Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: hblair on September 24, 2002, 02:39:24 PM
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No you perve.
Post pics of your cockpit!
Here's mine:
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My camera don't fit down my pants! :confused:
-SW
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Encore!
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ROFLMBO! hblair!
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Hey HB....will mspaint let you put text on a photo like that...it's all I have:)
I'll post Rude's Roost....great thread idea!
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ROTFLOL! Thats a classic Hblair :D
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That's what I used Rude. :)
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Have to turn them down when Bigmax and moose are flying
hey!
I resemble that comment!
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:rolleyes:
no comment.. (looks for parts to fix my sub woofer)
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dam i need a camera..
I have been looking for desk for 6 months now...
My comp sits on a 175 Snowbard supported by Milk crates
theres Very Large Darth Vader Poster above comp...
I use my lazy boy..Feet up..my rudder is on stik..Saitek Cyborg..
there are empty dishes w/ burnt pizza crusts and empty glasses all over...Just had a bad ant attak so i hagve to clean my leftover food now:(..lolol
Love BiGB
xoxoxo
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Mine
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Here's mine Saturday morning...........
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(http://web.prtc.net/~mjrr/desk.jpg)
Its kind of old. The CD-R spindle is almost empty, the CD drives on the computer are black, and there isnt such a mess of cables under the desk.
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No camera unfortunatly, so just picture this in your mind.
Take an antique office desk, early 1900s. The surface is a 5' x 3' slab of wood. Sitting on my desk right now are an un-used set of altec lansing speakers(too loud) a cdr spindle, a small pile of dvd's, an old geforce2, a dagger, and assorted snack food bags and wrappers. Along with a copy of shaw's book, and a mysql reference.
On the wall are three posters,
an a-26, a p38, and an f4u.
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You fly from your bathroom?
Originally posted by Animal
Its kind of old. The CD-R spindle is almost empty, the CD drives on the computer are black, and there isnt such a mess of cables under the desk.
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Here is mine, I've got one of them stupid wife lamps too.
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Originally posted by Monk
Here is mine, I've got one of them stupid wife lamps too.
Oops.
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nice desk ya got there animal
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Animal... Don't get me wrong... Yer computer area looks nifty and everything... But it's so, erhm, neat... It's almost sorta... gay?
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Are those the official "Flight Thongs" under animal's desk!
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No Nash, its the picture of the glowing black dildo thats gay!:eek:
;)
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Hum looks like you got yourself a hot setup there Animal. Pretty cool.
:)
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my cramped cockpit etc...
(http://www.nick-tucker.com/wlf-desk.jpg)
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hblair, that's a tempest mk II prototype, not a typhoon :D
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That's more like it Wlfgng!
o/t... those pods are great huh? We bought one just for demoing, but I'd wager 75% of the guitars we're ending up using came outta it.
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I'm at work but here is a something similar ..:D
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Animal, where did you get that Bender figurine?:cool:
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Nash, I love that POD. I download hundreds of amps and patches.. it's a great recording tool. I don't even fire up the amp much for recording anymore.
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My dear Nash you wouldnt believe how gay it looks now with dual monitors and more posters and images in the walls!
(since you are openly gay you use that word as a substitute for 'cool', right?)
SUPAH, at Suncoast Video.
Its very gay, comes with its own lil' beer can and cigar, and the little door in front opens to reveal the gears and guts that make it walk around. And its made out of tin not plastic.
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I too have a cheap keyboard for "fist slammin"
It's held up quite well. The legs are broke off, the spacebar sticks and wobbles, the keypad barely works and several of the buttons randomly fall off, but otherwise it's in tip-top shape :) Heck, it even resisted being broken in half (the fate of the previous keyboard) heh heh heh.
J_A_B <---destroyer of cheap computer hardware
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(http://www.103rd.com/adam/cockpit.jpg)
(http://www.103rd.com/adam/cockpit2.jpg)
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Nuttin' special
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gimme' that stick/throttle Mil
I'll let you have my twisty stick (never used) and my FF wheel (also never used).. oh.. and my GF too k ?
