Boeing 737-800 Next Generation Simulator

[fsaviator]

Some more progress this past weekend and today!

MIP is all lit up.  Waiting on a new Master warning PCB from FDS as one of mine didn't survive going back and forth from Common Cathode to Common Anode and back.

Got the floor painted.  Great suggestion from my daughter to use textured gray deck paint!

Also installed the shakers that go under the rudders and then slid in the yokes along with their shakers!  I decided to order a shaker card from Ian at BFF simulations in order to really fine-tune the shaking.

Seat rails are mounted!  Using T-nuts is the way to go and makes installation a breeze.

Used the FO side to find the perfect mounting spot for the rudders.  I'll toss in the CAP side tomorrow!

My daughter flies in tomorrow from Germany for Christmas leave.  She is stationed in Stuttgart (at my old unit...  gee I wonder how that happened)!  She was supposed to come in today but her flight to Atlanta was cancelled.  I ended with a free day to work on the sim!

[Caflyt]

Looks awesome Warren.
Very clean and neat. Jealous!!

Craig

[jackpilot]

Absolutely true that each iteration is better than the previous one...
Warren you are close to pro standards!

Tell us more about the shakers and location, I'm interested ..

[FredK]

That is just gorgeous!

Fred K

[fsaviator]

Thanks everyone!  It is taking forever but this time I am taking it one piece at a time and making sure it all works as I go.  I was tired of slapping it together and then everything being shaky or needing care to continue to work.

Absolutely true that each iteration is better than the previous one...
Warren you are close to pro standards!

Tell us more about the shakers and location, I'm interested ..

Jack,  I put two cheap shakers under the rudder pedals and mounted two more on the cross-bar for the linked yokes.  Eventually I'll add them to the seats too if it works out well.  My thought process was that the feet and hands are what really telegraph the feel of the plane to the pilot through runway bumps, gear extension, the take-off roll etc.

Testing using my Buttkicker amp is positive.  I especially like the feeling of engine spool up in the feet!  I ordered a shaker card from Ian at BFF Simulations as the software interfaces the shakers directly to the sim environment through FSUIPC.  You can then adjust individual levels and actions.  I'll let you know how it works out!

Ian emailed me today and he already assembled the card and dropped it in the mail so I should get it in the next week or so (from England).  If this works as well as I hope I may add two shakers per seat (one in the back rest and one in the seat) driven by another shaker card.

[Flying_Fox]

Great progress Warren!

I also bought BFF shaker card, but did not install it yet.

Nick

[fsaviator]

Another update!

The BFF Shaker card arrived and it is up and running!  Very nice!  Now I have haptic feedback in the yokes and rudders as I roll down the runway etc.   Still need to install the shakers into the seats but that is another days project.

I also got the 4.1 speaker system used for environmental and exterior sounds installed!

Today I finally fixed something that has been bothering me since I received this MIP.  My rudder and foot rests were narrower than the space afforded by the MIP stand.  It bugged the hell out of me that I had empty space on each side, and more than once I would drop something and inevitably it headed right into the deepest part of the gap!  I has some 3003-H14 aluminum sheet left from another project so I used the table saw to cut it to shape.  I then made new tops for my rudder foot rests.

Here's the end result:

More updates soon!  Prosim737 v2 is due out any day now!

[Trevor Hale]

Holy Crap, that looks excellent!  We all know though where there is a hole, something always finds its way to fall into it LOL.

Nice.

[fsaviator]

More progress, overshadowed with "disaster".  I'll start with that.

Fired up the sim today to get the controls calibrated and was crushed to see that one of my projectors is going out.  A quick google search tells me the DMD chip and housing are failing.  Apparently this was a known issue that was covered by BenQ within a certain time if purchasing the projectors.  Unfortunately as I haven't put that many hours on them (despite how long I've had them) it is now surfacing, a day late and a dollar short.  Still I've gotten a lot of use out of them.

More research tells me I can fix the problem myself for about $130.  Luckily, I found a working projector that matches mine for $70 on eBay.  We'll see what I get.  Hopefully it is fully working and now I'll have some spare parts too.  Not sure how I'll move forward if another projector goes out though.  I'm not sure I'm ready to plop down $3K to upgrade to HD projectors even with the investment in a screen.  If it comes to that, I may just put out the money to go the 60" HDTV route (get three to start and add another two later).  We'll see.

