I fly a variety of aircraft in DCS and IL-2 Sturmovik so keeping track of the functions of the many buttons, switches and rotaries for all the associated control schemes is difficult. As my sim rig is general purpose and not built around one particular aircraft, conventional label stickers or permanently engraved / etched labels are not very useful.
For my most recent button box, a right hand control panel with toggle switches and rotary encoders, I came up with a flexible labelling system using plastic label inserts. The inserts are easy to prepare and can be quickly swapped out for labelling different control schemes. I plan on making a similar box for the left side of the rig.
While I like it, wouldn’t it be better if it were either digitally labeled with an LCD adjacent to the switch, or embedded in the button? That would reduce the amount of physical interaction, like creating and cutting out labels and having to replace them when switching aircraft. This comment comes from being a VoIP phone system vendor and thinking how much easier implementations got when manufacturers began doing this with their phones and attendant consoles.
Absolutely! It would infinitely better to use LCD buttons. However, unless I am missing something these “digital buttons” are very expensive. I looked into sourcing some and noped out when I saw the price.
I would be very interested to know of any cheaper alternatives.
In VR I can’t see anything so labels don’t work. Instead I just have HOTAS functions mapped according to features common among all types where possible. But this bit me on the butt yesterday. I hate Teamspeak. But my Condor 2 sessions require its use. So to keep things simple, I mapped the trigger as PTT as that is where it would be in the glider. Yesterday I was flying the F-14 in Blue Flag for the first time in months. “Magic” gave be BRA and I replied with “Thank you” using the PTT and launched a Pheonix. He came back with, “Dude what are you launching at!?” “Whoops” was all I could muster. The maddog missile ended up taking out our AWACS.
Unfortunately, you are probably right. When I think about my latest VPC purchase, I think how much better these 6 lighted buttons would be if they were digitally labeled. Hence the rise of the touch screen.
It might surprise you to hear that I am a fellow VR pilot. Both the HP Reverb which I currently use and the Rift CV1 which I owned previously have a decent sized, but not immersion breaking, nose gap at the bottom of the HMD which allows you to glance down at real life controls. I also have tactile stickers on particular buttons (e.g. MFDs) to help me find inputs blindly, with touch alone.
I do something like this except by button location on my own HOTAS. My bottom four way on my throttle is always countermeasure control, my top four way is always commo, my ministick always TDC, my pinky button is airbrake extend or toggle where possible, etc. For WWII aircraft, my bottom four way is coolant controls, my coolie hat is prop pitch, and so on. It reduces the “remembering” workload when transitioning from airframe to airframe.
Same here. I ended up getting a 3-Lever throttle (cheap) for gear, flaps; this little purchase seemed to help more than I’d have thought. Easier to find for one
Ah yes, the ol Velcro nubbies on the middle buttons trick.
I’m thinking of modding my braille cockpit to position the MFD’s to a spot more inline with where are in the VR pit; cuzz I keep reaching towards that spot initially.
They’re actually transparent rubber nubbies on the MFD middle buttons. Having the MFDs positioned approximately where they are in VR definitely helps finding the right button blindly, also boosts immersion.
Some nice person on reddit alerted me to these mini OLED displays from Adafruit. They are much more reasonably priced. Going to investigate them for Button Box Mk. II.
