LooseCannon
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Everything posted by LooseCannon
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Does anyone know if the AVA base will fit on either the Thrustmaster Warthog mounting plate A or B for the Foxx Mount?
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Thanks Tim! I appreciate you letting me use it. You did nice work on that.
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Just developed a plate for the F-15E Strike Eagle. This will be my "stock" plate, but as always, I can put anything you want, wherever you want it. DM me if you're interested.
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For those still wondering, yes I am still making custom faceplates for the Warthog Throttle. Just shoot me a Message if you are interested and you'll get a quicker response. Thanks!
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@Antix70I wish I had some brilliant ideas to give you, but unfortunately, I have not spent any productive time with that module yet. As always, I'm open to suggestions with that and any other aircraft in DCS.
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Hi Ken_waters, Thank you, very much! I am still selling them. As Hoss mentioned, PM me and we can work out the details of what you want. I just ran a new batch that are ready to be engraved. -Smitty "Loose Cannon"
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Can't argue with that. I was fortunate when I ordered mine last year (on Cyber Monday) and received them within 10 days. The owner indicated fulfillment would take at least 2-3 weeks, plus shipping time. He's a small operation from what I gather, but I've been extremely pleased with the quality. Again, it all boils down to how long you're willing to wait.
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Have you looked at Foxx Mounts? I have them for my TM Warthog HOTAS and they are top notch and reasonably priced. I think the website shows a backlog of 3 weeks at the moment, but if you can wait, they're worth every penny. https://foxxmount.com/
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Not familiar with his products, but my design (as you already know) has the LED layout so the lettering is illuminated to maximum extent possible. It's a shame that TM didn't provide more LEDs for the rest of the switch positions. I wonder if anyone has attempted to modify the LED layout on the base throttle? Would be a lot of work though.
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Good point. Seems like a good concept in theory, just not in practice. Saw your PM and just responded. Let me know what you think. Cheers LC
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@Immune Sounds like a plan!
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Thanks for the kind words @Immune and @rem27! I agree that for multiple aircraft, the custom laser cut panels can be somewhat cumbersome to switch out, although with the TM the base has a tacky substance that holds the acrylic plate in place without the need for the screws. Not sure if the WinWing would work like that or not. The assignable LED labels would be a fantastic solution and probably pricey as you mention. Since I am a hobbyist, I try to keep the price low to basically offset the costs of material, wear and tear on the laser, and for my time. For a stock design (right now I only have one for the F/A-18), the price is $20 plus shipping. Any custom design would be $30 + shipping. I have seen similar plates on eBay for $65 which to me is pretty steep. Since I don't have a WinWing, I can't produce any new plates without very specific measurements. If I have those, it's pretty straightforward. Most of my time was spent making a precise replica of the TM Warthog plate to account for the LED placement underneath. If you would be willing to send me the faceplate of your Orion plate temporarily to take down the measurements, I'd do it for free as this would give me another product to offer the DCS community. DM me if you're interested. Cheers! LC
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@Immune I have a laser cutter/engraver and make custom plates for my TM Warthog Throttle and anyone who asks for them. I just did a job for another DCS member who in addition to the TM throttle plate asked for a custom WinWing plate. He sent me a 2D CAD drawing (in dxf format) that had the exact dimensions and I was able to create the labels he wanted. If you have the ability or the willingness to create a drawing with the dimensions and hole placement, I can design a face plate with labels that can be backlit by the LEDs on the device. Unfortunately, I don't own any WinWing products to do the initial design myself. I'd be happy to collaborate with you to get your something you can use.
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Yes. I'm happy to make custom or generic plates.
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That could work, although my throttle base has some glue like residue from the original that holds the plate rather well and I can easily remove it with the tip of a thin flathead screw driver. I really don't need to use the screws to keep it in place. Not sure if others have the same thing or not, but magnets could definitely work. I would go with a weak magnet though. Too strong and it could cause the acrylic to crack or break.
