The core of a train simulator setup could be considered its throttle and brake. Having lugged a combined throttle/brake from a real UK Class 365 passenger train home, I reverse-engineered how it worked, then figured out how to interface it with Train Simulator.| Project Blog on Christopher Mitchell, Ph.D.
As the different pieces of my Train Simulator controller come together, a bite-sized first task of building the physical dashboard is the door controls placed at each side of the cab. Here, I detail the process of prototyping the door control panel from a Class 80x out of cardboard and the authentic buttons used in the real train, then laser-cutting refined prototypes I can use with my existing setup| Project Blog on Christopher Mitchell, Ph.D.
As I add more instruments to my realistic physical dashboard for Train Simulator, I have prioritized a speedometer, one of the most vital tools a driver/engineer uses to safely operate a train. After purchasing working, ATP-enabled speedometers, I set about determining how to build controller hardware and software to use the ATP features and the analog needle with Train Simulator to continue to enhance the realism.| Project Blog on Christopher Mitchell, Ph.D.
I’m building a physical cab dashboard to control Train Simulator, and to tie it all together as robustly as possible, I am use CAN. This protocol is designed to rapidly share small updates around a network in an electrically noise environment, and in a previous post, I detailed my first CAN controller designs. Here, I show the maturation of the CAN controller to solve bugs and make it useful for any control or instrument I add.| Project Blog on Christopher Mitchell, Ph.D.
Train Simulator has for many years given me an easy, accessible outlet for my love of trains, including operating trains. Its realism leaves something to be desired, and I’m now building my own physical controller for Train Simulator, resembling the dashboard of a Class 80x passenger EMU from the UK. The preceding sections of this blog introduced experimenting with a speedometer and AWS acknowledgment pluinger, experimenting with the starwheel at the heart of a DIY master controller, and de...| Project Blog on Christopher Mitchell, Ph.D.