What have you done for your simulator today?

[_alioth_]

I am rebuilding my piper comanche cockpit, using real yokes.
I am making my own force feedback hardware and software for it.
A configurable central box with a teensy, received data from xplane/p3d/msfs and drive the motor for forces.
Step by Step.

Yoke system:

Central box:

Arturo.

[bernard S]

Fred ..sim project I see the road map so its golden :-)

[bernard S]

adding more items

[FredK]

Hey Bernard....A lot of very interesting things and items for sure, and your vision moving forward is "golden" as you say.

But everyone else is awaiting the vision reveal in agonizing anticipation.  I am losing sleep at night thinking about it.

Any hints?

For example.... What is the plan to interface all the "things"?  There are a lot of "things" here to deal with. And how will the visuals work?

Fred K

[bernard S]

visuals

[FredK]

Bernard...In consideration of what you have invested here and the nature of the aircraft...why not spherical dome projection?
Help me...I am going to lose a bet on that.

Fred K

[bernard S]

mainly because I need 2nd part view ( rear seat)   also the overall size of it distracts from the overall site of the aircraft to the eye    it destroys the illusion   am i thinking correctly  visuals are last on my list    i would have gone MR/VR  but its not there yet mainly mapping

[_alioth_]

I have installed the encoder in aileron axis in the force feedback system and test a standard spring force.

Arturo.

[jskibo]

I have gone to Philippines for two months to let the sim rest

[bernard S]

another thing sorted  now linked

[_alioth_]

AP following code done today in the home made dual yoke force feedback system.

Arturo.

[_alioth_]

Today I have made a "promotional video"    of my home made dual yoke force feedback system.

Arturo.

[blueskydriver]

Hey Arturo,

Definitely a good video!

John

[blueskydriver]

Hey Bernard,

Glad to see you're still at it with the fighter. It's truly amazing what you're doing.

And, I do hope to visit you, as well as Mike sometime in the near future....

Kind Regards,

John

[Jason L]

Still working on my overhead.  Been posting a lot over on instagram, at least a few times a week. #Lohrenz737

Last major component to interface and I'm done with 4 panels and have about another 12 to go on the overhead.

Then it's time to assemble everything into the cockpit.  I'm starting to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Oh, also nabbed some black friday deals as my main simulator PC, while a great workhorse 8700k needs some upgrades.  Moving to a 12900k and waiting for a 4090 to show up.  With illusions of finding some refurbished 4k projectors next year so I can update my 1080p setup to HI-FI. 

Happy Holidays / Merry Christmas to all here.

Jason

[bernard S]

@ john   sure bring x1 of 3 things  decent single malt  bbq or lies :-)

[RayS]

I've been doing some thinking about how the sim interacts with X-Plane 11. I'd also like it to work with MSFS2020 but how to essentially "dual-Boot" the sim?

For the sim to be compatible on both platforms (Seems we're in a period of transition with XP12 and 2020) I think I have something workable. It will require a ground-up retooling of all the microcontroller circuits but I'm up for the challenge....

[FredK]

Ray...Interesting.

What is the advantage of this method versus just splitting the hardware connections (with some kind of switch) between the two sims? 

Fred K

[RayS]

I'm glad you asked, Fred~

There's essentially 2 problems at play here...

Wrench #1:
There is a plug-in I use for X-Plane to talk to the microcontrollers. Unfortunately, this plugin only works with a very small line of microcontrollers: Teensy 3.2, and 3.5 (Maybe 4.0 but I haven't tested it yet) so my entire microcontroller architecture uses Teensy 3.2.

Wrench #2:
The software I'll use to interface to MSFS only works with Arduino cards. Teensy cards won't work due to some anomalies with how the Teensy cards manage their USB ports. (Of course, right?)

So how to bridge that gap? Connect the Teensy 3.2 to the Arduino 256 via the on-board serial ports.

Over time though I may go to 2020 full-time, which brings up solution #3:

I made a daughterboard for the Arduino 256 that will allow me to remove-in-place all the Teensy cards and plug in an Arduino card using the same code into the existing interface circuitry I built.

This method allows me to use all the existing interfaces while allowing me to connect to 2020.