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hey animal,
whats that hidden under your desk? looks like a sfs stick or throttle. If it's either I would love to take it off your hands. Particularly if it has an 8 way hat on it!
Seriously I will pay for it.....
erg
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so anyone know where I can get a Stick and throttle stand like animals? I don't have the tools to build one.
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OK moose, spill out how long it took you to clean the place up before you took that picture :D
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lol funny stuff guys. JAB, time for a keyboard man. Nice setups mil & animal. Hey Moose, I bet I know where you got that background. :)
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Here is mine,
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My network....
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actually i had company over recently so it was mostly like that, though i did clear off about a dozen empty cans of various types and a chinese food take out box :)
for some reason the floor looks a lot whiter in that picture then it really is. i havent vacumed in about 6 months but jeez it looks like i did, doesnt it?
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lol
Wolfgang, is that a bachelor pad ya got there:D . Wheres the
bong?
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Originally posted by ergRTC
hey animal,
whats that hidden under your desk? looks like a sfs stick or throttle. If it's either I would love to take it off your hands. Particularly if it has an 8 way hat on it!
Seriously I will pay for it.....
erg
Its a Saitek stick wich I use to connect the gameport pedals wich cant be alone in windows XP.
The joystick is busted so it wouldnt be much use to you.
mosgood,
I bought it two years ago from the guys at http://www.fightersystems.com
I dont know if they are still in service, but it was money very well spent.
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not a bachelor pad (yet)...
it's my music/computer room.
GF usually makes me use the POD and skip the amp though...
I suppose the coke bottle/piggy bank could be used as a bong...it's plastic though.
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POD?
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POD is the red thing on the left side of my desk (hard to see, I'm amazed he saw it myself)
it's the most awesome amp-simulator/effects box I've ever played through.
I used it almost exclusively on the songs I recorded.
(http://www.nick-tucker.com/_pages/music.htm)
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(http://www3.telus.net/pongo/sept%20005.jpg)
man I love that paneling.
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My home built.
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I hear ya icemaw. :) I spent several hours this weekend makin me a cockpit thingy. I'll post photos of it prolly tonight.
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Originally posted by Wlfgng
POD is the red thing on the left side of my desk (hard to see, I'm amazed he saw it myself)
it's the most awesome amp-simulator/effects box I've ever played through.
I used it almost exclusively on the songs I recorded.
(http://www.nick-tucker.com/_pages/music.htm)
Heyas Wlf!
I've played through pods for years...I bought my son this little effects box(I'm old and can't remember it's name) that has more effects than the pod...is a drum machine and plays bass riffs as well...fully programmable and can be customized as well to save personal settings.
When I bought it, I thought it was just a little drum machine thingie that my 13 year old would enjoy...he soon discovered it's full potential.
I'll ask what it is and get back to ya...btw, it's the size of a pack of Winstons:)
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Originally posted by icemaw
My home built.
Man Ice...that thing is going to make one huge hole in the ground when the 13th TAS shoots your hiney down in the sqd duel:D
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Rude, I have effects boxes galore.. including rack mount stuff for live giggs.. but for direct recording this thing rocks IMO.
can switch between ampeg, marshall, fender, vox, matchless, etc..
You're not talking about a DOD thingie are ya ?
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Here's my telecommuting office/gameroom, fresh from a cleaning and reorganization that was about 6 months overdue. All that's missing are about 2 good avaition prints and some more airplane models (on shelves, not visable). In total, my home LAN has x4 nodes.
All systems are set up with a Saitek USB action pads (have a box in the garage with 10 more that I got at $5.00 ea) which is the “house controller” for FPS games. My wife also has a P3 500 with a GF1 DDR card in her office upstairs, which is networked for Web access and local Lan access. For LAN gaming, I have x4 UT; x2 Q3; x2 Midtown Madness; x2 Battlezone 1; x2 AH rigs; x3 Alien vs Predator 1; and will add as games enter the bargin bin.
In a L to R panorama (need a better digital camera :)).
My main game system, and the system that handles voice recognition and heavy typing, since it is egronomically acceptable. Athlon 1900 /GF3.
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This is the secondary gaming system (800 P3/GF2 gts). It has a full flight controls setup and my buddy Rutger often stops by and flys using this system.
