which 737 overhead to choose?

hi jskibo,

i had no idea, the last time i was on business in the US i was eleven years old, hooking up with mickey and fozzie bear : )

There is also Vitor Amaral in Portugal who is delivering all you want for your 737 cockpit for very reasonable prices. Kilo's will be kilo's though..

dion

I'm going to jump in here and say any panel manufacturer you go with is going to deliver some good quality. I am a mixed cockpit myself. I have the FDS MIP/Glare/CDU bay, and the Fly Engravity Overhead and CDU. I had to back light the overhead myself (and built my own frame) but that was pretty easy since all the panels are right next to each other. I would not have wanted to do that on the MIP, and the FDS IBL backlighting was the best choice for me.

And then there are real parts of course. Sometimes you will find a deal. I bought real 737 light switches, as they were cheaper then reproductions.

When it comes to cost, I'll quote something I read a year ago which was "Well if you think that part is expensive, consider the cost of a real, brand new version of the same part."

Building a sim is not cheap. Period. That's why it takes many of of years and we still aren't 100% complete :) All of the recommendations on this thread are excellent and it will just come down to what fits you and your budget. :)

Good luck!

Best,

Matt

Hi Guys,

It has been a while, but i ordered the complete simworld overhead in the end : ) I am very much looking forward to receiving and building this one. I will interface it through the FDS sys1x board, which proves to be a lot more cost effective than most people think because you not only have 128 inputs and 256(!) outputs but also all the wiring plus connectors and a 5V powersource. For gauges i'll use open cockpits and 4 euro servos from conrad (if i connect them).
I am also planning on connecting the airco systems to an actuator on the main window of my "hobbyroom" : )

dion

I've finally come around to actually build my Simworld OH. Been lying around for over a year now...
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_6...0/IMG_0014.JPG

Tried different frames, but the original 737-300 just didn't fit and an aluframe I made didn't do the trick eighter so I'm back to the good old wood :D
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_6...9042011453.jpg
.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_6...1042011462.jpg

Good buy and good luck

Attachment 5295Attachment 5296Attachment 5297Attachment 5298

Hi,

Like Nax i have decided for the simworld overhead with all bells and whistles. I will wire it to OC servo's and FDS sys1x board. Also the knobs i got from FDS and spraypainted them myself.
I thought some more detailed pictures would be welcome for further study of which and what to choose. I am veryvery happy with the simworld overhead, and i am sure i will get ALL of their other stuff when i have the means : )

Nax: thanks for all the help on the steering column subject : )

skol,

dion

Very nice and detailed!Im awating the poldragonet kit...4th week of waiting now,my fingers
really starting to itch:)

Very nice project you got going on and thank's for sharing!
/lenne

Glad to share my ideas.
Looking at the pics in last post, I have mounted the gaugeframes from the bacside... only showing the ring, not the ears to fasten it with on the front.

Look at this picture and see what I mean:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I...2/IMG_0267.JPG

Here is a few pics from a real 737 cockpit I visited the other week:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x...0/IMG_0147.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k...0/IMG_0149.JPG

Spot the difference?

OBS!!!: Another thing... I strongly recomend buying the hardware kit from Simworld to, not the hardwarekit from OC. The OC nuts that go on all the big switches does not fit in the Simworld panels. Takes a lot of work to sand/file all the nuts. Simworlds nuts fit perfect. Another great thing with the switches from Simworld is that they do not interfer with backlighting as the backsine (housing) of their swithces is round and small. OC switches are BIG and square and will give shadows to some of the backlighting!!!

Attachment 5300Attachment 5301Attachment 5302Attachment 5303

Hi, ofcourse i was just checking if people are paying attention. I will never admit i don't have a clue : )
I corrected i it and here's some more photos : )
dion

Hi,

Another update, apart from working on the MIP, yokes, projection and other stuff i am wiring the overhead, so here's some more pictures.
In glued in the announciators and LEDS with robson elastic kit/ Iam soldering each announciators leds in parallel and group 8 announciators per one common ground, as this matches the configuration required for the FDS interface card. I put the red connectors on the anodes so i can easily see what is what.
I got the white toggle caps from GLB flight products. Servo's have not been installed yet, at first i wanted to use the OC gauges, but this is totally unnecessary as the Simworld OH is delivered with dummy gauges that only need a servo and a servocard and a little imput from Prosim for instance : ) I started wiring the Leds with individual wirres, but decided microribbon is an easier alternative. i try to use different colors of heatshrink for each announciator in the group. I hope this will work : )

kind regards,

dion

looking at these pictures made me think of building Steve Mitchell's overhead for him.
this really is a nice piece of quality kit. everything just went together easily and
really looked good. you made a great choice dion. i suspect you are very happy :o
and i've now got another simworld overhead coming over for assembly and wiring up
for another colleague in the next couple of weeks. really looking forward to that.
good idea about the coloured heatshrink, i must remember that :o
have a great day

rgds

ian

Hi Ian,

Yes i am very happy with, i also just received the MIP-kit from Sim World with is also absolutely fabulous : ) I have to cut some holes to make them fit but that will be worth the trouble. I am also thinking about thier new pedestal panels, but i am a bit scared of the amount of workit will take it to make all the displays and radios myself....

Also i am still interested in stories of other overheads, so if anyone has any experience with poldragonet, sismo, OC, engravity and you name it please respond : )

kind regards,

dion

Hallo/Hi Dion,

Hier nog een link naar mijn project wat ik afgelopen voorjaar heb afgerond.

Hereby the link to my overhead project which i succesfully finished april this year.


http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/show...ht=#post119234

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Best regards,

Bas van Leeuwen
KLM077

Hi Bas,

I have already seen this thread and visited your website a couple of times. You have a very nice project going on : )
Also i like the gauges you made very much.

dion