DIY Cockpit and custom controlls

[bacheshatonee]

For the last several months I've been putting together a flight sim cockpit in my basement. The shape is modeled after an F-16. The electronics are a combination of a Saitek X-55 HOTAS for the Stick and Throttle and Leo Bodnar BU0836A cards running all of the other electronics including the rudder pedals and AHK for the software side. The panel between the legs is an android tablet removed from the case so that it can be attached flush to the surface. The seat is the front passenger seat out of a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica.

While I was figuring everything out I figured I'd build the electronics panels to work with SC as a test project. This last week I finished the frame and seat and got the whole thing roughed together enough to be usable.

Here are some pics of it in it's current state:

The HUD Panel is installed and working, I also have 5 other panels that fill out the 72 inputs afforded by 2 BU0836A cards waiting to be wired in and mounted. They will probably be going in the lower front panels just in front of the throttle and stick.

Here are the panels and button layouts I have:

Figured I'd post it here and see if anyone is interested in any of the build information. I have no problems sharing any of my plans, build notes, designs, or code involved in the project. The total amount spent so far is ~$300 CAD not including the X-55 and the TV.

 

[WarrenPeace]

Holy cow. I'm kinda freaking jealous of everyone who's in a large and stable enough location to create these kinds of builds. My apartment is too tiny to devote space to something as awesome as this.

 

[Jhonon1]

OH. MY. GOD.
Beautiful
PLZ post everything you've got, how to utilize those button expander card thingies in particular.
Blueprints/schematics/chicken-scratch drawings next
Will this be sufficiently compatible with any models of tablet/HOTAS? Just saw your WOOD a little differently?

Your making your own foot pedals is commendable, but I think i'll be modding in a commercial option there...

 

[maynard]

i am impressed

 

[marctek]

 

[Bruzdawg]

PLZ post everything you've got, how to utilize those button expander card thingies in particular.

yes thanks for posting...I too am looking for more ideas on how to complete my setup.

 

[bacheshatonee]

@Jhonon1 I'll start posting up the documents with explanations. I need to get an open license set up for it as I may want to monetize the designs in the future. The frame is just a 2x4 wooden frame holding 1/4 inch MDF "Panels" 1" away from the face of the frame, to allow for devices and wiring. They are held off by 1" square dowels to try to maximize the usable space. I'm in the process of immigrating to Canada and have spent the last several months unemployed waiting for a visa to be approved. I had time, but no money. 2x4 scrap was what I had laying around and plenty of time to engineer. This whole thing has been about building as realistic as possible while being as absolutely cheap as possible with an attempt to be as modular as possible. Hence the $300 price tag. Ideally it would be welded/brazed angle iron/aluminum/steel and the plans were designed to be easily modified to allow for any building material. The panels holding the buttons/switches are made of plexy with vinyl overlays cut out with a Silhouette Cameo. You can place absolutely any HOTAS or even just a stick or yolk in it as it is just a frame with it's own "joystick" devices. The panels are all modular and can be replaced to accommodate any configuration using cat5 jacks on each panel connected to a central console with the cards and USB connections. It registers on the PC as a separate joystick for each of the cards you use and SC allows up to 5 "joysticks" so you can have 3+ a HOTAS like the X-55. The HOTAS just sits on top of the panels and is secured directly to them. Each card also gives you 8 analog inputs that can be either axis or volume style analog inputs. I am using one to make the foot pedals. I thought about building my own stick and throttle block. I have a friend with a 3D printer. But I already had the X-55 and my work visa came in so I no longer have all day to screw around with it.

 

[Carlos Spicyweiner]

That nice old couple down the street is going to be pissed when they see what I'm going to do to their Chrysler Pacifica. There's a newer Ford Econoline a couple blocks over, but he's got a Pit bull. Anywho, I can do this! Thanks a lot, this is great work!

 

[Dalarast]

@Jhonon1 I'll start posting up the documents with explanations. I need to get an open license set up for it as I may want to monetize the designs in the future. The frame is just a 2x4 wooden frame holding 1/4 inch MDF "Panels" 1" away from the face of the frame, to allow for devices and wiring. They are held off by 1" square dowels to try to maximize the usable space. I'm in the process of immigrating to Canada and have spent the last several months unemployed waiting for a visa to be approved. I had time, but no money. 2x4 scrap was what I had laying around and plenty of time to engineer. This whole thing has been about building as realistic as possible while being as absolutely cheap as possible with an attempt to be as modular as possible. Hence the $300 price tag. Ideally it would be welded/brazed angle iron/aluminum/steel and the plans were designed to be easily modified to allow for any building material. The panels holding the buttons/switches are made of plexy with vinyl overlays cut out with a Silhouette Cameo. You can place absolutely any HOTAS or even just a stick or yolk in it as it is just a frame with it's own "joystick" devices. The panels are all modular and can be replaced to accommodate any configuration using cat5 jacks on each panel connected to a central console with the cards and USB connections. It registers on the PC as a separate joystick for each of the cards you use and SC allows up to 5 "joysticks" so you can have 3+ a HOTAS like the X-55. The HOTAS just sits on top of the panels and is secured directly to them. Each card also gives you 8 analog inputs that can be either axis or volume style analog inputs. I am using one to make the foot pedals. I thought about building my own stick and throttle block. I have a friend with a 3D printer. But I already had the X-55 and my work visa came in so I no longer have all day to screw around with it.