[fsaviator]

Despite the hiccup with the visuals I made great progress this past weekend!

The biggest - the controls are all installed.  Both Captain and FO Linked Ailerons, Elevators, Rudders, Toe-brakes, and the steering tiller are all calibrated through FSUIPC.  I held off mapping the yoke buttons until I install Prosim737 v2.0.  I was able to get all the axis' running through the Bodnar BU0836 card that originally came with my ACE yokes.  I had to use all 8 axis which left a problem of what ground to use for the direct connect switches as there are no ground pins on the board that correspond with the switch inputs.  I ended up making a connector for the the two FO brakes that allows me to use their ground for the switches.  Regardless, all inputs now on one Bodnar card.

The floor is in place and I made some cuts to it to allow me access underneath without pulling it up.  The TQ will sit above the hole.  The seat shaker lines are also run.

I unpacked the TQ and set it into place.  That is not hooked up yet as it is a SIOC beast.  I'm waiting to see how Prosim handles that.  Still waiting on my license key though.  Fingers crossed that it is seamless.  If not, I'll have some fun with that.

More to follow on the visuals later this week

[jackpilot]

Just curious, what is the contraption on the glareshield ? 

[navymustang]

Flying Saucer  !!!

[fsaviator]

One of these... 

https://www.amazon.com/SE-MH1047L-Illuminated-Multi-Power-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA/ref=pd_sim_121_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=N5FZ0Z4H12SW5DE9RQD2

My eyes aren't what they used to be

[jackpilot]

 

Old age kicking in , hey ?

[fsaviator]

HI everyone!  I know i've been quiet lately but work has been busy and my sim has been kicking my butt.  More specifically I just couldn't get happy with the control inputs and other systems that relied on potentiometers (backlighting etc).  It took a few days but I isolated the issue to a bad BU0836A board.  I eventually just threw it out and just put in a BU0836X.  I'll use a Pokeys to run what that was running.

Still, I've made progress and today I actually got off the ground for a quick circuit.  My TQ is running great, my RS232 MCP is up and running and I've got the Systems Computer up and running with the MIP DUs.  Still a long way to go but at least I'm moving forward.

More to follow.  I'm still waiting on a shipment from FDS for some PCBs for the glareshield and my second CDU.  Time to put the first CDU in tonight.

Headed to Germany in a week so time is running short again.  I really need to just quit work...

https://youtu.be/XdapAbj1zNI

[Sam Llorca]

Great work Warren! We need to go for a spin on your sim.

[fsaviator]

Thanks Sam.  Look forward to it

[fsaviator]

It's been a while since my last update - about seven months!  I haven't been idle, just busy at work; traveling, working, more traveling.  I'm also working towards a graduate degree I want to wrap up by next summer.

Anyway, I've been reassembling the sim, making some upgrades as I go, and while I was hoping to have her up and flying today, I just didn't get there.

-I wrapped up installing the liners this weekend, as well as rewiring and converting all my lighting to LED.  Just the part above the glareshield left but I might just keep that out until I build my compass.  I'm at an impasse as I want to get my 3D printer, laser cutter, and CNC up and running but I don't want to take away time from the sim...  I need to retire.

-installed a FlightCom intercom system.  Still need to work out a way to integrate it better - right now it's mounted to the rear of the shell and I've run extensions and plug-ins behind the "eyebrow" panels

-installed circuit breaker lighting - not OEM but my own take.  It works.

-The aft overhead is working now, finally.  At least within the SIOC monitor.  I'll fire up the sim next weekend to check for sure.  All the lights come on at least

Still rewiring some parts and adding fuses.  The shakers and stick shakers are installed but not hooked up yet.  I'm installing 28VDC for those, as well as two OEM relay modules to control the AC and DC power.

-a ton more to do, just little stuff.  I hope she'll fly next week.

[jackpilot]

Coming along nicely...good job
Where did you get those little guys? (circuit breaker lighting)

Jack

[Buster99]

Very nice Warren.

