Triggerhappy69

The double edge sword we call CnC... I started making the Target Panel today. The Autopilot Panel has been coated with four layers of white gloss paint, and is drying as wee speak! After this I'll add 3-4 coats of dull black paint over the white. Why all this paint? Well, all my panels are backlighted from within with LED's. And the white glossy paint makes the light reflect inside the 8mm Plexi plate, and spread the light more inside. The text on the panels are engraved with my personal DIY engraver. I just cut a 6mm rod (an old concrete hammer-bore I cut to this lenght. Because they are make from metal that is more elastic than metal bores) to 50mm lenght. And grinded it to a fine point on a grinder while the 6mm rod was mounted in a drill. The rotation will make sure you always make the tip centered while grinding. After grinding it to the right shape I heated the tip with a small gas solder iron (the cheap "pen" type you get at hardware stores), and cooled it under running water to harden the edges. THE PANEL! A cnc is a really neat tool when once you get arround how it works..! And as you see, it's not that hard to make one yourselves either.. Also the panels come out looking GREAT..! .. that is untill the thing all of a sudden catches fire..!:helpsmilie: I used a dirt cheap wood milling motor. And it apears to not hold toghether when I run it for extended periods.! All of a sudden flames shot out of it and it started making unpleasant noises.. So now I have to buy a new, and better, motor.. He He..

Making the Auopilot Panel video I am so happy..!:thumbup: The cnc mill has turned out to be one of my favourite toys. Started on making the panel for the Autopilot today!

http://en.wiki.eagle.ru/wiki/Export_1_0_1 and: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/index.php?end_pos=567&scr=default〈=en .. just got home.. to intoxicated to elaborate... ... anyone..? Please help here..

It might be because I switched from ImageShack to Myspace for storing the images.. Apparently viewers in China can't see images stored in ImageShack, and I want AlexRC to be able to follow this to..

D*MN..! You are quite right there..! I got so carried away with testing the board I didn't take time to examine it this close..! The spark was between pad 10 (top left corner), and one of the capasitors that is next to it. And looking at the left picture this makes perfect sence.. I'll make another one tomorrow..! Thanx guys..!:thumbup:

I read on a forum that Turkie was considering buying the Ka-50-2 "Erdogan"..!? A tandem version of the Ka-50? Any thruth to this?

I guess they put in a 15-20 degree dead zone to work arround the balance problem of the stick when it's in the outer region? It's the only reason I can think of execpt using a large dead zone to hide an unprecise mechanism? ... or to keep the strain of the FFB motors down when playing games that require rapid sudden movement arround the center of the stick..? I don't know.. What I DO know however is that for whatever reason they make a FFB stick with such a MASSIVE deadzone, it should be equally simple for them to make it possible for Flightsim users to change it..!? But this feature they have left out..? And as such they keep produsing "teaser" joysticks for us..? Joysticks that are good enough to make us see how perfect it COULD BE.. but not quite good enough to get us there..? I would certainly sacrifice life length expecansy of the HOTAS for having one that works perfect..! Or maybe they could make an upgrade kit with better sensors and mechanics with ball bearings all over if that's the problem.. ... but then again.. that's just my thoughts.. And I don't have to consider marketing budgets and R&D expenses compared to expected sales of such a kit.. I just MOD the stuff untill it works to my liking, or is broken and trashed..

I had no idea how much WORK goes into making something as simple as this friggin PCB for the FFB Amplifier.. After countless Hours of AlexRC and myself talking online (me talking jibberish, and AlexRC patiently ignoring me and returning to the subject at hand... MORE jibberish).. We (he) finally came up with the general layout for the FFBAmp. And for the first time I actually wished I was living in China..!:huh: .... thank god that went away pretty quick when I realized it was only because it seems a simple matter to get PCB prodused down there.. And maybe a little because of the food.? So being a brute northerner I managed to make this... It looks like its written in "Rune" writing if you ask me? Rune writing is the traditional written of the Vikings.. Mmmmm Vikings.. gotta love those guys..! Such an undeserved bad reputation for being brutal slaughterers.. And yet they managed to conquer both England ad France (hence the name Normandie).. Rune Writing: And as we all know, PCB's love to swim..! So in celebration of it's arrival into this world I made a swimmingpool just for it..! ... it was soooo happy it actually shed some copper for me in pure JOY..!:) And wearing only a string bikini the new PCB imerged from the crystal blue waters of the pool. He He.. looks a bit worn at places that bikini if you ask me? So I cleaned it up just to see what was underneath.. (what!? I'm a guy with needs..!) And there it was... The Copper I thought was gone for good..! Filled with joy and celebration I turned it over to do the other side... and whattayaknow..! (ed. It seems you forgot to take a picture of it.. Aaaargh..!) HOOKING..! (it up) Some minor re routing of the wires. Carefully making sure the soldering is ok and no shorts have been made. I glued some holders to keep the thin wires in position in case I need to move the setup in the future.. It's come to far to be ruined by a short now.. (BTW, write that up under "famous last words"..) starting to come together.. After all connections was double checked. And the external FFB motors were in place (temporary solution.. But I might use them in the A-10 Stick). I fired it up and IT WORKS..! I CAN NOT BELIVE IT..! IT ACTUALLY WORKS.!:megalol: and then in the dim light of my hobby room (this was maybe 0200 last night) I could, from the corner of my eye, see a tiny spark.! So minute and insignifican that in normal light it would have been hard to even notice..! And now nothing works...... And I'm back to making FFBAmp PCB number THREE..! But fear not my friends..! I WILL overcome this..! I WILL succeed in buiding a working DIY FFB Amplifier if it kills me..! (or I get bored and just never talk about it ever again..! If so you can't ever mention it again either..! But i'll let you know if it comes to that.. ..... or will I?)

