DD_Brando Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Not as mean and business like as my wife would look if she caught me painting plastic pipes grey on the sitting room carpet. I'm looking forward to the next installment and all the twiddly bits fixed to it. it's not the wife I'm scared of - it's the axe she's wielding Fortunately my best girl is on holiday in the next county and not back until the weekend. Plenty of time to get the carpet into the washing machine and back on the floor - or buy a ticket to Rio de Janeiro - whichever works out easiest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 Here's a (nearly) square-on view of the framework positioned under the desk. "Getting in" is definitely less complex than, say, climbing onto the wing and into the pit of a Tiger Moth! The wooden box is probably going to be the control panel/button box. It'll look better grey, and with a grab handle mounted to it, not to mention buttons! It's large, I know, but with no right arm my options are limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PropNut Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 I worked in a shop with a guy who lost an arm in a car wreck. We had some really cool jigs, etc that we made so he could get back to work. I am a cabinet maker by the way, so we had quick clamps on just about everything to hold the work and feed the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 I worked in a shop with a guy who lost an arm in a car wreck. We had some really cool jigs, etc that we made so he could get back to work. I am a cabinet maker by the way, so we had quick clamps on just about everything to hold the work and feed the material. Very cool. It's really important for people with manual skills to keep on going after something like that, and not only for the money. Just stopping altogether feels like running into a brick wall. I did a quick count up and I reckon I laid nearly 10,000 bricks since 1996, all on garden landscaping jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I can't do stuff that neat even with a full set of hands, a workmate and an almost full set of teeth. My sawing drifts off line and my drilling skids all over the place. I can find putting my ideas into practice very frustrating. Not only have you got the skill but you must also have an incredible amount of patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I can't do stuff that neat even with a full set of hands, a workmate and an almost full set of teeth. My sawing drifts off line and my drilling skids all over the place. I can find putting my ideas into practice very frustrating. Not only have you got the skill but you must also have an incredible amount of patience. Wot he said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 Thanks for the compliments, gents I put it down to a life spent in the building trade, and the advice of some of my earliest 'mentors' which I always did my best to follow and, when I started running jobs, to pass on. Simply put, it's "Always build a house as though you were going to live in it yourself." Living up to that simple statement isn't as easy as it sounds. But then, work shouldn't necessarily be easy! It just gets easier as you go along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Finally, some movement on the home front! My pal, bird-dog, came around and we wired up the new stick: ..just needs about a pint of Bolognese sauce poured over and, ta-da, here is the Franken-Tripehound Mk II It's been plugged in and calibrated in the CH Control Manager, with all axes and buttons recognised. Each device (stick & throttle) has lost a four-way hat. The input has been replaced with four buttons on the stick-head... and two two-way switches from the throttle. The three buttons on the throttle handle have been re-sited on the deck. The two spare axes, one from each device, are at the back of the deck (nearest in photo) Apart from showing up the need for some fettling......this shot shows off the doubled trigger buttons well Just got to finish up the control panel (almost done) and wire the throttle into the Leo Bodnar board and I'll be ready! he heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1. DDz Quorum FoolTrottel Posted October 8, 2011 1. DDz Quorum Share Posted October 8, 2011 Now that's a great piece of wiring there, so neatly done! All those buttons on the stick, within a hand's reach, that's cool. Just a wild idea/thought: Wouldn't it be nice that when you'd take your hand off of the stick, the stick would remain in the position you left it at? I mean some kind of an instant lock that is applied when you do not grip the stick. That would make button work that's out of a hand's reach easier, I think. Yeah, but how to implement such a thing?? One would be needing FFB, and a sensor, and some re-programming of the FFB driver software... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PropNut Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Ya know FT, I was thinking of something similar, but not related to stick position. I was thinking of a foot pedal control device. The other day I was thinking of ways to have more inputs and not take your hands off the controls. I designed (in my head) several sliders about 2"x3" accessible using your foot, as well as several larger buttons, also accessible using your feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 There may be a way to script that response in the CH Control Manager. I will have to ask Bob Church (CH software creator) if and how it can be done. One button push - runs script that holds X and Y axis steady at current setting - second push - ends script and hands back control. I don't see why that wouldn't work. I certainly have enough buttons! I hope to get on with the control panel tomozz. One of the nifty bits will be a pitch trim-wheel that I can operate with my forearm. It's based on a 3-turns potentiometer and a big grey Marconi knob - and should be very sensitive. I have a cockpit panel light too and a glorious old bakelite starter button. I'm starting to drool with anticipation All my buttons, switches and rotaries are wired up, I just need to drill holes and plug everything into the Bodnar board. And then the fun will start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1. DDz Quorum FoolTrottel Posted October 9, 2011 1. DDz Quorum Share Posted October 9, 2011 That'd be cool, have the software lock X and Y values. But, you'd want the stick to remain in its physical position, won't you? Because... your aircraft might get damaged when you activate the stick and it's not in the same position... a wild manouver, high G's... Oh, but the software should then be able to move the stick values slowly over to the new X and Y Values, yes, that might work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 And now for a lot of programming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1. DDz Quorum FoolTrottel Posted October 14, 2011 1. DDz Quorum Share Posted October 14, 2011 'Ross, No pillaging! (..)" lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 'Ross, No pillaging! (..)" lol Damn, I forgot to censor that one Well spotted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Brando Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Here's a close-up of the Marconi tuning knob mounted on the three-turn pot I'll have to get the painter back, lazy sod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PropNut Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Mounting them on the frame of the pit is a damn good idea. I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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