Apache600

Hello Everyone, I have finally completed, and successfully tested, my prototype control panel for the SU-25T. This thing is an absolute blast to fly with! No more guessing as to what keys do what ... or if your ECM or IR Jamming is on or not. Haha The reason I built this is two fold, 1) I am a commercial pilot (fedex feeder C-208s) and would much rather prefer an actual switch (that's labeled no less) over combinations of key strokes on the keyboard. 2) I'm an idiot and can never remember what I bound the generic switches on my HOTAS to or what all the keyboard combinations are. It really pulls away from the feeling (and is rather time consuming) when I have to look up on the cheat sheet to see what key strokes do an action I really enjoyed building and testing this control panel, and will be taking orders from anyone who may be interested in one. All that is needed is 2 free USB ports, SVMapper (or something similar) and a desk that has a lip to it so the two clamps can hold the panel down firmly. The "brains" of this control panel are 2 Leo Bodnar BUO836A's. This control panel houses all the keys that the SU-25T uses (except for communications and views) As you can see in the pictures, the flat portion fits the throttle to the X-55. It also fits the Thrustmaster throttle. Construction on these do take a bit of time, and would ask your patience if you do want one. Asking price for one of these would be in the $330 USD range (shipping not included, i'm in Sacramento, California) The price INCLUDES everything needed to plug it in and start it up (Leo Bodnars wired up and tested, and USB cables) The plan down the road is to build a control panel for as many DCS modules as feasible. The next one i'll be starting on will be a combination F-15/Mig-29/SU-27/SU-33 panel. I believe I could do all those platforms on one panel. Then with the study sims (A-10C, Ka-50, etc.) I plan to be able to sell specific panels since their complexity is a bit more than the FC3 ones. Further more, the reason i chose the BUO836A over the X is because of it's ability to swap them easily. If say you purchase 2 control panels from me, You can request that the Leo Bodnars be left out (i'd still make all the connections for their hook up) because that would save nearly $100 off of the second and subsequent control panels. The under table joystick arm is also something that I could make and sell. It retracts when not in use, and can be adjusted in both height, and how far the joystick comes out from the desk. This is a very crude design and I would probably modify it a bit if anyone wanted one. The parts were purchased from a local hardware store, so "fancy" was not something i was going for ... and quite honestly, probably still wouldn't go for. It would require you to screw in 4 screws to the bottom of your desk. If you guys have any questions, or are interested in purchasing one, please feel free to PM me. - Apache600

Hey guys, I'm hoping that someone can give me the dimensions for "X" the distance between the screw holes for the base of the throttle And also, the length and width of the entire base. Millimeters would be great Thanks guys -Apache600

I agree 100% with aeliusg, I just bought a 780 6gb a month ago. It's fantastic! I didn't really want to wait for the 800 or 900's, cause they'll be astronomically expensive. And if i remember correctly, when the 700's came out, the 600's DID NOT drop in price quickly like some believed they would. Hence, i figured the 700's will still be their same price (or close to it) with the newly released cards on the shelves. Anyway, i think 2 780 6gb's will be better future proofing than 2 780ti's (because of their limitation with only 3 gb vram)

I just got a 780 6gb. I couldn't be happier. remember folks, Vram does not stack like system memory does. So if you want to put cards in SLI, you're not going to double the ram. Don't get me wrong, 2 780ti's in SLI would be impressive ... but they would be limited to a max of 3 gb vram. And if these multiplayer games are getting into 3.4 like mentioned ... well, there's your bottleneck. I plan on doing SLI with the 780 6gb in a couple years. They should be considerably cheaper then and it will give my desktop a little bit more future proofing

@ karambiatos, I haven't used any Arduino boards yet (just bought my first one the other week, and have started tinkering with it. Hope to get some cool stuff out of it!) I've been using LeoBodnar stuff for these CLoD panels. They work pretty well, but are kind of pricey. http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/

Thanks for the replies everyone! that certainly cleared up some questions of mine. Can you guys give me an example of what keys may be similar (landing gear, canopy, etc) and what may not be (Chaff, ECM, etc.) between some of the aircraft. Reason for asking is that i'm interested in building an "all encompassing" control panel for FC3. For CLoD i've built a control panel for the Hurricane, but am now also building one for the BF 110. They have very different lay outs, so they need completely different panels. I was hoping that FC3 might have a lot of similarities between the aircraft, but i'm going to guess that the few differences between them, have rather large functionality differences and are essential. Here's the Hurricane, followed by the BF110 (which is nearly completed, and don't worry, i'll change the colors on the throttle quadrant levers to match correctly) Thanks guys! - Apache

Hey guys, Kind of trying to wrap my head around FC3 and all the content involved. Looks like i have to purchase one of the pre-existing titles first, LoM of FC2, (contract reasons i guess) in order to install FC3. Anyway, why is it that one would purchase the A-10A, F-15C, or SU-25 individually if they all come grouped together in FC3. (and why the SU-25 at all if it's free with the World?) Secondly, and this is kind of unrelated to the title, are the key bindings between all the aircraft in FC3 pretty similar. I.E. i wouldn't have to learn different keys for different planes? Thanks guys! Really looking forward to seeing some responses. - Apache