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This is my “Work” machine. I just couldn’t get much done from my primary system alone, because there was no room to spread crap out. I check e-mail, use the organizer, scan, burn disks, interview and take written notes, etc. The table is too high to do comfortable typing though, at least in any quantity. It is a celeron 900 with a GF2 gts. You can also see the little blue Barbie purse my work gave me under the shelf/TV to the right. About all I was using it for was e-mail, and not even that anymore. Owning one gives you a new perspective on all those Mac commercials. I’m turning it in soon, since I can keep my PCs humming along just fine, thank you, by comparison.
Charon
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computer geek !!! :eek:
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Originally posted by Wlfgng
Rude, I have effects boxes galore.. including rack mount stuff for live giggs.. but for direct recording this thing rocks IMO.
can switch between ampeg, marshall, fender, vox, matchless, etc..
You're not talking about a DOD thingie are ya ?
Neg wlf...like I said, I'll need to check with my son...I'm at office and he's at school....I'll get it out of him tonight and post it...this thingie is really cool:)
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The basement suite goes for 700 canadian per month. 5 blocks from the university...3 blocks from the ocean...
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Where I fly from (note keyboard with evil keys removed - they used to crash computer in WB3).
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Secret Aux Station
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Pictures are worth a thousand words...so here
Notice the "Excerer Saucer" lower left :D...that' my co-pilot :D My 8 month old daughter Victoria. She likes to watch her Daddy ;)
Also notice the headphones....I'm in the living room with the tv, my wife and my daughter. Headphones are a requirement. :D Even with headphones my wife insists on talking and expects me to not only hear her but understand also :p
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Here's the wide angle view
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The closeup:
[1] Head popsicle in Charge
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And what the future brings:
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I see you have a fine testicle cooling device under the desk Puck.;)
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Originally posted by Curval
I see you have a fine testicle cooling device under the desk Puck.;)
Half the beauty of the Aeron is the flow-through cover.
The fan is there to help blow out the flames on my way to the ground. When I get the shell built for my cockpit I'll have actual air conditioning, so I can fall to the ground flaming in complete comfort.
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It's scary how close your setup looks like my old one Puck.
However being in need of money I sold all my old stuff and so now i'm just down to the bare bones gaming machine. It's fun having lots of monitors surround you though, isn't it?
oh, why a kt333 and not the kt400 which just came out? :-)
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Here ya go...
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ok someone was asking me for plans. Its just your basic auto design. A ladder frame with a floor board and body. Start with a 2x4 frame with a couple crossmembers. I put a couple extra where the seat bolts in. Then a plywood floor and body. I used 1/2" plywood 2 sides a top dash and armrests. Then on front end a plywood panel across the front 1/2 way up for strength. I crossbraced with 2x4 on top front and top of dash. 2x4 rails running length on floor just inset 1/2" to screw body to. Some caster wheels to move it around. I mounted a good style surge protector inside and all power runs tru it. Only one plug to the wall I used zip ties inside to run the cables. At the bottom of keyboard a 1X2 for it to sit on. I put a 1 1/2 hole in the top to run monitor cables and speaker cabels down into the body. The hood is a basic box I screwed 1x2s along the inside of hood then screwed the box together. Some brass hinges and brass check from home depot lets cover tilt back. Found some aluminium for the trim. The speaker post in the back are from some speaker stands I found. Just drilled some holes and ran them tru. The seat is from a Hummer you can use any old car seat of coarse. Just look at base before you buy it make sure it mounts on a flat floor. Screw it together dont use nails they will losen after time.
I used my old setup as a plan for the messurements. Distance from monitior how high from floor etc etc. I pretty much just winged it. I am not very good working in wood cars are my thing. But overall I am very happy with the outcome. Nice thing about the hummer seat is it moves up and down as well as front to back. Wish it had tilt tho looking back I might have made a diff choice on that. But since I had it laying around it got used. I used velcro on bottom of stick and throttle so they stay put. But still can be moved if needed.
I have the subwoffer monted inside of body. When you turn up the sound the whole thing vibrates. The pitch of the vibration changes with the sound of engine and wind. I can tell how fast im going just from the feel. You can also feel hits on your plane and cuncussion from ack and bombs. I didnt plan it that way just worked out like that.
Oh and one last thing be carfull on messuring the size of your doors. Due to some miscalulations on my part. Not taking into account for the width of the sides panels added to the width of the floor. I found much to my chagrin that I couldent get it into the house after I finished it. DOH! I had to take it back apart to get it inside. Ok so I aint so smart tthhpptt!!!:rolleyes: :eek: :D
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Originally posted by Puck
The closeup:
[1] Head popsicle in Charge
Well Having seen that I was compelled (after much scratching and biting) to forward the following picture of our true imperious leader
;)
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Originally posted by Puck
And what the future brings:
Hehe - under construction eh? :) This is what I have in the pipeline for a customer - lucky bastge!
Here ya go:
(This isn't a game machine, but he wanted something "a little upgradeable") Code for don't let the wife know.
IWILL P4R533-N (MaximumPC KickAss Rating)
2x Kingston 1066 RAMBUS 128MB (512 total) (Why fool around?)
Gainward Gold Sample GF4 TI4200 (its not for gaming after all)
Pentium4 2.53 GHZ (2.8 was $200 bucks more)
Antec SL400 Power supply
WD1200JB 8MB-CACHE 120 GB (THE fastest IDE HD on the planet)
Yamaha CRW F1 (Last CDRW worth buying)
Thermaltake Case based on the familaiar ANTEC SOHO
(http://65.119.30.151/productimage/11-133-001-10.JPG)
This leading edge top of the damn line cannot be improved upon setup with all the optical drives, bios flashes here and there etc. is only about $1,700 delivered. (You gotta put it together) A comparable system from anybody? Alot more ;) This is the MaximumPC "Dream Machine" they built for $7,000 scaled back to real life.
I still kick myself when I remember paying 3 grand for my KAYPRO 8.44 MHZ turbo green screen PC (w/o modem mind you) system :)
Of course there will be at least a one weekend burn in period - see ya up in testing :)
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Wlf........
It's a Korg ToneWorks box....has more features than the Pod...only downside I see, is if you're playin a gig, you cant mix this box independent of the main soundboard like you can with a pod.
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This is it Wlf...doesn't look like much, but very powerful.
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do you know if it has the same type of programmable chip as the POD.. I.E. the amp simulator part ?
In truth, that's what I like about the POD.. the fact that it simulates so many amps so accurately.. including volume and tone roll off, speaker cabinet sims, etc.
It's actually the first box I've ever played through that sounds like it should.
I'll look at Korg's website to find out..
I have a Korg wavestation synth that sounds pretty fat so maybe they've incorporated the same technology as the POD.
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Rgr wlf.....it sims the amps just like the pod....I have both, and find myself using the korg much more than the pod...same with my son.
Thought you might be interested...I do not believe they make the model we have any longer.
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Originally posted by Oedipus
Puck, is that brown tape or some type of a wrap for better gripping on your hotas?
It's actually quite heavy leather that was formed and fitted while I was on a long bomber climbout. Personally I like the way my hand fits the stick much better with it on, and I'm seriously debating doing something similar to the Cougar stick once I get it back from the machine shop.
When I get home this afternoon I'll take some pics of the controls if you'd like.
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Originally posted by moose
[Boh, why a kt333 and not the kt400 which just came out? :-) [/B]
Because the KT400 just came out, mostly. When I need new CPUs I'll get new MBs to put under them. I try to stay away from stuff that was released yesterday :)
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I threw this rig together over the weekend. My desk just wasn't comfortable and I had always wanted something more prctical so I picked up a lexus seat from my friend at the local salvage yard (didn't cost a dime :)) I made the frame out of some scrap wood we had laying around the shop. Base is 2X4 with 3/4" plywood. Console thingy I welded the frame up out of some extra angle steel we had, screwed some 1/2" plywood to it and then covered it all with some auto carpet I picked up at wal mart for $8 a roll (2 rolls). Bought some cheap altec lansing gaming speakers for about 30 bucks at office max and mounted the woofer in the console.
