Kerbal Cockpit Simulator

[Kotagi]

I literally pulled 1 apart right after you wrote that and now I have 3 or 4 diffusion sheets and a small sheet of plexi. Not bad..Thanks again

[Antipaten]

Did likewise. Great building material. :-)

[DrunkenKerbalnaut]

On November 8, 2016 at 2:45 AM, Kotagi said:

[snip]

Glad to help.

 

Spoiler

Next time I'm at my brothers house I'll take a few pictures for you. A miniature arcade machine I made for him using a CRT monitor, an old mobo with a few emulators, a sheet of MDF, some USB game pads....

And I used old laptop screen diffusers for the marquee backlight! It was a bday present on a budget, so there's a few 'hacks' throughout. I think I came out of pocket like 30 bucks, the rest was excrements that I had in storage, for some reason or another.

 

Anyways, how's it coming along?

Edited November 10, 2016 by DrunkenKerbalnaut
Put digression in spoiler, sorry for hijack :)

[Kotagi]

1 hour ago, DrunkenKerbalnaut said:

Anyways, how's it coming along?

Its going well. Not much has been done to the actual simulator since the last pic. Im working on the side consoles right now. Really, I am stalling until I can get all the screens installed. Hopefully on cyber monday I can get what I need. The biggest problem Im running into right now, is that my t hotas joystick doesnt come apart so I need to actually build it into whatever I am mounting it to. After thinking about it for awhile, instead of mounting the joystick on the arm, I am going to do it like the OP, center and between the legs. Since the throttle is attached to the joystick, I am going to have to cut and extend the wire, since it isnt nearly long enough. I made a pretty sweet video of the testbox being used in flight, but it has the pi ip address in it so I didnt want to release it, and I just havent made another or edited it out yet. I found some HDF for free at home depot that someone cut and left. They were the perfect size for the side consoles. I also found a really cool old stereo reciever at a resale shop yesterday. I pulled it apart, got 3 potentiameters, 2 voltmeters, 11 cool switches, a counter, and a decent amount of old circuit boards I can pull stuff off of. Ive given up on glass panels for now. getting them laser etched is expensive, and the cost of me messing up is too big. Once I have all the panels made of wood, I will swap them out 1 by 1 as I can afford them. I also need to buy some expansion boards for the pi. There are pwm expansions that expand 16 pwm from 2 pins on the pi. That should drive all the meters. There is also a gpio extension that only does on/off that has over 100 in/out pins from just 2 pins on the pi. unfortunately it looks like the code is only in c. There is another that expands 16 in/out pins from 2 pins on the pi that also has a python library. I think I will go with that one. I am currently running out of room for new circuits, so I need to address that soon. So that basically sums it up..lol

[Kotagi]

[Kotagi]

So this is the receiver I got. It has some pretty awesome switches and buttons

[Lokachop]

this looks amazing  

[Castille7]

I've recently started following your awesome Kerbal Cockpit Project and have to ask, has there been any mention of a Sound System for this? I can not imagine sitting in the Cockpit (Co-Pilot Seat of Course)  and not feeling the Engines Power during a Launch! I am guessing about 2 or 4 sub woofers would be a good start 

[Sputnix]

1 hour ago, Castille7 said:

 I can not imagine sitting in the Cockpit (Co-Pilot Seat of Course)  and not feeling the Engines Power during a Launch! I am guessing about 2 or 4 sub woofers would be a good start 

I've also been thinking bout this for a while  If I was going down this route -- Subwoofers would be a must, but larger versions of things like these small vibrating motors would also work. Just pull some old motors out of *something* (clothes dryers and washing machines seem to be the easiest in my experience) and adapt an attachment similar to these smaller motors.

You could tie it into the arduino (via relays, or some other means) and link it to game data (ie. when launching, have intense rumbling; whilst cruising in space you'd have very slight). You could use different sizes too for different effects  

I've been trying to find (without much success) some information on an old (late 90's / early 2000's) gaming accessory. Basically, it's like those chair massages you could get for your car, but it would be in your chair while gaming, and would hook into the audio system, and provide 'vibratory' feedback to create a more immersive experience. They had a range of things - for the seat, a vest, and a few other things.

Found it! - Aura Interactor. Though, apparently there's a heap of other stuff on the market now. I'd still go with the idea I floated above  

Edit #2 - In the rabbit-hole of google, I've also found these 'bass shakers' (aka. tactile transducers) - which basically are what's in the Aura Interactor, and the more modern versions of the same (gaming chairs). Perhaps that's another option to consider  (You still need speakers around the cockpit though for the more immersive experience).

Edited November 12, 2016 by Sputnix

[Stoney3K]

OK, you've got 5 minutes to explain one crucial but important thing:

Why on Earth did you cannibalize a perfectly good quality tape deck?

[monstah]

52 minutes ago, Stoney3K said:

Why on Earth did you cannibalize a perfectly good quality tape deck?

Because KSP, man!

[Kotagi]

1 hour ago, Stoney3K said:

Why on Earth did you cannibalize a perfectly good quality tape deck?

I got it from a heap of junk at a resale shop. Its been sitting outside for more than a year. And its a tape deck/8-tack player..lol I dont have either anymore 

2 hours ago, Sputnix said:

3 hours ago, Castille7 said:

 

 

I definitelly agree that vibration is a must. This thing is so heavy I really didnt know how Im was going to achieve that. The wheels barely roll, they just drag the carpet. My original idea was to have an offset motor that can shake the whole sim. That wont work. Eventually something will break form vibrations and again its too heavy. I just looked at @Sputnix post and the bass shaker looks like it could solve the problem. Sound will be one of the last things I do.  I also need to find a place to put a keyboard. I never thought about it until yesterday but a keyboard is def necessary 

Edited November 12, 2016 by Kotagi

[Castille7]

57 minutes ago, monstah said:

Because KSP, man!

From the looks of things he got lots more use out of it for a Cockpit than you will ever get with an 8-Track Player these days! 

[Kotagi]

What do you think about the placement of the joystick and thottle?

If you think my placement is off, tell me what you would do different. In your response, also tell me where you would place a keyboard if you were building this. If you do decide to respond, thank you for your feedback. 

I am going to modify the actual housing to fit and look more visually pleasing so this is just a question of position

Edited November 12, 2016 by Kotagi

[Castille7]

13 minutes ago, Kotagi said:

 

What do you think about the placement of the joystick and thottle?

If you think my placement is off, tell me what you would do different. In your response, also tell me where you would place a keyboard if you were building this. If you do decide to respond, thank you for your feedback. 

I am going to modify the actual housing to fit and look more visually pleasing so this is just a question of position

Maybe place the Keyboard in the center of the two seat on the dash with a swing arm so that either seat could use it? Yes I know always easier said than done!  That's just an idea if I were building it.

Edited November 12, 2016 by Castille7

[Kotagi]

To give an idea of where the console will be

[Kotagi]

19 minutes ago, Castille7 said:

Maybe place the Keyboard in the center of the two seat on the dash with a swing arm so that either seat could use it? Yes I know always easier said than done!  That's just an idea if I were building it.

How would you swing the keyboard from the center council? Wouldnt it be backwards for 1 person. Or am I not  thinking about it right? I also thought about mounting it right below the joystick on a hinge so I can lift it up to get in and out(since it would be such a tight squeeze).

Something like this:

 

 

 

[Kotagi]

[monstah]

Hey, that's the same joystick I have!

I use it very seldom, but I put it slightly to the right, where a mouse would be, not right in front of me.

[Kotagi]

4 minutes ago, monstah said:

I put it slightly to the right, where a mouse would be, not right in front of me.

I would rather it be mounted in the armrest. Its a fairly small board and its components dont take up alot of space...but I cannot for the life of me get this thing into 2 pieces to remount in another enclosure. I took it apart the other day and was almost there. I disassembled the gyro internally to try to get the joystick out. I was almost there but I would have never been able to put it back together. It took me over an hour to get the gyro back together, and I was lucky to do that. I dont want to waste 80 whatever dollars it was trying to get the thing apart. I have barely used it. So in between the legs it goes. lol

[monstah]

34 minutes ago, Kotagi said:

I would rather it be mounted in the armrest. Its a fairly small board and its components dont take up alot of space...but I cannot for the life of me get this thing into 2 pieces to remount in another enclosure. I took it apart the other day and was almost there. I disassembled the gyro internally to try to get the joystick out. I was almost there but I would have never been able to put it back together. It took me over an hour to get the gyro back together, and I was lucky to do that. I dont want to waste 80 whatever dollars it was trying to get the thing apart. I have barely used it. So in between the legs it goes. lol

LOL yes! I bought mine used, and there was this guy that was selling one which had the cable between the flight stick and the thrust cut, and he spliced a big cable with parallel ports (!) in between so he could stretch the distance.