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I'd like to say a special thanks for Antix70 for his patience as I worked through several issues with some of the hole tolerances and unfortunately some issues with the postal service damaging the plate in transit. He has made some very good recommendations which I am incorporating into an updated design. Primarily, shortening and widening the section above the flap lever to strengthen it and also make it much easier to install/remove the plate without risk of breakage. For those of you outside the US, I'm currently exploring several options for handling international shipping to keep the price as low as possible. Hoping to post some pics of the new design and provide more information later this week. If anyone has some ideas on useful labels for other aircraft, I'd appreciate it. I'd like to have some alternatives to the stock plate besides the Hornet. Also, I am curious if anyone uses TARGET software to illuminate the LEDs for the 5 white circles and if so, what functions do you use with them? Labeling them could be another customization option, but I have never used them and don't know what would work best, or if it would even be useful.
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Thank you, MirabelleBenou! Which country would be the destination?
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Thanks GaryR! That's a good suggestion for the flex. I could remove the top semi-circular segment around the Flap button and that would definitely make it easier to install/uninstall and eliminate the potential for damage. I'll play around with that on one of my prototypes. For pricing, I'm thinking it will be a two-tiered structure. For a stock design $20, for customized labels $30. Shipping would be separate. I'm in the US on the east coast for reference. I still need to do some research on commonly used button assignments for other aircraft to come up with additional stock designs. DM me if you're interested. Thanks aelfewulf! Here you go:
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So long story short, about a year ago I bought a custom TM Warthog faceplate from a gentleman who sells them on eBay for about 40 USD, and while I was initially pleased with it, it had some labels that really didn't work for me (i.e. INTR Wing Inhibit, etc.). It was also 3mm thick which made it too rigid to bend when installing or removing it. In fact, I actually broke a piece of it off. I primarily fly the Hornet, so I designed and created my own after purchasing and heavily modifying a K40 Laser earlier this year. It took several iterations to get to where it is now, but I am happy with the result. It's 1.5 mm white acrylic painted matte black. The design utilizes the LEDs on the base. I just wish TM had put more LEDs to make all the labels backlit. Now that I have the design perfected, I can make additional plates for other aircraft in DCS. I'm thinking about selling them for those that are looking for something customizable at an affordable price point. Would love to get some feedback. Here it is on the base:
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Thank you CC and agrasyuk for the good info. I've had a difficult time finding answers specifically related to cutting white acrylic with various types of lasers. The 3018 seemed like a good value for getting my feet wet in the hobby, and it has been fun to learn on, albeit very frustrating at times. I've been looking into CO2 lasers and that seems like the next logical step. My workspace (garage) is limited but it should be able to accommodate a 40W and allow for proper ventilation. You answered my biggest concern with the K40 laser as I had also seen a number of videos detailing the questionable output claims by the mfgs. And thanks for the tips regarding backlighting the panels -- good to know. I've been watching Craig S. and Romeo Kilo's videos and have learned a lot from both as well. Cheers!
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What type of laser are you using to cut your panels? I have a 15w 450nm diode on my 3018 Pro which is sufficient for engraving, but I have been unsuccessful cutting through 1.6mm white cast acrylic. I suspect I need to upgrade to at least a 40w CO2 laser, but I'm worried that may also not be enough. I've seen Youtube examples of 10mm thick clear acrylic being cut with no issues on a 50w CO2. I could use my CNC to cut the panels, but I really find the laser so much easier to operate and I really like the uniformity of the engraving.
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DCS from 256Gb SSD to 500GB SSD
LooseCannon replied to jasonbirder's topic in PC Hardware and Related Software
Are your current SSD drives NVME or SATA? If you are limited to 2 NVME drives by your MB, you could get a SATA SSD (again, if your MB supports it). Alternatively, you could clone your DCS drive onto an external HDD, then when you swap your current DCS SSD with the 500GB SSD, clone the image from the HDD back to the new SSD. I don't think you will see a significant change in performance by using SATA vs. NVME. The big difference is going from HDD to SSD in general. For cloning software, I have used EaseUS to clone my instance of DCS to a new, larger SSD several times with no issues. I am sure there are other good cloning tools that can also do the job. Once I cloned my drive, I just changed the target path of the DCS executable on my desktop shortcut and it never skipped a beat.