According to FS Force: " using DirectX, you can vary the strength of the centering force, as well as adjust the "center position" of the centering force (the place where the joystick wants to come to rest). The center of the centering force (the place of no resistance) can be programmatically positioned anywhere along the 2 axis of the joystick. That means you can experience the feeling of being in trim (no resistance) with the joystick pushed forward (for instance, at high speeds), or with it pulled back into your lap (at slow speeds), exactly like you would in a real plane. But sadly Microsoft never bothered to modified the simulator to take advantage of this. That is why FS Force intercepts your trim commands and prevents them from reaching FSX. When you make trim changes, FS Force slowly moves the center position of the centering force until it coincides with the current physical position of the joystick. The "sweet spot" comes to you, rather than you having to go find it. " Is this the same as saying that someone, who know how to make an add-on program and tweak the DirectX values that DCS/BS is recieving, could solve the whole "flat curve & no deadzone" problem for us FFB users? Just by altering the DirectX inputs before they are read by DCS?

Pitbuilding Update - September 7th 2009 - Why I have no real reason to exist! Guess what..!? .....NOTHING..! I must have fryed the chip when connecting 24V+ to the ground by mistake.. Actually, to be honest, I blame AlexRC for this. Because he must have asked me something complicated while we did some prelimenary testing of the FFB Amp during an MSN Video conference.. :music_whistling: .. yes I am fully aware of the fact that this is streching the consept of "truth" a bit far. But it sure as h*ll beats admitting to myself that it was my own fault that what I from now choose to call a "pre-prototype" got wasted.. :smilewink: Definitions are fun..! They can re-arrange the past in a second.! I did'nt destroy the prototype.. THIS is the prototype..! The thing I destroyed was a PRE-Prototype ment to be tested to it's limits to see when it failed..! (and as by magic my self image is restored again.. :P) A digression... What's with that "to be honest" line anayway..! It's so insulting when people start theyr sentences with telling me that up till this moment they may have been lying straight to my face..!? I started making TWO new FFB amplifiers last night.. One for the current joystick in my Ka-50 pit, and another for the "baby A-10 Pit" (currently still in Triggers Skunkworks).. I've tried to document the whole process of building it at home.. Also I am moving house to another town these days, so Pitbuilding will have to move down the priority list for a couple of weeks..:cry: Ps. It really wasn't AlexRC's fault..! It was all me..! But don't tell anyone?

I find it strange.... ? Couldn't help but notice he's comparisment with the MSFFB stick and it's "stone age" technology, that up to now seems to be unsurpassed..!? How old is that Joystick anyway? And have Logitech, CH, Saitek and the others not learned anything from reading time and time again that the FFB is not presice enough arround the center.? ..even old dogs do learn new tricks from time to time..

Pitbuilding Update - September 6th 2009 - Connetcting the FFB Amplifier Well I googled "LM339" to find the other two outputs on this chip. And after confirming that legs 1 and 2 supplu PWM signals to one H-Bridge, and 13 and 14 to the other, I soldered the wires in place.. Probably the scariest soldering I have ever done..! Everything is SOOOO tiny!:cry: The 5 Volt was drained from the MS SWFFB2 USB plug. More scarey soldering. :huh::cry::huh::cry::huh:..? See what I mean?

Order placed now..! Thanx for the info.. Now I can finally make some really nice PCB's from Eagle..!

You made that PCB with toner transfer..? Woooot..!? you've 'gotta tell me what paper you're using... Because I NEVER get transfer as good as that..!

He He..! Do I EVER..! And you are after all the project leader for this FFB Amplifier project.. :helpsmilie: I'll try to buzz you a little later when I get home..

Pitbuilding update - September 3rd 2009 - FFB Amplifier is finished Guess what I'll be doing tonight..?:music_whistling: Ps. AlexRC..? Wanna join..?

I agree..! I've got an Opencockpits USBKeys card here, and it works fine for momentary switches, but not for Toggle switches..