I can't recall ever in this hobby such a difficult transition period. The only time that comes to mind is when Microsoft pulled the plug on FSX. It forced us onto other platforms.

I have it on good authority that Lockheed-Martin has also  contracted with BlackShark to provide updated visuals for P3D, (Same visuals as MSFS2020) so that will be an interesting story to follow.

In my opinion, the future for X-Plane looks pretty grim. Austin is doing his dandiest to boost X-Plane's relevance in the market space but I think it's too little too late.

Laminar Research has been tone-deaf to the industry for quite awhile. LR has stated quite loudly that they want to build upon their footprint in the commercial training market, but then with XP-12, they broke the ONE thing that enables us home cockpit builders to do what we do: the XPUIPC plugin. (And there's no guarantee that the XPUIPC owners will update it)

As such, X-Plane 12 is a non-starter for me. I can't even run it.

Microsoft and Lockheed-Martin have deep pockets. Laminar Research has.... well.... fighting robots on Mars and wing rivet optimization.

Money is literally falling from the sky if you are in the 2020 marketspace. Large 3rd-party vendors like ORBX and several aircraft developers like Carenado have abandoned any future X-Plane products and are focused exclusively on 2020.

If Lockheed-Martin updates their product with Blackshark, X-Plane is dead.





 

[Jason L]

That's a very interesting perspective!  Since I'm still in the interfacing stage for my pit I've gone the route of arduinos for most everything outside my pedestal and aft-overhead.  I'm using mobiflight and switching between MSFS and P3D is a breeze with this setup.  Figure I'll have my rig ready to run on either sim depending on how things continue to develop.
I have $$$$ invested in P3D addons to make it more realistic with a multitude of airport sceneries that unfortunately are no longer being updated.  This year I took advantage of some black friday sales and started building my MSFS scenery pool and also my first major PC update in 6 years.  Only waiting on a MSRP 4090 to become available and I'll be ready to go soon.

[XOrionFE]

I am still running X-Plane on my desktop sim.   I have started to run XP 12 and testing with my favorite GA plane, the Torquesim SR22 TN.  Perfect platform for GA and IFR training. I also have the Realsimgear G1000s and such which make it really awesome and engrossing.   So far XP12 looks pretty good and promising for this platform.   In addition, Realsimgear are also supporting FS2020 so I am able to easily switch between.  I do have a teensy 3.2 running some stuff for this right now and I hear they are being discontinued.   Still a great platform for IFR training and currency.

The plan for the big sim is Prosim 737 and MSFS 2020 right now.   I haven't tried FS2020 multi-screen visuals yet but I know some have with good success.   I plan on upgrading my 60" LCDs to 3 75" ones and using lcd warping.   I also plan on building out a new PC this year (maybe just going with Jetline Systems or someone else to build it this time).   We shall see...

Scott

[bernard S]

still fighting my fnd cart  not a friendly unit to dismantle

[blueskydriver]

Hey Guys,

Not sure if you remember this, but I tried a dual boot setup with MSFS2020 and P3D, and it worked okay. However, with W10/W11 constantly changing drivers and such, it became problematic to say the least...let alone the gremlins.

In the end, I just setup two complete systems, one for 2020 and the other for P3D. And yes, it was hard at first, but all I had too do was keep a log book of all the changes to each system, while keeping them totally separate. Then, when it came to flying either one, I just moved some audio, video and USB cables. Or, like Fred mentioned, I used switch boxes.

Knowingly, it cost more to follow this two systems path, but once they're setup and working you can always keep one or both flying. For weeks it would be 2020 and others it was P3D. In both cases one was always working.

Unfortunately, I learned this way too late in my sim building history. I was always doing the dual boot method for years...and chasing the rabbit.

Even though I'm not flying now, I still have both computer systems without a simulator. The question is, what's my next move...I purchased three 60" LED Screens that are still in the boxes. And, I still have all the CH items, along with the GoFlight items. Thus, I might just do a KingAir desktop setup, with both of the computer systems.

Or...I'll just keep building Lego sets...LOL!

Current as of today:

https://youtube.com/@TheBlueskydriver

John

[bernard S]

doing stuff never ends

[bernard S]

pic lol.