Where is the Button that deletes the browser history?
That's what the big red panic button is for. Close porn, open cats, delete history while they're distracted by you masturbating to cats.
[deleted]
[deleted]
You're a kid now!
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Million dollar idea: make a giant red panic button that deletes browser history. Attached via USB, naturally.
[deleted]
Problem?
[deleted]
You know, I've had too many occasions where I'm working on someone's laptop and I need to Google something and in the bar a fuck ton of porn appears. Why is this not widely known :(
They don't care that you know what they jacked/jilled off to last. It's a liberating way to live and love.
Hmm, I think I'll just check the box in settings that tells my browser NOT to keep a history log in the first place. If a webpage is important enough to me to go back later, I'll bookmark it.
Or just incognito
See the problem with this is anyone who sees you with the big red button will invariably learn what it is, and figure out that you're a huge pervert. I guess it could work affixed to the bottom of a desk or something.
think geek. Com used to have a foot switch for a similar task
Or better yet, opens a new tab in (all) browsers and navigates to disney.com.
Well that's even more disturbing if you're caught red handed.
What color are your hands now?
White, because I'm Caucasian. No other reason, I assure you.
You need to loosen your grip, man!
Point taken.
/r/aww then?
ಠ_ಠ
"GO AWAY MOM IM RESEARCHING FROZEN!"
Mmmm... Elsa.
Mmmm... /r/Elsanna
FTFY
I am not surprised. Not one bit.
That I shill it? That my name is basically synonymous with that sub? That it's a thing? That they're into each other?
That it's on reddit.
He didn't even ask his parent's permission first??
Jared? Shouldn't you be at your sentencing?
Jared?
Is this a reddit insider joke I'm not in on? :/
Not an insider joke, just a poorly crafted one. Jared (from Subway) got busted for kiddy porn, so I was joking about the Disney comment you made.
Can you see why I'm not a standup comic for a day job? :)
Jared the subway guy got busted for doing pedophile stuff.
Asking the important questions.
Signed in just to give you an upvote.
Thanks for telling us that.
What happens when you press the "farting control" button?
I fart in real life
I was actually expecting it would shoot some Glade out of the fan.
Now THAT would be even more amazing.
"Decontamination... complete"
It would be amazing if it actually controlled the room's door and a high-powered fan exhaust. It would close the door, shoot the fresh scent into the room and engage the fan. All the while you'd hear the VI from the Normandy in Mass Effect saying "decontamination in progress..."
Great, now the guy is gunna have to rebuild the whole thing to accommodate this.
That's only 10 minutes in reddit time. C'mon OP! We need updates!!
This is OP Pizzeria. No, we don't deliver.
Holy shit.
Thats an awesome idea
dammit, really? my most upvoted comment?
Aye, reddit be a fickle mistress
It has to do with electronic gadgets and farting. Of course it's your most upvoted. If you threw in boobs or cat pictures your inbox would implode
That's how it works man....
You could seriously get very rich making these things for people. Charge them $800, take your time, that shit is ART.
What happens when you press the "farting control" button?
I fart in real life
The only possible answer.
I honestly thought (and hoped) this was a word play, so I looked through the album closely for proof. You use English on your notes but your wood seems to be from Sweden at least. Do you live in Sweden?
no but i'm half swedish
Why?
no but i'm half swedish
Aha, I knew it! Also, amazing work. Looks really awesome :D
/u/redpillersinparis: In Swedish, "fart" means "speed" so a "fartkontroll" is a speed controller.
I was actually asking why you're Swedish
I laughed soooo hard at this!!
Which was it? Ha, Haha or Hahaha? I need to know which button to press.
me too thanks
K
Press it, press it.
When you poop in your dreams, you poop for real.
"When you fart in the game...
you fart in real life"
You're a typical white male with too much time and money on his hands. A woman of color would have made something much more useful than this.
I hate you, but you made me laugh. Commence existential crisis.
This is THE coolest DIY I've seen in a long time. Fuck ergonomics/functionality, THIS IS AWESOME!!!
This was my thought exactly... Maybe there is something wrong with me, because I think that the fact that this is such an overly complicated/unnecessary augmentation makes me want it all the more!!! BUTTONS!! LIGHTS!!! FUNNY WORDS!!!! I love it. This guy should design car dashboards.
There's a button specifically for cats to pop up on his screen!!!! SCORCERY!
So they made a button just to open Reddit?
it's getting a little worn down
[deleted]
"Yup, that's enough reddit for today.
..
..
Hmm what shall I do now.
..
..
..
I wonder what's happening on reddit."
I'll try from September to the end of the year to not be on Reddit because of this exact reason. This is really how my brain is now wired. Instead, lets see how many books I can read in 4 months.
Awesome! Keep us all up to date with regular posts please!
I might do something in /r/getdisciplined afterwards or /r/productivity
[deleted]
Thanks for the suggestion and happy cakeday! I think I'm going to go cold turkey because it's gotten to a very unhealthy point. I easily browse reddit for 3 hours a day, often more. Right now I'm on holiday in Oxford and I still browse reddit more than I go and see interesting places. That's just stupid and I realize it.
How can you go on holiday to Oxford and not get bored? Everything I can think of doing there you could do in less than a day.
I'm not on a holiday just to Oxford, I'm on a holiday to Southern England and staying in Oxford for 3 days.
Haha, that makes more sense :)
Enjoy your holiday, there's a ton of things to do around London and the south!
Pro tip: https://www.reddit.com/prefs/delete/
Now I just look at the same content every 10 minutes.
