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  1. #11
    Tim
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    While not exactly plug and play, AOG's weather radar products can be displayed on a separate monitor or inside the PM nav display. Offsets are available for configuring switches.

    http://www.addongauges.com/

    I use it with the PMRJ. Support has not been the best lately, but the software does work.

  2. #12
    2000+ Poster - Never Leaves the Sim Trevor Hale's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomlin View Post
    LOL, Im right there with ya! I contacted a developer a while back begging them to create a networkable FMS to complement their other networkable products, but the answer was basically while it would sell very well, the amount of man hours to develop something like that was enormous, especially since his team was very small. I think that the wx radar is another example of this possibly.

    Oh, how I wish that Reality XP (for you and others) would make their stuff networkable, and how I wish that Ernie Alston FMS software was networkable (for me and others).

    If someone could just come up with a FMS/CDU package that was networkable and affordable, even if it was not quite as feature-rich as some of the other packages out there, it would SELL like crazy.
    Tomlin,

    What you need to realize is in your writings above. LOL If you have ever developed software you will see it isn't as easy as it looks. what lies beneath the visual aspects is very complex. What your are saying is basically this.

    I wish someone would build me a house and sell it for a dollar. (yes indeed they would sell like hotcakes, but the amount of time, materials and efforts to create that house far outweighs the ability to sell it for a dollar). I wish that someone would produce a real CDU (Hardware) and sell it to me for 100 dollars instead of the 700 that everyone is selling it for. The fact of life is, time is money and with the amount of time required to program such a piece of software the odds of finding someone to do it for free or next to nothing is not a viable option.

    The average computer programmer bills out at 65 bucks an hour. If you take this in to account I would guess the Project Magenta MCP/CDU is around 600 bucks. at 65 dollars an hour to program it you have only paid PM for 9.5 hours of programming. Therefore I submit that if the project took Enrico 2,000 hours to program it he would need to sell 217 copies of it just to break even.

    I agree for a hobby, we all want things cheap, however if you look at it from the other side of the fence, what would be the point if you were a developer to give things away for free. This is not a hobby for PM, AST, or any other software manufacturer. It is a way of life, and a full time job to earn money for their family.

    Would you goto work everyday and work for next to nothing in wages? Heck no. you wouldn't. You need money to survive, it is no different for software developers.

    Hope that makes sense!

    Trev
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    Trevor Hale

  3. #13
    1000+ Poster - Fantastic Contributor Tomlin's Avatar
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    Hi Trev

    Hey, there's no need to justify the costs- Im just saying that I believe that if the price point would come down a bit, then I believe in the end more copies would be sold. And I agree, it's very expensive to develop all this stuff and for many it is there career/livley hood. I dont expect a $100 anything for just a dollar. And, if I were to sell all the stuff I just got thru building for this sim of mine, it would be worth way more to me than to the buyer just because of all the TIME that was spent building and developing. So, I totally agree with what your saying, but Im saying that if the price point could be a bit lower, the end for the seller would be a good return on investment I believe. Also, it is obvious that some freeware developers can program some enormous items that work decent- It makes me think about other items out there where the main work is done, but you just put in the additional hours to make it networkable and then charge for the difference if needed.
    Eric Tomlin-
    Learjet 45 Builder
    www.flightlevel180.org

  4. #14
    Executive Vice President, MyCockpit


    Matt Olieman's Avatar
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    The good news is... our Flight-Sim Building hobby is growing, so possibly, eventually prices will come down

    As you used PM as an example, when he started coding (in the beginning) there was only a hand full of builders, and certainly his software(s) has gotten much more complex then he ever expected.

    The whole software development process really amazes me, the time and effort and very little return. I'm grateful for all the software we have available in our flight-sim hobby

  5. #15
    1000+ Poster - Fantastic Contributor Tomlin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MattO View Post

    The whole software development process really amazes me, the time and effort and very little return. I'm grateful for all the software we have available in our flight-sim hobby
    Very much so. Think back 5 years ago, then think back to 1999 when Kevin Saker, Ray S. and Mike Lehkamp and a few others were building some of the first home setups. THAT was when I was introduced to this addiction. Here it is now the end of 2007 and I am finally getting a sim up and running that looks and works really nice, but with much less effort due to the plethora of soft and hard ware that is now available to simmers. It's almost to the point now that we could build a full sim if we had a week's worth of full days to work on it!
    Eric Tomlin-
    Learjet 45 Builder
    www.flightlevel180.org

  6. #16
    Executive Assistant Geremy Britton's Avatar
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    hi andy,

    you mentioned usb computer monitors?
    could you tell me more never seen before.

  7. #17
    1000+ Poster - Fantastic Contributor AndyT's Avatar
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    I've been thinking of making a small monitor that interfaces thru USB. It will most likely also need a power adapter but the signal will be USB. I want to add a control pad to it also so that it could be used as a GPS, or a CDU or any number of other things.
    God's in command, I'm just the Pilot.
    http://www.geocities.com/andytulenko/

  8. #18
    2000+ Poster - Never Leaves the Sim Michael Carter's Avatar
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    After a second round of searching take a look at what I found: http://www.cambertx.com/RadarSimulation.html

    I wrote then an e-mail requesting some clarification concerning the interface and hardware. Specifically, the display head.

    USB plug-in is an option for a stand alone display.

    If these guys offer this at an affordable price, they could have an entire market to themselves in the simulator community.

    I have found no other company as of yet selling something like this.
    Boeing Skunk Works
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    We don't need no stinkin' ETOPS!



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  9. #19
    Executive Assistant Geremy Britton's Avatar
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    usb monitors sound realy good certainly will be good for me. Something like a gps etc would be great cheaper way for this.

    let me know how you get on i'm interested!
    geremy.

  10. #20
    2000+ Poster - Never Leaves the Sim Michael Carter's Avatar
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    A stand-alone GPS is not a problem compared to the radar.

    Any GPS that has a serial or USB port that recognises NMEA 0183 format input can be used to extract data from FS with a free-ware add on program.

    The problem is the cost for something authentic to be installed in the sim. A Garmin Street Pilot won't cut it.

    There are some nice panel mount units in the neighborhood of 3K with a large display.

    If this company can provide WX radar for an FS based sim, I probably won't be able to afford it, but I want the information just the same.
    Boeing Skunk Works
    Remember...140, 250, and REALLY FAST!

    We don't need no stinkin' ETOPS!



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