[Sputnix]

2 hours ago, Kotagi said:

What do you think about the placement of the joystick and thottle?

I think it's important to place these in a way that's comfortable to use (especially for extended periods); not that you normally have your hand on either for long periods, but comfort is important when doing long, calculated burns, or trying to land, and keeping the vessel in the right direction. So up to you, commander, as to how comfortable it is to you  I think that's ultimately the most important thing. I like the mounting of the joystick on the wood - just find a nice material to cover the wood at the end, and 'blend' the joystick into it.

2 hours ago, Kotagi said:

where you would place a keyboard if you were building this. If you do decide to respond, thank you for your feedback. 

I would personally be trying to keep things looking as space-craft like as possible. And in that amazing picture I see every time I visit this thread (posted by you in the first post) - there's no keyboard (...hint hint ). Logitech have made a couple nice keyboard + trackpad interfaces (mainly for multimedia PCs) - however, I would put a little pouch, attached to the side of the seat (and you might want to do this for both - need places for manuals, guidance reference, in-flight meals, etc) and you could stow the keyboard in their until needed; they usually have a power switch, so you can turn it off until needed (minimising any unwanted key-presses. Cats are helpful with those!).

They tend not to be too expensive ($AU 30 ~ 40 on special) - so you guys over the pond might be able to get it for an even greater price! 

That is also assuming you're ok with track-pads instead of mice, and also how much you may want to / actually use they keyboard. I'd almost be looking at developing a custom HID using Arduino + buttons, and just mapping keyboard keystrokes to the appropriate button, or something to that effect, and putting those onto the panel as well  

[Kotagi]

2 minutes ago, Sputnix said:

I think it's important to place these in a way that's comfortable to use (especially for extended periods); not that you normally have your hand on either for long periods, but comfort is important when doing long, calculated burns, or trying to land, and keeping the vessel in the right direction. So up to you, commander, as to how comfortable it is to you  I think that's ultimately the most important thing. I like the mounting of the joystick on the wood - just find a nice material to cover the wood at the end, and 'blend' the joystick into it.

I would personally be trying to keep things looking as space-craft like as possible. And in that amazing picture I see every time I visit this thread (posted by you in the first post) - there's no keyboard (...hint hint ). Logitech have made a couple nice keyboard + trackpad interfaces (mainly for multimedia PCs) - however, I would put a little pouch, attached to the side of the seat (and you might want to do this for both - need places for manuals, guidance reference, in-flight meals, etc) and you could stow the keyboard in their until needed; they usually have a power switch, so you can turn it off until needed (minimising any unwanted key-presses. Cats are helpful with those!).

They tend not to be too expensive ($AU 30 ~ 40 on special) - so you guys over the pond might be able to get it for an even greater price! 

That is also assuming you're ok with track-pads instead of mice, and also how much you may want to / actually use they keyboard. I'd almost be looking at developing a custom HID using Arduino + buttons, and just mapping keyboard keystrokes to the appropriate button, or something to that effect, and putting those onto the panel as well  

Im going to have to design ships in here too so a keyboard and mouse are a must. I thought about the arduinos+buttons idea but that is going to be expensive. Navigating kerbal with a trackpad isnt optimal from my experience. But I also agree that keeping it spacecraft looking is essential. I think I will leave it mounted to the joystick until I have a better solution. I feel like it can be better though

[Kotagi]

@Sputnix When i first started this project I had found button pads the were white and blank. They were made out of plastic and came with its own board. I cant find them now. They were like 5-10 bucks and would have been perfect. If i could find another button board like that I wouldnt mind putting every button on the console, like you had mentioned. Maybe I will come across them again

[Kotagi]

@richfiles what do you recommend for a cheap button array that can replace a keyboard.. 26 letters and a few punctuation. Maybe 8x4