Additionally, if you have an android phone with tasker on it, you can have your phone interrupt your reddit browsing if you're on it for too long. I did that will all my social media apps so that I can get back to work quicker.
Start compiling a list of books so you don't go on reddit to find them.
I've been working on that for a while now :) Also, I think that I'll still get to only about 2-3 books a week (probably 2).
How the hell much free time do you have?
A lot. I study Psychology which doesn't really require me to work the 40 hours they tell you to put into it. I also have my own business so I can be very flexible with my time and I don't have to work for minimum wage which means that I can work less than my average peer.
Start a reddit thread about it
I am sure /r/booksuggestions will have something for him !
How's it going?
Since when do typewriters read?
Don't get me started about typewriters. It'll ruin my plan of quitting reddit in 10 days.
But...but...your karma!
Seriously though - good on you! I don't read nearly enough anymore. I hope your plan goes according to...uhh, plan.
I actually change my acount every year so that I don't get addicted to the karma (now I get addicted to just reddit). Every year I get about 2000-3000 karma and then I decide that the power is slowly rising to my head and time for a new account.
Spinward Fringe by Randolph Lalonde is good, and the first book is free! The rest are like $4 each or something insane.
Spinward Fringe by Randolph Lalonde
I will read it. It's only going to be physical books. I've started to listen to audiobooks and such (I really dislike the feeling of E-books) and now I just want to read physical books again, make notes in them, carry them with me, all the fun kind of stuff.
Why not head on over to /r/books
Ya, but you need to go to /r/books to figure out what books to read.
thank you for writing my autobiography
Truer words has never been spoken
for me its:
" thats enough reddit, i need to actually work now"
does one thing
"i should just check reddit real quick"
opens chrome r enter
I often close reddit, but then my default action when nothing is open is to open reddit, so I usually close and reopen reddit within a second without thinking about it.
I dont even bother closing it anymore, I just have one tab of the front page open all the time.
lazy refresh
Which button does that?
Been on here for 4 years and still can't find it.
No, it just opens another Reddit tab in Chrome
Whoa.. we don't need details on what you do on reddit.
Speak for yourself. Spill your guts, OP.
With all this you might as well switch from ITunes to Jriver or Foobar or something
Does the fart button operate a fan?
Oh my God you're such a NERD! HAHAH!.........................psst! Can you build me one too...
mine has keyless entry.
I miss the days when the only button I needed for reddit was F5!
Where do you put the weed?
What's with the banana? Are you some kind of fucking retard? "HURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 4 SKALUE LMAO U GUYZ IM IN ON THE JOKE HUAHUAHUAHUAHUAHUAHUAHUAHUA" I hope that thing falls and kills you. Please God I hope it kills you.
Did you push the BUTTON?
See pic 17
Alright meow. Time to load up Cats ver 3.1...then Celery Man, please.
Computer... Load ~~Naked~~ Nude Tayne.
Nude. Tayne.
o fuck...
Now Tayne I can get into.
Can I see the hat wobble?
Am I saying meow?!
Agreed! Awesome fun and functional! Thanks for sharing your genius! V 2...touch screen!
V 2...touch screen!
That would literally just be a touch screen computer
Next on DIY: How to glue your iPad to the wall.
I resent touch screen ONLY. There is definitely a place for at least some physical buttons!
Soooo... A touch screen computer with a keyboard and mouse?
Maybe a couple more.
"Fuck 'em ups" is probably my favorite of its many funny words. The 'targeting computer' design on the upper row is superb -- fantastic design.
God I want a video of the clicking/flipping sounds of those switches.
My god, I just unghhhh
Yes because America needs hundreds of small buttons on your dashboard to distract you from driving
My first thought was, "this is spectacular; wife would kill me."
Nick Bostrom, problem solved.
It's definitely awesome, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed he scrapped the flux capacitor from his drawing.
Yeah, but how would he accelerate his desk to 88 MPH?
This guy should design car dashboards.
So Homer's Car?
One thing I've dreamed of doing is getting of of those one-handed gaming keyboards and binding it to short cuts and system commands.
so you are one of those people that buy cases with the bright blue lights all over, and the led backlit keyboard to match it
100%. I know sometimes the DIY projects we see here get flak if they aren't super useful or practical. But usually I feel the most important criteria is that it makes the OP happy/they enjoyed making it. Seems like both for this. Great project.
Thanks! It's surisingly useful for just the music controller portion. I use that constantly now and don't even have to look up to change things. But yes, mostly makes me happy
Honestly dude it would be great for performance stuff. It is far more visually engaging than your standard DJ gear.
I sense a business opportunity....
Introducing the Smashcuts OCP programmable music controller! For when your Skrillex needs a little more Star Trek! Set phasers to wuub wuub wuub wuub wuub wuub wuub!
Reminds me of MIDI Fighter
I've never seen that before. That is really cool.
Amen to that!
Will the wall mount actually hold it for the long term? I almost picture the control panel weighing close to 100lbs. I just don't want it to smash down, you did a sweet job after all.
it's about 40 pounds, and all of that is held by the ceiling wires, the wall mount is just to hold it steady, and it's not going a great job of preventing wiggle
Could you add something to the sides to stabilize it? That might not be aesthetically pleasing but idk. Might make it sway less. Either way. Very awesome work. I just think it would be good idea to focus on a good way to stabilize and secure it so it doesn't sway. I'm sure you and dad could brainstorm something good.
As long as they attach to studs in the wall with plenty of screws, I don't see any reason for the cables. Plenty of TV mounts out there that can hold up TVs that weigh much more.
