Peter_Pilot

protos were : too big, too strong, too soft, too light, never as it should be... I know what you mean, I am not confident that my first idea will work, if I have any success I'll let you know.

Yes, I did thanks. I liked the multi screen setup and the general feeling of being in a cockpit. Was it running on XP? The grip is from a Gazelle I think, maybe the same as a Lynx, I could check at work. Peter.

After some cajoling and encouragement from Talisman I have at last started to cut metal on my Hall sensor collective stick. The stick is an aluminium tube cut from a piece of TV aerial mast which is attached to a solid aluminium turned hub. An 8mm diameter shaft goes through the hub and will run in two brass bushes. On the end of the shaft closest to the seat will be a Hall sensor assembly and on the other end I plan to fit some kind of adjustable friction brake. My idea is to have a large knob to set the friction so that the stick will move smoothly but stay put when I let go. I also plan to make a box for the switches and hats etc. I have threaded the hub so that I can attach an adjustable counterweight on the aft end. The cyclic works really well so I am hopeful that the collective will be equally good.

Thanks guys, Talisman & londo-cat. I can see I shall have to get svmapper running with my BU0836X, it will be useful when I populate my cyclic and collective with switches.

Changing the subject slightly, Talisman, I have been following Oakes' excellent help to get my iocards connected to BS using SIOC and have managed to make a switch work which is really satisfying. I still have in mind the svmapper program that you use with your BU0836 USB card and was wondering why you need svmapper, is it not possible to configure joystick buttons to the required function within the joystick settings in BS? What is the advantage for you in mapping joystick buttons to keyboard presses? Pardon me for being a bit slow. Peter.

Oakes, I have today carried out all the steps to connect my iocards to BS using SIOC, the switch worked first time so your instructions are perfect, very many thanks. Encoders and 7 segment LEDs next :-) Peter.

Talisman, I believe we may have met briefly at the Helicopter Museum earlier this year, I hope they hold that event again next year, I enjoyed it and it isn't too far from where I live. I remember you told me about a bit of software you use with the BU0386 cards but I can't remember what it was? I have been building a Hall sensor based cyclic stick (see mycockpit.org generic photo gallery) and plan to make a start on a collective stick soon. Good luck with your pit, it is coming along nicely. Peter.