I am reading the manual now, and it it's quite interesting! - Every pin has five functions: Inactive, digital input, digital output, analog input and analog output. - You can connect 25 rotary encoders. - You can use the pins as keyboard matrix inputs for up to 8x8 keyboards. - you can use the pins as PWM outputs (I'm thinking a "Force Trim Function" for DCS) - You can assign macros to outputs - You can connect LCD Displays to the Card. AND even have it display custom characters (cyrillic?) - You can assign your own ID to each card if you connect more than one. It's possibvle to have 255 cards connected to one Pc. - Connecting relays, LED's or switches is simple and straight forwards. In general It's a nifty little IOCard that probably it usable for pitbuilding. We just ned to find out it's ability to import and export values from LUA.. -

Indeed they are.. You can see from the pictures below that they work as a paralellogram to keep the pedal faces paralell to your feet. That all depends.. Normal airplane pedals will have a centering force because of the preasure of the air flowing over the rudder wil try to push it back to a "neutral" position. Helicopters on the other hand does not have a centering force from the aerodynamics. Most choppers does not have a centering force on the controls at all. But the Blackshark does.. Allthough this is acheaved by linking the mechanics of the HOCAS and pedals to a system of springs and clutches. But it's important to see the main difference in the use of pedals in helicopters opposed to in airplanes. In a helicopter you almost never fly with the pedals nice and centered. because they are not only used to control your direction, but also to balance out the forces working in the horizontal plane. This is why most choppers have pedals that allow the pilot to have the heels in one place, making the chance of leg cramps after hours of flying smaller: Like these from a BELL Helicopter.. The Blackshark uses the standard pedals also found in other Russian planes and helicopters (allthough slightly modified in the hub mechanics from what I could see in the pictures). But I am guessing that they don't have a full 8-10 inch deflection like most airplanes do... Again the whole "cramp issue" from hours with your feet in an aquard position..? But I'm not sure about this.. It just makes more sence.. Standard Russian Pedals used in (amongst others) the Su-25/Su-25T: Slighly older version, but you see the likeness?: Same pedals in a MI-2 Helicopter: On the other hand the Blackshark should get some centering force from it's Fin&Rudder tail when flying at some speed. Weather this force is adequate to neutralize the torque force from moving your cyclic stick I do not know.. Probably not..! But I digress.. back to your question.. So If I used "normal" pedals I would either remove the centering force all together, or at least make it as small as possible. You obviously haven't had the joy of flying DSC/BS with a Force Feedback setup, am I right? With FFB you don't have to return the stick to center at all. The center moves to the position your control is when you release the trim button. The pedals work in the same way. I press trim, move stick and pedals so the chopper is stable like I want it, and when I release Trim again the stick and pedals just stay there.. It's BRILLIANT..!:thumbup: Now we're talking..! If you want to make FFB pedals I have done two of them now, and I'll be delighted to give you any info you want. The main difference is the "move your feet with heel stationary" or "move your legs" setup. But this can be achieved by using hall effect sencors instead of potmeters, as they are more exact you can physicly "block" the pedals movement when flying a chopper simulator. I have done so on my pedals if you see the two 6mm bolts preventing the main axle from moving to much. My FFB with stuff from an old FFB Racing Wheel: Hall Effect sensor: :helpsmilie:... I should'nt say this, but I think they are ALL C*** ...:cry: that's why I have always made my own pedals.. And it's sooo simple to.! Thay don't even have to look good since thay are always stuck under your desk? But my main reason for building them was that the spacing between the pedals were always to thight.. My first DIY pedals (they still work like a charm, AND feels really smooth and presice to!): My DIY Pedals:

I can get my hands o a bunch of these cylinders. Perfect for Collective sticks..! I don't know what I have to pay for them yet, but no more than 20 Euro a piece.. Let me know if anyone is interested..?

Chech out http://www.sdp-si.com/ .... They have EVERYTHING..!

Pitbuilding Update - 31 August 2009 - Building the FFB Amplifier I finally got time to make a rough version of the FFB Amplifier PCB: Started out by marking all the holes with Letraset Solderpads. Then came time for marking the tracks. ... then the whole thing went to CR*P while etching it. Because I had only applied one layer with the pen marker. And evidently that was not enough..!? So again I started with a blank PCB.. And this time it came out OK.. Soldering came to a stop when it was bedtime.. More tomorrow..!:thumbup:

hehe.. No mate.. That was the end of my day :smilewink:.. Or it should have been.. BTW. I got a bunch of those pneumatic cylinders yesterday if anyone need one for the collective brake.. I'll post a picture in a minute..

And work on the gauges for the right Front Panel has begun to..

Some update pictures of the Right Switch Panel: I reinforced the stregnth of the side walls with fibreglass and epoxy resin to make it stronger. Since the structure is an "open box", and I want to keep access from the outside, this was the simplest way to do it.. .. a bit of filler now, and some sanding. And it should be ok..? The ABRIS got a coat of paint: and I am still working on the ABRIS Panel: And FINALLY I have finished 1/2 of the FFB Amplifier test card: