46 replies to this topic

[Gevurah]

On that note..



The above is a repurposed art easel which I used to lay down the groundwork for a functioning door latch. I used a circular scrap piece from a hole saw as a spacer to ensure that it had sufficient width to properly latch on the opposite doorframe. I have a piece of wood (2x4) installed as a stopper on the inside frame so it stops around 30 degrees from vertical.



The updated interior console WIP. I'm going to add switches to it shortly but I'm trying to more closely model the interior to a highlander. So by comparison:



The right and left side wings were added. I need to add a shroud to the center console piece (Which is a little oversized due to it doubling as a keyboard shelf underneath). I'll be adding an overlay graphic with some plexiglass screwed in on top for the right and left. Center will be functional switches.

Left four red toggles will be purchased from here:
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9278 - they'll have simple pushbutton switches underneath, unless I feel like swapping in toggles.

They will correspond with various functions.
The small viewscreen is actually going to be an ipod holder. So my viewscreen will basically be 'comms.' - my wife likes to call me on the cell instead of skype from upstairs to get me to come up for stuff.
I may add 3 push button illuminated momentaries to each side of the 'comm' screen.
Far right will have 3 toggles as well, though I want momentaries on this as well. They should work best with MWO I think.

One *MAJOR* change is on the right side I'll be adding a functional power switch but it'll be a big red button, not the red/blue squares per the screenshot. I simply want a big *** red button to slap. I found a pinball parts supplier and a button that literally says "Rock me" on it. That's going there come hell or high water

Edited by Gevurah, 24 July 2013 - 09:41 AM.

[Gevurah]

Micro-update - added some of the first touches in between learning how to make the arduino uno do what I want it to do. Some el-cheapo electronics are on order and due to arrive from hong kong or parts unknown by end of sept. Until then I'm still mostly prototyping. Again, the goal of this build is to maintain the price as low as possible.



You can see the beginnings of the comm panel. I need to find an appropriate fascia material because it looks pretty meh as is. I *HAD* planned on cutting up and hammering out a Yebisu beer can but it's unfortunately like 1/4th inch too short. So been kind of hunting off/on for something useful to put over it that's either paintable or metal/etc.

The left side has the beginnings of the panel but it's mostly just going to be non-functional switches & art. So no real work needs done there except priming the surface and painting it. I might salvage off some old electronics some switches and what not to use as decorative errata. Unfortunately the in-game consoles designed by the artists look like they belong more in a 747 and less in a cockpit (no offense to Alex+his team please). So there's a huge plethora of things inside the in-game cockpit which really makes making a mechpit a bit difficult if you're going for some relative accuracy; especially if you want functional switches. For now I'm just going to make the central console my 'functional' portion, along with 2-3 buttons to the right side:

Center console left (red missile covers + toggles):
Artillery
Airstrike
UAV
Flush Coolant

Center console mid - Iphone 'communications bay'. Possibly a few buttons later. I plan to add a few spots that are to be used down the road for future expansion.

Center console right -
Night vision, thermal, normal toggle. Even if it's a single button I'll handle it with code to cycle the modes.
i.e.:
//pseudocode
loop(){
int count =0;
If button pressed {

count = count++

If count = 4, set count to 0.

Case
Count = 0: Do nothing
Count = 1: Send key assigned to night vision.
Count = 2: Send key assigned to thermal.
Count = 3: Send Thermal key again
}
}
Just threw that together in 10 mins here so it'll probably need cleaned up.
Zoom toggle, same type except it'll run through normal --> 1.5 --> 3.0 --> normal
Zoom module button (separate for advanced zoom, though I never run it)
2-3 Undetermined types.

Right console panel:
Power (going to have it tied to a flashing red light for the cockpit - 5 second duration)
Override (flashing yellow light, 5 second dur)
Alpha strike (big red button that says rock me from a pinball machine)

Edited by Gevurah, 02 August 2013 - 08:10 AM.

[Gevurah]

So latest update. Picked up a whole host of switches, waiting on a few more from ebay/sparkfun.
waiting on my red missile toggle covers https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9278
waiting on my 4x4 momentary switch pad
waiting on my 50pc kit of 4mm switches.

Realized I need to rethink how my main panel is setup for the purposes of mounting switches. Probably going to cut holes in the center console and use pieces of aluminum or steel to secure the switches.