I was mostly thinking about it not swinging around when you use it. I figure it won't spontaneously fall out of the wall. I just thought about it swaying and how to stabilize it.
Maybe one of those dentist-arm-type TV wall mounts with a movable end attachment would work better. I have no personal experience with them but it seems like something that would work.
I would totally buy a small version of this with a couple buttons and levers with a way to place a printed logo for say Reddit or chrome. I know there are probably a lot of small USB controllers, but none in a quirky style like that, I Think it would be cool.
Would you consider doing a more in depth description of how you made it work?
It gave me an idea for a similar thing I've been wanting to do since I learned you can use a toaster to play doom.
Great job! The fact that you learned as you went is awesome. I'd love to do something similar with an LCARS panel for my game room fan &light controls.
this is like nerd level 1000
Nerd level - overhead control panel
How did you miss the obvious "over 9000" opportunity?
Because that's an older, and even more stale dead horse than "the cake is a lie".
You could almost say that it's staleness level is... OVER 9000!!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAH
More so than "[X] level: [X]"?
That's also really stale.
THERE IS NO CAKE!?
well im not a nerd see...
Would you say your nerd level is under 9000?
def under 9000, maybe even 1000
overhead 9000
[deleted]
But goku-san
What makes it so fucking great.
Who you calling nerd? This is definitely grand scale geekery.
way over 1000! i predict that this one will become a true wizard in time!
And he probably learned a ton on his own both before and during the project. It's not politically correct to point it out but for all the women that complain about lack of representation in the tech industry I feel like this is really accurate.
Stats and data aside when I encounter really passionate and driven people who taught themselves to do really cool things they are very often men.
Aside from looking awesome, I have no idea what it does! Can anyone fill me in?
Did you read the post? He has descriptions of everything and gifs of him using it.
[deleted]
If you're using alien blue, pull down to change to the album view thingy, this will show the text with the images.
[deleted]
There's one at the end of the post.
This is Awesome. Welcome to the NSA watch list.
There's no Babymetal button. Am disappoint.
...and for the rest of us: Spaceteam
SET FINITE PLEXUS TO 3!! LAUNCH HELIOCHOKE! REFRIGERATE LEFTOVERS!
I could not have said it better myself.
This is the very definition of an EPIC BUILD!
Very nice, OP.
agreed, totally sweet
It reminds me of the Ravenna Ultra Low Altitude Vehicle. Built for a kid, but really for the adult.
Nerd.
My question is, are any of those buttons programmable to get you a girlfriend.
Still really awesome project. Wish I was super handy. I need one.
You definitely should show this to the guys over at /r/EliteDangerous. If you could build something like this, even on a smaller scale, for use in E:D, or other games for that matter, you could make a killing. The aesthetic of this is just fantastic, I want one!
This is just a prototype for the one I'll build when Star Citizen comes out
I'm sure building full boxes, or even just the panels wouldn't be cost effective enough to sell, since it looks like it requires a lot of work. However, I bet you could sell the laser engraved panels, minus the actual parts, and do pretty well! Honestly, anyone can hook up some switches and buttons, but it takes some effort to make it actually look good!
I'm basically just tripping on how cool this is, and I desperately want something similar!
Custom, functional switches? People will pay. He may ask 1k, functional switches, maybe even a feedback system, they will pay.
People already payed 2-10k+ for virtual ships that don't even exist yet. I agree, i think they will :P
No kidding. This is, after all, the age of $500 (mechanical) keyboards, for god's sake.
Ha. That's a reasonable price for a Korean custom. I mean, I remember one that was $750+ without keycaps. Hahahaha
......what the fuck are you doing with your keyboard?
What do you mean? I've only spent about $270 on 3 different keyboards and another set of blank PBT keycaps. I didn't buy the $750+ keyboard. But damn, it sure looked beautiful.
I mean what the hell do you do that you need a $750 keyboard. I spent a little over $300 and can't really imagine a nice keyboard than what I have now.
I imagine it's all about the feels. And the customized to you concept. And the fact that I think only like 20 were even made. So, it's a limited edition custom keyboard. I mean, look at GON's NerD Crystal TKL. That's a sick board. Costs around $550 and I'm sure those who buy it love it as far as I know? Haha
I didn't come here to feel, dammit!
I didn't come here to feel, dammit!
Yes, but you left as a better human being - because now you know that you can obtain true nirvana for the low, low price of literally all of your money. Oh, would you look at^that^I'm^broke
^^send ^^help
Looking up new keyboards?
Hahahaha
Did you press a button to say that?
Unfortunately the mechanical keyboard I'm currently typing on (CM QFR) isn't programmable...so I had to hit several to produce those instead of just Pn+H like I could set up on my Poker II. But man, I really want a HHKB or a Novatouch. I just can't decide.
Those are very very few and far between.
True, but they exist, no.?
Yes, it's just that saying "the age of" makes it sound commonplace.
You would be hard pressed hitting $500 without total customization and individual purchase of a variety of custom keycaps, rare switches, and specific body materials. And buying some of the most expensive of each.
Hell, a semi-custom (well still referred to as custom) will run you $150-$300 USD. Where you can choose the switches, caps, layout, colors, backlighting, text, and get the entire thing custom printed to show a collage or something across the keys.
The only thing that bumps it up is custom making the case out of exotic materials and handmade keycaps, like steampunk conversions and stuff.
I guess I'm not doubting that OP could sell his board for $500-$1000 dollars since damn near 100% of it is being made by him...I think my gripe was just the mechanical keyboards comparison. :P
I'm just gonna leave this here.... so other people can see a... "steampunk conversion"....
