Help with a cheap build

[eitai2001]

Hi Guys.

I would like to build an eventual cockpit, but am not sure how to go about it or where to start.
I am a student, so do not have the cashflow to buy all these fancy items (even a yoke or pedals is too expensive) ... so I was hoping maybe someone could give me some assistance on what I could do to convert a joystick's mechanism into a yoke and pedals ... I can use 2 joysticks ... I can get cheap logitechs ... and I can build the rest of the yokes and pedals out of wood.

The easiest think to make will be the rudder pedals ... I will use a joystick with a rudder. The second easiest is the pitch movement ... but I'm not quite sure how I would get the roll movement ... because I would have to convert a wheel to the movement of a joystick.

Any ideas?

In future I will get a 15" LCD to use as a glass cockpit panel ... I have a 23" wide screen LCD that is currently sufficient for the view.

Regards

Itai

[Trevor Hale]

Hey Itai, Welcome to MyCockpit.

when you look at a joystick, you see front to back movement and left to right movement right?

What you need to be able to do is not look at the joystick for what it is, but what is inside.


Inside you will see 2 potentiometers. either sliding ones, or more likely turning ones. the ide here is to open up your cheap joystick and use the interface and content in conjunction with wood, and glue and build your own. yoke.

If you look through the photo gallery (which right now is undergoing some maintenance) you should be able to find some pictures of how easy this is.

You can do it.... we can help :)

Trev

[eitai2001]

Hi.

Thanks for the info ... I will get hold of a cheap one and open it up and play a bit.
Hopefully in the future one day I can have a home built similar to your avatar ... I know it won't come cheap though :P

By the way ... A question I've been thinking since I flew a Comair 737 Full Motion Class D simulator ... is it possible to get a similar depth of field experience with a projector and a curved screen in a home built? (Nothing to do with my current project)

Regards

Itai

[eitai2001]

Another thing ... I have an old joystick with force feedback that I don't use (Couldn't stand the irritation of force feedback) ... is it possible to use that and disconnect the motors and attach springs instead ... would that work.

And please could you point me to a joystick build in the gallery ... I looked all over bit I couldn't see any.

Thanks

Itai

[Trevor Hale]

yes, once you open up the old force feedback joystick you will see the wires going to the old motors, and you can just disconnect them, or even better would be to not connect the ac power cord if it is a microsoft one. Either way, you should be fine, so fill your boots.

Basically any home made yoke you see in the photo gallery came from a hacked joystick of some kind.

Trev

[mauriceb]

You can do it.... we can help :)

Trev

You've been watching too many Home Depot commercials I think :D

Maurice

[Westozy]

Hi there,

I have hacked a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick for the original interface on my sim, it is now being used for a Spitfire project. How I did it is in a downloadable tutorial here - http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=97
See my website for how I built a 737NG sim relatively cheaply. (Total AUD$8,800 including projector and CP Flight MCP & EFIS).

Regards,

Gwyn (Westozy)

[eitai2001]

Hi there,

I have hacked a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick for the original interface on my sim, it is now being used for a Spitfire project. How I did it is in a downloadable tutorial here - http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=97
See my website for how I built a 737NG sim relatively cheaply. (Total AUD$8,800 including projector and CP Flight MCP & EFIS).

Regards,

Gwyn (Westozy)

Hi.

Thanks for the download link, will take a look and see if I can replicate it.
Your sim looks awesome ... is the projector flat against a wall ... or is it curved to give depth of field, and how does that work?

Also ... I just found two 12.1" 4:3 LCD's used for Point of Sales ... will these be ideal for 2 glass cockpit instruments?

Are you ever planning to put motion into your sim such as some slight roll and pitch motion?

Regards

Itai

[Westozy]

Hi Itai,

Cheers for your kind comments re my sim, it sure is a joy toy to operate!

My 2 metre wide screen is a flat 300 thread count bed sheet and mounted to the simulator's steel frame about 300mm from the bottom of the "windscreen". The projector is 4 metres away in front of the sim and the image is reversed for this rear projection set up. It works great and gives a good sensation of really being there! A slightly curved screen would probably be an improvement which I want to try at some stage.

"Also ... I just found two 12.1" 4:3 LCD's used for Point of Sales ... will these be ideal for 2 glass cockpit instruments?"

I can't be certain here as my field is Mechanical Engineering but if they are normal VGA or Digital input I think they will be fine. Perhaps you could post your question on the forum and I'm sure someone will jump in with an answer for that one.

"Are you ever planning to put motion into your sim such as some slight roll and pitch motion?"

It really isn't required! Apart from being a logistical and technical nightmare to make work, I really believe a real motion platform isn't neccessary. If your cockpit ends up like mine with a really big "in your face" 2 metre wide outside view and black out side curtains, the simulator is very convincing on it's own that motion is happening. I have had many people leave the sim feeling queezy which to me is confirmation that I have got it pretty right. I would not recommend trying to build a motion platform - this also requires the use of many window monitors each requiring it's own PC instead of projection. I am convinced from my experience with quite a few sims that rear projection produces a much more realistic simulation than large PC monitors.

Regards

Gwyn

[eitai2001]

Hi there,

I have hacked a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick for the original interface on my sim, it is now being used for a Spitfire project. How I did it is in a downloadable tutorial here - http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=97
See my website for how I built a 737NG sim relatively cheaply. (Total AUD$8,800 including projector and CP Flight MCP & EFIS).

Regards,

Gwyn (Westozy)

Hi.

I don't suppose you would be able to help me out with some plans on the actual yoke. I'm not sure where to start with them ... I've tried drawing on paper, computer, etc and just not sure how to go about planning it properly. I don't want to just start building without knowing how I want to do it.

In terms of what I want to build is a single control column yoke similar to what you would find in a commercial airliner. I basically want a wooden based that houses the linkages for rudder and yoke.

I'd appreciate your assistance wih this, or just tell me where to start :P

I'm sure as a mechanical engineer, you've got plenty ideas :)

Regards

Itai