Also I finally got my old Zaurus SL-5500 PDA running properly again. I rooted it (took nearly 8 hours to find a functional link to embeddedKonsole) and am going to make this a sort of secondary screen with maps, data, etc to help integrate it for the 'experience'/immersion. Also found a good source for fresnels to collimate the display: bhlens.com - now to measure mine and ask for a custom piece for what I need.

Pictures will be forthcoming as the project progresses. After the physical elements are done we'll get to paint+accessories.

[Gevurah]

To those considering an arduino for keyboard input - apparently the uno won't work as a usb keyboard. Only the Leonardo and Due will (I think there might be one other). So I am going to look for a cheap shield that will do it; if not then I'll pick up a teensy USB 3.0 and use that instead since it runs arduino code but has availability for keyboard input.

In the meantime, have this blurry iphone picture of me test-fitting my switches.

[Gevurah]

I ended up buying a teensyusb, which can do 'teensyduino'. It's basically a very compact arduino alternative. High power, good availability for this type of application and it's cheap - like 22 dollars cheap.

In the meantime though I have been test fitting switches, painting, etc. The grey is just primer, so it looks like crap. I'm going to pick up some metallic coat stuff and put that on at my wife's suggestion.

You can see my bank of four switches w/ arming levels on the left and bank of 3 switches on the right. The three switches probably need to be swapped out with matching moment switches, but for now they're some assorted toggles for the purposes of test fit. In the center you have my multimeter where the iphone will go. I still need to build an appropriate fascia for that ugly lump of wood that frames it.

[Corleym]

looks really good mate, keep it up i am interested to see how you progress this as you have a great base now to work from!

[F lan Ker]

S!

Always great to see creativity the gaming community has, regardless genre. Keep up the good work, looks great and you seem to have fun building it

[Gevurah]

Corleym, on 15 August 2013 - 03:49 AM, said:

looks really good mate, keep it up i am interested to see how you progress this as you have a great base now to work from!

Thanks. Mostly my objective is to make it a functional mechpit as good as I can manage on a low budget with a 'meh' skillset in terms of woodworking. Of course it's improved over the course of this but when I started the most I ever built was some wood trim for my bedroom and laying some snap in flooring. And a shelf in 8th grade like 18 years ago. That's literally about it. So pretty much this is the 'if I can do it you can do it' of mech pits.

[Edson Drake]

Awesome.

Man, keep up the good work. It doesn't matter if the result doesn't look pleasant to look, remember mechs are ugly as hell, but in our eyes they are pretty.

Post vids about it if you can, I would really enjoy seeing the concept.

[Gevurah]

Well it's cleaning up well. Mostly it's about building a frame (done), adding panelling (mostly done), putting some switches on a console (getting done soon), making the switches work (not done), interior additions for 'feel' - this is a big part of what differentiates an awesome mechpit from a meh one, tbh. I plan on cheating and taking some of Chowwy's ideas. For now though we're still in the whole ugly but functional portion. Once I get the switches hammered out I'm going to finish the frame and clean it up to look good.

[Loc Nar]

After running into you in some matches the other night it got me wondering what your pit is looking like these days. I know it's hard to find good break points to take pics, and often not being up to the task of taking pics while I'm working prevents me from working at all...

Always fun mashing the bad guys with friendly familiars though and looking forward to jumping in some matches with you guys in the future.

[Gevurah]

I've been having a lot on my plate, but it's had some slight updates. I'll try to take some pictures. I've added an armrest, some interior panels, nothing major. I picked up a teensyUSB but had to shelve working on it for now. Again, life happens


Thanks though! I'll try to get some pics. For now, here's one off my phone that shows the general interior:



To the left you see the all important coffee cup, o2 spray (OMG HAX) and my 'IRL' bobblehead - a drinking bird.

[Gevurah]

FWIW this build has been in limbo due to personal issues since around the last post here.
I'm looking at reviving/finishing about another 25% of it. I want to start painting it, finish the major exterior pieces and wire it up. That said, anyone got a simplified tutorial for setting up the teensy usb moment/toggles? I can figure it out myself but I figured there might be someone here who can save me some time.

Thanks

[CyBerkut]

Gevurah, on 14 January 2014 - 12:42 PM, said:

That said, anyone got a simplified tutorial for setting up the teensy usb moment/toggles? I can figure it out myself but I figured there might be someone here who can save me some time.

