Good question. I've been wondering the same thing about the other
members of this forum.
I have started building some hardware for FS9. So far, most of my work
has been researching all of the options out there (and there are
lots!). Right now, I've got 1 instrument up and running: a directional
gyro. I bought a used DG off of eBay (cheap since it needed to be
rebuilt) and removed the gyro section which I replaced with a stepper
motor and electronic control with a serial cable data connection. I
had to write a little bit of software to grab the heading data from FS9
(using FSUIPC) and send it out the serial port to the instrument. It
works great.
If you are a do-it-yourselfer kind of person who likes to save a bit of
money, an incredible resource is Mike Powell's book "Building Simulated
Aircraft Instruments". This is where I got all the ideas, plans,
schematics, and microcontroller code I needed to kick start my Simpit.
My goal is to build a simple Cessna 172 panel, with 3 overhead
projector displays using WidevieW. I'm sure it will take a long time
at the rate I am going, but I'm learning a lot and having a great time
doing it!
I'd be very interested in sharing ideas and maybe even
software/hardware development with anyone else who might be using
Mike's book to build instruments....
wrote:
> Hello all you simmers;
>
> If any of you have considered linking up hardware to your PC and going
> further than with a joystick and pedals, and if you like 747-400
> planes, the forums at http://www.nippoo.net are sure going to help!
> Tons of drawings, renderings and general info on building 744 home
> cockpit simulators! An opportunity not to be missed!
>
> -N
>
> <a href="http://www.nippoo.net">The 747 Project</a>