Jimbo

Mac, Take a look here: http://www.smooth-on.com/gallery.php?galleryid=131 May not be 100% what you're after but its a good start.

Oh, and welcome to the dark side ;)

no probs, there are a load of other ways of doing it, but if you want quick and easy, phidgets is the way forward. Browse the pit builders forums and you'll a load of other options, that are a bit more complex, but cheaper.

Take a look at Helios (http://www.gadrocsworkshop.com/) and Phidgets (http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=26&product_id=1032_0) Whilst the board isn't cheap, its by far the quickest and simplest way to get an in-game light out onto a real-world LED. Also, do a forum search for export.lua and read a few of the posts - this is the file that deals with DCS data export.

DC, where did you source your ICs from? I have the circuit built and it looks to be a correct copy of your diagram. Yet i'm stuck with both 7 segs stuck in '8' with no numeric rotation. My only assumption is that the IC may be pinned in a different order to your diagram, and whilst I've got the schematic and wired accordingly, the IC might (?) be slightly different - the model is SN74HC595N and I'm unsure if this makes a difference. Really enjoying learning all this stuff (Despite a couple of escape attempts by the magic blue smoke) and once again, thanks for your time putting all this together. Also, Found this link http://arduino.cc/en/tutorial/ShiftOut which gives a good bit of background.. (Just noticed, DC has this link in the original post:doh: )

I've been doing my research (homework!?), and as DC says, it isn't all that complicated. I had a bit of a 'penny drop' moment last night and I hope to have all the components arrive in the post today. So I'll be putting this together over the weekend and I hope that'll help solidify the concepts in my mind. DC - the UFC sketch would be cool also, as it involves a physical input. But please don't burden yourself unnecessarily, us (well, me) intellectually challenged lot will catch up eventually :)

aaannnnnd..... I feel like the stupid kid in class :) i'll just sit quietly at the back and hope someone lets me copy their homework! Nice work DC, may take me a while and a bit of googling to decipher that little lot but sterling effort in putting it in a format that's accessible and I can (just about) understand.

Cool Dog! Always good to have a loyal wingman :)

Thanks DC, that's a wonderfully detailed explanation of a lot of the basics - certainly helps someone like me who hasn't a clue on the coding front.... ok.. heading out to find myself an Arduino board :)

Jealosometer is going off the scale ;) I've been looking at CNC / Laser kit for a while now and I have to say, I'm amazed how cheap the Shapeoko2 is!, I hadn't heard of it before. I may have to take the wife out for a nice meal, put her In a good mood and see if I can get her to agree to some new toys!!

WOW! that looks awesome! Makes me wish i'd gotten in on that print run....:doh:

That's amazing work! I'd love to have a fraction of the skill needed to put that together! Where did I start? mostly looking at this forum with an increasing sense of jealousy :). I started putting the electronics (inputs mostly) together for the most frequently used functions (eject in my case :D). Essentially some simple switches and rotaries, I then started to get these arranged into the various panels I had. After that, I used Dimebug's plans to put the left and right consoles together so all the kit had somewhere to 'live'. I'm actually in the process of going back to basics and putting a project plan together as I've got a lot of stuff that's 80% complete and hardly anything that's 100%. I'm very close to scrapping my pit and starting again with a clear set of goals in mind, My plan of attack is going to be. ACES II, Outer Frame, Inner supports for panels etc. electronics. as I have some nice left and right panels, but no where to sit :) so something clearly went wrong somewhere! Outputs remain something of a mystery to me, so (somewhat cheeky, I know) i'd be very interested if you had plans to release your solution / software to the community.

Sorry if this comes across as an advert! Just a heads-up. Simmeters (http://www.simmeters.com/) have just updated their site and now seem to have a heap of A10 specific panels and gauges. No prices as yet (am sure they'll be mega expensive!) but if its anything like their previous kit, i'm sure the quality should be pretty good.

Love it! Looks awesome.

Didn't even think of that :) I'll make sure they're more web friendly next time :)

New toys have arrived in time for Christmas :) I'm having a mount made for the engine instruments which is being lasercut out of either 0.5 or 1mm HIPS. The setup charge is the highest cost so adding more mounts to the run should be fairly cheap. If anyone is interested, i'll get a quote for more material / laser time. Please let me know ASAP.

Please count me in for a set as well :thumbup:

In case it helps anyone, here is the stencil I used for the decals. Mirrored image for printing direct to decal paper. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40107996/Pit/FH_Text_3.jpg Original Visio template https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40107996/Pit/FH_Text_2.vsdx I have 3 or 4 sheets of decal paper left, that I really cant see my self using, so that's appx 48 individual sets of stencils. If anyone is interested, please PM me and I'll cut however many lines you require and post out - I'll only charge postage as the decal paper will only go to waste otherwise. I'd advise a good 3 or 4 rows of decals as the paper isn't as good as you'd get in a model kit as it's a bit 'stretchy', so a couple of practice runs are a good idea. I also have a bunch of resin left over, so if anyone is after the end caps (or whatever they're called) let me know and i'll make up a batch.

Its been far longer than I expected since the last update. I'm learning that that's what 3 month olds will do to your spare time!! Anyway, I finally managed to get the fire handles done. I'm 95% happy with them as they aren't as clean as i'd have liked. I have thankfully nailed the process so may remake them in the future (0.001% I will :) ). Trying to construct a hollow 'T' shape proved to be a nightmare! I went through wood, metal and eventually layers of plastic. My initial plan was to make a mould that I could easily make reproductions - Sadly, this proved far above my skill level, the fumes were pretty good though :thumbup: Initial Wood template. I found that drilling the core for the switch shaft would rip through the wood and render it useless. You can see the metal 'test' prototype in the background. My Wife banned this approach as apparently beer and blow torches don't mix :music_whistling: I got a LOT of soldering practise and am pretty happy with the results. The end result is 5mm frosted acrylic sheet sandwiched and drilled with routed edges. This was a massive pain in the ar*e to put together and I super glued myself to various components most evenings, but it did give the best results The text is inkjet decal paper covered in several layers of matt acrylic varnish. and the end caps were moulds taken from the oxygen regulator and cast in clear resin. Like I say, i'm not 100% happy with the result, but given that I've had to learn how to work with a lot of materials / processes that are alien to me it's been good fun....

Ahhh, so this is what insane jealousy fees like :)

:) Welcome aboard and good luck with your build!

Count me in for the next run....

Not as much of an update as I'd have hoped (wife / kid and the dog being demanding :) ). I'm working on the glare shield / fire handles hoping to get the wood work elements of the front panel out of the way. Glued a couple of 18mm MDF pieces together and shaped the curve (too many hours sanding) Quick test for dimensions on the front panel Holes drilled for cabling etc and a pocket routed to put the back lighting Balsa wood glued to form the overhang. Initial paint job and filling the seam between the balsa sheets Which is where it all went wrong :( the filler I used 'melted' the paint off. Which with me being impatient; I sanded off and slapped on wood filler. queue much spillage and a botched paint job! I'm now sanding it back down to bare wood and will start the filling / sanding / painting job again.

That's the one!! Thank you!

I know this has been posted before, but searching the forums gives me the phonebook when I search... Does anyone know the font used in most panels? I seem to remember it was a fairly specific one, with an annoyingly un-rememberable name!