Thanks

Other than what PJRC.com has up on their website? Are you talking about code ( http://www.pjrc.com/...d_joystick.html ) for the Teensy, or the wiring of the switches to the board, or ???

Note: I'm not a Teensy owner/user, but I do have an Arduino Uno that I've fooled around with a bit.

[Gevurah]

I'm looking at doing a teensy USB keyboard actually for button presses. I've got a pretty good handle on it now think as it is they have a really good set of documentation on their website for it.

I spent last night wiring up a mockup for a 'door closed' indicator light run off a 9v. Once I get the interior panel completed and painted I'll post pics/etc.

[Loc Nar]

Gevurah, on 19 January 2014 - 09:19 AM, said:

I'm looking at doing a teensy USB keyboard actually for button presses. I've got a pretty good handle on it now think as it is they have a really good set of documentation on their website for it.

I spent last night wiring up a mockup for a 'door closed' indicator light run off a 9v. Once I get the interior panel completed and painted I'll post pics/etc.

Sounds like your making progress. If you are only running buttons then Teensy is not the easiest route to victory from what I gather having watched many cockpit builders struggle with it's implementation unless you're in it for the challenge. If you're really set on it though and find yourself stuck as you move along, pm Foust as you move forward as he seems to be the resident Teensy guy.

Cheapest/easiest IMO for simple switch wiring is just hacking a keyboard that has mechanical switches -simply jump wires to your new switches and you're done. You can use the default keymapping by using those keys, or whatever mapping you choose, but it's plug-n-play with no additional programs to be sure are running before you drop etc.

If you plan on adding axes in addition to buttons then Teensy or other project boards are the way, and of course it's nice to have future expandability even if you don't think you need axes now so it's understandable to use it.. That said, I steer away from Teensy myself since there is enough unavoidable work elsewhere in cockpit building, that adding additional layers of processes and programming is something I avoid when possible.


If you have 16 buttons or less (your current switch count is really low) you plan to wire, a used Thrustmaster T16000m can be found cheap and hacking one offers the advantage of TARGET program-ability, something that more expensive boards like Bodnar don't. MJoy32 Pro (8 axes 128 matrix buttons) really has my attention right now, since after it's setup in the GUI it flashes the firmware on the board and it's plug-n-play to whatever it was flashed to from that point forward, including axes curves/profiles, button mapping, macros, emulation etc, and this has a lot of appeal to me.

[Gevurah]

Don't mind me, my proficiency is low-medium when it comes to electronics work. I'm a software guy so the arduino/teensy works best for me from that standpoint. Wiring up switches should be relatively simple, all things considered.

[Gevurah]

woodwork aside...

Here's my prototype door locked indicator light:



It's a little moment switch with a 330 ohm resistor to a generic LED light in a 9v loop. The panel is being physically worked on, once I drill another hole I'll mount this setup (probably solder it together)with the bulk of it inside an altoids tin or something. I'll then mount that behind the panel the door lock rests on. The LED light will protrude through a hole in the wall to a painted motts applesauce cup which will act as a diffuser for the light.

This is obviously not tremendously impressive. But again, this is an 'unskilled guy learning trades he never did before builds a simpit' thread.

Also I should mention I found a simplified method of building the wiring for the switches via the teensy. It basically is a modified version of their 'awesome button' project which turns a button into a keyboard press. It's very simple with one of the lines running out to a common ground. Press the button, voltage goes low, software reads this, sends keyboard input of 'whatever_key'. In this case it'll be my Consumables and secondary buttons to start. Once I get it functioning I'll start adding other things like map buttons, zoom, the in game cockpit light button, etc.

[Gevurah]

Latest update - been spending my time working on getting the teensy 3.0 and teensyduino working for buttons. I've gotten it working using the basic 'buttons' code included inside of teensyduino. I need to mock up my panel, build it out, and test it before pictures are posted but I just wanted to advise about this milestone being met

** edit: pick of the mockup with two working buttons (one for artillery strike, the other for airstrike)

Edited by Gevurah, 26 January 2014 - 08:25 PM.

[juxstapo]

Much loves.

Got as far as the seat (w/cosmetics) before money and space stalled my project way back in CB. Damn if you aren't starting the itch up again.