Thanks that's one of the ones I was thinking about.
My Black Widow has been serving me very well for a few years, with no problems whatsoever, despite me treating it like absolute garbage.
It was hard to justify a keyboard at this price -- 500 dollars? I'm an enthusiast, but I'd rather put that towards a new GPU or something.
500 dollars is insane. I use an HHKB, which is notoriously expensive, even that was around 300. I don't know which boards go for 500.
500 dollars IS insane. I have a GTX 970, so the 980 isn't an enormous leap, but with 500 dollars (and a bit of change) I could buy a GTX 980.
Which is going to improve my enjoyment of gaming more, a very powerful graphics card.. Or a 500 dollar board of guilt that reminds you every day that you could've just gone with a branded 100-150 dollar keyboard, or even 300 at most, maybe.
Yeah, I mean, I don't really game and spend 8 to 15 hours a day typing, so for me keyboard and pointing device are hugely important, so I'm willing to go to around 300, but beyond that like...can it really even be that much better?
For reference, one example is the OTD 356 Series. Limited run developed by the members of Over The Desk, a Korean keyboard community.
To read further, see these two links below.
Duck boards can also cost quite a lot as well.
A sale thread for a Viper selling at $410
So, it's not that uncommon to have $500 boards, but it won't go much higher than, say, $750 or so for a single board.
Which mechanical keyboards cost $500? So far the most ones I've seen (mainly WASD) have been in the $200 range.
I don't remember what I spend on my HHKB Pro II, but I think it was 300+. Never seen one for 500.
I posted this above as well.
For reference, one example is the OTD 356 Series. Limited run developed by the members of Over The Desk, a Korean keyboard community.
To read further, see these two links below.
Duck boards can also cost quite a lot as well.
A sale thread for a Viper selling at $410
So, it's not that uncommon to have $500 boards, but it won't go much higher than, say, $750 or so for a single board.
And headphones.
having gone from $40 headphones to a pair of $300, I totally get why you would pay more now. But having gone from a MS ergo 4000 keyboard to a WASD... it's marginal. And if I were completely honest, more of a subjective preference than anything. No one is going to choose the cheap headphones after having a decent pair, though.
The usb cable for my loud ass rosewill mechanical keyboard just failed recently so I dug a Logitech K120 out of a drawer and I actually kind of like typing on it. Something about the drone the keys make with sustained fast typing instead of the tickatickatickaticka of a mechanical. So satisfying, and I LOVED my rosewill. I thought it was going to suck to have to use this. Now I don't know what I should do. Replace the cable or just use the logitech..
you just mail that old board to me #MECH4LYFE
Yeah, I can't go back from mechanical to mushy keys again, but I don't think a $500 keyboard is a worthwhile investment. Hell, just grab a unicomp ultra for $80 or so.
But having gone from a MS ergo 4000 keyboard to a WASD... it's marginal.
I can assure you that a $300 keyboard is much better than your run-of-the-mill WASD.
Start making stuff for DCS or X-Plane too, flight simmers will pay for good quality control panels.
Custom functional switches turn me on
I will pay.
hell, even if OP sells the plans and parts list for something like this, he'd probably make the money he spent on it back and then some.
A lot of time and such would be saved by using slip on connectors and a set of crimper as opposed to hand soldering all of those wires. Would also make it MUCH easier to replace components. I build my own custom length servo cables for my RC planes, keeps things tidy and saves weight as well (which is beneficial in RC planes).
I was thinking that. Couldn't something like the powers and grounds be a smaller gauge wire then go to a crimp closer to each panel so then you would have less wires everywhere? I don't know if it would save weight or even work how I'm picturing though. Do you get what I mean?
Not sure if you could go to smaller guage or not, would depend on the total current draw through the system - but along the lines of what I think you are getting at, you could probably come up with some kind of power bus/ground bus system using something like copper strips.
This system might even be low current enough to use something as cheap as thin aluminum, even, so yeah I think you are probably right.
That's what I thought when I saw this. It would also make troubleshooting and fixing things way easier.
My thoughts as well. I believe they're called "spade" connectors?
OP did repeatedly say that he had no idea what he was doing.
Yeah, spade connectors. Couldn't remember what they were called.
For a game that people buy $500+ ships they can't even fly yet? I'm sure he could sell plenty.
It would really need to be a lot more polished before i could be sold. Probably a single USB controller and software on teh desktop to manage the interface.
I could definitely see these selling for a lot of money. Regardless of whats under the hood, the panel itself is a work of art and definitely the biggest barrier to building something of this quality for most people.
The panels aren't that bad. I cut lexan for the first time, which is similar but stronger than acrylic, for a track car to replace the sunroof. Used a band saw with a different blade. It was really messy but pretty easy. Then you can take it to places that will laser etch it.
I don't know the price of etching though. Plus that may be more work then many are willing to do.
Electrician here*. By the time you've made 3 or 4 of those, you will be plenty familiar with the way everything works and perhaps have even devised a system of some sort that will greatly speed assembly. And he could make a tutorial for how to program the USB controllers and leave that up to the user.
^(*I've dabbled in industrial controls, which is basically this but on a larger scale.)
why not just build it like a fighting game stick then?
You really do need to sell these. I'm blown away that you "had no idea what [you] were doing", this looks absolutely amazing. What resources were you using to learn how to get the USB controllers and Arduino setup properly?
Also, beautiful job with the design. It looks like it's straight out of a movie!
