Kerbal Cockpit Simulator

[Kotagi]

So the next step is to fill sand and paint the panels. Its sad that I had to disassemble that right after I finished it. The wood look really throws everything off. I cant wait to get rid of that and have it painted. 

Here are most of the electronics I have gathered so far

[Kotagi]

Crazy how a little paint can change everything

[The Raging Sandwich]

28 minutes ago, Kotagi said:

Crazy how a little paint can change everything

Oh wow! 

[richfiles]

So very much jealous of you and your space... for spaaaaaace! 
This is way beyond cool!  
not duplicating the epic awesome pics, to keep this thread clean

I have had a crazy thought though, and it's all your fault! I envision a rebuild of my desk on wheels arranged in a "C" shape that would let it rotate 90°. Rotate one way fro relaxing and watching TV, and rotate the other way to clear out several feet of open space... Good for VR, guests, etc... Adopting the idea of a large center screen (doubles as a TV) and a cockpit layout would be a very fitting layout for such a "convertible" entertainment space.

Who knows... Maybe someday! Right now, It's only an idea, and nothing more. My current desk is big, boxy, and not very well mannered in the mobility department. 

[Kotagi]

I was thinking about using that red emergency stop switch as either the launch button or an engine cutoff. I haven't decided if I want staging to be switches or buttons. I need to look around and see what others have done. Painting is taking forever...

[The Raging Sandwich]

27 minutes ago, Kotagi said:

I was thinking about using that red emergency stop switch as either the launch button or an engine cutoff. I haven't decided if I want staging to be switches or buttons. I need to look around and see what others have done. Painting is taking forever...

I'd use switches, but that's just me.

[Kotagi]

40 minutes ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

I'd use switches, but that's just me.

Ya I think you are right

[stibbons]

1 hour ago, Kotagi said:

I haven't decided if I want staging to be switches or buttons. I need to look around and see what others have done.

I still say you haven't really played KSP until you've launched a rocket by pounding a big red button.

 

 

[Kotagi]

1 hour ago, stibbons said:

I still say you haven't really played KSP until you've launched a rocket by pounding a big red button.

That is awesome. I love the wall-e key chain. Did you build this? If so how did you get the letters to glow? I assume that is painted plexi? Thanks for sharing you just set the standard for me. What is the material outside of the panels?

Edited October 11, 2016 by Kotagi

[stibbons]

Glad you like it.  The short version is that yes, they're translucent plexiglass that I paint, then cut and etch in a laser cutter. They're mounted in a painted wooden enclosure and right now I backlight with a standard flouro light. The long version is in this thread:

 

[richfiles]

10 hours ago, Kotagi said:

I was thinking about using that red emergency stop switch as either the launch button or an engine cutoff. I haven't decided if I want staging to be switches or buttons. I need to look around and see what others have done. Painting is taking forever...

My Big Red Button™ and Big Green Button™ light up, click, and are totally awesome! 

If interested in this style they are similar to arcade machine buttons. The one Stibbons uses is an e-stop type button (Emergency Stop), commonly used in industrial settings. Be aware that some e-stop switches are locking (you must twist them to release them. These are not very suitable for abort or staging buttons. You need to find a proper "momentary" style e-stop switch.

**EDIT**
Oh wow... I just realized I did not have the Futura font on my system when I created these button's nomenclature inserts... That's an absolute necessity for my build (Futura is the primary font NASA used in the Apollo program and the shuttle program's instrument panels). I'm gonna need to re-print these inserts using Futura. 

Edited October 11, 2016 by richfiles

[Kotagi]

1 hour ago, richfiles said:

Oh wow... I just realized is did not have the Futura font on my system when I created these button's nomenclature inserts... That's a necessity for my build (Futura is the primary font NASA used in the Apollo program and the shuttle program's instrument panels).

I didnt know that but that is good info

[richfiles]

Spoiler

This is my instrument panel (a work in progress, spoilered so it's not distracting from your build). You can see the Futura font in use in the second and sixth meters from the left. They only have paper test templates installed right now, but I'll be printing final scales on plastic (Nekoosa synthetic "paper"... It's a plastic sheet that looks like paper, but has good translucency and toner bonding). I still need to mod the other 5 meters for backlighting yet... Ehh... I need to get the dremel out... I actually hope to cut openings for the instruments in the aluminum plate that mounts to this chassis this weekend... That is, if I don't sleep through half the weekend. It's hard not to sometimes, especially after a long week at work! 

Edited October 11, 2016 by richfiles

[Kerbart]

Are you sure it's Futura, and not Impact? Futura tends to be much rounder.

[richfiles]

Spoiler

What I got was certainly labeled Futura from the font site I got it from. I noticed the numbers are a little slimmer than the text. The alpha text is very "roundish". The image above is my template file for the two meters shown. I might have been using a condensed setting for the numbers, due to my meters being narrower than stock Apollo edgewise meters. They do look a little thinner than stock Apollo numbers.

Edited October 11, 2016 by richfiles

[Kotagi]

20 hours ago, richfiles said:

What I got was certainly labeled Futura from the font site I got it from. I noticed the numbers are a little slimmer than the text. The alpha text is very "roundish". The image above is my template file for the two meters shown. I might have been using a condensed setting for the numbers, due to my meters being narrower than stock Apollo edgewise meters. They do look a little thinner than stock Apollo numbers.

How hard was it to make those meters? And to get them to work?

I finished the main panels. Still have some small pieces to do. Also put the carpet down but havent mounted the seats yet. Im going to build a center console but it will be a bit shorter than the one on the OP because I need to be able to get into the seat and I havent figured out how they do that..lol. They probably just climb over but who knows.. 

I had an idea for when this is done(which could be awhile). Maybe a few of you would be interested. I am planning on getting a space suit(or make one) and a helmet. I'm going to mount a camera in the helmet and in a few angles in the sim. I want to do a streaming show where people can take part in the mission, even see through my eyes like they would IVA. Anyone with any type of rig would be welcome to join. If yours isnt closed in, maybe you can be Houston. There is a mod that allows you to recruit twitch viewers as tourists, having rep be based on viewers, have real cash incentives to unlock parts or do missions, have viewers be able to use their craft in our mission. Also having group think to plan missions would be awesome, since everyone has learned their own tricks and has different levels of understanding in this game. Its just an idea right now but tell me what you think 

Edited October 12, 2016 by Kotagi

[The Raging Sandwich]

1 minute ago, Kotagi said:

How hard was it to make those meters? And to get them to work?

 

I finished the main panels. Still have some small pieces to do. Also put the carpet down but havent mounted the seats yet. Im going to build a center council but it will be a bit shorter than the one on the OP because I need to be able to get into the seat and I havent figured out how they do that..lol. They probably just climb over but who knows.. 

I had an idea for when this is done(which could be awhile). Maybe a few of you would be interested. I am planning on getting a space suit(or make one) and a helmet. I'm going to mount a camera in the helmet and in a few angles in the sim. I want to do a streaming show where people can take part in the mission, even see through my eyes like they would IVA. Anyone with any type of rig would be welcome to join. If yours isnt closed in, maybe you can be Houston. There is a mod that allows you to recruit twitch viewers as tourists, having rep be based on viewers, have real cash incentives to unlock parts or do missions, have viewers be able to use their craft in our mission. Also having group think to plan missions would be awesome, since everyone has learned their own tricks and has different levels of understanding in this game. Its just an idea right now but tell me what you think 

ME LIKEY ME LIKEY ME LIKEY ME LIKEY ME LIKEY

[Kotagi]

Need to put alot more screws in

Edited October 12, 2016 by Kotagi

[richfiles]

1 hour ago, Kotagi said:

How hard was it to make those meters? And to get them to work?

Not that hard. Depends on what type of meter you get. Ideally, you want to find a 0-5 volt meter... and then theoretically, you can just drive it with the PWM out of an Arduino. If you go with eBay meters, this is super easy. Buy meter, wire it up, write code. For me it was a little more complex, since I'm going with an Apollo style meter.  Realistically, finding the meters you want can be an exercise in balancing price vs what you can find. I ended up getting GREAT prices, but I have to build some hardware to drive them, cause the Arduino can't directly drive them. Three of my meters are 0-10 volt dual meters. To drive them, I'll need a PWM signal to drive a transistor, which will in turn drive the meter with a larger voltage. Simple. Four of my meters are single meters, and they were beyond stupid cheap... $11 for a pair (paid $22 for two pair)... That is around 1/16 the normal cost... but they are 4-20mA current loop meters, preferred for industrial settings. They require a particular driver. To drive these, I needed to build four 0-5 volt to 4-20mA current loop conversion drivers. It's all electronics, so not really hard.

As for looking for meters, the meters I used tend to average about $80 on eBay, but they sometimes pop up for lower prices. The single meters I am using are are GE/Yokogawa 180 analog edgewise meters. The dual meters that I'm using are International Instruments 1251 dual analog edgewise meters. I got them for a decently low price of about $20 each, mainly cause the seller was literally new at ebay. Both style meters are 6 inches tall. Dual meters seem to be far less common, but they pop up.

If you want a smaller meter, the GE/Yokogawa 185 Edgewise panel meters are a great choice. The 185 is also good if you are on a budget. They are smaller, but still bigger than most cheap chinese made edgewise meters. These measure about 3 inches tall. I see them on ebay all the time, and last time I looked, I saw them routinely appear for around $10 to $25. Just be patient and wait for the right ones to pop up for sale.

