which 737 overhead to choose?

As you have time to choose, it would be great idea to take a look to Sismo Soluciones Blue Line Overhead;
All the panels are already mounted with electronic... annunciators, switches, pushbuttons, encoders, rotaries, displays...
And ather options can be added as backlighting...

...or you could just buy a completely decent car...
Sismo is absolutely top notch product and a had the pleasure to play around with it in Lelystad 2 years ago, but the prizing is insane.
This year ( last year actually) we were shown the coop overhead from Engravity and CPFlight and it sure looked cool. Kinda pricy that one as well.

Hi,

i did look at the sismo products and indeed they seem to be very good. But i have to say the prices are exceeding my budget. At the same time, for the prices they are selling the backlighting should be included and not be an option i think. I just cannot imagine that backlighting should involve so much extra costs to be an "extra option" as it should be an inherent part of the overhead as is? But maybe i am wrong ofcourse...
Also i think i like to install the electronics myself, because i think i can learn a lot form it and have fun. Ofcourse there will be problems with this approach, but i kind of like solving problems, for me it is part of the hobby. Otherwise i would have gotten a Wii, and played golf on it : )

thanks for the tip though,

dion

sorry to butt in late here chaps............but,
i've been absent recently because of several commitments, one of which is i have been building a Simworld overhead for a friend.
i'm absolutely stunned with the quality of this unit. very easy to build and being aluminium, it's lightweight into the bargain.
the hardest part is keeping the wiring clear for the backlight :o
i've finished most of the inputs (just waiting for some black pushbutton switches and other components) and a Phidgets card will be
here tomorrow to light it up.
here's some shots of build so far, i'll post some more when it's lit up...... well worth looking at.
regards captains.........

ian

http://www.737ng.co.uk/simworld_oh/oh27.jpg
http://www.737ng.co.uk/simworld_oh/oh26.jpg
http://www.737ng.co.uk/simworld_oh/oh23.jpg
http://www.737ng.co.uk/simworld_oh/oh22.jpg
http://www.737ng.co.uk/simworld_oh/oh14_special.jpg

After to take a look and comparing prices with other companies, I can say that Sismo is cheaper in many cases according to quality-price for a complete set of elements which is included in the different Overhead Lines.

For example, Sismo offers different kinds of prices for the Overhead according to the needs.
If you prefer to make electronic connections by yourself, you can save even more money just asking for a personalized budget saving even 4.000 €, but that depends of the skills of the builders acquiring by separated parts-> I think this info is quite well for builders! :)

For that, it is important to know that Sismo can confused with the prices, because they are for complete solutions; contact maps, connections, cards, manufacturing, materials, software interface for addons, SUPPORT … as for example Blue Line (less than 1.900€ in Christmas) which has a very adjusted cost in order to a special matt paint as the real one, until 4 layers paint and primmer trying to take care over the backlighting…

Sismo trusts in Overhead Blue Line as a good idea because you will have all the necessary parts for mounting it… probably you will not get cheaper price to a similar quality when you add all the material that you need step by step …

hi,

thanks for the replies again.

Thes pictures you are showing sure look nice Ian, i guess the polish guys are ahead in the race for this one.
(i am getting a lot of valuable info from your site, thanks for that too : )
With the Sismo overhead i would also be very happy, but still if i built a lot myself i can manage well below 1900,- + VAT + shipping= 2000 + , i think. but again maybe i am wrong - which i really am sometimes : )
I guess we can say Engravity, Sismo, FDS, cockpitsonic, FSC are at the high end of the market where budget and DIY is of a lesser significance. Whereas Simworld, Poldragonet, Open Cockpits, Hispapanels and GLB allow for more DIY options and are more cost effective and not necesssarily of lesser quality.

Hi Dion,

I can vouch for SimWorld. They are relatively cheap in price and do great panels. I have their AFT overhead and the quality is very good. Also Filip and Krzysztof provide great customer service.

I chose FDS for my MIP, Engravity for my FWD overhead and Simworld for my AFT
All of these companies produce great panels.

The FDS and Simworld panels have a kind of matte finish, which the Engravity panels are a little glossy. You cant really tell in the dark, but that give you and idea of the texture.

One thing to note though is that Engravity and Simworld panels need to be backlit and while FDS is more expensive, if you take into account that their panels come with backlighting that uses real aircraft bulbs to give you accurate 737 backlighting, the price is not too bad.

Hope this help

Diego

Thanks Diego,

Something tells me i should get the simworld overhead : )

I think Richard Hutchinson has the Simworld overhead and it looks aswome, better than some others I have seen.

I guess its this, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys! Spend a little extra and you get the quality!

Dion, where in NL are you?