| UPDATES
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| 01/21/08: Finally time for another update for the Pit. Still thinking about adding some switches and buttons to the pit but looking for an inexpensive DIY set up. Meanwhile I saw a couple of articles about cockpit building and making the CH Pro Pedals more realistic. The pedals are great but comfort and preciseness could be improved upon. This led me to the latest modification to my Pit, see photos pic 01/08 It's an easy mod, give it a try. | ||||||
| 06/25/07: It's been nearly a year since any updates, haven't had much time in the Pit. Finally made the modification which I've tried before with limited success, an enclosure. The idea of a full enclosure is one of my goals in adding to the realism of simming. You will see my other attempt in this website. It was an enclosure mounted on a sliding hinge arrangement it was pretty awkward at best as it kept coming off the rails when opening or closing unless it was done very carefully. this latest incarnation works much better, see photos pics 06/07. I haven't decided on a controls system, since the TouchBuddy CH has introduced a MFP (Multi Function Panel). There are also the GoFlight controls as well, all Plug and Play USB devices which are pretty expensive, I need another job! Until next time have a nice flight. | ||||||
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09/09/06:
Been a while since any updates for the V-Pit. Several
modifications have been made in the Pit time to catch up on what's been
going on. First I have gone back to the projection system as the monitor
clarity was not as clear. As I had stated before the monitor resolution and
pixel count was barely acceptable hence back to my beloved projection mode. The next modification came about because it felt like I never had enough room on the side pedestals for holding the keyboard or possibly adding some switches at a later date if I dared. I decided to widen the side panels and replace the instrument panel as shown in the pic 09_06. this was quite easy as only a few screws hold the panels down. Just cut new ones, fit, paint, install and you have it. I now have room for the keyboard and any future add-ons. Then came the upgrade of my computer which was fairly cheap as I stay on the trailing edge of technology when prices have fallen. I upgraded the case because I got a free gift certificate at a Best Buy and it fit the bill. The case is lighted and tricked out which doesn't make it any faster but I couldn't stop myself. It now has a AMD Barton XP3000+ processor as well as 512MB of Dual Channel Ram and a Biostar M7NCD Ultra NVIDIA nForce2 400FSB motherboard. This is still 32 bit technology and costs about $250.00 total to upgrade. This is still a very powerful system for the sims I run. I now also have two 40 Gig hard drives, one with XP and one with Windows 98 for a dual boot system, I refuse to give up my old sims. Now for some magic! I upgraded to a ATI Radeon 9700 Pro from my old VooDoo 5 5500 card. The 9700 Pro is great for the older as well as modern sims such as Lock On, CFS3 add-ons etc. However I still had a few games that require VooDoo 3D FX graphics to run. I had an old Canopus 1 Pure 3D VooDoo 1 card that was originally designed as a secondary display card when you needed 3D FX graphics. I popped it in the system, installed the drivers for 98 and XP and like magic whenever a game comes up that needs the 3D FX drivers the card activates and runs beautifully with no problems. Finally, what happened to the P8000 (PC Dash 2) ? I was going to mount the P8000 on the instrument panel but something on the web caught my eye. That something is a unit called the Touch Buddy. It's a program developed by Zorlac that uses a LCD touchscreen to do pretty much what the PC Dash does. The guys on the site have developed this all for free. You have the capability to program the screen and design buttons however you want. I've waited for something like this a long time and I'm completely amazed at what these guys have done. The site is http://www.touch-buddy.com/forums/index.php pop over and check this amazing stuff out, this is a Biggy!! Eventually I'll be incorporating one of these into the Pit. Oh, the P8000 went back to ebay for some other enthusiast to enjoy, just doing my part. |
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| 03/01/05: Decided to revamp the cockpit with a large monitor I borrowed for test purposes. Built a sliding canopy to go with the monitor which works pretty well. Added another page of pictures Pics 03/05 which cover this transformation from projection screen to big screen monitor. Lost a bit of size and clarity in giving up the projected screen but gained ease of use with the monitor. Putting a sliding canopy on the cockpit was pretty straight forward, easy and cheap enough for anyone to try with any size monitor. Really adds to the isolation from outside world when in the cockpit. Next installment, what to do with the lighted keyboard and P8000! | ||||||
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08/06/04: Been a while since any updates to the Pit but had to redo the foam padding in the seat as it was uncomfortable after an hour or so. I also made some modifications to the speaker system that's a little more sturdy and looks a lot cooler, at least I think so. See the results on the Pic 08/04 page. |
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| 01/07/04: Site has been moved and has a new URL, updated and fixed several internal and external links. Some photos that had gotten lost have been added back to site. | ||||||
| 04/26/02: Replaced the Saitek X-36 with the CH Combat Stick 568, the Pro Throttle and the Pro Pedals. Check out the photos and details on the Pics 04/02 | ||||||
| 03/15/02: Updated website navigation once again. I also upgraded my system from a Celoron 500, to a Duron 1.2 Ghz. I changed out the CPU, motherboard and hard drive (40 Gigs now). I also went to the Voodoo 5 5500, like it a lot mainly for the anti aliasing that works with the older sims. | ||||||
01/24/02: Updated minor navigation errors on website. |
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01/15/02: It's time to catch up on some of the updates and changes I've made over the last few months:
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| 10/17/01: Replaced old yoke with CH Flight Yoke USB, excellent yoke for civilian sims. For details see Pics 09/01 | ||||||
| 9/01/01: Started building my cockpit in May of 2001 it was going to be a two week project. As of September 2001 it is officially semi-finished. There are still on going modifications but it is useable. | ||||||
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Home Construction Pics 09/01 Pics 01/02 Pics 04/02 Pics 08/04 Pics 03/05 Pics 09/06 Pics 06/07 Pics 01/08 Updates Tips Links
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