Shadow912

Hi Bdoyle. Here's a link to my pit build if it helps....? https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=243783

Some simple led strips and a dimmer pack all from ebay, powered by an old PC power supply... ;)

I had given up all hope and written off the money I paid. I thought they were just scamming us but there is a new update on the website saying shipping by November... maybe... just maybe...

Here's a couple more pics of the 'almost' finished pit....

Love mine!! Thanks Slaw :pilotfly:

November - which year? :unsure:

It’s been a while since I last posted much about the progress with holidays and other commitments but at long last I’m very happy to report that the pit is about finished. I still have to add some bits to the seat. Ejection handle and safety control. I’m also going to add a ‘box’ to the headrest and make it look a little less car and a little more aircraft! I have added some green LED light strips on a dimmer powered by an old PC power supply. I bought the LED dimmer pack of eBay and I’m really pleased with the result. I have also added the switches for the litening pod that was released a few weeks ago by ED. I’ve had some stickers printed and I think they just finish the job off nicely. I’m looking forward to reading your comments......

My Pleasure :thumbup:

Hi again Jingo, Further to my last post, I stripped down the pit and when I rebuilt it I had an issue with a couple of connections. It was a real pain trying to work out which buttons were and weren't working so I did a bit of googling and found this little bit of software from planetpointy.co.uk which shows all 64 buttons on each LeoBodnar BBI64 board. You might find it useful... :smilewink: http://www.planetpointy.co.uk/joystick-test-application/ Dave 'Shadow912' S

Hi Jingo! Thanks for your comments! I have used 3 LeoBodnar 64BBI boards running on a Windows 10 machine. All 64 connections show up in DCS however you can only see 32 connections in the windows 10 joystick setup software....

Funky you are a life saver! How did you know what/where did you find the lua code was for the switches? Any idea what the code is for the LST/NFLR switch too? :helpsmilie:

Get yourself the dogfight boss hornet plans and a jigsaw :thumbup: I see you have the jetseat though! I'm still still still waiting for my realtus forcefeel to arrive! Not sure if it ever will... :megalol::helpsmilie::doh:

OH! and then in the latest update, Eagle Dynamics add the litening pod to the hornet! Nooooooo.... the sensor control panel has to come out and have 3 more switches added to it!! Luckily I pre-drilled the holes in anticipation of this happening :thumbup: Dave 'Shadow912' S

A few more pics for those who are interested.... I'm now in the situation where I have to choose between building and flying.... :D:D

All best guess and muscle memory :cry:.... I've been doing some testing by using a button box and one of the Cougar MFDs for a while. My hands were naturally going to the correct place when I was 'under the hood'. From experience flying in real life, I don't look down at the panel when I flick a switch, my hands naturally go to the right place... I guess time will tell ;) D

Here's a link to a (rather dark, sorry) video showing the pit and the seat on the frame at the side of it... https://share.icloud.com/photos/00HHX4iELsmuE2QrR6OMKlr5g

Morning fellow simmers! This weekend saw a massive bit of progress! I took the whole simpit to bits and moved it from my garage to my mancave where it's going to live. I then rebuilt it and did the first full wired test. I was amazed when it all went back together and all the panels still fitted! Next I started on the programming - so all the 3 MFDs are programmed, and with a bit of code changing in the joystick lua file I have all the buttons working and in the correct orientation! There were 2 loose connections (not bad from nearly 100 switches! - that's well over 200 soldered joints). The next job will be getting the seat fitted. I have an old driving sim which consists of a Nissan Almera car seat welded to a steel frame. The plan is to remove the seat from the frame and fit the whole simpit onto the frame. This will require the seat to be raised about 180mm. I have an extension on my warthog stick but it will still be a bit short so I will have to mount the stick on a raised platform to get the height correct. So still some work to do but there is light at the end of the tunnel! Not many hornets are carpeted! :megalol: Hi Montes, Once I get the seat in position I will be able to tell if everything is 'roughly' 'in the correct position' I have used the Dogfight Boss plans so the pit is 1:1 and I used the NATOPs manual to make sure the buttons and switches are in the correct place. With regard to the MFDs and the AMPCD, I am using the Thrustmaster F16 MFDs. These are a little smaller than the Hornet screens but I think they will be fine. The downside of using a simpit in VR is that you obviously cant see your hands so there will always be a degree of guesswork and hopefully with a few hours of use then muscle memory will play a big part! I'll update on this once I get the seat in place... Dave 'Shadow912' S

I've got family down there and they were not happy either... :D:D Sandpaper!! PMSL :lol::lol::megalol::megalol:

Hope everyone had a great weekend.... Shadow here again, from England.... you know us, we are the cricket WORLD CUP HOLDERS!!!!!:clap::clap::clap::clap_2::clap_2::clap_2: Anyway, not a lot done again this weekend but what a difference a coat of black paint makes....

Now then Mr B! I will try it with different distances between the lugs on the microswitch activator (sounds like something from Star Trek!)... Hopefully I'll find something that works however hard it's pulled.. :D

A load of wiring and soldering has taken place over the last couple of evenings. I decided (as I need the pit to be able to be dismantled) to use CAT5 cable and an old CAT5 patchbay panel for each of the modules. Also as the amount of buttons I was originally using has grown dramatically since I first started planning the project I have ordered a 3rd LeoBodnar BBI64 giving me a total of 192 individual switch connections. Sounds loads but if you remember a rotary controller with a push button uses 3 connections it doesn't take long to fill them up! I have also decided to add to ambient lighting for the pit so I have purchased some green LED strips and a small dimmer unit which I will power from an old PC power supply. I'll be testing that this weekend... The end is in sight!!:thumbup::thumbup::smilewink::smilewink:

Hi Tom Yes but I'm not currently using DCSBios... ;)

Miles!! That's it.... so simple really:doh::doh: I was trying to be too complicated! Thanks!:thumbup::thumbup: Hi Bullitt.. I don't have a problem with it, its just something I've never used...

Hi Mike, I thought about that and then I tried the 3mm hardboard. It was ok but still a bit stiff to bend and left me with gaps between the panel and the glareshield. But after jumping back in the sim I noticed that the glareshield on the hornet is not perfectly curved after all but has 'corners'. Hence I took the jigsaw to it :lol: There's still a slight gap but when its screwed down that should disappear... ;) D

But I wouldn't be able to map the same command to 3 switches on the LeoB board which I would need to do..? With my solution pulling the ejection seat handle would activate the same command (LCtrl + E) the 3 times (as each microswitch is triggered) and fire me into oblivion with a slightly compressed spinal column :cry: Willing to be corrected if I'm wrong, it wouldnt be the first time... ask my wife :lol: D