walker450

UPDATE: After only a few tests, I have taken everything apart and went back to my triple 23" monitors. This was only meant as a concept test. It was enough to prove to me that I am definitely interested in a true "virtual reality" environment. Hopefully technology will catch up in the next 5-10 years and high-resolution goggles/helmets will be available. I would like something that totally take up all of your vision, so you forget that you are sitting in a room, and become "lost" in the virtual cockpit.

Just wanted to stop in and say GREAT WORK!!!! Amazing panels... can't wait to see a whole pit of this quality! :)

GREAT WORK!!!! This is now one of my favorite simpits!!! If you have time, could you possible make a video of your view while sitting in it? I would love to see what you see.... Looks like it would be very immersive.

You have plenty of room in that case to add more control cards in the future, such as x-keys etc., then run their cables out to switch panels. I really really like the USB hub in there. I just had mine taped up under my desk/simpit... now I'm thinking about making some sort of box to house them in. :) Great work! (waiting on more pics!!!!)

I am curious what the CPU usage differenecss are between TIR and Kinect will be......

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!! I really like the one with the 15 in the background!!

Good luck! Keep us posted. (from a fellow X65F owner...)

Cool!! Looks like something you would see in a real aircraft. :)

Very nice!!!! Thanks!!!

I bought a few various switches at Radio Shack today.... put them in a cardboard box just to test them out. :) I mapped the middle one (SPST momentary puchbutton) to output a "c" keypress when pressed, nothing on release. When I open notepad it works fine, I press the button and it puts a "c" on the screen. I then went into Blackshark and changed the targeting "reset" keypress to "c". In the game I can press "c" on the keyboard and it presses and releases the reset button. If I press the button mapped to "c", the button in the game goes down and stays down, no matter how many times I press the button! Any advice?

Thanks Avi, but I have decided to purchase a few at a time from my local Radio Shack. They are right down the road and I can get nearly any switch I need for $1-3.

Thanks for the board and cable Cat!! I hooked everything up and tested it. Now it's time to start buying some switches and buttons... let the fun begin!!!

I finally have everything ready to build my first switch/button panel. I will be using a USB x-keys with Cat's matrix board. X-keys: http://www.piengineering.com/custom/xkmatrix.php Cat's MERC Matrix: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=63716 I am trying to decide on what to put on my first panel. I will be using this with several sims. I mostly play Blackshark though... I would like to have the following at minimum: Landing gear Flaps Start Sequence shortcut (FC2,BS) Arrestor Hook Lights etc. etc. Any suggestions? Examples? Thanks in advance.

LOL I was wondering the same thing... the texts looks awesome in that sketch-up!

Looks like a fine plan!! I definitely recommend making it very easy to get in and out of. My first version had the hair built into it and I had to climb in and out.... It stunk. My hair is separate and on its own rollers on my new one. I just scoot right into it. :)

I'm having beer again today... Same place... Just took this pic of an E-3 taking off on 35 after a touch-and-go.

Thanks for the links! I have looked into both but have decided to wait until a much higher resolution is available. I don't mind paying in the $500-1000 range, as long as the res. is adequate. PS-I have been on the mailing list for the SiliconMicroDisplay ST1080 HMD. :)

Thanks for all of the comments! Yes, my wife took the video. She just laughed when I showed her the contraption.... she wasn't surprised though. She has come home before to see me with a shovel next to the house... digging a 4 foot deep hole to experiment with a geothermal water loop to cool my CPU (when I was into over-clocking). After that, there are no surprises. :) I'll experiment some more with the bunjies. The goal (of course) is for it to be "buoyant" as mentioned. This will require a rather complex system hanging from the system. It must effortly allow the contraption to move left, right, forward, and back. Furthermore, the bunjies must have just the right amount of tension to allow up and down movement with minimal effort.... I'm not sure how this will work out, and still remain simple. Great idea Peter! You should build a prototype!

I wonder what the pilot of an F-35 sees.... I would love to check that out and learn what kind of technologies are being used. Funny project either way. :)

I think it is time for youtube video of the hilariousness... I'm not sure what I was smoking when this idea popped into my head... but it must have been some good stuff!!! (as you can see...)

Oh and speaking of earthquakes..... did you just feel that one? Rattled the walls pretty bad!

To sum it up... I just think if someone can develop a helmet that gives you complete immersion, like being able to look left and right, up and down; and see nothing but the image being displayed... It would be amazingly realistic. We already have motion tracking devices such as trackIR, and full 3D clickable cockpits, and HOTAS setups that you can program way more functions that any normal person can remember. I feel that this is the future of simming, for me. The problem with current head-mounted-displays is that the resolution isn't high enough yet. A resolution of around 6000x1200 should provide what it would take. I am looking forward to reading more about this.

TrackIR is already working. I think this is why I got so sick, because of the motion. I'll post a video ASAP.

I must say I get a good laugh looking at these pictures!!!! :megalol: