Just wanted to share some photos of my new SimPit. I built this mainly to play WWII prop sims such as IL-2, BOBII, and the upcoming BOB - Storm of War. My design criteria was to build it light, modular, and to keep the cost reasonable. The frame was built using 1.875" ABS pipe and PVC fittings. The rear half of the frame is removable from the front half to make it easier to move and store. I used the following components: Saitek Pro Pedals, Saitek Aviator joystick (heavily modified!), CH Products Pro Throttle, BU0836 controller (for custom panel), and Creative Labs 5.1 surround sound system. All the flight controls and input devices are USB and connect to a 7-port hub. This reduces the number of USB cables connecting to the PC to one and keeps everything nice and neat! Anyway, here are the photos:

Thats cool Jiver67 but where did you get that seat from?

That is really impressive. The thing that really struck me was how clean everything looked. Then I saw the pic of the piping and how it goes around the keyboard and I was blown away. Like your switch bank a lot too.

Thanks Donk, I appreciate it! The seat is from Jazz Products (http://www.jazproducts.com/poly_bucket_seats.html) and it is their Pro Stock model. I actually picked it up at a local speed shop. It is comfortable for about a maximum of two hours and then your back starts to get sore....LOL!

Thanks Corsair! Yes, I spent a great deal of time cutting and splicing USB cables, making custom connectors, and running conduit to keep everything neat. It was a big pain in the backside but worth the effort I guess.

That looks great, Jiver. Modular and storable, with very very neat connections, conduit, cording, etc. You must have been able to cut the piping to just the right size for the monitor height, etc? That ABS-style frame might be something I'd want to build myself. How sturdy is it? Is it good for any particular weight? That sure makes me want to replace my flimsy Ikea desk

Thanks Lava! Yes, I initially did a mock-up of the frame by slip fitting the ABS together (without adhesive) using long pieces of pipe. I then took measurements and cut the pipe down to the desired lengths. It was a bit tricky getting the measurements right since you have to take into account the internal length of the PVC fittings as well as the pipe length, but it is definitely doable. The frame is very sturdy. I weigh 195 pounds and there is absolutely no sagging, creaking or bending when I am seated in the chair. I am able to stand upright on both the seat and the monitor table without any problems. Not sure how much weight it will support, but would guess it could easily handle someone weighing 250 pounds.

Can you elaborate or show some more info on the joystick mods? Where did that lower switch panel come from and what is it wired to?

Do you get any slop with the joystick extension? Slop meaning that you have to wag the thing all over the place to make a small adjustment. Or were you able to calibrate the extra length out of it?

I made one of these one time and it was a waste. The extra length made the stick basically unusable:



GL

Hey Bammer,

I lengthened the joystick by about 5.5" using 1/2" diameter copper plumbing pipe. I cut the gimbal shaft in two and then epoxied the copper pipe onto the two halfs....



I had to cut windows on both ends of the pipe to allow passing the wiring harness through the shaft during assembly and disassembly.....





Of course, the wiring harness needed to be lengthened by a good 6 inches. Lots of cutting, stripping, and soldering....



Anyway, here is what the fully modded joystick looks like....



The panel is a custom job I built. The box is an aluminum project case I bought from Fry's Electronics and cut down to fit under the throttle platform. The top row of switches (and knob) is the front panel from the Aviator joystick. I relocated the panel to the switch box and created a custom harness to connect the switches to the joystick (so that the panel can still be used with the Saitek programming software). The bottom row of switches I picked up from a local electronics supply store. These switches are connected to a BUO836 controller inside the box....








Yes, extending the length of the joystick created about 2 inches of additional "travel" or "slop" over the full range of movement. It actually works very well with my setup and doesn't cause any issues. However, there is a very slight misalignment of the handle to the base gimbal due to the inside diameter of the copper pipe being a bit larger than the outside diameter of the gimbal shaft (I should have paid a machinist to cut me a couple custom bushings to slip over the gimbal shafts....oh well). This misalignment gives me a little unwanted left bias on the X-axis, but I can live with it.

Wow, you did a fantastic job lengthening that X52....it really looks professional! Was the plan to use it as a helicopter cyclic? I imagine that you probably have to move that thing a good foot or so to go from stop to stop on an axis, yes? Anyway, I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out for you.

10-4, way to much length in that X45. I cut it down quite a bit and am currently having it evaluated by a third party. Yes, it was designed for helos after I saw this famous pic online.




Hey, thanks for the extra pics. I think I speak for all when I say we want to see everything on how the custom simpit was built. I know I get great ideas when seeing how something was done. Keep sharing whatever you have.

Tks,
GL

Very cool work on the simpit and the joystick mod, jiver67! The icing on the cake is the very neat wiring management; a job worth doing is worth doing right, eh!
bammer, unless you could use gears to increase the movement of the potentiometer that does seem long...but it looks good though. I tore apart an old VCR a few months back with all it's gears....the wife just chuckled at me when i said i might be able to use these, someday.

Again, thanks for posting the cool simpit, Jiver67. Regards,
MudPuppy

That is a very cool pit! Just out of curiosity were you influenced/motivated by Roger Dodger?
http://www.rogerdodger.net/diyflightsims/pacs.html

Nice work!!!!
Very clean and elegant.

Yeah, I know the builder and that design lasted a very short time. He too quickly realized that it created way too much stick stir. It was shortened quite a bit and mounted to a small pedastal, in it's final version.

Jiver67,

Nice work.

A easy way to align tubes with different diameters:



Sokol1

Jiver as everyone has said nice job and thanks for posting pics on not only the pit but the project itself like someone else mentioned its a huge resource for builders and builders "to-be". Cool Stuff and looks great!

Bammer,

Ah, it is an X-45 (not an X-52)....my bad. I think if you wanted to use a really long stick design (such as for a helicopter cyclic) it could be done using a custom built gimbal. You would have to use some type of a leverage arm (or gears, like MudPuppy mentioned) to accelerate the amount of travel on the pots. Just something to think about (if you haven't already).

Thanks for the positive feedback!

Thanks MudPuppy.....yeah, it was worth it (even though it drove me slightly nutty!). As you can probably see, I'm a bit anal about cable management....LOL!

RedHornet,

LOL! Yep, when I was planning my frame design I stumbled across Roger Dodger Aviation on the net. I really liked his modular design idea and the fact that he used PVC to keep it light and portable. However, I opted to go with larger diameter pipe and used both ABS and PVC. Have you seen his keyboard button templates? Pretty slick.

Thanks Grizzly.....as I mentioned before your Commanche pit is the cat's @ss! Truly one of a kind!