dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Sounds like you all had a fun day out. I'll be perfectly honest, some of the tech you mentioned leaves me totally lost! I haven't a clue what some of it meant! I came late to computers and had never even touched one until about 10 years ago. All these new programmes and other stuff leave me totally confused. If I can download it, or plug it into the disc drive i'm fine, but when it comes to adding programmes etc i'm lost. I have enough trouble adding a paint skin!. I can usually work out some things but there are times that the instructions leave me all at sea! Maybe i'm just getting too old for this sort of thing, I was and still am hopeless at anything to do with Maths or involving numbers, I think this is why I have problems with the computer at times. It took me ages to get used to FS2004, then everyone moved to FSX, I'm still learning what FSX does and now you guys are of all over the place with P3D, X Plane etc etc, My mind is boggling! Maybe I should get a dinosaur simulator because that's what I feel like at times! I just cannot keep up. Still so long as what I've got still works i'm fine. At least it keeps my mind active and so far tests have shown that I don't yet have alzheimers or dementia, (I got tested as my dad is showing all the signs and my nan went the same way quite early.) It's a fun hobby for me, but I don't think I could ever do the stuff you guys do. Link to post Share on other sites
adrians69 159 Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 I'm sure everyone on here will be happy to help you with any queries/problems you may have mate. The reason everyone has moved to FSX etc is because it's so much more modern with an active add-on development community. With the right software, you can make FSX look almost like real life with scenery, effects, weather and everything, especially if you take the plunge into Direct X 10. Some of the screenshots on here are testament to that. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
CaptCWGAllen 10 Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hi James - this is how I do it. Got the stands from Amazon. https://www.dropbox.com/s/jbqvcuihg68utft/photo%2025-07-2015%2011%2022%2030.jpg?dl=0 cheers Peter Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 That looks good Peter, but If I stuck that lot in my living room Marie would walk out! Also my pc is also used for normal everyday use so a permanently set up flight deck is just impractical. Link to post Share on other sites
dogtrack 346 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 At the end of the day Alan, so long as you are enjoying what you do/have...that's all that matters. Deep pockets and a Mansion House are not prerequisites. Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 @Alan > "...a permanently set up flight deck is just impractical." Sorry to hear that, my friend. Admittedly, it took me years to get the Domestic Controller's permission to permanently inhabit the large cupboard known as the 'boxroom', but it was time well spent — and she'd have to use dynamite to get my simming stuff out of there now! The other advantage is that when she starts watching one of those dratted hoop skirts oops sorry "historical drama" things on TV I can quietly creep away.... @James When it came to supporting my three primary monitors I went all low tech and bought a length of nine inch wide (sorry kids, I never got the hang of centimetres) wooden board from the local DIY store, sawed some bits off the end and screwed them back at right angles to form supports, cunningly (in a Baldrick sort of way) measured to accommodate various bits of kit underneath. The nine inch width gives me enough room to support the two outer monitors' bases when they are angled inwards, and also have room underneath for multiple USB connectors and other stuff that you don't often need to get at. You can see how sophisticated (not!) it is from this picture, but It works for me. As you can see, the backs of the monitors are almost (but not quite) touching the wall, to allow a little airflow behind them. (Since my simming pit (previously the boxroom) is too small from side to side to accommodate my bookshelves + the back of my chair + me + the desk when it was fitted with a yoke, I have to use a joystick, but hey — they tell me that airbus drivers do that all the time. The details in the text box are somewhat out of date, but they were good when the pic was taken). Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747 Link to post Share on other sites
bilirubin 50 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Nice Brian, That is a very impressive set up, I have only just been bitten by the simming bug but if the last 3 months are anything to go by our spare room is lined up for a make over Mike Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Hi, Mike! <grin> Stake your claim right away, would be my advice, and start moving your kit in there as soon as you can. My 'pit very nearly ended up as a "sewing room", and it took me an inordinately long time to reverse that decision.... (With apologies to Alan) — if you can possibly manage it, there really is no substitute for having somewhere with a permanent simming setup. I lost mine for over a year during my father's illness, and having to drag my kit out from under the bed and plug it all