What have you done for your simulator today?

[Caflyt]

Very cool Marco!
Neat and clean.

Craig

[Bob Reed]

Well I bit the bullet and upgraded to P3D V4.2 and upgraded FSUIPC to 5.124. I can honestly say it has not been a seamless upgrade so far, but I can not say all the issues are totally due to the upgrade. I will know more after some testing today. If things continue I may be switching back to 4.1. Also know that the compatible version of Activesky is only in open-bata. My recommendation is if you are on the fence about upgrading right now... Hold off.....

[Ed]

Thanks for the advice Bob. I'm one who is still on the fence concerning an upgrade to P3D.

[blueskydriver]

I guess this would be something I did for my simulator, yesterday Karen and I went to pick up a set of Delta Air Filitration Units from a seller on Public Surplus (City of Madison, WI) that look brand new. We're going to put them in the hangar to keep the dust down.

With gravel all around the building, the micro dust from this gets inside little by little each time we open the big door, so filtering the air is the only solution. Up until now we used two inexpensive 20" box fans with 20"x20"x1" furnace filters (all from Walmart) taped to the back. These actually work pretty well this way, but we wanted the Delta units because they have remotes and hangers to place them on the ceiling.

Now we just have to wipe everything down again; oh well better clean then dirty I say. If you're having dust issues (like the fine white dust) I'd suggest getting some type of air cleaners or make the box fan filter units like we did. You will be happy seeing less dust and you'll truly breath easier...no reallly...lol...you will breath easier...

John

PS Public Surplus is here: www.publicsurplus.com

[Atomic_Sheep]

Well I bit the bullet and upgraded to P3D V4.2 and upgraded FSUIPC to 5.124. I can honestly say it has not been a seamless upgrade so far, but I can not say all the issues are totally due to the upgrade. I will know more after some testing today. If things continue I may be switching back to 4.1. Also know that the compatible version of Activesky is only in open-bata. My recommendation is if you are on the fence about upgrading right now... Hold off.....

What was there a reason for you deciding to upgrade? I'm lately of the opinion, get something that is older but stable and well tested.

[Jason L]

Does rebuilding your FS drive on your computer count?  Mistake #1 -> Get new PC, and fancy new system HD, but not upgrade your 3TB HD that is 6 yrs old....Ugh.  Fortunately it is still somewhat alive, albeit with many errors, but it is allowing me to uninstall my apps so I can properly de-register my licenses for re-installation.

Apparently it knew that my new MCP was showing up today, so when I hooked it up to play it crapped out.

Oh well...looks like Saturday / Sunday will be re-install all my simulator apps day.  FUN FUN.

500GB SSD on order.  Using a significantly smaller and newer 1.5TB drive for now and will just move everything over to the new drive later this week and assign it a new drive letter.

[blueskydriver]

3d Printing OH YEAH! 

Think I'm getting the hang of 3d printing with my Creality CR-10S 3d Printer. I wanted to make some Window Handles for my simulator, so that is "what I did for my simulator today"...uh, okay 1/2 of the set...lol!

From Thingiverse I downloaded the .stl files made by username "fabien" and loaded them into Simplify3D (S3D), then did some location editing (offset, rotation and such). For the Process Settings I used the ones from S3D for Creality CR-10, but I edited them based on what some other users were trying, as well as what I thought would work best.

With these Process Settings being tested and used on four of my other prints that turned out really nice (the Cat that comes with the Creality software and Baby Groot from Thingiverse), I decided to continue using them. Thus, when I printed the Window Handles they turned out just as good as the previous prints. It took 3 1/2 hours for the handle and about 2 hours for the under plate, so not to bad time wise.

Here is a link for Thingiverse file location:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2521835/#files

Note: If you decide to use these files, download them, then after that you must rename the .stl files first because there are some weird characters in the names; otherwise, when you save your factory file in S3D, then try to reopen it, you will get an error message and the factory file will not reopen/losing your work. Also, two of the file names have ABS in them, just ignore that and rename the file(s) (I used handle1, plate1, handle2, plate2) then use whatever filament you like (I used 1.75mm PLA Grey).

Attached are some quick and dirty pics...

