MacFevre

Hey thanks for the link! That looks like something to definitely look into. Not sure exactly what your needing with the fire pull, but here's what I have. Remember it's only temporary and not really even bolted in yet, just enough so it doesn't go anywhere. The reason being, honestly I'm not exactly sure how I'm even going to go about doing the dash. Something about bridges and time. ;) Since this is the only actual pull I have, I'm not sure how to implement the others, but I'll probably put them on a similar system. When you pull the handle, (Fire pulls only come out maybe a centimeter or two,) ill have it complete the circuit with either a snap-action switch or a magnetic switch. Or maybe through Helios it would be easier to do the opposite? I don't know, just thinking out loud. I really haven't seen what others have done. Anyway, here's the fire pull. Anything, really, anything else you need don't hesitate to ask. This community has really helped me out, and I'm more than happy to do the same. Cheers. :)

HMA, sure, I'll grab some pics in a bit. I took the Arduino tutorial straight from Whartsell's tutorial at http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=108160. Piece of cake... With one. Not sure yet about hooking two together. Wish they had more than a few digital inputs. Thanks for the compliment! :)

Thanks K2. Really appreciate it. It's taken... Time. ;)

Well it has been awhile since I posted an update! I guess since there was no feedback on the Dzus fasteners, I figure there's not many reading. :huh: Oh well, here goes the next phase. :) I've finally got all the panels done and most of the sides painted, etc. Only 4 or 5 panels actually have switches that are hooked up to Helios, though. All in all, it looks like this at the moment. I'm still needing a landing gear panel, and a fuel indicator panel. I've gotten a CMSC and NMSP panel, but no room to put the switches behind them due to screen I've got! Wasn't really planning this through when I first started. I guess I really didn't believe I would go this far. :music_whistling: The dash is just a temporary thing I got from an old VW that I wanted to install my only Fire Pull handle and stores jettison button until I built something better. I've been trying different options in running hookup cabling to the B256A13 card. Here is the power panel trying out using RJ45 jack and ethernet cable. The next panel, YAW SAS, that I'm hooking up now is using an Arduino Uno. Trying that out worked wonderfully. The knock-offs are getting down to almost $10 on eBay. I wish that I had the ability to do some of the stuff Whartsell is doing. Back to the pit! Next, besides the panels, are to get an extension for the stick, and eventually an ACES II. Get the caution LEDs wired and hooked up to the PhidgetLED. Finally need to start backlighting. Oh yeah! Can't forget the UFC and CDU. Might be moving in the near future, but it will eventually get there! Here's the rest of the panels so far.

Are they the same videos? Just curious if you felt you had to cut something out. Also, will you be posting more? I really appreciate what you do. You would think if anyone had a problem with the reality and complexity of the A10C sim, much less the entire line of DCS products, that there would not even be a sim available to the public! Reminds me of after 9/11 when Microsoft removed the towers, then removed the ability to crash into skyscrapers. I'm surprised that they even have heavy jet simulators much less military simulators. (Not that I would want them to not have sims, just with some of the overreaction that some have, it wouldn't be a shocker.)

Cool. Thanks

Wait, what happened to these great videos!??

Great installation. Very detailed. May I ask how much the extra parts that you had to buy separate from Flim's set you back? Thanks

Hey Flim, another question for you. Was going to order one of these when I realized that I still only have a Cougar! I have a second hand Cougar stick with a 2nd hand Warthog throttles. Probably won't be getting a new Warthog stick for a few more months, but until then- 1. Will this still work with a Cougar? 2. If yes, what do you think, or what would be your advice for the plate and attaching the springs? Better yet, how about just sending me one, and I'll play around with it and send you back specifics on it working and how exactly to modify it for all those cougars out there. ;) (I'm kidding, of course! :) ) Still, any ideas on the Cougar? Thanks.

Excellent! That's great to hear. Thanks.

Quick question, will the stick always lean forward like it is in the last video? Or am I just seeing it wrong? I just wondered if the springs will stretch, or if the metal springs will slowly wear the plastic. It looks nice, though! Hope to get an extension soon.

Really looking forward to seeing this go from those plans to something real! And very nice to have a helper. ;)

DM, do they make those in black, or do you have to paint them all? I figured I did mine at around $.30 a piece vs. $1.30, but of course these look a lot more professional! My homemade ones don't have the nice rolled over top to capture the fastener like the real ones. The panels are looking sharp!

Thanks. Just did a big update and tried to show a pseudo dzus fastener on the cheap. For everything you need, try Dimebug. That link will have the front panel, and the sides. Your panels are looking great. Also, though it looks like you know all about it from your work, (would have been a very cool man cave,) once you start a pit build, it will never end. Even when it's finished, there seems to be one more thing you could do or one more step to make it more realistic. :D

Doesn't the A-10 have a completely round indicator?

