Another Black Shark Pit project

Some of you guys requested dimensions for my right side panel. I quickly put them on a svg file (using Inkscape). Hope it helps. If I had to do it again, I would have made it slightly less large (maybe 840 mm instead of 930 mm). Just my two cents.

Ah, for the width, you might wonder where those numbers come from. Well, the total width for the main right panel is 210mm, so I can use full size A4 size paper for the labels. I'm using a lot of multiples of 210 and 297mm for large panels so I don't end up with patchwork of paper labels.

Right side panel.zip

Got the right rear wall finished but again not wired yet, except the three encoders at the very bottom of this panel. I'm getting late on the wiring :music_whistling:.

Anyway, I wanted a slight slope for this wall (I took 10 degrees) which made the whole assembly a bit more complicated than a simple straight wall.

I also took a width of 210mm in order to be able to use full A4 paper for the labels. Triggerhappy posted drawings showing a 350mm wide wall, but as I made the consoles 185mm wide, from what I can observe from the cockpit in game, I think that 210 mm wide is closer to reality, and anyway more convenient for the realisation.

Ah, on the ground you might notice the overhead panel I started. I will post pics later once finished. I have still no idea how I will fix the overhead panel and at which height.

Beautiful!!! Looks amazing!!

I have a question; Where can one find those nice switch-caps? Are they like in the real thing where you can have the switch in both positions with the cap closed?

I've only been able to find ones that allow for only position of the switch when the cap is closed..

(does that make sense :P )

Keep up the good work!! :thumbup:

looks outstanding :)

damn, that looks great!

WOW you guys make me want to make a dedicated build rather than a generic one to fit many sims. Awesome work!

Hi everyone.

Thank you so much for the positive feedback.

I just finish the most tedious job of wiring the right upper panel:

But at least, to my great surprise, every switches worked correctly the first time I connected them to my PC.

During this time, I also build a stand for my triple screen setup as well as a pilot seat.

Apologies for the armrests, but I don't think Ikea ever though about pit builders and these seem to be essential for the structural integrity of the whole seat. :doh:

I am now working on the collective as well as the upper panel (soldering+wiring). I also have to figure out how to fix a TFT screen behind the front panel to display the ABRIS. Will keep you guys posted.

Yes, I bought a 9" TFT for a car seat (look for car tuning web sites). Based on Triggerhappy's drawing, 9" seemed to me the best fit. This TFT is connected to my video card through a VGA to RCA adaptor.

will this be ok ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150346788555

but my Graphic card has only 2 HDMI (only) outputs

how am i suppose to connect this ?

thanks

stelios

Ps your cockpit turned to be awesome....

Looks good stelios2000. Again, you can just cut whatever size you want in the center of your front panel. I tried to stick as much as I could to Triggerhappy's cut-out blueprints and 9" was the closest. 10" would be too large for my pit. Maybe you can also use it for Abris?

For connection, you may have a problem as, from what I can see, it's most likely a TFT screen from a netbook. It won't be easy to find the right power supply and the way to connect the ribbon cable to your graphic card (unless you are gifted for electronics, and I am not). I'd rather go for a full integrated solution just like I did with a TFT for car, or you may want to try the new 7" USB screen from mimo (http://www.mimomonitors.com/)?

This is really great! I like what you've done with the place.

I am curious are you going to build a collective or use your TQS? (I am making an assumption of course that you have one hehe)

Hello Schwinn, glad you ask

Well, yes I have the TQS but I couldn't really figure out how to integrate it. I wanted a real collective with HOTAS buttons on it but I didn't want to go as far as some of the expert pit builders we have on this forum, like building the whole thing from scratch. I was really looking for something simple and cheap.

So first, here is the situation:

As you can see, I had to build a floor for my pit so I can integrate the old Thrustmaster rudder that I bought on ebay a few days ago for 40 euros (along with a CH yoke I have no use for). But hey, good old (and very rare) Thrustmaster rudder was the only one possible for the pit. It is large enough for the front panel, and it doesn't have toe brake just like the Ka50.

Lying on the seat, again the upper panel, unwired, no leds yet and I am still thinking about a way to fix it in the right place.

Finaly, you can see the collective!!

OK, I had to trade off realism with "quick and cheap".

As you can see, I used an old Nostromo N50 that I fixed at the end of a 25mm steel tube painted in black. I am planning to use the Nostromo wheel for controlling the Ka-50 throttle levers, and so, I don't need to go through the hassle to build the two yellow levers with all the pots. I will then use the nostromo hat for controlling the light or maybe the weapons hardpoints. Then I have 10 buttons left for whatever is left for the collective.

OK, back of the collective lever, is an hacked Thrustmaster Pro flight control system that I kept for years in all my sim junk closet. The mechanism is pretty good.

Don't worry about the wiring. I have to solder some new wires that I will connect to one off the leo bodnar's usb card analog input. Probably the one on the rear right panel.

So here it is, the rear left panel with the collective fixed on the Thrustmaster Pro flight control base, two 80mm fans I painted white (I am planning to control them through the 'cab heat' switch (unused in the game). Useless but fun. Same for the cockpit light that is working with the switch. Again, useless but fun.