As for custom scales, you can disassemble the meters and print new scales and replace the existing scales with them. You might need to use a dab of glue or something to secure the ends, as the stock scales are metal. There ARE meters with integral backlighting, but I've not seen ANY in these styles for sale. Most meters of this style are used in power plants. My dual edgewise meters... Came from a power plant simulator... I kid you not! I guess they prefer to train prospective employees in a power plant that won't REALLY take out power on the east coast if they screw up! 

If you get meters with a 0-10 or 0-100 scale, and you like the style, there's no reason not to leave it, unless you REALLY want a custom scale. If you must have custom scales (like me ), then be careful when you disassemble the meters. The long bar that attaches the mechanism to the pointer is VERY brittle on some meters. My dual meters use what can only be described as a hollow tube of metal, not much thicker than foil. I got one broken, and am struggling to repair it. I used a resistor lead inserted into the tube's center to joint the broken halves, and I carefully soldered mass to the tail of the mechanism to counterbalance the added weight of an inch of resistor lead wire! Don't break them!  Your best bet is to CAREFULLY remove the mechanism before working on scale replacement. You could carefully feed paper scales under the pointer, as long as you're careful though... Just watch the pointers!

My meters are modded (some of them... I need to finish) for backlighting. I had to cut out portions of the internal structure with a Dremel and replace it with a formed polycarbonate piece that I can bolt in (that also secures the new scale). If you skim through the Simpit Repository thread, you'll find details of what I did to my meters on page 15 there:

**EDIT**
Sees your new post... Awesome! "You are only allowed to give 25 likes per day"
-{NOOOOOOO!!! )

Edited October 12, 2016 by richfiles

[The Raging Sandwich]

5 minutes ago, richfiles said:

Sees your new post... Awesome! "You are only allowed to give 25 likes per day"
-{NOOOOOOO!!! )

My thoughts daily! 

[Freshmeat]

7 hours ago, Kotagi said:

I had an idea for when this is done(which could be awhile). Maybe a few of you would be interested. I am planning on getting a space suit(or make one) and a helmet. I'm going to mount a camera in the helmet and in a few angles in the sim. I want to do a streaming show where people can take part in the mission, even see through my eyes like they would IVA. Anyone with any type of rig would be welcome to join. If yours isnt closed in, maybe you can be Houston. There is a mod that allows you to recruit twitch viewers as tourists, having rep be based on viewers, have real cash incentives to unlock parts or do missions, have viewers be able to use their craft in our mission. Also having group think to plan missions would be awesome, since everyone has learned their own tricks and has different levels of understanding in this game. Its just an idea right now but tell me what you think 

There was a group of people who did collective launches using the telemachus plugin. It sends every conceivable telemetry over a web browser, so you could have a separate mission control. I cannot seem to locate the thread, though.

And I think your capsule is showing impressive progress.

[stibbons]

8 minutes ago, Freshmeat said:

There was a group of people who did collective launches using the telemachus plugin. It sends every conceivable telemetry over a web browser, so you could have a separate mission control. I cannot seem to locate the thread, though.

There's two around here that I know of:

And undoubtedly there's lots of smaller endeavours doing this all the time. 

[Kotagi]

15 minutes ago, Freshmeat said:

There was a group of people who did collective launches using the telemachus plugin. It sends every conceivable telemetry over a web browser, so you could have a separate mission control. I cannot seem to locate the thread, though.

And I think your capsule is showing impressive progress.

I am using telemachus for this build. Thats what gave me the idea, and I thought letting people control me like a kerbal would be a new take on it. Thank you the compliment. I will definitely have to check out the other groups already doing this.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Kotagi

[richfiles]

Oh yeah. you were asking about HOW I controlled the meters too. Forgot to mention. I'll be using KSP Serial IO to communicate to an Arduino. Kinda important to include that detail. 

[BlackHat]

8 hours ago, Kotagi said:

 Im going to build a center console but it will be a bit shorter than the one on the OP because I need to be able to get into the seat and I havent figured out how they do that..lol. They probably just climb over but who knows.. 

First of all your insane!!! Your actually building this thing!!!

Second, Where do you live... I definitely want to test it out when your finished.   (just joking)

As far as I know ALL the astronauts seats were mounted lying down when they boarded their spacecrafts. (ie when they were strapped in, they were laying on their backs as opposed to sitting upright prior to launch. So they could withstand the G-Force of take off without risking blacking out.

Best advice for your seats, make the seats mounted on Slider racks, so you can slide them back 1-2 feet, sit down, then rack them forward into position. [Looking at the photo probably stand behind the co-pilot seat, slide pilot seat back, get in from the inside and then slide forward]

Edited October 12, 2016 by BlackHat