 

[bacheshatonee]

@Carlos Spicyweiner Go for something other than a pacifica, getting that seat out was the single most difficult thing of the entire build. The mounting bolts are underneath the catalytic converter so you have to remove the entire exhaust system to get the seat out. If it wasn't free I'd have picked anything else. Find someone with a civic, much easier.

 

[Carlos Spicyweiner]

@Carlos Spicyweiner Go for something other than a pacifica, getting that seat out was the single most difficult thing of the entire build. The mounting bolts are underneath the catalytic converter so you have to remove the entire exhaust system to get the seat out. If it wasn't free I'd have picked anything else. Find someone with a civic, much easier.

Oh no! Looks like a couple of steaks to keep the Pitbull occupied!

 

[bacheshatonee]

@Jhonon1 Here is the link for the "How to use" page on the Leo Bodnar site. If you are familiar with digital electronics at all, it's pretty strait forward. If not I've got plans and wiring diagrams for everything I built. I just need to organize it and get it all posted up.

I guess you still need to click on the "How to use" tab once you follow the link.

 

[Jhonon1]

@Jhonon1 Here is the link for the "How to use" page on the Leo Bodnar site. If you are familiar with digital electronics at all, it's pretty strait forward. If not I've got plans and wiring diagrams for everything I built. I just need to organize it and get it all posted up..

.

Thanks! I could probably figure that out, but why the joystick controller? Their BBI-32 Button Box looks like it might work even better, does SC not play well with those or was the joystick option just safer?
Love their warning, 'DO NOT ENLARGE THE MOUNTING HOLES"

What switches are you using? On a budget the ones they sell seem a little pricey

 

[Metal-Muffin]

I use the BBI-32 in 2 separate panels. They work fine, and if you get just the PCB w/out the mountings soldered on its way cheaper. Even with the international shipping.


Edit: add pictures

http://imgur.com/H8M3QS5

View: http://i.imgur.com/H8M3QS5.jpg

http://imgur.com/Tj8iiZq

View: http://imgur.com/Tj8iiZq

http://imgur.com/rMjsqF1

View: http://imgur.com/rMjsqF1

http://imgur.com/D0AqFrG

View: http://imgur.com/D0AqFrG

Second Edit:
I'm in the process of making a Saber based cockpit. I have everything CAD'ed out and the lumber bought (1/4 inch plywood sheets and 1x3 furniture stock), 2 7" LCD screens, and a 11.5" touch screen for the center console. I'll be building my computer into the center console as well as surround into the entire rig. (general dimensions are: Center Console 40x25x15 inches; Side consoles 48x28x9.5)

The side consoles are made to hold the center and be easily broken into the 3 components for easy movement since I move a lot.

Third Edit: Updated CAD w/ measurements

http://imgur.com/2QO10xX

View: http://imgur.com/ZJy1mON

 

[Jhonon1]

I use the BBI-32 in 2 separate panels. They work fine

Just plug and play? SC will just recognize any such presses?
How difficult is the soldering? One board running 32 buttons for $43 isn't too bad, it's each switch + wire costing 17 that would be no fun. What are some quality ones that are a bit cheaper if you know any?

Nice custom setup, should def make your parts drawing available if you've got them borken down that way
Feel like modelling out any of the other ships cockpit sections to other peoples taste? I'm not sure which I'd personally go for but it sounds really awesome to do. No cockpit concept's for the Orion yet :(

 

[bacheshatonee]

@Just Jake Very nice panels. The ones I have are a first run test of how I am mounting them in the frames. I just got the leo cards a couple of weeks ago. I went with the B0836A cards because the "no connector" versions are the same price and you get the 8 analogs plus 4 extra buttons. I know they are a "hat switch" but they show as buttons and are map-able as buttons. I knew I was at least building my own pedals, and I intend to add other axes into panels so it's nice to have them in one package.

If you don't mind sharing, what layout are you using for your panels? Did you make the decals for the faces, and is that one back lit, or is it a light shining across the face from the top?