Again, no throttle lever. I will use the Nostromo's wheel for that

Weird. I typed a response and hit P Q R but it did not post it lol ...DAMN. I like your Nostromo idea for the collective simple but effective and less soldering to get it to work!! I also have two Thrustmaster pedals, one gold annodized and one black plastic. I think I am going to replace the foot part with ones that look like the ones Trigger made tho.

A quick question about the collective do you have any kind of friction at all to hold the collective in any position?

Insane work guys! Can't wait to see it finished!

Love the collective, its awesome, can't wait to see more!

Superb good work mate!

Hi again.

Right. Finaly got the upper panel wired and fixed (took some imagination to find out how). I wired the collective to one of Leo's card and it seems also to work. I also got the rudder connected to my cougar. I tried to mmake a friction system for the collective, but it doesn't work at all. I'm running out of idea.

I connected everything on 2 7-ports USB hubs. Total 9 Leo Bodnar's card + cougar + nostromo + LCD screen + power supply to the video converter for my shkval screen + Track IR 5. Yes, 14 USB devices, and they are all recognised and working well at the same time. Amazing.

Got also another 19 inches screen mounted behind the right part of the front panel so I can use it for the ABRIS, but I didn't find yet how to activate it in Windows XP (this third screen is connected on my second graphic card).

Now I need to find a way to programme those buttons. I realised that SVMapper can deal with a maximum of 4 USB devices. Other keyboard mapping software can deal with 16 devices, but they seem to lack the 'on key pressed' and 'on key released' tag. Any suggestions guys?

Damn Crc thats one smoking set up, l33t is a younger way of putting it!

I like your overhead panel alot!!! With the TH2G will you be able to use the 4th screen in game?

Seem that you didn't remove the springs of the F22 'gimbal' , would not it be better to remove, to facilitate the friction to stop the coletive lever?

Nice work. :thumbup:

Sokol1_Br

You could insert a bar into the back of the shaft and work with a friction behind the wall.

Yellow is the bar, red is where you insert it and green is the direction of friction. With no brake lever you could just use a constant friction like a rubber pad on either side sandwiching the bar.

Or you could insert a rod and then use a magnet on a piece of metal to provide constant friction as the rod would slide the magnet up and down. Excuse the simple cad drawing =)

Now I need to find a way to programme those buttons. I realised that SVMapper can deal with a maximum of 4 USB devices. Other keyboard mapping software can deal with 16 devices, but they seem to lack the 'on key pressed' and 'on key released' tag. Any suggestions guys?

From the help file:

"Multiple Joysticks: If the computer has more than one and you want to use one beyond the first, include the joystick number in front of the control name. For example, 2joy1 is the second joystick's first button."

Example:

2Joy3::
Send Down   ; Send press keys (Down in this case)
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp3, 10
return

WaitForButtonUp3:
if [url="http://forums.eagle.ru/../Functions.htm#GetKeyState"]GetKeyState[/url]("2Joy3")  ; The button is still, down, so keep waiting.
   return
; Otherwise, the button has been released.
Send Up  ; Send release keys (Up in this case)
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp3, off
return

I use this for my collective (which has both momentary and normal switches), works like a charm and it's very customizable.

/Oakes

Wow. Thanks for the help guys. I really appreciate you took some of your time to help. Thanks Sokol1 br, Oaks and Schwinn.

I'll remove the spring of my collective base. Indeed it will help. Some good thinking Schwinn. I can think now of something for the friction thanks to you.

Oakes, thanks. Autohotkey is not as user friendly as NVmapper, but I guess I have no choice and start studying it.

I will keep you guys posted. My goal now is to have the Shkval and Abris screen working, and the buttons programmed.

I'll have to give Autohotkey a try as well really want to try Schwinns Keyboard hack idea!

Here is the code I use for my collective:

;
; AutoHotkey Version: 1.x
; Language:       English
; Platform:       Win9x/NT
; Author:         A.N.Other <myemail@nowhere.com>
;
; Script Function:
;    Template script (you can customize this template by editing "ShellNew\Template.ahk" in your Windows folder)
;

#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.


2Joy5::
Send, {RAlt Down}{NumpadAdd}{RAlt Up} 
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp2_5, 10
return

WaitForButtonUp2_5:
if GetKeyState("2Joy5")  ; The button is still, down, so keep waiting.
   return
; Otherwise, the button has been released.
Send, {RAlt Down}{NumpadSub}{RAlt Up}  
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp2_5, off
return


2Joy13::
Send, r ; Sends r to the application
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp2_13, 10
return

WaitForButtonUp2_13:
if GetKeyState("2Joy13")  ; The button is still, down, so keep waiting.
   return
; Otherwise, the button has been released.
Send, r  ; Sends r to the appliation
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp2_13, off
return



2Joy16::
Send, f ; Sends f to the application
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp2_16, 10
return

WaitForButtonUp2_16:
if GetKeyState("2Joy16")  ; The button is still, down, so keep waiting.
   return
; Otherwise, the button has been released.
Send, {+}  ; Sends + to the appliation
SetTimer, WaitForButtonUp2_16, off
return

/Oakes