Triggerhappy69

You know what guys..? It just dawned on me... In a couple of hours I'll have a filghtsim (the BEST one btw.. Thanx ED), a Cyclic Stick with FFB AND FFB Pedals to play with..! Super Nerd-YAAAHOOOO...! (Added 5 munites later: And NOW I found this homepage from Mark (place surname here)..! Message to Mark: You 'tha MAN..! You just saved me a whole lot of work figuring out the button PCB. AND you gave me confidence in upgrading to a larger motor if needed.. I credit you for this MOD.. Than you!) Marks Homepage (You have to check this out..!): http://home.comcast.net/~mshaker/marks_arcade_006.htm

Thanx Mate..! :thumbup: I Agree with you with it looking a bit Clean. But then again I'm dreading the whole cut-out-holes process.. Mainly because it's SOOO BOORING..! (maybe I can trick some kid into doin' it for me if I pay him..? .... ok ... my sicko-alarm just went of..?) Got all the gears in place now.. A friend of mine made a coment about like this some time ago.: "Why the H*ll do you spend time removing all the gears from an old VCR for.? It's trash! You must be stupid..!" Well, to my dear previous friend... UP Y*URS..! LMAO:megalol: This is why..! All that is left is to fix the motor, and the Hall Effect sensor. And plug it in..! .... THE USB PLUG.. CH*ST.. You've got a one-track-mind.. :music_whistling:

more pics

Force Feedback Pedals for Blackshark I am postiing the pictures first, and adding the How-To later. (need the refeance when writiing the How-To)

I did the same.. Only with a FFB Wheel..! And boy did that work..!:thumbup: So I started taking the wheel apart for scavenging..! This is a Logitech Driving Force Wheel (the old type). And it has only 200 degrees range! All newer wheels seem to have 900 degrees range. And this one I got for 7 Euro on the dump.. Did some cleaning, and fixed a broken wire in the USB plug. And now it works like a charm. So next I have to do some math and figure the new gear ratio out..!

BRILLIANT..! There will be a set of FFB Rudder pedals at my place in a couple of days. But untill I get them working I'll definately be using your idea.. Just Brilliant.!

Thank you mate..! I just carried the Front Pedestal indoors again with the paint dry.. And it's lookin' good..! Can't wait for tomorrow to come so I can asseble the Trigger Mechanism and test it.. Yahooo..!:smilewink: Tonight I've done some work on the CNC Mill. Got the Z-Axis Stepper in place finally. I have to re-wire the X and Y Axis steppers tomorrow. And the Policarbonate-Aliminum laminated mounting plates seem to work fine? The big box will hold connections for USB, LPT Port, Keyboard and mouse and a VGA plag for the 9" Touchscreen that will be mounted on the other side of the Mill. The bottom box holds automatic 220V fuses for the Powersupply, the PC Powersupply, The 220V Cooling Fan and the Mill Motor. This is the Bisquit PC that will sit inside the Mill and control everything. I will mount some handles to carry it on the sides. So that if I need to take it with me somewhere I can just unplug the 220V powercord, and GO! Well.. I'm off to bed now. More tomorrow.. 'Nite all!:thumbup:

Pictures from before I painted the Front Pedestal:

He He.. Well you know probably better than anyone that I've had a lot on my mind these last weeks ;).. I have just put together the Front Pedestal Assembly with the Cyclic Stick in place. And it is starting to look really nice now.. I managed to find time to cut out the Front Main Panels (left, right and center - BTW I will update the CAD Drawings on SimPits Website). The front panels are cut from sheets of 1,5mm Aluminum now. And with them in place you finally see that it's a cockpit..! I'll post pics after the paint dry.. Ps. Ken? I just noticed your PM that I haven't answered yet.. I'll get right on it mate :smilewink:.

Thank you my friend..! :) Did you see the Thrustmaster F16 FLCS for the A-10C setup? Imagine it on FFB in your A-10 pit..? :thumbup: BTW.. Did you get the rough drawings I sent you? The A-10 ones? ... when..? WHEN..? LMOA.. I'm afraid to even think about that.. I hope to have all the switches connected and SIOC coded in a year or so.. And then there's all the gauges that has to be made..? But the CnC mill might speed things up a lot I hope.. As far as money goes, this pit really hasn't cost me much so far.. All together I have used approximately 350,- Euro I think..

... as we speek I am about to set the steering wheel up in DCS/BS and test it..:music_whistling: Give me another hour or so, and I'll give you an update,,

I don't know what it is..? I don't know what it is..? I have no clue WHY it's here..? But I have gotten used to feeling this way with my crazy neighbor.. It is cool though..! AND it's HUGE..:helpsmilie:

Small A-10 Digression - Is it Christmas already..? Guess what came in the mail from Stonehard today..?:music_whistling: I have ordered two BU0836X Joystick cards allready.. I also got a brand new Force feedback wheel that will suffer death by slaughtering..! Only to be ressurected as my shiny new Force Feedback Yaw Pedals moments later.. :pilotfly: .... maybe this is a good time to open a second thread for the A-10 Desktop Pit..?

