richfiles

Here, I install the front-facing rear beam trim into place. Most of the screws are through the trim, directly into the other structural components for best strength. No pocket screws on this one... Like I said, straight on through to the other side. The side panel is held into place by slots that I cut into the sides of the surrounding wood pieces. The panel just slides in and I screw in the rear beam trim to lock it into place. Had to sit it upside-down to work on this, but it worked out nicely. Pocket screws were used to mount the main beam to the trim. I also made sure the additional weight hanging over the end of my work surface was well supported. Lookin' mighty fine propped up... This small square panel was originally going to cover the whole side based on the original desk's design, but the benefit of building off the tip of your head, is the design can evolve on the fly. The material turned out to be very porous, and really sucked in the stain. I was not quite happy with how dark it ended up. What I do like, is it being a differently shaded accent piece. The stain on the rear beam still ended up darker and browner than I would have preferred (I was going for a lighter, more reddish hue)... I've decided I am okay with "speed stripes"... I will find an even lighter yet stain for the majority of the desk, and let the beam and panels act as dark accents. I will also use the darker stain underneath, to help mask the underside of the desk. Let's get the third leg mounted... And feet. I used a little extra wood to make simple, but very securely mounted feet. I mimicked the side and cut slots intonthe leg and surrounding trim, and installed another panel segment. This here as the heart of this desk build. This angled board will be the cross-frame support. Note that it is insanely supported... It is pocket screwed on 3 sides and then further braced by a pair of bracing boards that are straight screwed into primary support structure. When I construct the cross frame, I will mount it to this. I will drill out bolt holes in appropriate places, and then install self mounting nuts to those holes. And with that, the right desk module is practically complete, structurally. I still have to mount the top shelf support, but it's already made, and is just a handful of screws. It'll cover the pocket screws holes at the tip of the beam. It will be one of the areas where I use "buttons" to cover the screw holes. Filling the rear space with a narrow panel seemed like the right away to go. I like it anyway. I'm a bit more tolerant of exposed screws on the rear, and the three exposed are there for strength. That leg will help to support the cross-frame. And here we have it! Right side all but done! I know I'm glossing over staining, and the shelf support, but this is it! It's happening! Even better news, is most of the pieces for the left side are already cut. Mostly just need to drill the pocket holes and assemble, so it should go together even faster! After that, the cross-frame and instrument panel mounts get figured out!

Kouston, the front legs have landed! Only part missing is a brace that I still need to cut, that will mount on top of the footing, to give it additional strength. The wide board and rear trim still need to be screwed together. They will be flush on the inside, and the depth if the wide board will be part of the design, visible from the outside. The brace will sit at a slight angle, and allign with the rear trim at the tip of the leg. With the exception of the inside trim, all the screws are once again hidden behind or inside the structure. The reason for easy to access side panels there is I plan to mount electrical outlets on the front legs. Had to mount the trim to a block under the keyboard tray. Trimmed things for the closest possible fit. The right leg being worked on. Top view of the left desk segment and leg. Once everything is done, I'll sand the corner round and take the edge off the side trim. The main back legs are cut and ready for assembly as well. The third rear leg will be rather simple. After that, I can focus on the cross frame, which will join the twin desk halves and support the actual Kerbal Instrument Panel itself.

More progress. Both sides are finished to a similar degree of completion. The lower desktop surface have been cut to shape and are mostly complete. Just an extension for the keyboard cutout area on the keyboard tray, and trimming the extension of the left desktop to line up with the keyboard tray. The left and right sides really are shaping up to be more like a pair of stand alone endtables, but that design works this way. The underframe connecting the two halves shouldn't be overly complex, but finding where I can actually run supports and it not interfere with parts of the instrument panel that will dip below table level is also a concern. It will all be figured out in the end though. Working the design out in my head, as I go has the benefit of flexibility, but lacks in foresight and speed. Those side panels could have been done as a solid piece, for example, by routing slots... Oh well. Sandwitched layers it is then. It'll still work just fine. The front of the front legs is also cut. The center beam and rear trim are straight cuts, so no big deal. I already have them measured out, so they'll go together in no time

I have finally started building my desk to accomodate my Kerbal Instrument Panel. I say building, rather than modifying, cause I keep building new bits rather than reuse the old parts of my old desk. The main wood slab is pine, I'd rather have oak. That leg is literally constructed of common 2x4s, naw, I'll just redo it in oak. The desk is split now, guess I gotta entirely redo the under frame structure... I have decided to name my desk, the Desk of Theseus. The complaint... Have y'all seen the price of wood these days! It's insane! I bought a pair of oak beams... Mind you, these are just "5/4 x 6" beams... I put that in quotes for a reason... It was $45 each! Worst, was the store only had them in 8 foot lengths, and I only need around 5.5 feet, so I couldn't just cut one in half either... TWO PLANKS cost me $90!!! It's crazy!!! That said, My old desk was built 22 years ago, literally from pine construction lumber and plywood. Only "finished" parts were the actual desk surface, the top shelf, and the keyboard tray. It worked just fine, but it was beyond utilitarian. It was designed to support three CRT monitors, and was never intended to look "good"... it was functional. This desk is being designed with the same overall structure and size, but I'm trying to make it "pretty" this time. Part of that is going with oak, and actually staining it, this time. I'm also going out of my way to use proper finished panels and planks for all aspects of the build, not just the surfaces. As for my second complaint... I utterly hate the stupid "nominal" fractional measurement system that US lumber is sold under... It's BAD ENOUGH that I'm buying stuff marked Using any fractional system at all... but NONE OF THE LABELED MEASUREMENTS ARE ACCURATE!!! That "5/4 x 6 x 8" beam I mentioned above is REALLY a 1 x 5.5 inch beam... that is 8 feet long... the inches are inflated, but the length in feet is accurate... If I get a 2 x 4, it actually measures 1.5 x 3.5 inches. A 1 x 4, that is actually 3/4 x 3.5 A 1/2 x 3... that's actually 3/8 x 2.5 Guess what a 1/4 x 2 is... It's 1/4 x 1.5!!! That's right, they literally stop with the nominal vs actual measurements when they get to 1/4 inch, but then they start to MIX nominal and actual measurements together within the same units!!! And they always mix nominal vs actual units when dealing in plank thickness x width vs length. But finished slabs are the exception. Those use actual for both length and width, but nominal for thickness... It's a sea of indecipherable fractional values within a sea of mixed real actual and FAKE nominal values, but all because they show somewhere on a label or tag or stamp, or have logged it with some bureaucratic standard, what the actual values are, this has just become the defacto industry standard in the US lumber industry, and I HATE IT!!! I normally convert to metric for convenience, but I left these values as is, to convey the utter confusion they manifest... I apologize for such cruelty. The seeming reason for all this contrivance, is that the boards tend to be rough cut at the listed actual dimension, but this happens when the wood is still wet, typically at 26-28% moisture content. after the cut, they are kiln dried to 12-15% for construction grade lumber (your typical 2x4 type stuff), and 8-10% for cabinet grade lumber... this is more or less consistent with average humidity in the region, and thus more size stable. After drying, they then finish the planks to the actual dimensions. The industry has just settled on not fully drying construction lumber (to save cost), and not giving themselves enough over-cut to accommodate the shrinkage to achieve matched nominal vs actual sizes. Instead, they settled on undersizing as standard. It's so annoying... You can find my desk's build progress on my Kerbal Instrument Panel thread, if you want to witness me navigate this utter insanity!

Made significant progress over the weekend! Went to my dad's farm and started work on the desk "modifications"... I am practically rebuilding the lower desk from scratch... For one, I am using oak this time. I am also redoing the legs and side skirts... Not looking forward to tearing down the old desk... It must be done though... The open space on the right side is meant for the mouse. The keyboard tray will be deep enough in this space to fully accomodate the space with the tray pulled out or pushed fully in. In front of the mouse area, this minature 14" 3840x1100 pixel display will be mounted to the desk as a utility monitor. It supports touch screen, so I can theoretically use it for that too. Over on the left side, I plan to mount my widescreen monochrome CRT and my small color CRT. For now it will remain a blank wood panel. The angles were fun to figure out. Most of the design was pulled from direcly out of my head. Only things recorded on paper are a few key measurements, so it works with the existing desk structure. I've gone out of my way to minimize the appearance of screws externally. Keeping everything underneath or inside is making this a very clean build! It's been 8 years since originally conceiving this, and actually realizing it... I can not believe how fast the time flies. 2022 was a pretty bad year for me, on multiple fronts... I pretty much halted all projects after March that year... I am so happy to finally see some actual progress once again, and I hope to get back in to active instrument building once all of this is done! With the desk, the Mac, and a few other things finally dealt with, I can once again do things like design and printing and such... I can finally do the layout for the annunciator legends, or print out the Vertical Velocity Meter scales... Honestly, I needed a big project like this one to get me going again!

Small update... I bought so much wood... I have no idea why I decided to go with OAK... but I did. I guess, deep down, I know Oak will be rock solid and look nice, once it's all done. I'm removing a monolithic slab of pine to replace it with a segmented construct... I guess I figured I wanted it to have some extra strength, since so much is getting excised. I also found some nice cheap oak veneer paneling that should make the sides of the desk look far nicer... Upgrading from that raw plywood utilitarian look to stylish oak veneer wall paneling! Classy! Still not sure if I work Memorial Day or not, but if I have the day off, I definitely wanna head to my dad's and use the table saw.

Oh boy... It's so BIG!!! I honestly had forgotten just how much SPACE this chonker actually takes. This thing reaches almost ALL THE WAY to the back of the desk! I knew I was gonna be cutting out a good chunk of the desk to fit this... I had NO IDEA I was gonna cut out HALF of the desk!!! I am actually reevaluating whether or not I actually want to cut the desk now... That is a nice solid chunk of wood, and it's served me well for 22 years... I'd literally be removing 30 inches out of 60... I'm now wondering if I should simply remove the desktop entirely, and just replace it with two smaller new segments. I could reframe a new support structure (using 2x4s), and simply install a pair of 15x36 inch panels on either side. Those will be smaller and far easier to cut to shape. Honestly, I think that might actually be easier. There's only about a single 2x4's width left at the rear... I don't think I even need to close it off. Pardon the mess... I am in the process of completely tearing down the computer desk and all the junk on it... It'll only get worse before it gets better... The good news, I have discovered Velcro cable ties! I'm gonna wrangle that tangle!

Nice observations. You should honestly almost have an easier time controlling it than me. Just drive the servos with an appropriate controller, and read the values back from everything else... Honestly, you can probably manage it all in software. Me and my obsession with doing it by the book... As for current events... I've been working a lot lately (two jobs), but also spending that hard earned cash to get myself set up proper... I now have the following hardware: PC: Intel i9-10900K, 64 GB DDR4 RAM, AMD Radeon VII (16 GB HBM2 VRAM), dual 2 TB NVMe drives Mac: Mac Studio, M1 Max - 10 Core (8p/2e) CPU, 24 Core GPU, 16 Core Neural Engine, 32 GB RAM, 512GB SSD (yuck)... Dock: 4 TB NVMe, 4 TB SATA 2.5"... (That's much better!) Monitor: LG 49" 5120x1440 144Hz 32:9 Ultrawide with PbP (Picture by Picture) mode and an integrated KVM. This will make it possible to display all Mac, all PC, or split the screen and show both together. I can use one keyboard and mouse to control both. I have one monitor arm, and have a second on order, with plans to do a double arm supported monitor frame... thingy... I am considering a pair of 3840x1100 miniature 14"ultrawide LCDs to add as portrait oriented "wings" on either side of the big ultrawide. I have not yet bought those, and haven't even determined for sure if I even will, but I feel like they'd make a great place for stuff like Discord, etc. If I DO get them, it would give me a horizontal resolution of 7320 pixels, and that makes me happy! Floor: I bought some plywood panels and some laminate flooring. Gonna make simple floor pads for my chair to roll on. It ends up being cheaper than those plastic office floor pads, and way more durable... Turns out, it's made of FLOOR!!! Power: Got a Surge Suppressor and a UPS, so no more computer dying if the Earth swallows my apartment's power transformer a second time! Honestly, It was dumb that I didn't have one. The final development for this post, is I have measured the desk for cutting. I plan to cut the opening for the Instrument panel chassis this week. This will mark a huge step forward, progress wise, because I will finally be able to begin mounting hardware where it needs to go. As a secondary benefit, the PC and the mac will both be right there, meaning I have access to ALL my tools... KiCAD, Arduino IDE, FreeCAD, Everything! If I need to work on something, there is no reason I simply can't anymore! This will be a powerful step forward toward starting to bring things together. And yeah... This desk was horrifically dusty and messy. This cleanup was far overdue!

It is quite unfortunate that you are missing the electronics package, but I do not believe the pinout on the main unit and the pinout of the connector on the electronics package would, or should be remotely similar. I'd try and reverse engineer my unit for you, if parts of the electronics package weren't potted in epoxy. Maybe my newer FDAI is different. i haven't opened it's electronics package yet. Not all units would have been equipped with all the same pointers or flags. I saw one listed on ebay recently that did not have a glide slope flag. Maybe that was the one you snagged? I dunno. The one you got could also be a different model... If it was the one I posted a short while ago, that's an ARU 51/A. It might simply have a different pinout than an ARU 11/A Controlling it without an electronics package could be interesting. It might be harder, might be easier. I dunno. I just always planned on using the amplifier unit on mine. You should have raw access to the servos and synchros inside it. not sure what control method is being used with the servos... they could be synchros themselves even. If they happen to be synchros, then it might be possible to drive them by feeding the rotor with a DC voltage, and feeding the three phases of the stator windings with varying amplitudes of DC values to rotate the effective magnetic field. My only concern is whether the windings can actually handle DC. Might overheat things, so probably better to modulate everything... Might be entirely different if the servos are entirely different than a synchro. If they are different, you'll have to experiment. Maybe I can take a look at the amplifier package again sometime, but work has me way busy, so it could be months.

Dropping a notice to anyone following this thread... There is a Three Axis ADI up right now for anyone interested in acquiring one. I am not planning to go for number three, so have at it! https://www.ebay.com/itm/354629327806

Oh boy... They're multiplying, much like the DAC circuits that will control them! After putting YEARS into this project, I wanted the comfort of a spare... Last thing I want is to find the efforts of over half a decade go to waste cause the thing I bought in 2015 turned out to be busted. I have no way of testing any of this until I finish my synchro emulators. Having two simply offers me a safety margin. Biggest problem, these days, is free time. That's the deadly triangle of time and money vs labor... I can either have plenty of time, but no money, or no money, but plenty of time. Truth is, I'm terrible with time management. Heh... I need to spend less time wasting time, and make more efficient use of it. Had a whole weekend free, but blew it. I need to pick tasks and commit to those tasks. I need to finish building my main computer, I need to replace the chair in my living room, I need to finish my workshop computer, and I need to get back to work on the instrument panel.

It's all shared above. Got these from a Case Tractor dealership. CNHI parts should be more or less available from any Case, New Holland, or International dealer. The switches are expensive, but not Honeywell expensive... One was just below $40 and the other was just under $60. Most of these dealerships can get parts from another if they dont have it. Alternatively, look for Concord Aerospace (they have an ebay presence) they produce NASA replica switches for cheaper than these. I just wanted to use a couple of them cause local source.

That all depends if KSP 2 is as mod friendly as KSP is... Assuming the developer of the KSPSerialIO mod makes a KSP 2 version, and the data packet format remains the same, then I see no reason it shouldn't... I'm less trusting of Take Two. They have an abominable track record with handling mods. I have zero reservations with sticking to KSP if KSP 2's mod scene is whack.

I bought the switches! Good Lord, these were terribly expensive, but I'll reserve the colored tab lever toggles for things like toggling my DC and AC busses on and off, for powering things like the meters and the FDAI. I've actually been in touch with Concord Aerospace for sourcing some NASA style replica switches for the rest of the panel. I just kinda wanted these cause they were from the Tractor & Implement dealer where I live... They also had a locking toggle... It looked JUST like a NASA one... And cost the same too! Three digit price tag! Yikes... I passed at that price.

And I got the job!!! Very excited to soon have a steady income again. The positive, is it should no longer be an issue to acquire parts. I do have less time available, sadly, but that's always the unfortunate trade off. On a positive note, I barely watch TV anymore, so there's less hours wasted on that! I also know for a fact (cause I've seen them in stock, with my own physical eyes), that a local farm implement dealer has two styles of tab lever type toggle switches, on hand, with either red or green plastic tab lever handles. I'll probably buy out their stock, and either paint them grey, or try to get the Concord switches and leave these colored for some special function. CNHI (Case New Holland Industrial) Is a manufacturer of agricultural machinery... tractors, harvesters, construction equipment, etc. If you see a red tractor or a blue tractor out in a field... good chance it's by this company. My dad was picking up parts and I tagged along that day. I sifted though all their switches in their parts drawers and found these. 1301521C1 is the red handled tab lever toggle switch, and 1301522C1 is the green handled tab lever toggle switch. These ARE still stupidly expensive, with one costing $30 a switch, and the other being $60. I don't know if it's an in production part, or NOS either, but it's a fallback if I fail to get the Concord switches in bulk. With real income back in play, I might even just inquire as to the cost of getting maybe 3 or 4 five switch gang panels, pre-made from them. I'm hoping any issues I had failing to get in touch just stemmed from lack of resources during lockdowns. Hopefully everything is going okay on their end now. Regardless, I at least have a fallback to rely on, if an expensive one...

I have a metal sheet with an alodine coating (not quite the same as anodizing). I was gonna just mill out the openings for my "DSKY" indicators and readouts, and use that... It's so much more basic than the route you're going. That's actually really nice work! You really ought to consider starting a dedicated thread for your own build! It almost makes me wanna try 3D printing some manner of bezel and then painting it. Honestly though, I'd still be more inclined to mill a chunk of aluminum if I went that route... It'd be little difference than milling the alodined steel plate I had planned on using anyway. Whatever I do though, It can't be excessively thick, as my board wasn't designed with a lot of supported depth in mind. One small update... I'm applying for a new job. If I get it, the pay raise will be substantial. If all goes well, and I get it, I might make another go at trying to get in touch with Concord Aerospace on their switches. Lost touch with them in the middle of the 2020 mess, hopefully that doesn't happen this time...

I should have done this YEARS ago... So, ten years ago, when I moved into my current apartment, I set up my workbench, and discovered it was WAY too low. Rather than take it apart to extend the legs, like I should have, I just took two different chairs, cobbled them together, and made a really low chair. It worked, for nearly 10 years... Thing is, the workbench was still way too low. I've always had issues with my back sitting at this thing. It was only 25 inches (63.5 cm) off the floor... The reason that this workbench was originally built to be so low, is It was originally used with a "proto-gamerchair" that I made in the late 1990s. Back when I was in college, I ended up scrapping a car, and saved the passenger seat out of it, and made a rather comfy computer chair from it. Had it for years, and I built my computer desk around that chair. I later also built this workbench around the same chair. After a decade or so, I removed the old seat, which had then worn out pretty badly, and replaced it with a newer car seat. When I moved to the apartment a decade ago, my computer desk and workbench were no longer adjacent in the same room... I could no longer just roll the chair between the two, and this required me to set up a different seating arrangement... It was not ideal... This year, I scrapped that car seat, and replaced the aging cushion of the replacement chair for the workbench. I've still not resolved the seating situation for my computer desk... Not that it exactly matters right now, with my computer still being dead... Thing is, I've not gotten much of anything done at my workbench lately, and I finally realized what the issue was... The new cushion... it was just enough added height, that the formerly borderline too low workbench was now harmfully too low! Every time I sat down to work, I'd be just in pain even 15 minutes in. Once I realized how bad this was, I knew what needed to be done... I jacked up my workbench, and installed leg extensions! The workbench now sits about 29 inches (73.6 cm) off the floor. It doesn't sound like much, but it really does make a huge difference! I borrowed a jack from a my father, and from a buddy of mine, and combined with my own car jack, I was able to lift the entire workbench, as it was, with all the equipment and tools left in place. I put the two smaller jacks on one side, and the larger one on the other side. With three jacks, I had three points of lift, and the workbench remained stable as could be throughout the entire process! It simply could not have gone smoother than it did, and I was so dumb for not just doing this years ago! My back already feels so much better! You can see the original height in this shot. I actually am tempted to try and get a new pair of car seats (probably find something from a junk yard someday)... Truth of the matter is, car seats are designed to be comfortable, even when sitting in them for long periods of time, and are made durable enough to last years. It's why I used my weird 1990s "gamerchair" for so long. I'm seeing a lot of comments that salvaged seats can be as little as $25-$100, and considering what commercial gamerchairs cost... and comparing the quality, this actually works well for me. I feel like if I find the right seat, I could really fine tune the overall ergonomics of this thing, and improve my comfort for long term build sessions. In addition to my workbench, I also have a desk in my workshop. This desk has been the universal "I'll deal with it later" space... And it has become terribly cluttered. Funny story... There was a box that sat on that desk since the first year I moved here... It was pushed back into the rear corner, and just sorta... took space. I finally cleared it out. Apparently it contained exactly one non local 1999-2000 phone book... That was it... I couldn't even be mad, cause it was so absurdly silly! One thing that has sat on the desk for years, pushed off to the side, was my Twentieth Anniversary Mac. It still boots up even! It's definitely in need of a recapping however, as the audio has developed a hum. Currently, it's configured with a PowerPC G3 CPU upgrade, 128 MB RAM, and the full TV/FM tuner/capture card. These old Macs had speakers supplied by BOSE, and sounded pretty decent. I mainly used to use this for playing music. I think it'd be fun restoring it... Dropping in an SSD and a network and USB card would make a world of difference. Networking can possibly be done with a USB network adapter, if I can't find the old Comm Slot II Ethernet card that this thing takes. I could also cannibalize the Comm Slot II card from another machine I have, if it comes down to it. More importantly, I am clearing off the desk because I want a large open space to actually work on large things, such as the cases for my two PC builds, vintage calculators or computers, and of course, the Kerbal Instrument panel itself. The workbench was built at a time when my primary work was making cable harnesses and soldering circuit boards. Hobby wise, I was 99% working on tiny robots and again... more circuit boards. As a result, I designed the workbench to hold electronic test equipment on a middle an upper shelf, and the main shelf has extra lighting, but also only has 7.25 inches (18.5 cm) of vertical clearance beyond the first 12 inches (30 cm) of bench depth (the bench has double that depth, but the second shelf severely limits the available vertical height beyond the first 12 inches of surface depth). This means that as I've shifted to wanting to work on larger things, I don't actually have a good space to do so on. The side wings of the workbench are open, but they are not that large either. Clearing this desk will make a world of difference for my ability to do large projects. This was the other project occupying my time... I wanted a high resolution ultrawide monitor that I could slide and tilt and rotate to either be right in front of my face or out of the way. When I need to have schematics, diagrams, blueprints, parts lists, etc. right in my face while I work, without blocking the actual workbench below, I can slide it right in front of me. Other times, I want to be able to slide the whole thing off to the side and out of my way, for when I maybe want to have youtube videos or some kind of background content going, while I focus on my work. The monitor is made from a pair of iPad Retina LCD modules, and a pair of HDMI to LCD converter boards. They are mounted behind a polycarbonate panel in a simple frame made from U-channel aluminum. The total resolution is 4096x1536 (two 2048x1536 panels), and requires dual HDMI signals to drive. The tablet is my only working PC right now, and it only has one HDMI out, which is why only one side is lit at the moment. The overall display width is about 16 inches (40.6 cm), and 6 inches (15.25 cm) tall. The bezel adds an inch to both dimensions, so the overall dimensions are 17 inches (43.2 cm) wide and 7 inches (17.75 cm) tall. These dimensions are very compatible with my workbench, and permit me to see the work area without interference. I did add a ventilation grill later on, because I noticed some heat being trapped by the enclosure. It wasn't extreme, but it's still good to vent it. I picked up a cable chain and installed a pair of long HDMI cables and a cable to carry power. I also picked up a 12v switching power supply, which will be set up on the bench to provide power to both LCD modules in the monitor, as well as LED lighting upgrades that I plan to install. The old florescent lighting causes visible banding on the rolling shutter of my phone's camera, and it makes taking pictures of my work kind of a pain. Since the LEDs will be DC, there should be no flicker and thus no more banding in photos. I haven't installed this yet. The slide rail and the tilt/pivot were made from a closet door slide and a GoPro bicycle handlebar mount. Pretty simple, but it works! I found a local-ish supplier for Teflon washers, and used a combination of fender washers and the Teflon washers to create the slides. The screws securing the slide rails are flush, except for the two on the end, which act as stops. Honestly, it works quite well! When I install the power supply and the cable chain, I'm gonna pull this all apart and hard wire the power across both controller boards. That will permit me to plug in only one power connector and have both LCD modules power up. I'd also like to make an aluminum port plate to cover the bottom. I may paint the frame as well. The overall construction is just layers of plastic cut out from an old Gamestop poster hanger. All the cuts were just done with an X-Acto knife and a metal ruler. I just layered the different layers together, and held it all together with screws. This part was fun to cut out. I wanted to enclose the boards and the button panels, but leave space for the ports and connections. The area with the buttons needed to be thinner, so I cut out the diffuser from an old LCD TV to close off those spaces and cover the circuit boards, while leaving the buttons accessible. I used a hole punch (the kind used to punch holes in paper) to make the button holes. Added benefit, is the LEDs on the button boards shine through the diffuser. Whatever works, right! I needed to raise the back panel by two layers to clear the tallest parts on the converter PC boards. This project turned out exceptionally well! Honestly, I'm hoping that with all the improvements to my workspace, I can get back to actually making progress. Cash is still critically low, but I hope to at least try to work with what I have on hand, at least for the time being. I still have made no attempt to repair the broken Radar Altimeter, aside from just ordering the replacement motor. I have not finished the Vertical Velocity Meter, nor started on the ΔV Carriage Meter either... I haven't even started on the DAC boards, considering my PC is currently dead. I have to get some stuff done for work first, but then I want to focus on finishing setting up the desk workspace. My first priority will be to get my main and my workshop PCs built. New chairs are also a high priority. After that, I hope to get back onto the Kerbal Instrument panel, now with the added benefit of SPACE to work with!

So... Regarding that power transformer for my apartment swallowed by the Earth. As mentioned last month, when it collapsed, it seems to have caused a massive power surge. In the month that's passed since, I'm finding out that not only was my computer damaged, but other things, such as lights too. Half the lights in my apartment have either failed, or are currently flickering like they're getting ready to fail. Man, that surge was DEVASTATING to my electronics... On a positive note, parts at work are finally showing up again, but only one of the two big customers (that I personally build things for) has orders out right now. The other has been kinda quiet lately... Man, I need these orders... It's just so bad right now! Needless to say... The Kerbal Instrument Panel project is stalled out, cause I just don't have cash right now...

I'm actually not a fan of traditional joysticks, in the sense of wrist operated control. I'm more of a fingertip control type. For me, the industrial joysticks will be far more comfortable to use for long play sessions, and more precise. I've recently considered that adding a gel pad to the bottom edge might also greatly enhance the comfort level. It's my one big "I don't need this to be 1:1 with NASA" contention. Regarding the computer dying... that's the main power transformer for my apartment. It was not hit by a truck... The foundation deteriorated from poor maintenance, and the ground literally swallowed up the transformer. When it collapsed, it cause a massive power surge. In the month that's passed since, I'm finding not only was my computer damaged, but other things, such as lights. Half the lights in my apartment have either failed, or are flickering and appear ready to fail. That surge was DEVASTATING to my electronics...

