New Projector installed

The other projector has been failing so we bought a new projector. It is proving a much brighter and crisper image.
Here are a few pics and a video

A couple of videos from today showing the working simulator and the back of the cab stand

We went down to Jackson Street Roundhouse to install the whistle/horn control as well as the bell. I have also taken some more pictures of the simulator.  Hopefully we will be installing a bass shaker in the cab soon.
A newer higher lumen, higher resolution projector with a much larger screen is also on the wishlist.  We are also talking about adding another simulator with a tabletop controller.

Control stand 

projector  location

view inside of cab

View from outside the cab 

Side view

Looking into the cab from the front

You can see the
electronics cabinet
where the PC and audio
equipment is kept

98% functionality

We went down to Jackson Street Roundhouse to work on some of the macros and add wireless capabilities so I can remotely do maintenance on the simulator.  I took some videos, but had some problems at the same time. I will post the videos soon.  The simulator exhibit is at about 98% functionality, We need to just fix the reset macro. I will post another update soon.

Newest video of simulator exhibit.

Jitbit Macrorecorder This is awesome for making any kind of macros. You can program it to do if/else statements and way more.  I would highly recommend this program if you plan on automating aspects of your simulator.

Made a macro to start the simulator up and shut it down with a single key press.

Check out the video
http://youtu.be/uxqqlSK5yaI

DIY gauge schematics and photos

These are schematics and gauges made by Doug Johnson. I have one gauge currently in the works using this design.  I also have some other resources that I am using

Train brake and first test run

We had our first test run today with the full cab stand. We installed the reverser/throttle module and installed the train brake pot bracket(see attached photo).  I also tested the 12 volt stand backlights and they looked great, although I may replace them with LEDs for keeping things cooler. We hooked the whole setup to a projector and did our first test run.  We had calibration problems with the brake but are working on them.  Throttle and reverser worked mostly as anticipated. Next step is to fix the calibration issues,test it and then start installing the discrete controls.  One other thing I think we will look into is rear projection so we can utilize a larger screen and not have to worry about the cab getting in the way of the projector. Anyway I will post pics as the project progresses.