I am thinking about it.. But to really get full payback from a Hall-Effect mod I would have to rebuild the mechanics with ball bearings.. Or so I think.. I guess we'll see.. (laughing my ass off... and then falling into deep depression..) You're soo right mate.. It's embarrasing, but you are soo right..!

Thanx mate..! :smilewink: How's life down under these days..? I kinda envy you the reversed winter season right now.. 'Cause it's cold here today..!:cry:

Pitbuilding Update - The Cyclick Stick finally where it belongs .. I have been dreaming about this day foir a week now..! Finally the Cyclick Stick has all it's wires and switches in working order, and it's mounted on the Gimbal.. :thumbup: And I can reach all the Triggers with ease..! The Cannon Trigger is Springloaded so that it always returns to the "Safe" position, hidden behind the Launch trigger.. Notice the small coil spring attached to the side with a 0,8mm screw.. It pulls the Cannon Trigger to the upright position, without adding so much return force that the Trigger feels "hard".. You can see it on the upper left side of the Trigger Mechanics BackPlate.. Still to be done before I consider myself done is: - A LOT of epoxy filler and sanding to give every part the right shape. - Rounding all the edges. - Adding some cosmetic "fake bells and whistles" to make it look good. - Melt lead and make the counter balance weight. This is crutial for the Force Feedback mechanics. I Want the joystick to work in a perfectly balanced enviroment. So it can focus on the job of making ME feel good..!:joystick: - Painting.. - Molding a better looking Coolie Hat for the POV. The one that it came with looks real good in a F-16.. But on my Cyclic it looked like a joke.. LMAO - AND building the Parking Brake Flip-Stop Thingie to keep the Brake Handle locked in the parking posistion. These are just some pictures I had left over..

Ka-50 Pitbuilding Update - 8th of april 2009 - Trigger Mechanism Thank you..:) I have all the picture uploaded to Imageshack.. I'll turn them into a public photoalbum and post the link ASAP (EDIT: Try this link:http://profile.imageshack.us/user/triggerhappy69/ ) Here's the wheel Brake handle mounted: Notice the Micro switch just under the handle's pivot point (fastened with two shiny screws).. It's the reason why it's taking me so long to finish.. The's hardly any room, so I had to find the smallest switch ever..! LoL And I have made a new Cannon trigger to! Had to do some seroius "metalwork" to make it fit, and rotate free without snagging.. But it will work AND look the part when finished I hope!

Thanx Soup55..! The Cyclic Stick extension needed a wheel brake handle. So I used an old Clutch Hadle from a motorbike.. Naturally I'll have to paint it black, and fabricate the clamp to mount it on..! A piece of the same pipe I used for the extension was utilized as a mold on the Sidewinder FFB2 USB gimbal. I filled it up with epoxy resin, and removed it just as it had started to set.. And Voila.. A perfect fitting mount for the extension.. And I have started on the Cannon Trigger to.. It will be pulled back with a thin steel wire attached to the small screw at the Cannon Triggers "pointy end" And I'll cut it and sand to the correct shape naturally..!

... He He.. Hold your horses there mate..! I still have a little work to do before I make the vidz.. This is as far as I've gotten:

No one answering..? C'mon guys! This is a chance to express your satisfaction with the DCS/BS simulators enviroment.. I wish I had the expertise to answer your question mate. But I've been to busy building to really get a feel for it yet.. But from what I have seen I would say that the outside world is pretty darned good..! And with the graphics settings to high... Phuuh..! It will blow your mind away..!:thumbup:

Ka-50 Pitbuilding update - Trigger Mechanism Finished and wired up..! Here's the sollution I came up with! A simple piece of 0,5mm aluminum acts as a blade spring. And the Launch trigger is held in place by one magnet on the blade spring, and another imbedded into the Launch trigger..! It holds everything in place, and I have no difficulty flickin' it up when I want Cannon to be active.. Some fingerwork for your referance.. Finger on Cannon trigger (lower part is under development still): Pulling the Launch trigger is withing reach. Even for my small fingers: Launch Trigger active: And flickin' it back up to activate Cannon again: The Cannon Trigger switch is placed so that it's fires at a lower position than the Launch trigger. Just to be safe.. Now what remains for me is to finish connecting the switches on the Cyclic, and counter balance the Force Feedback mechanism with all the electronics installed.. And then I'll post my first video EVER..!

