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I'd like to have pilot and copilot have headphones w/microphones, and be able to speak to each other through them. That may take some work, but I plan on asking my brother (who just so happens to be a sound engineer) with all my audio setup questions. I also intend to incorporate subwoofers, not in the seats, but on the sides. The lower frequencies will be mainly used to simulate the engine noise, so having them where the engines would be is more appropriate. Besides, I've got other plans for the chair. The main issue I'm expecting concerning audio is the mikes. I'd like to have the pilot talk w/the copilot, as well as with ATC (during internet flights, which I haven't tried yet), but the copilot should not be heard by ATC. Actually, come to think about it, I'd bet that the mike (or something in the interface) would have to be keyed to speak with ATC, so all we'd have to do is have the copilot just not talk for a few seconds while comms are up with ATC. Audio setup is looking to be pretty simple.
We're looking to have two monitors, preferably the same type (easier to calibrate), and each with a Fresnel lens. Now, the Fresnel lens, to my understanding, is just a lens that has been sectioned off and all the redundant flat parts taken out. They are the same lens's that are used in most overhead projectors, as well as 'full page magnifiers' you can find in bookstores. I've been looking at optics info recently, trying to figure out what size, power, and focal length of lens we should get. I'll add more in here when I figure that out. And for the glasses, they got some good reviews (www.flightsim.com has one, you'll have to log in first, I think), and since they're wireless, using two will only require one transmitter, which would've cost an extra $50. The biggest problem I could find with them would be discomfort when wearing headphones at the same time, but I'll look into some more reviews to see if anyone else had that problem.
headphones.........: two pair, with microphones (pref. same type) misc...............: signal splitter for headphones, mikes (should be cheap) """"...............: subwoofers?
Fresnel lens.......: two, size and focal lengths pending
3d Glasses.........: E-d Glasses from eDimensional, wireless (2 glasses, 1 xmitter) *
mirrors............: at least 4
misc...............: signal splitter for monitors (will be constructed)
* note-Yes, I did read their add with the 'flightsim.com customer', but more
importantly, I read several reviews that led me to make this choice.
Personally, I'm partial to a good set of headphones. Adds to the whole experience, and it's a lot easier to find the best positioning. I mean, you don't have to mess around with which speaker goes where, and whatnot. And we all would like to avoid whatnot.
This will be tricky. I'm assuming there'll be a bit of trial and error going on, as far as monitor placement goes. Its distance from the lens and the lens' distance from the viewer are thing's I haven't totally figured out yet. But even before that, we need to get a picture to the monitors that can be seen. So, I looked around and found that monitor signal splitters will run you upwards of $200, give or take. This is not a good thing. So, I looked around a bit and came across this, which describes how to MAKE a vga signal splitter. The author doesn't list a specific price of components, but by the looks of it, they can't be all that expensive. The other thing will be the glasses, the transmitter unit will plug into the video card, and the monitor (or in this case splitter/monitors) will plug into the transmitter. I'm not expecting any problems with the glasses, as long as we end up with a nVidia graphics card. I emailed the manufacturers [of the glasses], and they told me there were several compatability issues to be worked out with the ATI cards. This is the major reason I didn't go with the multimonitor-supporting card. If you didn't want the glasses though, I'm sure that would be an option worth looking into. However, I noticed several threads (i.e. - conversations) on the newsgroups that having multiple monitors (with different pictures) takes its toll on the computer. Framerate-wise, I mean. We won't have that problem, because the computer is just calculating one monitor's worth of data. We just happen to be splitting that data, after it leaves the computer, to send it to multiple consumers. Monitors, I mean. All clear? Check the references at the bottom of this page for some links to sites that probably could clarify better than I. Or sign up with the newsgroups and ask questions to your hearts content (a bit of wisdom: just be sure to read other posts beforehand, in case your questions were already answered).
Looking at approx. $100 audio (w/out subs), $350 visual (200 for the lens', 150 for the glasses). I'm still looking into the prices and types of Fresnel lens, but it sounds like it'll be worth it in the end. Check out the links at the bottom of this document, some of those pages link to suppliers (using middlemen to get to the 'suppliers'... i wonder if that has something to do with my roommate accusing me of being 'addicted' to this computer... at 3 in the morning... naw). As for the glasses, I haven't yet found any source but straight from the manufacturer, eDimensional.
About one week total. Even with all the planning that is taking place, there will most likely be some fiddling that needs to be done. Trial and error stuff. Getting the mirrors set up just right, working out any bugs with the glasses, and so on.
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