I got an old power supply I had laying around to power the seat and a future CD player. Mounted it to the side of the base, screwed the seat down, screwed my hofmann simpeds down, screwed my monitor down (did a lot of screwing). I made an arm to hold my joystick out of some 2 inch flat bar and a door hinge. It swings out of the way when I get up. It's working out pretty good. Gotta route the wires inside the base, etc.
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More...
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Joystick down, seat forward...
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ok.. make me one but with a place for my throttle :)
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OK.... now I've tidied it up (honestly! :D) here's mine.....
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Keyboard area....
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hblair
take a pix with you in it
the peds look like they'd be hard to reach
nice seat btw
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and underneath.....
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Nice setup HB. I never would have thought of using an old power supply to power a seat like that. I need to see if I can find something similar when I get moved into the house soon. Of course that will be the end of AH for a while but at least I will have something for flying IL-2. I just need to figure out a way to mount my Cougar throttle and stick in a fashionable way. :D
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Reschke> I'd recommend one of these:
(http://www.62ndfightingfalcons.asn.au/62ndff/projects/cockpit/pra1.jpg)
You can download the plans freely here (http://www.62ndfightingfalcons.asn.au/62ndff/projects/projects.htm)
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cramped at the cell when at the camp area :D
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Flossy... is that a functional MFD? Where'd ya get it?
AKDejaVu
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Originally posted by hblair
I threw this rig together over the weekend. My desk just wasn't comfortable and I had always wanted something more prctical so I picked up a lexus seat from my friend at the local salvage yard (didn't cost a dime :)) I made the frame out of some scrap wood we had laying around the shop. Base is 2X4 with 3/4" plywood. Console thingy I welded the frame up out of some extra angle steel we had, screwed some 1/2" plywood to it and then covered it all with some auto carpet I picked up at wal mart for $8 a roll (2 rolls). Bought some cheap altec lansing gaming speakers for about 30 bucks at office max and mounted the woofer in the console.
I got an old power supply I had laying around to power the seat and a future CD player. Mounted it to the side of the base, screwed the seat down, screwed my hofmann simpeds down, screwed my monitor down (did a lot of screwing). I made an arm to hold my joystick out of some 2 inch flat bar and a door hinge. It swings out of the way when I get up. It's working out pretty good. Gotta route the wires inside the base, etc.
to steal someone elses line....
three year old mode engaged...
I want
I want
I want
Wow....great rig
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u know after seeing all these i got 1 comment.....
we all know how smoke (cigs) and PC react.
some of my friends think im nutz to smoke around my PC... and rightfully so .. i burned out a motherboard cause smoke residue got in the memory slots and shorted the 5.5v power throughout the board :(
anyway i think it's kinda suprising how many of your rigs have an ashtray clearly visible.
you should all know better .. like i do now (but still smokes by PC) LOL
(edit: hblair... Hofmann Simpeds?!?!? never heard of them ... they old? they usb or analog? how much are they? they look way better than the hotas or CH)
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Originally posted by AKDejaVu
Flossy... is that a functional MFD? Where'd ya get it?
LOL, had to ask Zeb what an MFD was! :D Nope, it's just a QuickShot MasterPilot.... all the buttons work, but all that is in the central panel is a piece of paper! :)
I have it programmed to replace some of the keyboard commands, such as for jumping to different positions or setting different bomb salvos...
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Thanks for the response flossy. I noticed the tab right after I asked the question and guessed as much.
I still remember looking on in awe as Buzz Hoffman showed me a functioning MFD he was working on that would act as a second monitor (monochrome). It would work with games like Back to Bagdad that supported the function. Unfortunately, the 4" monitor was too expensive for it to be worthwhile. I've always hoped that someone would come out with an LCD version.
AKDejaVu
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Thanx fellas. I just went for the simple approach. An actual cockpit to me just aint practical. I need something thats comfortable, but it's no huge deal to get up when the kids act up.
JB73, IMO hofmann makes the best pedals, they're kind of expensive, but they're smoooth. :) And they're not so close together. The company's owner is dieter hofmann, a german guy. Small company with a great product. They're the only pedals that would work with the old MS gameport FF sticks.