Second this, I really wanna make electronics but I have no idea where to start, How did you go about it OP?
open youtube, type in what you want, someone made a guide already.
And if you're really serious there are even university courses on electrical engineering.
there are even university courses on electrical engineering
It's almost like, EE is an entire major or something.
You don't need to do the whole major for a small project like this. This is why he mentioned classes.
You really don't need any classes for something like this. Switches are simple. There's just an awful lot of them here which is tedious.
I agree with you.
We're only talking about college classes for this because of this line:
if you're really serious
in /u/Eplore's comment.
I was just replying to the context of your post, which implied classes would be useful for a project like this one.
Ah ok then.
You don't understand subtle sarcasm do you?
Yep electronics 101 would just about cover everything you'd need. Basic soldering skills and a basic understanding of how to wire up a switch.
There is no EE course that teaches you how to build something like this.
Source: Have a Masters in EE, currently paid to build things like this.
"even" as in suprisingly there are free good quality videos of lectures on youtube
[deleted]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.0721
An easy way to see if you enjoy it is try some of the free tutorials at either Adafruit.com or Sparkfun.com. Another quick start method is to look up projects on Instructables.com.
If you're more serious some books listed from easy to committed are: 1. Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest M. Mimms III 2. Make Electronics by Charles Platt (requires big parts kits) 3. Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz 4. The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz & Winfield Hill
If you're focused on programming try a basic Arduino kit containing the development board, breadboard and pre-cut wires.
If you want to delve into analog or digital electronics you'll need a breadboard, flush cutters, needle nose pliers, a roll of 22 AWG solid core wire, soldering iron and a roll of rosin-core solder to start.
The other bits and bobs (LEDs, resistors, capacitors, switches, pcb board, etc.) you'll need for a project are best purchased from ebay, Jameco, Mouser.com, DigiKey, Adafruit or Sparkfun if you're in the United States. Adafruit, in particular, is a very good curator of tools and parts. It'll cost a bit more than Mouser or Digikey, but beginners can be sure they get quality tools & parts.
Good luck & enjoy.
Thanks a bunch, I just started reading that first book you recommended and it's exactly what I needed. (link for others interested)[https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5jcnBPSPWQyaTU1OW5NbVJQNW8/edit]
I already have most of the tools from other things but I think I'll be buying a better soldering iron. But I'll hold off till I've finished this book and got some basic designs to paper so I know exactly what I'll need, I'll probably just buy bulk of everything anyway though so I'm free to mess around :)
Before I even started reading the pictures, I was thinking "OMG, did he do this for SC?" then I read the labels and was disappointed. This made me smile again, can't wait to see how you work that one up!
Waiting to see some sort of 'final' control scheme before I build the SC version
You'll be able to get really good at building them in the solid 8 years until release.
There is one RSI panel.
I knew looking at that shield button setup you had to play Arena Commander.
Dope board man this thing is definitely MORE ROCK
Knew it! Sweet setup.
Ya Smeghead.
And there you have it folks. the reason for its creation. to simply advertise for star citizen. that game must be failing hard due to all the people wanting a refund. its gonna suck and youre going to buy it.
I thought that was a SC wallpaper. Nice work
Thinking of doing something similar for war thunder. I use full cockpit controls and need more switches!
/r/battlestations might enjoy this as well
If possible show it on /r/EliteOne as well. It's the same game but for Xbox One so I'm not 100% sure how warm the reception will be but since joining the sub I've yet to see one person act a fool and everyone seems genuinely interested in stuff like this.
PS: Weyland Yutani logo is a great fucking touch, 10/10 you made an awesome rig!
I was just going to say that I wish I had one for when that comes out.
Why wait, if you can build that you can build a space ship for yourself. I have never seen industrial/commercial equipment look as good as your work.
There it is.
rekt
So you're taking a break for a few years then? Bazinga.
Hope you're still alive when it releases in 2085!
That sounds like a dream. This plus a joy stick and some voice commands would be a wet dream.
you are a smart guy, mind i ask what you studied/do for a living?
i studied theater, writing and film. i currently make videos for companies and youtube
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What kind of knowledges do you need in order to make something like this?
Even if you sold schematics/kit parts I reckon you would do okay.
Like seriously, If you made something like this for SC you could make such a killing. We already know star citizeners are plenty willing to shell out the cash.
As someone who knows the games exist, and not much else, can I ask your opinion on Elite, No Man's Sky and SC respectively
Edit: grammar
Elite's fun but i got board, No Man's Sky looks fun but i'm worried i'll get board, SC looks like the second coming of Christ to me
If you do end up building more of these, look into getting some circuit boards printed. If it's designed right, you could have a generic circuit board behind each sub-panel, have multiple button layouts you could use, and then have the switches solder directly to the board (or just have generic boards with a bunch of JST connectors and use the pre-crimped pigtails for the switches, like these). That way you can have a single data cable per panel running to your USB keyboard emulators, instead of the rat's nest currently. You could potentially incorporate the USB controllers and lighting controllers into the generic boards - would allow you to change layouts easily, add more/fewer switches, etc.
Prototype board houses are surprisingly cheap, and the amount you'll save in wiring and headaches will more than make up for the board cost.
Building it BEFORE it comes out? Thats just plain waste of money and resources!
Makes a lot more sense now.
Would look quite good for Mechwarrior Online as well :)
You should really pursue this. With your next prototype, spend some time making it truly marketable on a grand scale (even though 1000s would buy this one). This is the coolest and most sell-able thing I've seen on reddit. Awesome stuff.
I've always since I had a 386 wanted to rig up something like this. Can you point me towards what resources you used to figure out the software side?
