T.A.P.O.R. KSP SimPit Oddyssey

[Freshmeat]

[M]y original plan was just the altimeter and a couple of switches.

things kind of got out of hand.

May I quote you in my sig for that one?

[T.A.P.O.R.]

But of course!

[T.A.P.O.R.]

A little bit more work happened today.

My 20 seg led bar graphs arrived in the post as did my Mega Prototype shield which I intend to solder the simpit to.

The LCD and 7 segs are still in transit so I haven't yet cut the holes out of the display board for them.

This has delayed the undercoat as I want to make the panels appear to be seamless.

I'm very happy with the chassis though and managed to cobble it together out of hot glue and masonite (also filler where I might not have perfectly estimated my cuts).

Hot glue is surprisingly strong when bonded with the right material and in the right quantity.

EDIT: Cut Some holes & Tested some paint.

I originally bought silver paint, but it would have ended up looking like 1980's British Scifi.

The current colour is kind of 50% gray, which suits me just fine.

It will require a bit of gentle sanding between coats to give it a nice finish.

Still waiting for my remaining display components to turn up.

I'd have had it done this weekend if only those bits had arrived

Edited April 6, 2015 by T.A.P.O.R.
added some pics

[T.A.P.O.R.]

More bits have arrived (seven segs & LCD), still waiting on the clock modules.

I've found another kind of LED display that looks fancy but may be useless on my board (opinions please):

[stibbons]

Those displays are really made to have a potentiometer knob in the middle. I'm not sure they'd really work on their own.

[lawnmowerlatte]

Like stibbons said, they definitely look like they'd work best with a poteniometer or rotary encoder. Are you doing a throttle? It might be cool to surround the throttle knob with display of the current level. Alternately, if you can figure out a nice way to cover the hole, you could use them for fuel levels. The hole in the middle is actually larger than I thought, you should be able to use a Mini Pushbutton with about a 1mm gap on both sides.

Nothing really obvious is springing to mind, but they do look cool.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Those displays are really made to have a potentiometer knob in the middle. I'm not sure they'd really work on their own.

Like stibbons said, they definitely look like they'd work best with a poteniometer or rotary encoder. Are you doing a throttle? It might be cool to surround the throttle knob with display of the current level. Alternately, if you can figure out a nice way to cover the hole, you could use them for fuel levels. The hole in the middle is actually larger than I thought, you should be able to use a Mini Pushbutton with about a 1mm gap on both sides.

Nothing really obvious is springing to mind, but they do look cool.

Sparkfun have a similar product complete with driver board, but I'm sure they could be adapted with a bit of clever thinking (not mine probably) into some sort of compass for a rover.

I had thought about using a throttle, but decided to stay with the one on my flight stick instead (mostly because I know I'll mess up the panel when trying to cut a hole for a slide pot).

I've spent enough money on this project so far, so maybe these can be left off the shopping list for now.

If my clock modules turn up tomorrow I might be able to wire it all up on Sunday (dry paint pending).

[lawnmowerlatte]

Huh, I always thought the ones on Sparkfun were bigger, but they're about the same size. Since I don't have a flight stick, for throttle I'm going to try and make a handle and mount the potentiometer sideways.

I've spent enough money on this project so far, so maybe these can be left off the shopping list for now.

I feel you.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Huh, I always thought the ones on Sparkfun were bigger, but they're about the same size. Since I don't have a flight stick, for throttle I'm going to try and make a handle and mount the potentiometer sideways.

I feel you.

That's exactly how its done in my flight stick.

At one point I had toyed with the idea of integrating it into my build, but then I would not be able to work at my desk outside KSP.

[lawnmowerlatte]

Yeah, in retrospect that seems like a better proposition than using custom joysticks...

[stibbons]

At one point I had toyed with the idea of integrating it into my build, but then I would not be able to work at my desk outside KSP.

I... don't see any problems with this.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

In truth, neither do I, but that would require a more epic project.

one that would probably end up with me living in a flight suit in my garage.

[lawnmowerlatte]

In truth, neither do I, but that would require a more epic project.

one that would probably end up with me living in a flight suit in my garage.

I... don't see any problems with this.

I've discussed building a capsule on my roof.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

So... it has been a little wet here over the last few days and all my nice straight cuts have become curved and my displays don't fit (ie: the MDF has swollen a bit).