Cage's world review...
http://www.cagesworld.com/reviews/simpedvario/index.shtml
Combatsim.com review...
http://www.combatsim.com/htm/dec98/pedal-hoff.htm
Here's Hofmann's page...
http://home.t-online.de/home/d-hofmann/homeeng.htm
Eagler, I'll try to do that. :)
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I gota say this is the most elaborate troll perpetrated on this comunity in quite a while.
HBlair posts his pathetic "before" picture of his game rig then lets everyone see what he built "this weekend"
sure you did HB. Nice one. You been working on that in your secret work shop for months.
Probably stole the lexus seat from someone that left thier car at your shop months ago...
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Ye Olde Cockpit. Back in the WW1 Sim days
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Da stick (if it lets me post this pic)
I used some pretty hefty leather for these. Made a pattern with some paper, which I then cut out of the leather stock. Soaked the leather blank for about 20 minutes, then did some trimming and tweaking to make it all fit the way I wanted. Re-soaked for about five minutes, then placed it on the stick. Wrapped with some lightweight garment leather, then held it tight with leather cord (which is what gives it the "wrapped" look). Once it fully dried I stuck it on with Goop, an adhesive closely resembling thick snot in a tube. Afte that set I repeatedly rubbed in mink oil to get the dark, antique look, and that also makes it nice and soft.
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lots of people have the HOTAS stick.....is that the official AH stick er somethin???:confused:
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Revvin I looked into building one of those a few months ago but decided against it since it would take up all the room in the computer/office area. Also my wife would pull out the shotgun and force me to move the monitor and other stuff out each time she wanted to use the computer. At least using hblair's idea and building something of my own I could get away with that alot easier I think.
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HOTAS rules but most of us don't have them..
they are a tad pricey
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Jesh Puck that's some nice work. Now don't all you Luftwaffle types hit him with the underwear orders all at one time :D :D
Avid
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Originally posted by JoeDirt
lots of people have the HOTAS stick.....is that the official AH stick er somethin???:confused:
.....shhhh!!, don't tell my wife.
;)
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If you need some help give me a yell. The leather I used is about 1/4" thick. Needless to say I shaved the back to taper it. It's much thinner on the sides and the top than the back on the stick. Thickest part is low on the right side, where the gap is when you grab the stick.
I had to send the thing into CH for some repair work after the con, and I REALLY noticed the difference when I got it back. The adhesive I use will let you peel the cover off without major damage.
I think the Cougar stick is going to get a cover once I get it back. I really like the way this one feels.
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punt
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Glad to see most flight simmers are as messy as I am...
Icemaw and hblair -- cool setups!
Turbot, what the hell happened to your cat?!? Is that a scar, or just one weird-assed ear?
Being the Luddite that I am, I don’t have a digital camera and resort to a 1940s era Leica for “family pics”. I’ve never like cameras anyway…
But, I do have a Webcam, for teleconferencing and such (when I’m not feeling Ludditish). Yeah, it’s a contradiction. I contain multitudes (thanks, Walt!).
Sooo… I made a quick vid of my attic office (I work from home) where I fly my sims, but it was 50mb. Ugh. It also showed me still in my dressing gown in the afternoon, so that’s no good (it's how I'm at my most prolific -- I once read something about it in Rousseau's Meditations and it's stuck with me ever since)…
Lacking any other recourse, I used the Webcam to take lousy still shots. They’re low-res, out of focus, poorly lit, and badly positioned. Let’s pretend that’s on purpose, and it’s “artsy.” To continue in that vein, I assembled them in a collage:
(http://members.rogers.com/phaetn/images/workdesk.jpg)
Here, for your edification, are the pieces to the puzzle...
[list=1]
- Small shelf full of boxed flights sims and other aircraft crap. Glancing over now, I count over twenty sims. Then there are various WWII aircraft vids, and a cool WWI “Aces of Aces” game that had illustrations where players picked moves from a list and matched page numbers to resolve combat. I should scan pages of that sometime to play it online. Oh yeah. Aces High has this new fangled technology called "moving pictures." Never mind…
- Artwork a buddy of mine game to me. Not sure of the process, but I think it was a silkscreening. Subject is a German WWII ace, but I forget whom. Can anyone remind me who he is? It’s from a famous photograph and I think he was a good bloke (did something heroic or took a stand against something). I use it to remind me that what we’re “playing” was actually real at some point.