ControllerMate is the program, but it's Mac only, so on a PC you'll need to find something else
Got a mac, no worries. Killer work, and thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction!
See my first thoughts was using this to play EVE online. Especially for having hotkeys to direct your alts.
you should make one for Half-Life 3, it'll come out before Star Citizen does
~ when ~
/r/kerbalspaceprogram too -- we love us some custom control panels!
All that would be on a KSP control panel would be a big red panic button for when you inevitably start crashing.
Lable it "reset to launch"
I'd label it "Omega 13"
because clearly no launch gets past its time window.
Agreed, it looks fantastic m8.. Fly safe 07
Eve online guys would likely go nuts for this as well.
I haven't played, or even bought, the game yet but his was the first thing I thought of as well. I actually thought it was for the game in the thumbnail.
I mean. Button boxes exist for driving sims, flight sims, etc.
Erectile dysfunction?
Oh my god, what have you done to me!? I can either not buy this and ignore it, or spend a lot of time/money playing this.
I could build this - I have done a few electric brewing control panels. However I dont know what people want or what to build from a design/style perspective. The wiring is something I can do standing on my head.
You should make a video and go through the buttons to show us what each one does.
i can maybe do this
I just want to see some of it in action, this is really awesome man great work!
Please? Your awesome creation sparked something in us, and now we're hungry for more!
and Lo, this is our patron saint: http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3tqzt1
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/2i8j3x/what_are_your_favorite_scenes_of_peopling/cl0azlq
Just discovered this thread. Great job. A video with sound would be awesome!
op deliver plz
I gotta practice my stabbing
haHAAA
Reminds me more of Johnny 5.
Los locos kick your ass, los locos kick your face, los locos kick your balls into out ter space
Number Johnny 5! Where did you learn these words?! Did you want your mouth washed out with soap?!!?
omg I can hear this in my head perfectly.
https://media2.giphy.com/media/A6IQueVWEQt6U/giphy.gif
For the sake of Pete!
No disassemble! Stephanieeeeeeee!
Haha, I saw the same thing but thought of Jonny 5 instead! Showing my age I guess...
https://38.media.tumblr.com/ac88032ad6cc173bd93229b1f7a76f90/tumblr_ndfyf1HA9E1snq8dno1_500.gif
Hey I might have to do that. I have those speakers and my monitor is too big and blocks some of the sound.
Nerd!
Great observation!
How does this plug into your computer, does it all route through a single USB input? Also, how are all the inputs and switches programmed? I'm seriously debating making one of these myself and I'd love if I could get my hands on some source code or whatever you used to create functionality, I'm not really sure how you do that.
USB controllers from Desktop Aviator, and on the programming side an app called ControllerMate. ControllerMate is awesome, it's all node based so if you can figure out skill trees in RPGs you can figure out how it works
To bad there is no windows version of it :(
edit: you guys are awesome!
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Looks good. I was looking into autohotkey. Looks promissing even though reading from the serial port isnt that easy.
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Thank you! That's incredible!
Like HTTP post request? What kind of events do you fire to your IP?
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Awesome, thanks very much! I've got a dormant raspberry pi sitting around doing nothing, going to hook style buttons up and try this.
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I was going to come back to this comment as well :( Off the top of my head, he was using GET http requests for small requests and POST for bigger requests. You can use eventghost to trigger when a http request is sent to your PC from the Pi to do what you want.
You can do similar with a Teensy USB Development Board. Use it to emulate keystrokes, and program some windows hotkeys.
I assumed OP was on Windows based on iTunes. Mac?
Care to share which programs people recommended??
I love me some ControllerMate. Nice work on your kick ass command center!
ControllerMate is awesome, it's all node based
My javascript-hating brain insists these two clauses are mutually contradictory but I'm glad it makes you happy.
Looks like he bought little USB units that take button inputs and convert them to keyboard button presses. The writeup mentions a USB hub in there, so it'll probably be a single USB cable plus a power cable going out of the box.
It could probably be simplified with a single arduino programmed as a HID. But more technical knowledge, but wouldn't require a software backend to run most applications.
That is one legit mission control you've got there my friend. How long did the whole build take?
Maybe three months on the design and figuring out the parts and doing basic soldering kits for practice. Another thee months on the build, I thought it would come together in a weekend but that was not the case.
Haha, If I had a dollar for every, "I thought it would come together in a weekend," project that ended up consuming me... Cool stuff!!
I tend to pull all nighters on this kind of shit and sacrifice my sleep, work, and social life to knock them out in a weekend. Then I need a week of sleep.
meth.
That's what work is for.
What? You would have 3 dollars?
If you do something like this again in the future, buy a syringe of flux. That shit will make any bozos soldering look perfect and very functional. I can't live without it anymore.
Can you tell me more ? I need to do some soldering on a guitar pickup, and I have in the past made some bad solders that came undone. Doing everything I can not to have this problem again. Would this product help?
Yes it will. Make sure you buy lead-free, and watch plenty of youtube videos beforehand.
I picked it up rather quick after someone showed me just last week, it's all about the technique and making sure your iron has a clean tip.
Also don't apply the heat for too long, you want the solder to melt onto the tip, flow off the tip, and get drawn by the heat into the wiring connector, all without burning your wires or ruining the connector.
It sounds like a lot, but you should be all set if you do a cold run with the items while watching the video.
Sometimes having the helping hand clips help also.
Just please do not burn yourself.
Have a great time :)
I don't know where you heard that you should use lead-free, but almost all professionals say to use leaded solder, even if it is worse for the environment. I was terrible at soldering, went and bought leaded solder, instantly had beautiful connections.
Stay away from acid core. Rosin core ftw. Acid core sucks and stinks and requires you to use flux and alcohol to clean afterwards. Rosin core, flux if you want but you don't have to.
I didn't even know acid core existed. I've only ever used rosin core!
We were using lead free so it didn't matter so much if the kids breathed in the smoke. Granted we should have had more fans to make it more of a nonissue, but I still got beautiful results.
There's no lead in the smoke. Don't use lead-free.
It worked fine for me, my end results worked well and looked great.. why would I use leaded if lead free worked for me?
If you prefer lead-free for other reasons, that's fine (if rare). I meant, "Don't feel compelled to use lead-free solder for health reasons." If you take obvious precautions like washing your hands after soldering, and encourage your kids to do the same, then there's no possibility of exposure to harmful levels of lead.
It would be very obvious by now if that weren't true. I wouldn't expect to be able to buy SnPb solder at all...
Yeah I think the reason we did lead free was because we were doing the building in a classroom and it's easier to not really have to wash your hands so we can keep the kids focused on the build and progressing through it.
But if I was doing it at home I would agree that it would be easier to just go wash my hands.
ah well if you got good results with what you did then stick with it!
Do NOT breathe the smoke. That's the rosin reacting, and the rosin in lead-free solder is actually worse for you than in leaded solder.
I'm all for lead-free (I like not having to wash my hands after touching it), but just know: there's still toxic stuff in there.
Yes, the teachers said to not breathe it in, but the fans we had were inadequate.. learning moment now, I guess.
Thank you for letting me know, I will remember that.
Ventilation can definitely be a challenge. You might want to get a respirator to deal with the fumes.
This one is pretty reasonable. If you're willing to get something fancier, you can get a cartridge respirator for about $20, with a metal fume filter for ~$10. Those are more durable and comfortable, at a higher price.
Thanks for the idea, I'll keep itb in mind for next time
Also don't apply the heat for too long, you want the solder to melt onto the tip, flow off the tip, and get drawn by the heat into the wiring connector
Uhhh, this is exactly the opposite of how I was taught: Heat the joint for a few seconds, then touch the solder wire to the joint when its hot enough to melt and let capillary action do its magic.
This is the correct way to solder. You win +1 from me sir.
Okay. To each their own, the way I was taught works well, also.
The way you were taught is just wrong, and whomever taught you that should be punished.
Heat the work, not the solder. Fundamental principle of soldering. Dumping hot solder on cold component connections is a recipe for cold solder joints and general crap soldering. You want everything hot so it binds. Generally this means you will never touch your solder to the tip of your iron, instead touch the connection with your iron and your solder. Learn to do it properly and you'll have better results that last longer and look nicer.
I was taught to touch the side of the iron to the connection to warm it up, then touch solder to other side and let the capillary action take over and slide the solder in.
Yep, that is the way to do it. Let the heat of the joint melt the solder, not the iron itself. Iron heats the work, work melts the solder.
I guess I will have to practice more, as I touched the solder to the iron immediately above where I wanted it to go, and it flowed there perfectly and made a great connection.
You should not have to touch the solder directly to the iron in most cases. You might just have the iron set too low. You want the whole thing to be very quick, iron on the joint, half second later dab it on the opposite side with your solder, and off. Cool iron will not let you do that.
Edit - the reason its so important to heat the work is to prevent cold solder joints. These often look just fine, but because the metal in the joint wasn't heated to the temperature needed to melt the solder, they don't bind together. This means unreliable connection, often one that disconnects as things warm up during operation. It really sucks to troubleshoot this kind of thing. Melting the solder with the metal in the joint ensures this cannot be a problem.
And so you can know I'm not making this shit up.. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldering#Electronic_components_.28PCBs.29
" If all metal surfaces are not properly fluxed and brought above the melting temperature of the solder in use, the result will be an unreliable "cold solder joint".
To simplify soldering, beginners are usually advised to apply the soldering iron and the solder separately to the joint, rather than the solder being applied direct to the iron. When sufficient solder is applied, the solder wire is removed. When the surfaces are adequately heated, the solder will flow around the joint. The iron is then removed from the joint."
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I understand that, but we were making SeaPerch ROVs that are made of pvc and had only a couple switches to run 3 motors.
We were building them so we could go out into the community and then teach kids how to do it themselves, which was the intent of lead-free so parents don't get a hair across their ass and I have to tell them to pound sand.
I've never used flux. But I can tell you, if youre not gonna use flux, make sure the solder melts onto the contacts (not the tip of the soldering iron). This guarantees that both contacts are hot (important). And then it really helps to hold everything still for 1 or 2 seconds while the solder cools.
Try some flux, it makes things a lot better.
Possible without flux, very easily, but flux just makes it so much better
Check out this flux, it comes in a syringe/gel. Really easy to apply to the joint that you're soldering and then you solder like normal. It will make the solder suck to the joint.
What's your day job?
Dude colour me jealous. What are the chances of your putting up blueprints online so it can be replicated?
I'd love to but i don't really have blueprints or schematics. I REALLY didn't know what I was doing, so all the notes I do have wouldn't make sense to anyone. It'd be like reading an owners manual to a car written by a caveman
Right, I can understand that. Well if you ever think about laying down plans or trying to decipher your work, let me know. I've got nothing but time on my hands and have been looking for a new project.
You really don't need blueprints or schematics for this sort of thing. It's just simple circuits, it would almost be irrelevant. The complexity comes more from physically running all the wiring, mounting and fabrication, and the Arduino firmware code.
