JCook

As with DCS A10C the Falcon 4 BMS learning curve is steep. But the reward pays off once you learn the systems. There is a documents folder under the BMS install that has lots of reading material. You can also check some of the virtual squadrons - some will share their squadron docs with the public - others will rquire you to join first. The virtual squadrons are also a good way to get trained interactively.

Thanks - that does make sense. I figured it was something like that. Apparently none of the toggle switches I've purchased have this feature.

After a toggle switch is screwed down onto a panel's backplate, what technique is used to prevent the toggle from rotating in place?

Thanks for the input. Using a single monitor behind the front panel looks promising.

Deadman - I just recieved the left console knobs in the mail today. Excellent quality and very good packaging. Thanks!

I'm not sure of the front panel's dimensions in the A10C - Would a LCD monitor 23" wide x 14" high placed behind the A10C's front panel be of sufficient size to display the two MFDs, the center AI and HSI and lower gauges on the left, engine gauges and fuel? This would be behind the panel cutouts - I'm not describing an 'all glass' panel.

Thank you for the info. I've not found any A10 panels on eBay - I'll keep looking.

Yes i've got that info. I thought maybe i might have missed some dimensioning info in the forums. I was looking for something simple like: the oxygen reg panel is x inches high. :-)

Okay - thanks. I'll eye-ball it for these designs best I can.

Deadman I'm working some designs and I am looking for the panel heights. I haven't done an exhaustive search in the forums - but did you ever post the panel heights anywhere? It would be really helpful if you could post what heights you have. Right now I'm working on the oxygen regulator and lighting panels. Thanks

No problem. Just get a powered USB Hub and add as many ports as you need. I'd recommend the WartHog HOTAS and Saitek Combat Pro Rudders.

y2kiah Any updates / pictures on your A10C pit? This is awesome work - looking forward to seeing the completed project. Any chance you could post the .703 CAD files changes for the left side cut layout on page 30 of this thread. I think that is the only piece not yet converted over to your version 2 design. Much thanks.

I'm looking for an rotary or encoder - not sure that it is called - can anyone recommend a brand/model? As an example : The mode selector on the EW panel for selecting between OFF-STBY-MAN-SEMI and AUTO. Need something with adjustable stops for various position selections. Thanks

Excellent and helpful pictures Deadman - Thank you. I am putting together the tools I'll need in my workshop for drilling the holes in the knobs - would this drill press be a good choice for this type of work? http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-shop/stationary-drill-press/5-speed-drill-press-38119.html 5 speeds, between 620 and 3100 RPM

AirDog - Thanks for that demo of the EVGA GTX 670 4GB. I just ordered one with my new system and its good to see the multi-monitor capability. I've been wondering about that.

Peter So if I get a high performance card for primary and a less expensive second card for addional outputs that might be the way to go. I'm assuming I have control over which card is primary. I've thought about a 2nd supporting pc to run some displays for Falcon4 BMS and I need to do some more research there. Thats a potential route to take. Not sure if Helios can assist with that. In any case it looks like I need alot of vRAM...

I plan on using Helios for the A10 and F16, but as an interface between the physical switches and the software mappings. In F4 BMS I think just about everything is done with keymappings - its seems like the A10c is more complex in terms of switches and panels. The BMS F16 program does allow extracting all of the displays - though some should be done with a third part extractor for performance sake. I don't think I'll need the graphics abilities of Helios - but I will try and use the interface part of it. Haven't decided yet if this particular PC build will also be used for the A10 pit - I'm leaning toward just the F16 and then see what vid technology happens in the next year. There are alot of analog gauges in the A10C and to cover all those with monitors is going to be much more complex thatn the F16.

The possbile internal pit displays in F4 BMS would be 1) RWR - 5" 2) Left MFD - 8" 3) Center Instruments (AS, Alt, AI, AOA and VVI) - 10" 4) HSI - 5" 5) Right MFD - 8" 6) Standby AI -3" External dislays 1) HUD display (internal) 2) Front LCD or projecter 3) Left projector 4) Right projector

I think Windowed mode for F4 BMS also - but that is okay. How am I going to get enough output? Surely someone is doing this and had success with 5 or more displays. I have no problem adding a second card for the additional inputs - but if the card is only 2GB (nVidia) will it support the additional ports of the second card?