together, and then reverse the process at the end of the session, was seriously painful after having known the convenience of a fixed installation. In retrospect, the only mistake I made was in installing the bookshelves so that they covered the longest wall, thereby reducing the width still further and (as it turned out) preventing me from using a yoke. Although I have got an awful lot of books.... And in spite of some comments you may have heard, it's perfectly possible to vly a 747 with a joystick (and Airbus drivers fly those beasts using a joystick all the time, of course), so it's not a problem. Indeed, a friend of mind is a recently-retired 747 Training Captain who lives a few miles away, and in what he describes as his "man pit" (which is big enough to accommodate the entire downstairs of my house) he has built himself a very decent full cockpit with projectors and the works — and despite having loads of space he uses the same (very accurate) joystick as I do. However, the cockpit-building bug is an *extremely* expensive one to get bitten by, so that in my case there was never any serious danger. And anyway, there happens to be an especially good example of a home-built 747 cockpit not far away (I'm sworn to secrecy about precisely where), so I can occasionally be a guest at someone else's party. If you're interested, here's two videos of the aforementioned Captain demonstrating the preflight procedure for a 744 with RB-211 engines, using Gary's sim. Friendly warning — do not watch these if you were even toying with the idea of building a home cockpit! It's a seriously expensive bug, remember.... Incidentally, the software that is driving the 747-400 simulation is, of course, PSX (with FSX as simply a scenery generator which is slaved to the PSX aircraft position and feeds the projectors for the outside view) and one or two of the free add-ons that fellow-enthusiasts have written for PSX. See http://www.mutleyshangar.com/reviews/bc/psx/psx.htm for more information. But it's back into my box, for me.... Cheers, B. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 That's impressive Brian, Joe has seen my set up and compared to that it's tiny. I'm sort of wedged in behind the living room door and the back of the sofa with a bookcase behind me. Ideally I could do with someone who is sim savvy to come and help me get the whole thing optimized properly but Bognor seems to be in a black hole re the hobby. Even my PC engineer doesn't know how to set them up as he has no idea how and aircraft works! However I have so far managed ok and I am getting reasonable results. (currently removing pizza crumbs from the keyboard!). I may add one of those weather programmes you guys have at some point but it's not a priority. My living room is also being taken over with model aircraft as well so Marie is getting somewhat exasperated with my expanding hobbies! Oh yes forgot that I also run a Ship Simulater on the same computer as well! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 I can confirm Dodgy Alan has a tiny one The three monitor stand I used at the Cosford show last year was this one. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/monitors/monitoraccessories/lcd-036-1.html 1 Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 And here is what I did to get my 3 screen setup finished. I built a cabinet to house all three monitors and screwed it to the wall. Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 very impressive there Needles... Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Thanks Wayne. Everything you see there, I built from scratch. My panel was on display at Cosford last year, but unfortunately I won't be taking it this year. I want to visit the show as a punter rather than displaying, so that I get to look around the show. Link to post Share on other sites
CaptCWGAllen 10 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Of course for those short of space Occulus Rift may be a very good option in the future. It is now my preferred way of simming. Took up the default 737 today - it was fabulous and easy to set up VORs and use the autopilot knobs and switches. Not normally my thing but it was fantastic. cheers Peter Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Indeed Peter, OR is going to be the next step for I think. There may be a curved monitor setup meantime though, while the guys iron out any problems with OR. Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 You should see my tiny dual monitor FSX Sailboat Salonpit...whiners, Removing the wires from my headset was a huge space saver. I will try to get a shot of it after work. Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 My Micro-Pit. Port Side Sailboat Salon-cockpit inside a Hunter 33'. And yes...all/most of it would need packing up in order to go sailing. I haven't in quite a long while. The monitors can remain, and will tuck out of the way, or could even be used for a Nav Screen down the road as one can be turned around to be seen from the cockpit, and the mount is pretty beefy. I bet Quickmarch's set up is even smaller, I believe his boat leaves dock occasionally Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 Where there is a will, there's a way. Nice setup for a small area and that Hunter is a really nice looking boat. Link to post Share on other sites
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