Rockeyes

That’s great, thank you for putting that together. I currently have the same HOTAS equipment, is there a profile I can download for your setup?

Wish list? How about being able to remove the joystick from view in the cockpit by clicking on the base?

I'm having the problems you mention here and with Oakes post, but can't follow your development as the link does not work :helpsmilie:

Thank you for taking the time to explain it all. I now can not wait to get back home and start building again, now you have inspired me to do so.:thumbup:.

Please, please and please post some more pictures :) and any construction tips you are willing to share on the collective control. I'm rethinking my setup and following you lead would be perfect for my needs.:helpsmilie:

I second that, I would love a collective with throttle control.

Afraid not, but they seem to have a good reputation from what I have seen on other parts of the web. I currently use a Leo Bodnar board, which is nice and straightforward to use (no programming req’d). I will probably go down the Open Cockpit route as soon as I’m reassured that it will all work with the PCIP.

Oh well, straight to the point I suppose :hmm:

Very very nice. Without distracting too much from topic, what are you guys using for CAD?

Same here :(

How about being able to get repairs at a base? Or is this been already covered?

I thought I had at first due to the proximity of the Shaker to the Field Effect sensor. My signal was all over the place, so I removed it only to find that it was a broken wire and not interference. Refitted the wire (to the Bodnar board) and the shaker and now all is well.

Things are looking rather quiet here at the moment so I thought I would post a quick update. I received a pair of well-packaged tactile transducers from the company previously mentioned a few days after placing the order. I have never previously dealt with this company and any apprehensions were quickly laid to rest and will be certainly looking into some of their other interesting items. As hopefully you can see from the pictures, I chose to fit one of the units to the base of my chair, the other to the rudder pedals. These units are temporally wired to an active/powered subwoofer by disconnecting its speaker and connecting the shakers to the output. As I use a Creative X-Fi card with its numerous outputs a ‘Y’ lead adapter was not required for the subwoofer amp input. After a small amount of experimentation, I found the ideal position for the chair unit was towards the back. This places most of the ‘Feel’ directly under the butt and sends the vibrations up through the back of the seat in a realistic way. I did try placing the unit on the back of the chair but resulted in nothing but an unrealistic and unpleasant sensation. The icing on the cake was when I placed the other unit on the rudder pedals. This combined with the seat really does give a realistic feeling of being part of the helicopter. I initially tried the units out using FSX and found the results vary as expected depending on the aircraft flown. I then went over to BlackShark and without boring you all to tears; I will just say I’m grinning ear to ear. I just love everything from the gentle ‘thud’ of the rotors to the rattle of the gun to the positive thump as the gear comes up and locks. Flying with the system switched off just seems to make the simulator feel sterile. I suppose it can be compared to watching one’s favourite films through a cheap 6inch speaker or through a surround sound system, both are possible but one gives immediate immersion. My next step is to find a cheap 100watt subwoofer amp board to power the set-up as the current makeshift unit only provides 50watts. Any ideas?:book:

I have both the Cougar Hotas set up and the X52. My personal preference to flying Black Shark is with the X52 Hotas set up. The Cougar is beautiful and has solid feel but lacks precision in comparison to the Saitek X52. Most serious sim guys modify the Cougars with Hall effect sensors and replace the gimbals with something like an Uber mod, which is expensive. This link is full of useful Cougar info http://cougar.frugalsworld.com/mods.php and I presume you have seen this http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/ga.../5855&cl=us,en As for the my current set up for rudder pedals, I’ve put my CH Pedals to one side in favour of my old Thrust Masters with the pot replaced by a field effect sensor and Leo Bodnar board. The CH pedals are superb but too narrow for my liking. So what would I do? I would grab the Cougar, if its cheap, if only to mod it at a later date. Failing that X52 non pro version (a mate has the pro and other than the colour there does not seem to be much if any true difference but the price) or save up and hold out for some reviews on the Logitech system with its force feedback.

It does not need to be a ‘power system’ for an accumulator to be of use, any way just chipping in. Looks like any build up of pressure would move the piston in one direction initially due to the different acting surface area’s of the ram/actuator. A schematic would be handy. I was thinking about a sprung brake on and a hydraulic release system for my pit. That’s if I ever get around to building it. Please keep the posts going Trigger as I’m I lost without my daily fix from you and Oakes.

Looks interesting, now if only it came with a joystick extension and an adapter to turn the throttle into a collective control :music_whistling: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/gaming/pc_gaming/joysticks/devices/5855&cl=us,en

Have you had time to test the new shaker yet? Looks like the Buttkicker Gamer is a no go as im being told that manufacturing has stopped on that unit. Has anyone tried these? Technical Specs : Wattage: 100 Watt Impedance: 8 Ohm Freq. Rang: 28 - 55 Hz Size: 120mm, Depth 30mm UPDATE: Well I’ve bitten the bullet and placed an order. In the mean time I’ve been promised an old sub woofer so I will have a go at tweaking that into a shaker.

How about plumbing in an accumulator?

Just supporting the pit at both ends is a good tip:thumbup:. From scratching around the net, looking into a DIY approach to the shaker, it appears you have to glue a weight onto the centre cone; however there does not appear to be a guide on how much weight is needed. Is the lateral bar purely to keep the weight centred and thus it needs to flex?

Looks good and would certainly be suitable for my simpit chair using your adapter method. I will have to hunt around as it’s close to 200USD here in the UK:cry:. I tried a small DIY version today with no success.

Nice find FOX thanks:thumbup:. I wonder what I need to drive them Guess its time for some more Google. http://shop.rightthing.nl/index.php?...65&language=en

:helpsmilie:Any of you guys using the above? I have spent hours going around in circles and got know where. What I would like is to get some ‘feel’ through my rudder pedals and seat. The commercial set ups seem to be expensive so I’m looking for a simple effective alternative or a supplier that either in the UK or ships here of suitable transducers. Any info would be appreciated………Thanks

I'm looking at this http://home.hccnet.nl/jwopdenakker/building tip.html hope it helps.

Thank you Oakes, I appreciate your help. I can now make up my shopping list. Keep up the good work. How you getting on with the CNC machine? I would be interested in your views.

Thanks for the post Chibawang. I must be careful not to impose on this excellent thread, but my head is spinning with a saturation of information, all of which has not knitted together yet. After quite some deliberation I’ve decided to use a combination of the Leo Bodnar and Opencocpit interfaces. Starting with the master card. A good start for me would be the Targeting panel and I want to get some hardware ordered up ASAP however I don’t want to be ordering up stuff that’s not going to work as planned. For example the simulator appears to use a standard latching ON/OFF push button with a LED on this panel. However I’m being told that all buttons should be of the non-latching variety. The bottom line is if I knew what parts Oakes used for this assembly and could use the same, I will be starting off soundly. Thanks for the link which is a good refresher, however I always thought the ‘P’ in SPST, DPDT etc was for POLE not PULL.:cry:. You are also right about GOOGLE, it's what got me here :).