Dropship Pilot

Hi Gadroc, thanks for chiming in. :) I just tried to replicate my problem with the missing bindings, but just when you try to provoke it nothing happens! However, in the past it happend at least 3 times - two times with the/an older version of the profile editor and once with the current version (1.2.176.447). It always involved moving the helios screen to a differend monitor. It's no big deal for me, but for someone with a complex touchscreen setup it might be differend. I'll keep an eye on it and when I find a way to replicate it, I'll let you know. Btw: Thanks a lot for this great addon! Cheers, Stefan

I think you have two problems: a) Even without running Helios, you should be able to get the MFCDs, CMSP, CMSC, ... and the other stuff in the right position. Your BigScreen.lua looks ok to me. (The only thing I noticed is that you are using 1921 and 1081 as offsets instead of 1920 and 1080. This shouldn't be a problem but you might want to check it). You did edit/replace all those initialisation files? You might want to check PeterP's exports: http://files.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/145724/ ... and/or his Multi Monitor Guide: http://files.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/214771/ b) When you use Helios and reset the Monitors for some reason the bindings between the instruments and the A-10C interface are lost (at least that's my experience). You'll have to reconnect them manually :( (one by one, unless there's a better method that I missed) Cheers, Stefan

Hmm, that looks gooood! :thumbup: Looking forward to see more of your stuff. Cheers, Stefan

Star Trek meets A-10C! Though not really a replica it sure looks cool! I guess it'll be quite some fun to take a spin in your pit. :thumbup: Cheers, Stefan

Hmm, looks good! :thumbup: Cheers, Stefan

Ah, ok! Are you going to use a special printing process? Sadly, you don't get enough color saturation from normal printers to block the light from the light box. :( Cheers, Stefan

It sure looks nice, but it'll be some additional effort, you don't need if you do it as on the original part. The original keyboard frame is solid black plastic (I know because of the damage on mine) and sparypainted white on the inside for better light distribution for the buttons. Cheers, Stefan

Looks cool! One remark though - the white frame around the keyboard isn't lighted on the original CDU. Might save some work to know this. Cheers, Stefan

I'd recommend this display & driver board: http://www.ebay.de/itm/VGA-AV-Controller-Board-with-3-5inch-lcd-display-640-480-resolution-PD035VX2-/180922018470?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1fcaeaa6 The outer dimension makes it fit into the opening of an original CDU panel and (more importantly to most) the active display area is a very good match too: Original Dot Matrix Display: 73x49mm PD035VX2: 72x53mm So on the left and right side there's only an 0.5mm difference to the real deal (which noone will notice) and the height difference is easily dealt with by applying a frame with a 72x49mm cutout. Also with 640x480 is has a good resolution (most 3.5" have only 320x240) and the driver board makes it possible the switch the image upside down which might come handy depending where you want to place the connector for the board. Cheers, Stefan

HMA, nice work and no need to worry about the display. Simply cut a frame with a 80x60mm cutout (that's the size of the glass area on the original display) from black self adhesive sheeting and glue it to the display. Then reduce the area where the characters are displayed to 73x49mm and you have the original configuration. You'll loose some pixels but unless it's really low resolution it shouldn't matter. Only the arrow buttons might be a little far from the text. The other thing I'd suggest is to spray paint the gloss black keyboard frame with a matt coat which should make quite a difference. As an alternative you could use flat black color and mask off the white frame. Cheers, Stefan

Still not finished, but enough for a little update... The base is a an original CDU (thanks to Jimbo who pointed me in the right direction) that had some damage to the right side. I fixed the broken off sections but still have to repaint it. The function buttons below the screen are differend so I'll have to rework them or find some replacements (yeah -very unlikely). As I had no way to get the original charater display working, it was replaced by a 3.5" 640x480 TFT display with a green glass in front of it. The screen protector was made from a CD jewel case. Cheers, Stefan

Woah! That sounds interesting! I know there are companies that cut LCDs down to size (http://www.symbolicdisplays.com/LCD_glass.html for example), but I haven't heard of a DIY-project in that area. If that works well it offers great possibilities. Have you already done a test? Cheers, Stefan

Looks great! :thumbup: However, I'm not sure if I get you right - you are going for custom made LCD displays? :shocking: Cheers, Stefan

LOL! Gadroc, thanks a lot for those measurements! That's a great help! :thumbup: I just updated my model. Just to make sure: the angle of the lever is 145 degrees (or 35 - depending on the reference), correct? Cheers, Stefan

Woah! hegykc, that's a really good design and nicely rendered. :thumbup: What type of software are you using? There's one thing I noticed - you have a large radius on the outer "edge" of the knob. Judging from this image (from Deadman's thread).. ..I'd say the knob is "cut" from a sphere with 2" diameter and the corners are quite sharp. Here's a quick drawing with the dimensions I came up with. Let me know what you think. Image removed as more accurate info is available in Gadrocs post (#14) Cheers, Stefan

Just drop me a PM with you e-mail and I'll send you the file. Cheers, Stefan PS: Where did you get the info with the 52mm?

Tom, I really like the way you knob is designed. However, I don't get why you are replicating the knob of a differend aircraft if you are aiming to build an A-10. From your description of the manufacturing process (two part design, 3D printing) I'd say that the original knob should be as easy to do. If you like I can send you the CAD-file. Also there might be some additional info available from Gadroc soon here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=96511 Cheers, Stefan

Tom, its great that you are giving the landing gear handle a go! However, there is much better information available on it in Deadman's thread: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1552448&postcount=366 From what I can tell from the pictures and known parts the knob has a diameter of 50mm. For the thickness I came up with 15.6mm and 1.2mm for the groove width: Cheers, Stefan

http://www.elbitsystems-us.com/sites/default/files/imported/airborne/5x5-amlcd.pdf Cheers, Stefan

I'd be in for the UFC, the panel set and the tacan - depending on the price of course. Cheers, Stefan

You are aware of the fact that you can't simply apply a DC voltage to Electroluminiscence sheet to make it light up? EL sheets are usually driven by an AC voltage (60V@350Hz for example) provided by an inverter. You should try to find a manual or someone who can tell you the exact spec for this. Cheers, Stefan

Small update: Did some work on the link mechanism connecting the two ejection handles: Cheers, Stefan

Nice work! :thumbup: I really like the rocker switches and buttons. How did you do these? The use of the PSP is a cool idea. However, if you are in need of a monitor that fits, have a look here: http://www.ebay.de/itm/3-5inch-TFT-LCD-640x480-PVI-PD035VX2-VGA-AV-board-/300784759037?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item46082b30fd I use this display as a replacement for the original CDU display. The outer dimensions fit nicely inside the cutout of the original front plate and the display area is only 1mm narrower than the original display area. Additionally this one has a resolution of 640x480 while most of the other 3.5" displays have much lower native resolutions. Cheers, Stefan

In DCS/Helios you can set the Pitch Trim Knob value directly or increment and decrement it. So you could use both a pot or an encoder. I would use a pot as it has a limited travel range as on the original ADI. It's also easy to connect to any joystick controller (like an old joystick or the B256A13 for example). The only problem I see is that electrical noise from the pot might cause the input to jitter (but that's probably just a theoretical problem). An encoder on the other hand should have no jitter problem, but it may loose counts if the signal frequency gets too high (e.g. you turn the encoder too fast). I experienced this effect when I did some tests with the BU0836 board for the ABRIS input for BS. - Stefan

Ah, that makes sense! :thumbup: Thanks, Stefan