John

[Bob Reed]

Well after more testing, I still have no idea what is going on with the sim. It was flying so well... Why did I have to mess with it? Well for one I was looking for better frame rates.. NOPE.... I lost on the average about 8 frames. And I have picked up these huge stutters when I am on approach. I get frames at these airports that should allow ok motion but I am getting stutters. It may be time to throw the entire mess to the street! (Trevor... )

[blueskydriver]

Bob,

Can you system restore it back before this all started?

John

[Bob Reed]

Bob,

Can you system restore it back before this all started?

John

No I think I have system restore turned off and I have physically changed some of the files which system restore can not fix. It is self inflicted and I will get over it.. Or not... A new system is not in the cards for some time so I need to make this one work.

[jackpilot]

Far from being PC litterate I take great care at documenting each and every change I make, wether it is deleting a file or adding something, all FSUIPC assignement etc...
Proven useful when you have to go backwards

Just 2¢

[Ed]

Bob,

Can you system restore it back before this all started?

John

No I think I have system restore turned off and I have physically changed some of the files which system restore can not fix. It is self inflicted and I will get over it.. Or not... A new system is not in the cards for some time so I need to make this one work.

Don't give up Bob. Seems to me everything started to go south when you made the move to 4.2. Sure seems like something big is eating up the resources for you to have all those stutters. Windows..  anit-virus software?   I'm not a computer guru either..just trying to think of what could be eating up the resources. Have a beer..wait it out and have another go at it.

[RayS]

I think Bob and I both attended the same sim-finishing school. "If it works, break it!"

I've been neck-deep in a major MIP overhaul, all because I needed to "re-adjust something". The adjustment ballooned into "Well.. I'm here, may as well do that too"

Hang in there, Bob!

[fsaviator]

Ha.  I used to be that way.  The way I solved the problem?

Now I put so much thought and effort into making sure I get everything working before moving on, and being able to easily upgrade parts or make repairs without a complete overhaul, that I can't seem to actually finish!

Much better this way, as I can continually upgrade without actually taking anything apart, and...  easier on the wallet as I have just convinced myself its better to spend all my money on the sim now, while I still have a job and can afford Top Ramen, than wait until I'm retired without an income!

[Atomic_Sheep]

Ha.  I used to be that way.  The way I solved the problem?

Now I put so much thought and effort into making sure I get everything working before moving on, and being able to easily upgrade parts or make repairs without a complete overhaul, that I can't seem to actually finish!

Much better this way, as I can continually upgrade without actually taking anything apart, and...  easier on the wallet as I have just convinced myself its better to spend all my money on the sim now, while I still have a job and can afford Top Ramen, than wait until I'm retired without an income!

Yes but when everything is working 'just so' it's massively rewarding.

[Ed]

I have just convinced myself its better to spend all my money on the sim now, while I still have a job and can afford Top Ramen, than wait until I'm retired without an income!

Warren, I convinced myself of the very same thing..buy as much as I can now before I retire. Hoping to have most things bought and enjoy retirement putting it all together. Nevertheless, my retirement budget includes a token amount for sim parts

[Bob Reed]

Well the sim is back up and running... and I have made some headway in other areas that I will share in a bit. So you guys can stop driving by the house on garbage day.. The sim will not be there! lol YET.... 

[blueskydriver]

That's too funny Bob! Uh, still...what day is garbage day...just in case?

John

[jackpilot]

Well, I just enjoyed the sim ...no update to new builds (too afraid to change what works fine) so today It was a short  trip Montreal- Albany and return overcast with heavy snow....

Leaving FL 210 for 4500' 

[navymustang]

Just completed building the FO side circuit breaker panel and back wall to my sim. As you can see form the CAPT side picture the wall is on hinges so it can swing away either for maintenance or for training purposes. I'll finish mounting the FO side tomorrow on hinges as well.

[Caflyt]

Jim,
That looks great!
I wish I had done something like that...hinged back wall.
With all of the building and rebuilding I do on this thing it's a pain squeezing the seats in and out of that tiny door.
Great setup.
Next time my wife drags me to Mickey's Playground in Orlando I will have an excuse to skip the torture of the parks and crowds and spend the day at your place instead.

Craig

[Sam Llorca]

WOW! I love it Jim!, great design for tight spaces!

[Joe Lavery]

Brilliant idea Jim, and superbly executed.

Joe.

[jackpilot]

Clever idea!

Mine is unfortunately bolted in but I made the door wider to allow seats removal

[fsaviator]

oooooh.  Thanks Jim!  Perfect timing!  That is a great idea that I plan to steal!