We're building a flight simulator, with the following planned properties:
- Three monitors for a "wraparound" effect (front view and side "windows")
- Rudder pedals (instead of our current joystick twist steering)
- Realistic panel controls for flaps, throttle, richness, trim, gear
- Control yoke
We plan to build the electronic components ourselves (panel, rudder pedals and yoke),
using scrounged parts as much as possible. We already have a number of
extra monitors from the State Surplus Sale Barn.
Joe is interested in the electronics and this project should be very educational for him.
We've got to find and purchase the right video card setup though, which
will be the spendiest part. We're keeping an eye on Ebay for a Predator
quad monitor card or equivalent. At the moment it seems like all the
video will have to be on a single card. Although Windows XP supports multiple
video boards nicely, it won't allow hardware acceleration on more than one
card as near as we have yet figured out. Still researching...
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 has some wonderful teaching tools built in,
as well as being realistic enough to provide a helpful simulation.
Included in the teaching tools is the capability for an instructor to
program in instrument and engine failures at selected times for student
training in those situations.
Progress:
- February 12: added second monitor temporarily on existing computer desk (crowded).
Drove it with old technology video card. Slow and very choppy. No hardware
acceleration for 3d Graphics.
- February 18: purchased an Nvidia geForce2 twinview on Ebay.
Joe helped with the bidding, which got very exciting and intense at the end of the auction! Right down to the last minute!
- February 19: Tore down some old joysticks we obtained from Phil Witt,
and verified with the voltmeter how the potentiometers are routed to the gameport. (for the rudder pedals)
- February 26: Geforce2 card arrives and is installed. To our dismay, with
two cards in the computer the graphics are not hardware accelerated. Nice card though.
- March 1: Finally! Hardware acceleration! Today we tried ONLY the Geforce2 card installed,
running both monitors into it and using the geforce2 Twinview drivers. It worked!
Smooth hardware accelerated graphics on both screens! Joe took it for the first test drive.
Its very slightly more jerky than the old one monitor setup, but we've done
no tuning of anything thus far, and there is much to fiddle with.
I'm convinced (and relieved) that this is an adequate proof of concept.
Certainly, a card with 4 graphics processors, like the Predator Pro 4
would do it, albeit at considerable expense. We'll look for a more cost-effective solution.
Stay tuned!
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