Thanks for the info. So I would have no problem displaying on different sizes and resolutions? All of that is configurable? Is it fairly easy to configure? Can you clarify your CDU monitor - what size LCD are you using for that? I thought I had read that the ATI cards needed the monitors to be the same size and resolution for the eyefinity solution to work. That would be a problem since my setup is for a cockpit build and I'll need to use 8" monitors for the MFDs and even smaller LCDs for the RWR. All these displays will be mounted in panels. The more outputs the better - 6 is good...12 would be even better :-) I don't suppose with 2 cards the RAM would be cumulative - I don't think the Falcon 4 BMS sim is as demanding CPU or GPU wise as DCS A10C - so how is the performance you are getting with the 7990? Anyone else have any experience with the ATI or nVidia multi display solutions - especially when using different sized displays in a pit? Thanks

I've been asking these video card / mulit-monitor questions in several different forums... While I'm building my A10 pit I am also working on an F16 pit for Falcon 4 BMS. The Falcon cockpit seems to be an easier build than the A10 - fewer panels, gauges switches and fewer displays needed. So even though my questions here are related to the Falcon pit they will be the same questions I need to resolve for the A10 displays. All the systems I've ever built have been single monitor systems. For Falcon 4 BMS here are the displays I need to output to: (1) Main display 28" LCD - In the future the main display will be a projector (2) MFD displays TFT LCD's (http://store.earthlcd.com/OF-8-0-VGA...=7&category=12) (1) RWR display TFT 5.6" LCD (http://store.earthlcd.com/OF-5-6-VGA) (1) Instrument display 10.4" LCD (http://store.earthlcd.com/OF-10-4-VGA) So that is 5 outputs. There are at least two more small TFT LCDs that I can add - but I should probably get a solution for 5 displays first. I'll be using the ThrustMaster MFDs in the panel. I'm ready to build a new dedicated PC for Falcon 4 BMS and I'm struggling to understand which graphics card(s) to get. Here are my system specs - so far: ================================ CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop MB: ASUS P8Z77-V LE PLUS LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Redline 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) HD: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD2500HHTZ 250GB 10000 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s CASE: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full PWR: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE VIDEO: Galaxy 67NPH6DV5ZVX GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM The monitors will be different sizes and different resolutions. From what I've learned alread an SLI or crossfire configuration is not something I will need. good performance, flexible confiuration of the screens and lots of output are what I need from the graphics card. What video card configuration would you use for this? I'd prefer advice from those who have actually implmented multi-card / monitor setup - how they did it and what kind of performance and compromises had to be made. I've read the spec sheets and the marketing stuff on the cards I need some hands on advice on this stuff. Q: Would two nVidia 670 cards (2GB each / 4 output) get me 8 outputs (4+4)? Q: Do I need more than one graphics card? Q: Most of the high end cards have 2GB - is that enough to do what I want? Q: Which brand/model card(s) would be able to support this many displays? Q: What configuration should I be going for? number of cards - amount of RAM - ports per card. Q: For multiple cards do I need to be in Crossfire or SLI configuration? Have you found that video outputs on a card cumulative? For example if one card has 4 outputs and I add a second similar card do I then have 8 usable outputs? Thanks for the help

Deadman Are the screws for the knobs going to be included? How do the screws hold? I mean they aren't threading into anything except the acrylic - so won't they come loose? They look really good -

Bong See my reply in this related post: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=83987 You can setup snap views easily to look at various panels. This might be more than what you're trying to do but it may be more useful in the long run.

Could someone with experience on using multiple graphics cards answer this. If I have 2 graphics cards same mfg and same type would I be able to use all of the outputs from both boards for my monitors? For example 2 nVidia cards each with 2 gb and 4 outputs - would that give me 8 total monitors I could connect for my A10 pit? Thanks

Thanks Deadman