About time I do some kind of update! After my son had an encounter with a curb, (Seriously, what kind of place puts curbs not only on a 2 lane state highway through town, but makes them out of sharp cut granite?? No smooth over edge,) my funds have been severely limited this month. So, instead of the rails and Dzus fasteners I was going to buy, I decided to keep with not only the look-a-likes, but do them on a budget. What I've done is using 3/8" U-Channel for the rails. I've painted them black, as I simply think it looks cleaner that way, and you don't see as many mistakes. For the fasteners, I've drilled holes in the appropriate places for the panels, hoping they don't change in the future. The fasteners for the panels to the rails that I've chosen to use are 8-32 J Clips. This allows me to take out the panels at will without worrying about nuts. I thought about using nut plates, but this offers more movement if the drilling was off a little. To take the place of the shell of the Dzus, I was able able to buy some black spacers, which was cool because it saves the step of painting the others. I also sourced, very inexpensively, #8-32x3/4" slotted screws. I had a devil of a time finding simple slotted counter-sunk screws for whatever reason. I'm finding the nylon ones are not only easier to find, but take and keep paint on them easier than the others. (Which I've only been able to find Cadmium slotted #8.) With these in hand I began counter-sinking the spacers for the screws. I made a jig for the process as I was finding I couldn't tighten the vice without marring the spacer, and with something covering the jaws so it wouldn't than I couldn't press down on the drill very much or it would make the spacer push down. I've put 3M double sided tape on the jaws to hold sections of clear tubing (left over from transferring the wort from the steeping grains into the boiling pot) to to prevent marring and moving the spacer. I'm using a 10deg suicide counter-sink drill bit, as it make a little steeper slope so the screw sits down below the surface. I've secured between the jaws on to a board on the bench a 1/4" deep-well socket. In the socket I've placed a cut-down screw that pokes out about 3mm or so. I can then place the spacer on the socket and tighten the vice. The screw prevents the spacer from moving around, and the socket prevents it from pushing in when I put pressure on it with the drill. It sounds like a lot, but when you have more than 100 spacers to counter-sink, one tries to make it as easy as possible. Here's what I mean. Close-up of the jig The final result looks something like this And finally, here's what I mean by doing them on a budget. Prices are rounded to the nearest USD as of JUL 2013 Flat Head Slotted 8-32x3/4" Machine Screw. Pack of 500(!) - $14 Black Round Spacer, #10, 1/4L. Pack of 100 - $5 Spring Nut, J Style, 8-32 Pack of 50 - $8 (2 needed so really $16) U(or C) Channel Aluminum. 8' - $9 (Used 4 - $36) So, in total, approximately $71 for the material to make all the cockpit railing with all the "Dzus" fasteners. I'm sure everyone probably already knows this stuff, but I hope it helps anyone who doesn't. If you know of anything that would make it easier for me, as I'm still drilling, please let me know. :)

Dzus rails. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-000-DZUS-RAIL-TEN-FOOT-LENGTH-/370851054167?pt=Motors_Aviation_Parts_Gear&hash=item5658720257&vxp=mtr

Wanted to let you know. There's Dzus rail on ebay US right now. The railing auction says it only ships to the states, but the main body of the text says the ship price is for the states only. Anywhere else will be more. Could try anyway. Good luck! http://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-000-DZUS-RAIL-TEN-FOOT-LENGTH-/370851054167?pt=Motors_Aviation_Parts_Gear&hash=item5658720257&vxp=mtr

Wow. Looking great. Wish I was as organized. I start with this, go to that while waiting for something to come in the post. Find that I want to do something else instead. Definitely don't have the patience to get everything together first. :)

Thanks! Looks like it will fit just fine. But an inch of foam? Well... I suppose if that's how the real one is. Working on the back 9 of life though, it'll have to be a few inches myself! :)

Nice stuff you got going on there, Flim. I'm interested in the seat, myself. Was wondering how well it would fit in my pit. Do you have a floor to seat measurement, and a width measurement? Currently, I've got a car seat in place, but would like to know if I need to build up the floor or whatever. Thanks.

You sir, are magnificent! Truly, this is exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you very much. It has been of great assistance, and if I could bump up your rep more than one, I surely would.

...When that doesn't work, I very slowly try and burn each follicle out with the soldering iron. What stage exactly am I in in pit insanity? Here's my real problem. Right now I have a Leo bodnar X board that I was going to use for front panels. I have a Brydling board I was going to use for the rest, except for CDU, and UFC. Those plus the Phil's led board for caution panel, were going to have their own panels attached. My insanity started ramping up when I had trouble deciding how to physically connect the panels to the controllers. And, more importantly where to get it at. Thought about each panel having its own breakout board, but the prices of them are rediculous! $35-$40 just for a bunch of screw posts and a connector? That'll add up quick. I even thought of using a bunch of RJ45 Ethernet jacks and cable to make a bunch of 8 pin connector cables to run through the pit. Or, I could try the Aurduino method and have one per panel, but then I heard they only had like 7 digital inputs. Wouldn't help, the way I'm looking at it anyway. Anyway, still looking for advice in actual physical hookup s. I'm guessing with the Brydling I need to solder a diode to each switch. Still don't know how that's going to work. The underside of people's panels aren't talked about a lot. Only how pretty they are. So if anyone has pictures of the belly of their beast, showing how their cards are being hooked together, then hooked to their cards, and original or uncommon ways, etc. love to to find a discussion on cabling or the like. Thanks

The panel looks great, as always, Gadroc. I feel myself lucky and in a special group to be one of the ones to own a Gadroc CMSP. Two questions for you if I may. I've found a large supply of the NKK switches your using, but only the On-On ones. Do you have a supplier for the three position? Also concerning your board, what's the approximate cost per board? I'm at the stage of the build where I have all the hardware and panels, I'm simply trying to come up with the best way to hook it all up. Per panel? Per section? Per side? Etc. if the panels turned out under... $20(?) I might think about a per panel board. Thanks again for your hard work and development sharing. I hope that everyone that gains from what you contribute will donate at your site! I think it's well worth it.

Thank you from a lurker for any training vids. (Just wanted to let you know. Have no idea on actual numbers, but I imagine there's a bunch of us for every person that attends or says thank you. So please, if you ever think not many appreciate what your doing, there's a lot more than you think, or say so.) :thumbup: (I've mentioned in other threads, but I still think it would be a good idea if everyone had on their personal page a link to a PayPal account, or other payment service. I'd like to thank those that go above and beyond with a beer or something! :beer: Cheers!)