Oh well, it still looks fine and makes for a very tight fit.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Aww, my encoders arrived in the post.

Crushed to death!

Ok, they were cheap, but they're so broken I can't even pretend to salvage them

I've been pretty lucky over the years with international post, but this is still annoying.

[lawnmowerlatte]

Ah, that really stinks. Are you going to take a chance and reorder from the same place? The worst part about international shipping is the waiting.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Ah, that really stinks. Are you going to take a chance and reorder from the same place? The worst part about international shipping is the waiting.

I've emailed the seller, so I'm hoping they'll send a replacement (has happened before).

If not, then I'll just order from somewhere else.

I'm super patient with this sort of stuff.

Also, I just received more work.... the big book of Australian Business law.

I might be able to fix the one on the left, but we'll see.

[lawnmowerlatte]

Wow, you weren't kidding. Hope your seller comes through.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Managed to salvage one of them, seller has not responded.

I discovered that I'd cut the holes for the clock modules too close together, so it required a little bit of unsoldering and tweaking the boards to make things fit.

Some of the rectangle holes are a little off and standard filler didn't do the job of replacing the missing mass.

Plastibond was my next choice.

The stuff is strong and easy to work, but stiiiiiinks.

My workshop is a no go zone for the next couple of days.

Hopefully I get the panel painted and decals applied next weekend.

Work is super busy this month and I have assignments and exams coming up, so I'm not getting to tinker much at the moment.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Wow, you weren't kidding. Hope your seller comes through.

Getting a refund.

The seller didn't want to send a replacement.

Most odd.

[Sputnix]

Getting a refund.

The seller didn't want to send a replacement.

Most odd.

Great job -- keep up the good work. You've got another fan following

I was just about to comment (before reading this post) that I've had sellers re-send broken / damaged stuff without acknowledging the message.

Seems very odd they didn't send replacement.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Great job -- keep up the good work. You've got another fan following

I was just about to comment (before reading this post) that I've had sellers re-send broken / damaged stuff without acknowledging the message.

Seems very odd they didn't send replacement.

Hey Thanks!,

Another Melbourinan eh?

Welcome aboard!

I've stalled a bit because of cold weather and preparing for an exam.

The weather has caused issues with paint drying unevenly, which has resulted in several sand & re-coat.

Most annoying!

I'm almost ready to apply the decals, but its a slow and painstaking task rubbing on one letter at a time.

[Sputnix]

Thanks

I'll have to create a thread of my work in the next couple days

This is the worst time to do painting. I recall a couple years ago trying to do the same with a costume -- wound up drying it inside, with heaters going solidly for a couple hours to try and get the thing dried.

How are you applying decals? (or what are you using - I might have missed that post).

I recently got these transfer sheets from ebay [LINK] which I was alerted to by Mulbin in a post on the KSPSerialIO thread:

For the labels I make my own water-slide transfers using transfer paper (they work like the decals you get in a model kit). The type of transfer paper I use is designed for ceramics so is meant to be baked in an oven to help fix/melt it onto the surface... I've found that a hairdryer works really well as the metal surface of the board gets really hot, really quickly!

Good luck on the exam -- is it a science / engineering subject? Or is that just a part time hobby?

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Thanks

I'll have to create a thread of my work in the next couple days

This is the worst time to do painting. I recall a couple years ago trying to do the same with a costume -- wound up drying it inside, with heaters going solidly for a couple hours to try and get the thing dried.

How are you applying decals? (or what are you using - I might have missed that post).

I recently got these transfer sheets from ebay [LINK] which I was alerted to by Mulbin in a post on the KSPSerialIO thread:

Good luck on the exam -- is it a science / engineering subject? Or is that just a part time hobby?

For decals I'm using these rub-on wax letters.

They look nice if done well, but can be super ugly if done badly.

I've looked into the water slide decals from back in the days when I was making FX pedals, but couldn't get an affordable supply.

Now that I've seen the link in your post, I might go that route as I have access to a laser printer

As for exams, I'm afraid its nothing fancy like engineering.

To paraphrase Scalzi "I don't have the math"

No sir, its all about balancing financial ledgers.

Should be ok, its not like its rocket science

[T.A.P.O.R.]

So.. I went to order the decals, but the seller is on vacation.

Upon further inspection, you need to bake the decal once done!

Can't see the lady of the house being particularly hospitable to such an undertaking.