Community Event / Creation The C-Pod: A DIY Command seat (build log)

Panticus

Banned
Thanks @Panticus, it's appreciated.

I saw some talk about Arduino boards. There is some really cool stuff you can do with these. I used to work with a young racing driver who had a full mock up of his car for practice sessions (full force feedback, fire extinguisher - the works.) We built a fuel gauge for it using an Arduino Uno, an LCD screen, and a project we found online. It even recommended when he came in to refuel. Amazing stuff.
 
I saw some talk about Arduino boards. There is some really cool stuff you can do with these. I used to work with a young racing driver who had a full mock up of his car for practice sessions (full force feedback, fire extinguisher - the works.) We built a fuel gauge for it using an Arduino Uno, an LCD screen, and a project we found online. It even recommended when he came in to refuel. Amazing stuff.

Yes, those boards do look extremely cool. There's certainly a bewildering array of gizmos and gadgets available - sometimes I wish I was retired already as there's not enough time!
 
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For the new guys on the forum, i built my simrig with Arduinos mostly (check signature). The selfmade HOTAS runs on a Arduino pro micro, and so do the 2 additional switchboards. My project leans heavily on mechanics and looks but the actual electronics bit was dead easy. I now have over 100 assignable switches in my setup. ;) all you need is the right $3 arduino clone, toggle or push switches, and some wires. You can have a working switchboard prototype in maybe 2 hours.
 
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For the new guys on the forum, i built my simrig with Arduinos mostly (check signature). The selfmade HOTAS runs on a Arduino pro micro, and so do the 2 additional switchboards. My project leans heavily on mechanics and looks but the actual electronics bit was dead easy. I now have over 100 assignable switches in my setup. ;) all you need is the right $3 arduino clone, toggle or push switches, and some wires. You can have a working switchboard prototype in maybe 2 hours.

That project really was beautifully executed.
 
So having had a lot of time to think about getting everything as sensibly configured and comfortable as possible, I re-evaluated the control boxes for the HOTAS. Whilst I was very happy with these from a design perspective, I've always considered these too wide to be practical and look somewhat awkward sat on the side pods. Time to consider slimming things down. In order to make the throttle fit in, it needed to be de-warthog'ed. The fascia panels were the primary issue so I thought about making another cover. I considered that it would be too complicated to undertake so I decided to figure out how they were attacked. It turns out they're simply stuck down. After carefully peeling them off, I covered them with vinyl and trimmed to shape and painted around the acrylic edges with matt black paint. After a minor fiasco involving kicking half a pot of paint on the floor followed by 20 mins of cleaning up, I ended up with this:

Lower panel removed and covered with vinyl:



Panels re-attached to the throttle:





This may be helpful for anyone who simply wants to make their throttle more generic.

I'll be making some custom labels for it at some point.
 
So having had a lot of time to think about getting everything as sensibly configured and comfortable as possible, I re-evaluated the control boxes for the HOTAS. Whilst I was very happy with these from a design perspective, I've always considered these too wide to be practical and look somewhat awkward sat on the side pods. Time to consider slimming things down. In order to make the throttle fit in, it needed to be de-warthog'ed. The fascia panels were the primary issue so I thought about making another cover. I considered that it would be too complicated to undertake so I decided to figure out how they were attacked. It turns out they're simply stuck down. After carefully peeling them off, I covered them with vinyl and trimmed to shape and painted around the acrylic edges with matt black paint. After a minor fiasco involving kicking half a pot of paint on the floor followed by 20 mins of cleaning up, I ended up with this:

Lower panel removed and covered with vinyl:

[url]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc26/SpaceHedgehog/recover3_zpsnddrfdoe.jpg[/URL]

Panels re-attached to the throttle:

[url]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc26/SpaceHedgehog/recover1_zpso9shljhg.jpg[/URL]

[url]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc26/SpaceHedgehog/recover2_zpswrd5xeus.jpg[/URL]

This may be helpful for anyone who simply wants to make their throttle more generic.

I'll be making some custom labels for it at some point.

Wow, love the nice and clean look of the Warthog!
WANT IT TOO FOR MY WARTHOG! ;)
 
nice chair bro , was wondering if you will either be releasing the blueprints like the r-pod ? and how comfortable is the seat?

i wish to hopefully make this aswell , i need a seat that i can sit in all day everyday and this is perfectly design :)
 
i will have to take pictures of what you inspired me to build. i thought i was following your plans but something completely different came out. lol
 
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