Nice setup mate..! Is that a mini joystick you've got there? And am I guessing correct when I say that you have to use axis to slew the skhval pipper diagonally..? If so I have an issue with my stick, and need to alter it..

.. close shave's and Pitbuilding Kaakaa's YES IT WILL :thumbup:..! .. well.. the version you see on the picture does not lock in it's "down" position. because I just got so carried away with building it that I ... eeeeh... forgot..!? This is another of my "and I think I'm all that eh?" moments..:doh: I have had at least a thousand different designs of the Trigger Mechanics twirling arroound in my head for a year now.. But none of them seemed like they would be any good. They were either to complex to make by any DIY'er with hand tools (and that is the core of everything I make), or they would just simply not look like the real part..! So one day I was feeling lucky and motivated by you guys. (you all ROCK at motivating me.. I can't remeber exactly if I'm right but the Trigger Mech I dedicate to my friend Soup55 and RedDog) And being feeble minded and i bit "wandering" in my head at times, I got so carried away in feeling good about me that I bl**dy well just bl**din forgot to check the manual.. Nice goin' there Trigger..!? That'll show them how to do it..! LMAO:cry: If it had'nt been for CyBerkut sending me a PM the other day asking politely: "If I understand your pictures, etc. though, it appears that your trigger setup is working differently than what the manual describes.", I would have NEVER noticed this.. I am after all quite narcissistic..! BUT MAN WAS HE RIGHT..!? CyBerkut... not only did you save me from obvious embarresment when I used the stick first time. And AGAIN when I had to write a "pitbuilding dementi" on the forum.. But you also made me laugh my *ss off.. Thank you! Ps. Being a Norwegian I'm used to being more direct.. I'd probably say " dude.. you just left another of your pitbuilding kaakaa's on the forum.. Come clean it up please? And bring the DCS/BS manual regarding Launch trigger function.. Thank you" .. but then again we're simple people up here.. :megalol: So Sokol1, I owe you and CyBerkut for cleaning up after me this time.. I have found a simple sollution that will fix this design flaw permanently. And after some initial testing it seems to be working like a charm..! Also it will incorperate the use of magnets and a blade-spring type thingie to the Trigger Mechanism! But you'll have to wait till next time I post to see... maybe later tonight..?

Hi Stelios. As far as I know, there is no way arround this issue in flightsim cockpits...? We will have to reset all the switches to it's correct position after a crash! You're quite right about the possibilty of using magnetic switches, but they are both complex to build, expencive to buy AND complicated to set up as well..!:cry: I can only speak for myself, but I will have to reset manually all the switches in my cockpit before respawning in the simulator.. .. but hey... that has it's charm..? doesn't it?

Pitbuilding update 29. march 2009 - Trigger mechanisms launch trigger is finished This has been the single most mind bending task so far.. And I haven't even really begun on the Cannon triggers return spring yet. But as far as I hope, the worst is done on the Cyclic Stick's Trigger Mechanism. And here's how I think it will work..:music_whistling: 1: A switch with a spring cut to correct length with pliers. The switch is attached mainly by the soldering legs that go through the 3mm aluminum backplate (wires and crimp-screen comes later to prevent short circuit) 2: this plate is 0,5mm Aluminum in a 90 degree angle. The plate pivots around the main axle of the triggers. And it's job is to evenly apply the preasure from the return spring (4) to the microswitch (3-Cannon Select ON-OFF) that is mounted underneath. 3: A tiny microswitch that when released will send the keystroke "C" to the simulator. 4: Coil spring that returns the Launch Trigger when it's not in use. Here you see the Microswitch for Select Cannon and the Launch Triggers return spring. Also you can see why I needed a pivoting plate to distribute the force from the spring to the switch. Without the plate the spring moved to much and fell of the switch all the time. (and it looks cooler with the plate too) Seee... MUCH COOLER..! I also put a stoppr for the Launch Trigger on. So it will not return to a position higher than my fingers can grab it..! ... and I have just started on the Cannon Trigger. I used epoxy putty to mold a solid part for the hinge.. More on that later. The plate is springloaded from the return spring. But the load is not high enough to press it. Not before you pull the Launch Trigger down! I'm using a BU0836 Controller Card on the Cyclics buttons. And with SVMapper I can configure it so that when the switch is released, it will send the Key "C" to the Sim. and when it's pressed another key "C" is sendt.. The point where the Launch trigger is activated. .. just another picture.. I also modified the Push Buttons to hold microswitches. They looked the part, but to activate them I had to press them 8-10mm in! And that just will not work.. Here you see basicly the whole modification.. It was quite simple once I found out what I wanted to do.. Just a bit of sandpaper and a pair of pliers, and it was done.. Now they have the right "CLICK" feel to them.. .. but they still look good..!