Still alive, dead broke. Just still incredibly frustrated at everything going on right now... Oh yeah, and my computer got fried when the above incident occurred. I now am still alive, dead broke, and without my main computer!?!? I just... I can't even right now. At this point, I don't even know what even even is. My brain just completely blanks when trying think how to move forward again... How does this even happen!? God, I hate being broke... I hate my computer and my projects breaking.

My only guess is time and deterioration... And maybe that downspout behind it caused erosion over time? Who knows. Now I need to find some kind of old obsolete Mac, so I can make the installer for the new computer... To make a new Hackintosh, you need a working Mac OS machine to create the installer. If I can find something like an old MacBook or iMac or an ancient Mac Mini, that'd be perfect. Of course... Being broke, thanks to parts shortages and shipping delays... and no work, I'm just up a creek with no paddle...

Well, you sure don't see that every day... Apartment lost half it's power... one of the two phases of the split phase feed went out. In the US, residential power is generally delivered as 240 volts with a center neutral. Higher power devices such as ovens, clothes dryers, etc. will get the full 240 volts. Common wall outlets and lighting are fed from one phase or the other phase, to neutral, providing 120 volts. The city was pretty quick to fix it. Problem is, when the power failed, it also killed my computer.

My ear looks like I just got it pierced... I didn't... It's just a very sore bump that appeared yesterday... Ow... Still dealing with low hours and parts shortages... I hate being this broke...

Just feeling incredibly frustrated lately... My replacement motor arrived for the damaged tape meter for my Kerbal Instrument Panel project. I haven't lifted a finger to work on it in ages. I've been busy with work, busy dealing with family tragedies, busy helping my mother prepare for a guest (I'm happy about the latter, but it still has taken time, and is tinged with the unfortunate reality of having only one visitor vs two)... I just feel spent lately, and I have nothing to show for my efforts, besides a really satisfying sewing room setup at my mother's place. I'm getting no where... Work is being held back due to the parts shortages, and the only work I still have doesn't pay me very well for my time. I feel like I've been busy as ever, but I have nothing to show for it, personally or income wise. Even when I do have time for the controller project, I'm stuck right now, cause I can't even afford parts to move forward with it. The things I can do, I just haven't had the energy for... Everything else has just been overwhelming, and it has severely impacted on my overall focus. I'm tired of being broke. I'm tired of being sick and tired all the time... Tired of my smoke machine and my car being the same machine. Tired of feeding that beast oil and gasoline. Tired of the economy and the atrocious news of the world and everything that having to look out the window or turn on the TV entails... Is it too much to just want things to go well for a change? At least the sewing room turned out really nice!

Heh... I think I'll pass on that... I did help a friend install a not quite so large massager chair motor onto a car seat pulled from a car I scrapped We mounted the seat to a frame, along with a racing wheel and pedals, and wired it into his PS1 controller, way back in the late 90s. So, despite parts shortages, shipping delays, and logistics nightmares, my replacement motor for the tape meter just arrived, against all odds... Unfortunately, I've simply been dealing with way too much to even have a chance to look at it... Work is tied up in a product that doesn't have the best return on my time, and we are suffering from parts shortages on better paying work. Unfortunately, this means I'm struggling to just pay bills, much less blow money on parts. Work on the controller has been at a stand still. There was a recent family loss, along with planning for a family visit, so I've been helping my mother out with things too. Rearranged and moved things around at her place to set up her sewing room in a different space, to free up a bedroom for her guest. Honestly, I'm very satisfied with the setup. She likes it, and even her cat likes the new changes. Amazing, right! I'm happy things are coming together elsewhere, but it is unrelated to the controller, unless I ask her to sew me an instrument panel cover! For me... Things have been slow, and they've been a struggle. If things don't pick up, I will definitely need to find a second job, just to get by. In the meanwhile, I'm sitting here frustrated that things are still not getting done. I'm still around, haven't gone anywhere. I'm just so tied up and so broke right now.