CyBerkut

AFAIK, a hall sensor works via relative motion between the sensor and the magnetic field. How does one make that work with a force sensing (pressure)? And... why would anyone want to (add in HS) when the force sensing is already there? Yes, the 6 kg should be substantial. :)

I think you can rule out FFB, but that pedestal that the stick is sitting on had me wondering about whether it might be FS. The thing is, they have gone to that much trouble to make a replica controller, so it doesn't make sense that they would make it FS.

Well, it looks fairly safe to conclude that they aren't using the Cougar's gimbal system...

Spetz, I think you'll find links if you wade through this thread: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=27270 Of course, you could probably narrow it down in there with the search function, but then you would be missing out on reading that thread. ;)

Robin, thanks for taking the time to post all of that! There are other folks on here who can offer more in-depth advice on how to improve your frame rates. One thing that jumped out at me was the ["water"] = 2, Water has a large effect on frame rate, even when you aren't in sight of the water, due to how the game engine handles it. Some judicious searching in the forums should be able to show you the best settings to use. I'm pretty sure you should try setting the water to 0.

Interesting. Can you share the details of what you have there? Which ATI card(s)? What monitor models and types of connections (ie. DVI / HDMI / DisplayPort)? Anything else that would be relevant (modes / software / drivers, etc.)? What have you compared it to (SoftTH, Matrox TH2Go)? Thanks!

I hope he doesn't take the kid to the dentist to get an even closer match to the picture... sheesh!

Hmmm... I'm not sure what the answer to that would be at this time. As of this writing, ATI has reportedly only enabled Eyefinity on the 5970 (2 GPU's on 1 card). My *guess* is that if you don't put the cards in Crossfire, and use SoftTH, you could probably make it work.

As a possible alternative to the conduit fitting, you might look at pipe and/or tubing fittings. You might find the dimensions are just different enough to work in your favor. Plus, you can find them manufactured in various types of material (plastic, copper, brass, etc.) and in various thicknesses ("schedules"). Also, either plastic or copper could be slotted to allow squeezing the fitting down tighter upon the shaft by putting a hose clamp around it... or the slots could accomodate additional epoxy for a potentially stronger joint. Also, keep in mind that you can make the shaft thicker with tape, or even a strip of copper wound around it. Maybe use fiberglass if you are so inclined...

Congrats on a good beginning Gadroc! :thumbup: Like yourself, my skills with wood and metal are minimal at best, so I sympathize. My tool collection has been pitiful, but I've been acquiring more in recent months as I try to move forward with a somewhat different approach. Have fun, but make sure you keep those programming fingers safe! Our community will undoubtedly continue to benefit from software addons such as TouchPal. :)

Ditto, on what 159th Viper said. Only in my case, it is U.S. Dollars. It is disheartening to see something that appears to be so close, yet still falls short of the mark in ways that are not readily remedied by the end users.

I saw that too, but left it alone. :music_whistling: In fairness to dooom, CH hasn't indicated that a consumer version will be along soon... and don't they usually split their controllers up into separate items (instead of selling a HOTAS set)?

E.D. has committed to doing an A-10C in the DCS series. That is the only certainty. After that, we most likely will see an AH-64A sim in DCS, but that is not etched in stone. There has been no announcement of an AC-130x for DCS. With the needed lead times, you certainly won't see it in 2010.

Trigger... you still kickin' man?

Ah! I happily stand corrected. It's nice to see they have some history with FFB after all. If they were to decide to get into FFB again, that might prove to be valuable experience with the technology.

CH has gone this long without making FFB controllers for consumers, so I'll be a bit surprised if they start now. If a government agency contracted with them for one, then I think there's a chance you would see it cross over in some form to the consumer products later. On the Saitek X65F, all indications are that it is a force sensing stick, and not a force feedback stick. Barring a *REALLY* costly means of combining the two technologies (to allow selecting one or the other), it's highly unlikely you would ever see both FS and FFB combined in the same joystick controller. The basic premise of each method is incompatible with the other.

Well, a number of folks paid big bucks to mod their Cougar sticks to Force Sensing. I suppose if someone regretted it, they might be less inclined to admit it... but I've seen plenty of postings from people claiming they loved theirs. You would have feed back from your display(s) [instruments and out of the window views]. Whether that would feel like enough would be a personal thing, but I suspect most would adapt to it pretty quickly. I could see it working well for many folks in a fighter sim, or even an A-10 sim... I'd be interested to see how quickly folks could adapt to using one wth the Black Shark non-FFB trim systems.

