders, and then even more advanced steps for output LEDs, LCD and seven segments. But your Helios example makes it like a normal joystick configuration, really simple. If so, it'd save me a ton of time figuring out the coding for hundreds of switches!

what I am saying is that it's easier to make LUA and SOIC talk than leo boards and LUA (at least for me) as we have ample examples from the OC users here. Even then there's much figuring out work for the various types of switches. And I have no clue how to use LUA if not for SOIC. By the way Gadroc can you can some insight as to how Helios will work with real switches, eg people like us intending to use OC cards? I posted this question at SCSimulations forum and no one bothered to answer it for a week now. If Helios configuration is mostly graphical, then the less programming inclined will find it useful to use Helios as a interface layer between SOIC and LUA, to avoid figuring SOIC coding and LUA to get our switches to work in DCS.

thanks mudrat. there is no guarantee that all switch functions will be assigned key commands by ED. Thus if you are building a full pit, and if there are no key commands assigned to some of the panels, then using Leo boards you'd be stuck. But if you use open cockpit and its SOIC software it's proven that it works for every kind of switch, buttons, rotary switch, encoders etc. all even output lights. SOIC will work with lua even if no key commands are assigned. so that'd be the safe route to go. Besides, leo boards are quite expensive compared to OC cards. If you use leo boards you may need 10-15 such boards! And then it still doesn't handle outputs like LED, LCD, 7 segments.

Scabbers is right. The china hat looks like a chinese buildings roof, because they don't have such kind of hats. Chinese/south asians wear hats that are conical, with a pointed top, esp. among farmers. The so-called China hat has a flat top. From a side view it does look a bit similar to the coolie hat except for the flat top. Coolie in chinese dialect means laborer, employee, servant etc. It can also mean those who does physical, manual labor, as that was common in the colonial days. These coolies typically wear domed shape hats working in the fields. Hence coolie hat = domed/conical shaped hat. Think of the movie Platoon, what kind of hats do the vietnamese farmers wear in the padi fields.

Thanks Feed. For the panel drawings I took from Duckling's excellent website (thanks Gus!), and added the EW and CDU, and the leftmost panel (safe, arm, oride) myself. If you have problem sourcing knobs I'd try to help. Thanks DM for the info about the paint.

Thanks. flat gray enamel from OSH, but they have stopped producing that! Now I have problem finding other gray that'd match, else my front console and other knobs may look too light or dark.:mad:

Cheapo pit in progress...

some progress on the right console. Still some work to do for the top half of the console, but I'm glad several panels are done. Looking forward to start the front console. :)

thanks sweinhart. by less inputs you mean only 2 inputs instead of 3 if we use 2 bit?

Thanks for your explanation about 2 bit and 4 bit. So does it matter which of the two CTS288 to use with OC cards? Is it just a matter of slight change in coding or if one will work better?

I mentioned earlier that OC sells the encoder 288VCC0F161B2. this is a 2 bit binary type with a switch. I bought one from Leo 288T232R161A2, a 4 bit gray type without switch. Can someone confirm if this one is safe to use for DCS/SOIC? I'm not sure the diff between 2 bit and 4 bit, and binary vs. gray type.

thanks Avilator. I wonder if that means we just need a push pull switch and not care about the pot, if ED is not going to make the rotary function in later versions, which we'd won't know. You are welcome Krebs. I've spent a lot of time searching for the right knobs and switches myself so sharing would spare others the effort. For pots I've learned from others in this forum to avoid audio taper type and to get the linear taper type. Fry's has two, PC24 (24mm) and PC74 (16mm) by Philmore. Both 1/4 D shaft. I believe these are the diameter of the pots, not the lenght of the shaft. http://www.philmore-datak.com/mc/Page%20189.pdf I usually take the specs from opencockpits.com as a guide. eg. they sell only one type of pot, 10k. So I get it elsewhere, at 10k ohms rather than something much smaller or larger in ohms, to play safe. I suppose this rating an ideal one and kinda 'endorsed' by OC. another example is encoders. Leo sells two types one with switch and one without. Both are CTS288. OC also sells CTS288 encoder. So to play safe I'd get CTS288, but try it get it cheaper elsewhere like digikeys. part number is 288T232R161A2 for the one without switch. Digikey number is CT3002-ND. Look here to see what 288T232R161A2 means. http://datasheetz.com/data/Switches/Encoders/CT3002-datasheetz.html this is a 4 bit gray type. Can someone confirm that this one will work ok for DCS? The one at OC site is has the switch included, part is 288VCC0F161B2. this is a 2 bit binary type.

I'm still not sure if it should be a push/pull or push on/push off switch with pot. if the latter than will this do? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3012598 or even place a normal pot infront of a latched push button. please confirm what type of switch it should be.

but this isn't a dogfighting machine.

You guys will need several rotary switches for the pit. Some are at 45 degrees and some 30. Fry's sell them for $6.99 each. I bought a bunch at onlinecomponents.com. Their 45 degree ones are $4+ and 30 degree ones at $2+, much cheaper than Fry's. But they have minimum order of $35. That's ok since you'd be buying quite a few. Even after freight it'd still be cheaper than buying from Fry's. You might find it cheaper at other sites but this was the site I bought from. part numbers A12515RNZQ - 45 degree A11215RNZQ - 30 degree For the 30 degree ones there are several other models. Check the datasheet for variations. These are by C&K. Fry's ones at from GC Electronics 35-1343 35-1324 The good thing about these rotary switches is that you can set them to the number of desired stops, just make sure you get the correct degree type, else they don't tally with the angle where the words are. If you are not sure how to set the number of stops see my earlier explanation several pages back. I am just sharing the source of where I get some of my switches. I can't promise they are the cheapest source.

Good job! Every pit builder should own a CNC machine. Just promise not to laugh when you see my cheapo CDU panel.

Look at this. Kuky showed how to make the osb work. I tried it and made a push button work on one of the osb buttons via a Leo board for the a10c beta 1. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=59541 Try it.