Recent additions to the MoachPit
Posted 03-16-2012 at 06:08 PM by Moach
yeah, i've been at it again....
i was recently presented with the opportunity to acquire a little piece of kit called the "Razer Nostromo" at a bargain cost (i.e. someone flying it in for me purchasing it online)
the Nostromo is a massively programmable left-hand keypad for enthusiastic gamers such as myself, and as soon as i first saw it, my reaction was - "oh boy, this is gonna be perfect for that open space i have behind my throttle unit"
so without further ado - the MoachPit at it's most recent state:
(click image for high-res)
yes, well - the key idea here is to create a high-immersion simulation environment that at the same time can be used for comfortable programming and artistic tasks of all sorts.... i do believe i have achieved this goal
but nope - i don't believe i'm "done" with this to any extent (if there even is such a thing as "done")
further plans include taking apart two old joysticks i own and rigging them up into cool switches and buttons i found can be obtained through ebay (yep, even those with the little red caps and all)
this would also include the installing of an "expansion harness" of sorts onto the existing Saitek stick and throttle (the screw holes underneath will serve as pressure-plug sockets) - upon this devices there would be mounted some of the adapted inputs from the disassembled and rewired old joysticks
then, in the future, i feel it could use some more screen space (tho the actual hardware for that is still to be defined)
at some point, an iPad or similarly-capable tablet thing would be incorporated as a visual+touch enabled interaction device - my brother has this rigged up on his pit, really cool and a very handy setup (it works as an additional monitor, but then you can "click" on stuff with your hand)
and i reckon i'll have some coding ahead of me in order to wire up all these units in a way that they may work together, rather than separately (could turn into a whole other project, really) -- but when you "speak computer" all sorts of possibilities seem to open up
FYI - the MoachPit is NOT based on the layout of the G42-200's cockpit... it's really more the other way around ;D
and yes - the space-navigator IS being used to control linear RCS while the stick does rotations.... and that's why there's a "both" tick on the G42's RCS selector knob
and still, one must remember, being stuck in this failure of a country i regrettably reside in, i very often find that i do not have the option of purchasing many of the commonly used solutions for simpits we see on the web (i.e. the Leo Bodnar thingy) - our highly corrupt government has such a hostile tax policy on imports that it makes this kinda thing simply a no-go
but still, that's just a challenge for me to work around - a lot can be done with just a little extra (or sometimes, only more clever) work
i was recently presented with the opportunity to acquire a little piece of kit called the "Razer Nostromo" at a bargain cost (i.e. someone flying it in for me purchasing it online)
the Nostromo is a massively programmable left-hand keypad for enthusiastic gamers such as myself, and as soon as i first saw it, my reaction was - "oh boy, this is gonna be perfect for that open space i have behind my throttle unit"
so without further ado - the MoachPit at it's most recent state:
(click image for high-res)
yes, well - the key idea here is to create a high-immersion simulation environment that at the same time can be used for comfortable programming and artistic tasks of all sorts.... i do believe i have achieved this goal
but nope - i don't believe i'm "done" with this to any extent (if there even is such a thing as "done")
further plans include taking apart two old joysticks i own and rigging them up into cool switches and buttons i found can be obtained through ebay (yep, even those with the little red caps and all)
this would also include the installing of an "expansion harness" of sorts onto the existing Saitek stick and throttle (the screw holes underneath will serve as pressure-plug sockets) - upon this devices there would be mounted some of the adapted inputs from the disassembled and rewired old joysticks
then, in the future, i feel it could use some more screen space (tho the actual hardware for that is still to be defined)
at some point, an iPad or similarly-capable tablet thing would be incorporated as a visual+touch enabled interaction device - my brother has this rigged up on his pit, really cool and a very handy setup (it works as an additional monitor, but then you can "click" on stuff with your hand)
and i reckon i'll have some coding ahead of me in order to wire up all these units in a way that they may work together, rather than separately (could turn into a whole other project, really) -- but when you "speak computer" all sorts of possibilities seem to open up
FYI - the MoachPit is NOT based on the layout of the G42-200's cockpit... it's really more the other way around ;D
and yes - the space-navigator IS being used to control linear RCS while the stick does rotations.... and that's why there's a "both" tick on the G42's RCS selector knob
and still, one must remember, being stuck in this failure of a country i regrettably reside in, i very often find that i do not have the option of purchasing many of the commonly used solutions for simpits we see on the web (i.e. the Leo Bodnar thingy) - our highly corrupt government has such a hostile tax policy on imports that it makes this kinda thing simply a no-go
but still, that's just a challenge for me to work around - a lot can be done with just a little extra (or sometimes, only more clever) work
Total Comments 6
Comments
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Cool rig!
A lot of mess, however, if you ask me... (;Posted 03-16-2012 at 10:47 PM by Hurricane 
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I think i see a astromech droid somewhere in the picture...
Posted 03-17-2012 at 01:46 AM by Luke Skywalker
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Quote:Originally Posted by Hurricane
Cool rig!
A lot of mess, however, if you ask me... (;
lol - indeed it is
but what i always say - a tidy workplace usually means no real hard work is getting done
Posted 03-17-2012 at 07:36 PM by Moach
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Lol, yeah, mine gets very messy in no-time, until Friday arrives and I have to clean up my room!Quote:Originally Posted by Moach
but what i always say - a tidy workplace usually means no real hard work is getting done
Posted 03-17-2012 at 08:45 PM by Hurricane
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Nice rig! What's the price tag?Posted 03-19-2012 at 12:46 AM by Scruce
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by now, who knows
a bunch of stuff there i was able to get by having people fly in stuff bought online for me
- that's how brazillians usually get their paws on electronics and tech stuff in general....
if this stuff were purchased -locally- then taxes would spike that price tag up to 3~5 times the original cost (google for the "worlds most expensive iphone" to get a sense of what i'm talking about)
and even if i ordered via intl. shipping - the spike would be of no less than 60%
in other words, a no-go
so that's how i get my stuff - whenever one of family or friends takes a trip out to the civilized world... well, let's say their bags return a lot heavier than they went out
and that's part of why i have pretty much no idea how much this stuff would actually cost... the value of it doesn't really equate to the actual cost of things
but let's try....
PC - unknown cost (ramdom result of a series of upgrades at different points in time)
saitek x52 + rudder pedals (might have been around 300USD, can't recall by now)
space navigator - 99 bucks
g15 keyboard - 300BRL - bought locally online, at the store those may go for 500+
g700 mouse - same as keyboard... pretty much same cost too...
razer nostromo - 70USD - thanks to my boss for flying it in for me
genius pen tablet - can't recall... must have been about 200BRL, bought "downtown"
crative 4.1 surround - really don't remember by now...
office chair - 'bout 200BRL IIRC....
free time to saw, drill, bolt and screw to put this whole thing together -- PRICELESS
Posted 03-19-2012 at 01:41 PM by Moach