I wish I was this far done 

[Ianhu]

Hi Guys,

I have taken the plunge. Decided to get sim parts on order and Go for it.

Been reading lots and lots on here. No idea where to start other than make MIP first and go from there.

But I expect my journey is going to be a lot like yours elated and deflated. We will see.

Good job on your sim. Do you have a list of 'where you got what parts, Panels, TQ etc' I might have missed that, sorry if you posted it.

Regards

Ian

[fsaviator]

Coming along nicely...good job
Where did you get those little guys? (circuit breaker lighting)

Jack

Jack, got these here.  They are 12VDC.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074M8BFKG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm running them through an OC USBDimmer card that also controls my overhead backlighting

Very nice Warren.

I wish I was this far done 

Third time is a charm for me...  almost exactly a year ago I started this build (#3).

Hi Guys,

I have taken the plunge. Decided to get sim parts on order and Go for it.

Been reading lots and lots on here. No idea where to start other than make MIP first and go from there.

But I expect my journey is going to be a lot like yours elated and deflated. We will see.

Good job on your sim. Do you have a list of 'where you got what parts, Panels, TQ etc' I might have missed that, sorry if you posted it.

Regards

Ian

It's probably easier to give you a list of who I don't have built into the sim (or stuffed into a drawer somewhere).

This is build #3 (the 5th full cockpit though) - I move alot which on the plus side gives me the opportunity to upgrade the sim when it goes back together.  the down side is that it never goes back together the same so it takes forever.

-My shell is a one off I bought from a fabricator a few years ago that wanted to go into business but clearly had an issue with intellectual property - which has led to some interesting conversations over beer with a certain friend/industry CEO.

-Liners are FDS

-MIP/Glare/CDU Bay are FDS

-CDUs are FDS

-MCP and EFIS are CPFlight - I've replaced the MCP front panel with a custom full size version

-Yokes are linked Ace Yokes

-Rudder pedals are Revolution Simproducts

-TQ is Revolution Simproducts

-Pedestal is from Vitor Amaral

-Forward and Aft overhead are Opencockpits (Aft housing is Simworld)

-Seats are OEM

[blueskydriver]

Hey Warren,

Back in December 2017 you made some new sets of the rudder pedal foot rests with the 3003-H14 aluminum sheeting you had leftover, so I am wondering a few things now:

1. Did you have to remake the actual foot rest shape structure (call it the foundation) that is under the aluminum, if so what material did you use?

2. You mentioned using the table saw, was that for the foundation and/or was it for cutting the aluminum as well?

3. What did you use to make the bends and the countersunk drilled holes into the aluminum so nice; did you use a bending machine and drill press?

4. Do you still have any of the aluminum left over yet?

5. Would you be interested in making me a complete set for both sides (Capt and FO), providing I send you the measurements of my rudder pedal spacing(s)?

PM me and we can discuss your price...

Kind Regards,

John

[fsaviator]

Well, I've made some progress.  I keep getting side-tracked though, both with work and on the sim.

This past weekend I decided to finally do something about that ugly gap between the TQ and the CDU bay.  On my last build I built up the area with MDF panels but there was always a gap that bothered me.  This time I decided to use the remainder of my aluminum I had laying around, as well as some EVA foam.  I spent an evening watching videos on how to make cosplay costumes to learn how to work the foam.  I did deviate slightly on the mounting of the aural warning system to minimize the holes I needed to drill into my pedestal for the wiring.

Here's some pics.  I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

I also repainted the pedestal, fitted the passenger address jack, and the intercom hand mic.  I printed out new labels and installed non-functional circuit breakers.

Oh... added cupholders to the sidewalls, as well as to the side of the pedestal, as well!

Then there is the ground loop gremlins.  We'll see this week if they are gone.

[fsaviator]

Today was a great day!  After a very long period of time, I finally to the sim from Cold and Dark through a complete flight, to shut-down and cold and dark at the far end!

It's not perfect yet.  A couple of small issues: I can't get my IRS panel digits working, my CPFlight Fire panel and ICS seem to not get enough juice, and my FDS MIP card seems to hang for some reason.  Figured out that if I run the tekworx software it unsticks it.

Other than that, very happy.  Now to figure out how to fly again before worldflight