OK, that may shed some light into the Displayport to DVI adapter issue. For the ATI 58xx series cards (the ones with 2 DVI / 1 HDMI / 1 DisplayPort), an "*Active* DisplayPort to DVI adapter" is required to use the DisplayPort to feed a _third_ DVI display. It has to do with the timing signals generated on the card. DVI is handled differently than DisplayPort, and the card does not have the capacity to support 3 ports of DVI on its own. The more expensive 'active' adapter makes up for what the 58xx can not supply.

I wasn't put off by the article, but I have to say I'm disappointed about the delay of Hydra coming to the market place. The article was interesting in spite of the limitations they were working under. Obviously, much remains to be determined once we can see a commercially available product with mature drivers, etc. Hydra (supposedly) being on the near horizon was one of the things that made it easier for me to hold off on pulling the trigger on a new computer for gaming/simming [That, and letting my funds build up more]. It was way down my list of considerations due to expecting the MSI Big Bang mobo to be the 1156 socket, whereas I'd prefer to go with the 1366. But I'm not locked in by any purchases yet, and new information can sway a decision. I think a solution that can tap into the power lying within multiple / disparate GPUs has a bright future if it is well executed. There is a lot of potential processing power being wasted in SLI / Crossfire rigs, let alone the interesting possibilities of hybrid rigs that might be able to be exploited. The folks behind Hydra seem to be making moves consistent with the 'get it right' approach. I wish there was a (1366 socket based Hydra mobo) light visibly shining at the end of the tunnel, but right now I don't see it within range. Yet another big question mark, to go along with the eventual nVidia 300 series and what additional moves ATI is going to make with the 58xx series / Eyefinity...

Some questions for you: - What make & model adapter (displayport to DVI) is that? - What make & model displays are being used? - What video card make & model is feeding them?

Ubuntu is a solid, popular version of Linux. Cannonical and the user community have made tremendous strides with it. Kubuntu (Ubuntu with the KDE GUI instead of the Gnome GUI that Ubuntu uses) is also very good. The main problem with using it for gaming, is a lack of games written for Linux. There are some, but they haven't seen the blockbuster success that publishers (understandably) want for their efforts. So, depending on what you want to play, you may very well have to look into running programs under WINE or a commercially supported alternative. Or... you can look at virtual machine software (but then you're back to running Windows, only slower). Since I don't know what you are contemplating as apps to run under Ubuntu, I'll make some generalized suggestions... - Spend some time Googling up articles on Linux and whatever games you are interested in. Same thing for WINE and alternatives. - You can try Ubuntu without actually installing it. Download the .iso for the install CD from http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download , then burn the CD. It's a "Live CD", so you can run Ubuntu without it installing, to see if it works on your hardware, etc. Obviously, such a trial is not going to run as fast, or be as full featured as it would be with an actual install. It's a good way to get a first look, and see if it interest you enough to continue on with it. - You can also run Ubuntu without doing a dual OS boot / multi- OS boot setup, with its attendant challenges / headaches. Search on "Wubi" to see how to do an install of Ubuntu (from within Windows) that doesn't require disk partitioning, etc. If you eventually decide you want to go all in, and have an installed Ubuntu partition, I would suggest that you buy a separate hard drive (or SSD) for it to live on. It's a way to reduce the opportunity for mayhem during partitioning/formatting, etc. plus it keeps things a little cleaner should you want to move it or delete it later.

sobe, a linksys router network (or any other typical manufacturer's router-based network) is a real network, known as a Local Area Network (LAN). The IP addresses of machines within that LAN will typically be within the ranges permitted to private LANS, rather than the IP ranges for public networks (ie. the internet). You will need to get into the configuration of your router for your LAN. There are two different ways that it could be assigning IP addresses to the machines within your LAN. It could be assigning them automatically (known as DHCP) as they are detected joining the network by the router. However, that is not what your really want for these applications. In this case, you want to have the involved machines consistently get the same address. This is configured within the router, and you will need to read up on how to do it within your specific router make and model.

Very cool DD! Thanks for posting the composite image, etc. Major kudos to all of you folks who managed to make this possible! :thumbup: So, DD... for those of us who hope to eventually follow in your footsteps, can you fill us in on what hardware (computers and displays/resolutions) you are using, and what performance you are getting? Yes, I know, we're never satisfied... :music_whistling: I ask because I still have major purchasing decisions to make, and the experiences of you folks on the bleeding edge are extremely valuable to folks who hope to do something similar. Thanks!

I was thinking the same thing, if it can be accomplished without too much of a performance hit. Between that, and TouchPal (hopefully) being able to run across the LAN eventually, the possibilities are very interesting indeed! Edit: A HUD 'gauge', especially a networkable one, would be a worthy addition, too!

Ah, nice! It's great to finally see what it looks like. Thanks!