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Post by fairwinds47 on May 6, 2016 20:55:48 GMT
Hello Mark and all,
I am in the planning stages of building my own simpit. My goal is a generic GA pit for single and two engine planes. My inventory includes: new I-7 PC, Saitek yoke, pedals, throttles, and trim wheel. A Roger Dodger mod keyboard, and some Goflight comm panels. I have FSX-SE, paid version of FSUIPC and Mark's e-book
I have pretty good DIY skills, so fashioning switch panels based on what I've learned from Mark and others seems to be within my capabilities and looks to be a lot fun. Having said all that, I am in the "analysis paralysis" stage where I can't decide which way to go for the HID devices. Do I pick Bodnar, DesktopAviator or go with Arduino and all that entails.
I have some electronics skills, but the idea of dealing with Linda, Lua or even Link2FS makes my head spin. Originally I was planning to go with Bodnar boards, as that is what Mark based his build on. Living here in the US, desktopaviator boards would probably be more cost effective. Arduino, however, seems to give more bang for the buck and limitless versatility.
So guys, for someone starting out, what would you advise? I am tilting toward the Arduino, but at first glance it seems I may have to learn Link2FS, or will it play with FSX/FSUIPC without any programming?
Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
R/Len
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Post by ScottB on May 7, 2016 14:36:31 GMT
Hi Len. I may be able to help a little if you decide to go with the Desktop Aviator stuff. The folks at D.A. were helpful and quickly rectified my single shipping issue. Their website is a bit chaotic IMO but there is a lot of helpful information on it for beginners... like me.
I use FSUIPC macros alongside each aircraft LVARS and there's tons of reference info available on the web, not to mention a great manual. I'm guessing Mark has just about every conceivable Lua script in his library now if you want to use LINDA/FSUIPC, which should work with most aircraft except maybe the A2A stuff. (I'm surprised he hasn't responded... he must be slacking!) Marks been very helpful.
Good luck with your decision and I completely get your "analysis paralysis".
Scott
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Post by MarkH on May 7, 2016 17:20:57 GMT
Sorry, I missed this one. Since I only have experience of the Bodnar boards I can't really give solid info. Did I not read somewhere that the Desktop Aviator boards require diodes or something to connect the switches? Maybe not a big deal but the Bodnars are truly plug and go. I currently use LINDA for everything and it's pretty solid, if a bit temperamental at times. Andrew just recently updated LINDA to handle adding and removing multiple controllers (Bodnar boards included) without screwing up all your programming.
What I am really looking forward to is for the guys at SimInnovations to add hardware support to Air Manager. It's on the cards, and judging by what they've done to date it will be done very well. It will also likely not use (and hence not require) FSUIPC. They have implemented reading Lvars in exactly the same way as reading FSX variables, and presumably they'll do writing Lvars in the same way. Air Manager also uses Lua, as it happens, so writing code for gauges (and hopefully controls in the future) is pretty much like doing it for LINDA.
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Post by ScottB on May 7, 2016 18:25:58 GMT
Did I not read somewhere that the Desktop Aviator boards require diodes or something to connect the switches? None of the D.A. boards I chose required diodes. Simple plug and play, like the Bodnar boards. Maybe they offer something new or different now.
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MattS
Almost Aviator
Posts: 27
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Post by MattS on May 7, 2016 19:46:29 GMT
I highly recommend the Leo Bodnar hardware. You will pay a bunch for shipping (FedEx), but I received my orders in 2 days here in the US. Actual transit time was 24 hours.
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Post by MarkH on May 7, 2016 19:53:01 GMT
None of the D.A. boards I chose required diodes. Simple plug and play, like the Bodnar boards. Maybe they offer something new or different now. Then I guess it isn't the DA board I'm thinking of
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Post by fairwinds47 on May 8, 2016 17:55:06 GMT
Thanks for the replies guys. I agree with you Scott that the DA site is a bit chaotic. As I am only remotely familiar with the Linda, LUA and LVAR terms, I guess it's time to revisit Mark's e-book and link to the Linda site for a little book learning.
For whatever reason, I find myself spending more time visiting the various flightsim websites, rather than getting to work on planning and building something. It is absolutely amazing what some folks have built.
Matt, you probably have the best advice for simplicity's sake. Mark, thanks for the tip about SimInnovations. I'll give them a look.
I'll put all this info into the spin cycle and see what comes out.
R/Len
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