- What I wish I were doing. Rallying in Europe in a Peugot 206. This isn’t a pic from the room. I just stuck it in as “artistic license.” See above.
- Now we’re getting into flight sim stuff. CH Products Pro Throttle USB. Has served me very well. Not like that Suncom SFS split throttle that had a mind of its own and had lights/modes that changed randomly in an effort to appear Christmas-like. All the flight controls are sitting atop a HOTASS stand, of wooden construction, that is the single best flight sim hardware I’ve ever owned. Clap on, clap off: moves flight sim gear with ease to keep desk less cluttered (with flight sim stuff, anyways)…
- Microsoft Force Feedback Pro (original). Okay, start making fun of me. Had enough? I actually prefer it to the CH Products Fighterstick USB that I have because (a) it has FF and (b) the hat switch fits my hand better. Microsoft actually once replaced it for me years back because an older one had a button go wrong. They did it on my say so without even asking for the original product back. Wow. For all the criticism they take for being an evil monopoly and shoddy developer, they sure knew how to conduct customer service on that occasion. The stick has a game port connection, so I sometimes hook it up to a spare set of Simped-Vario pedals I have.
- X-Keys programmable keyboard. Very cool, and easy to use. I use it as a “back up” if I can’t remember what all the damned things I’ve programmed into the stick or throttle are. It has keys with labels, you see. You push them. And it’s programmable. Hence I referred to is as the X-Keys programmable keyboard… never mind…
- My German Shepherd. Ears back because she doesn’t know what the hell to make of the thing I’m shoving in her face to take the shot. She’s probably thinking “Why the hell are you using a Webcam to take pictures?!?” Or something similar. She frequently outsmarts me. She's in this collage because she's often next to my throttle, trying to convince me that it's time to go out. When her ears are up as they are most of the time, she looks like a cross between a dog and one of Speilberg’s gremlins – not the cute fuzzy ones, either. The ones with the big assed ears (a little like Turbot's cat, I suppose). When she's running really fast, she puts her ears back to reduce drag, and pops them out as an airbrake when she's slowing down. I'm not kidding... People sometimes tell me that it's really more about her mood, effort, and body posture when running, but I'm not fooled. I play flight sims, so I know all about drag coefficients.
- CH Products Pro Pedals USB. Notice a theme here? Actually, they’re very cool as each pedal has an independent pivoting axes for braking, plus the standard sliding axis. It’s why I use them instead of the Simped-Varios. Aces High was an early adopter of the DirectX 6 stuff so had independent braking for left and right sides long before most other flight sims. Happily, the low res doesn’t show all the dog hair caught up in the birds nest that are wires under the desk. Hey, there’s a steering wheel! That’s where the hell it went!!!
- Lastly, a close up of vessels for people fuel, i.e. coffee and coca-cola, respectively. I need the caffeine jolt to keep me trembling and sweating to add a sense of realism to virtual flight.
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That’s it. Wish I could show and tell you more, but I don’t have the talent to. Still, I think this unquestionable work of art might sell for a pretty penny at MoMA in NYC. I'm feeling generous, so I'll let this select community have first crack at it. Bidding is starting at $150,000...
Cheers,
phaetn
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Originally posted by Puck
Da stick (if it lets me post this pic)
I used some pretty hefty leather for these. Made a pattern with some paper, which I then cut out of the leather stock. Soaked the leather blank for about 20 minutes, then did some trimming and tweaking to make it all fit the way I wanted. Re-soaked for about five minutes, then placed it on the stick. Wrapped with some lightweight garment leather, then held it tight with leather cord (which is what gives it the "wrapped" look). Once it fully dried I stuck it on with Goop, an adhesive closely resembling thick snot in a tube. Afte that set I repeatedly rubbed in mink oil to get the dark, antique look, and that also makes it nice and soft.
In his best Butthead voice, "Huhu, he rubs mink oil on his stick!"
eskimo