My plan for the final versions is to use a solid white vinyl coating on the back of the panels and then a black vinyl sticker with cutouts of the labes for the faces. That way I can put LEDs behind the panel and get the backlighting I need and potentially allow a color change. It means the panels must be built with plexy though, so it is a little more expensive.

 

[bacheshatonee]

@Jhonon1 They require drivers which are downloadable from the website. I believe they both show up as seperate "joystick" devices it's just the button cards only have buttons and the other has buttons and axes as inputs. The B0836 cards have a config tool, it's a single page that changes the driver settings. You can make axes zoom or standard and can invert them, that's it. Everything else I do with AHK. The soldering is standard through hole soldering. If you are completely unfamiliar it may not be a good idea, but if you have even basic experience it's pretty easy. The usb connection can be made with an old USB cable by cutting one end off. The diodes needed are extremely common and easy to find, and really can be almost any diode.

The only thing I bought from them was the cards. The buttons I am using currently are a mix of the cheapest things I could find either in my local electronics store, or on ebay from china. The ebay ones seem to frequently be the equivalent of seconds of ones the electronics store will have and I've found about 1 in 4 or 5 to be DOA. When I build the final versions I will probably to to match an F-16 layout as close as possible and may try to buy non-airworthy original parts. All of that will have to wait for a job and paychecks first though.

 

[GeneticPredator]

Wow really cool!! Wish i had the posibility to build something simular.
Please keep us informed how your project develops.

 

[Metal-Muffin]

@Jhonon The BBI-32 boards don’t require any drivers, unless you want to use rotary encoders, at which point there’s a small application that is run to flash the BBI with your rotary encoder specs so that the board will recognize the pulse widths. Other than that, when you plug the board into a windows machine it is recognized as a single game controller w/ 32 buttons.

The issue I have is that I’m mostly using “dumb” switches, or, non-momentary on-off switches. This is where I have had to download a small program called SVMapper which finds all game controller inputs and enables you to program as keyboard commands. This program has the ability to make switch that is turned ‘on’ appear as a single key press, and alternately, when the switch is turned off register it as the same or alternate key press. SVMapper cannot, however, read or map axis movements.

Components are- well, you get what you pay for. I’ve done fine with Radio Shack style 2A 110-220V toggle switches for ~$3 a pop. I’ve found packs of 10ea sub-miniature and miniature toggle switches on Amazon for ~$5 per pack, but these do not work well due to a serious issue w/ signal debouncing (the BBI measures more than 1 pulse with a single throw). Some switches were parts of old Boeing 474-737 panels that you can find on ebay, but they’re kind of expensive ($40-$80 for a panel with only a few useable components). The best is to shop around in your budget. The switch types I most commonly use are:

on-off
(on)-off
on-off-on –locking toggle switches
(on)-off-(on) -Saitek x55 switches
on-off-(on)
on-on-on – rotary switches
on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on-on…. –rotary encoders

As for modeling out other cockpits, I used a single picture of a cockpit I found to make draft my panels. If I had other pictures I could do the same, I suppose.

"

http://imgur.com/156Q7O7

 

[Metal-Muffin]

@bacheshatonee The panels were the product of my imagination having sex with an A-10C cockpit. (I play a lot of DCS… poorly) I wanted something military-like, but could also cross over to other games.

Both panels are backlit, just one ended up brighter than the other. I accomplished this by using- I shit you not- “MS Paint” to draw how I wanted my panel to look with labels, striping, and switch placement. I then printed it out via laser printer on waterproof “paper” that the army has laying around (for durability and even transparency-some sort of PVC paper?). Then I drilled holes thru 1/8” acrylic (Optix) in the positions of the holes for the switched and sandwiched them to a second piece of acrylic which was mounted to the light box.

For the box, I used a roll of green 12v led stripping that’s, like, $9 for 60”- or more than I’ll ever use. I had an old 12v wall-wort that I used to drive the light and wired a toggle inline so that I can turn them on/off at the panel.

For the new build, I have some pots that I’m going to install and a new roll of ‘dimmable’ led lighting (in general, some LEDs can be dimmed and some cant) that I’m going to drive directly off of the PSU- since I have a 1200W- which will be built into the cockpit. I’m also going to be redesigning the panels using CAD instead of MS paint for easier measurement and uniformity. I highly recommend the draw-and-print method versus decaling, especially if you want backlighting. Pllexi is a little more expensive (and a pain in the ass to work with) but worth it. I was buying 24x36”x1/8” Optix from Home Depo for $35. That’s about 6 panels worth if you use it right. ¼” is quite a bit more expensive.

http://imgur.com/wYr2FNO

http://imgur.com/fS8UQNl

http://imgur.com/dXqFUQU