Each switch goes to the USB controllers, each LED goes to the Arduino, basically. Seems simple enough.
Or your Arduino code / USB stuff would be interestinf
It'd be like reading an owners manual to a car written by a caveman.
That is the best simile I've read in a week. I'll... I'll file it for possible future reuse.
Links to the resources you used? As in, how did you learn this? I had a slightly similar project I've been wanting to start but am having a hard time finding info on how it all works
I started with little solder kids you can get at radio shack and then built three test panels where i experimented with how it would come together. it's just about breaking down the big tasks into reasonable ones and gaining enough experience doing the technical stuff. it's really not all that hard.
Awesome man. Yeah I'm like you, so far my only experience is taking things apart. I've soldered jumpers and replaced capacitors, but never taken on a project from scratch
What about sharing some of the graphics? I'm a software and electrical engineer, but I don't know much about photoshop. I don't plan on replicating it precisely, but I'm toying with the idea of making something like this. The graphics would give me a great head start.
This is absurdly impractical, but so nice to look at.
Im a massive nerd and I absolutely love this! However, OP, you say you use it all the time? Do you stand up each time you want to press a shortcut button?
There is a gif in that post that shows him hitting the panic button. Here it is. Looks like it's not much of a stretch to hit everything while sitting down.
That moves a bit too much for me... that bracket needs tightened up.
Oh wow awesome, I was under the impression it was a lot higher up!
Why did he push it with a pen
He saves money by not needing a gym membership (that he would never use anyway ofc coz, you know... the nerd thing)
This reminds me of the ask reddit thread recently that asked "What is something that's cool to be good at, but uncool to be really good at"
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Because
Any other response would have been unacceptable. Good work, OP. Your creation is beautiful.
Dude this is incredible. Can you give me a ballpark of how much it cost to make?
Maybe $900 in parts and $100,000 in self labor
damn lol how long did it tak e?
He said somewhere else that it was like 3 months to design and 3 months to build.
Fuck lol that's dedication
Kick-ass battlestation.
I've found the best way to avoid scorching on laser jobs is to put a sheet of contact paper on the side that is being etched/cut. I have to cut white museum board all the time, and contact paper is my saving grace.
Interesting! The solution for us was to go over the cuts with the laser on 'low' several times to burn off all the paint before the cutting began.
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Well then how would he avoid spraypainting the now grooved/cut areas?
Mask all the non-paint areas with tape or another remove-able sealant. We get stuff powder-coated all the time with no-paint areas for grounding and threads. You have to for radio racks because the whole rack has to be grounded to itself and the truck.
by filling with caulk, painting, and removing the caulk with dental picks?
seems like the lines wouldn't be as clean, but you're the experts (no sarcasm).
You can buy engraving plastic that is multi layered to get coloured effects easily, it's hard to tell from just pictures but it might not have looked as good as what you did though. I probably would have bought a sheet of black anodized aluminum and then cut and engraved my panels with that.
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Bunch of rust-oleum from home depot. Matte black. No special techniques.
You should really take a few more pictures of your setup and post it to /r/battlestations
Masking tape works well, I wonder if your laser shops tried it out? Masking is a pretty standard thing to do (especially when working with woods that generate smoke as they cut. I have been experimenting along these lines with art that combines lasering + watercolours together, so I need to be sure the wood doesn't scorch where I etch!)
For something like this I'd have initially thought of black + white lasermax but I expect it would be more expensive than the painted acrylic. I think the backlights should still have shone through because the layers are also made of acrylic but perhaps the thickness of the black layer may have been an issue.
My work has laser cutters for doing awards engraving. I've used it for a number of other things...
If you can justify getting a wide roll of masking tape, get a wide roll of light-duty (or whatever, not too sticky) masking tape. Cut right through it, wash it off with water.
Use it on my wood cuts all the time.
For when I use this application, did you try painting the backside, so the etched letters pop out a bit? Keeps you from cutting through the paint.
Any idea what's in contact paper? I know vinyl in laser-cutters is a no-no (releases chlorine gas - bad for laser cutters and people) and I'm generally kinda paranoid about what materials I stick in my machine.
I usually use masking tape for this purpose, works pretty well.
Edit: Some googling seems to indicate contact paper is made of the bad stuff... might want to double think using it for this purpose.
Interesting...I use school laser cutters and our shop guys are fanatical about what is and is not allowed in the machines. I'll ask around
I might be wrong but here was an early result that came up: http://www.instructables.com/community/PVC-Free-contact-paper-alternative/
All this stuff tends to be very expensive, but that's partly because you get it in large quantities. And at least it's trustworthy: http://www.laserbits.com/laser-supplies/masking-materials.html
I've gone the middle route and I just buy the widest masking tape I can find (5cm) and apply it in strips. Hopefully it doesn't contain anything nasty. Probably can't be worse than what's in the MDF, at least :/
You have a serious talent. Truth be told, you could make a profitable business doing this. You should seriously consider doing something like this as a start-up. You can make standard builds for a decent fee/profit, but also make custom builds for a huge profit. People will pay. People will pay...
I've put some thought into this. If I had some job I hated I would probably jump at the chance of making this a business but I really love what I do. I'm also good at what I do and not so great at soldering.
At the same time, it would be awesome if there was a site that sold modular control panels that can be customized via web interface. That should exist. So, we'll see.
If you make another one of these, look into crimp connectors.
ELI5?
A crimp connector is a metal tube wrapped in plastic. Put a wire in each end, crimp (compress) both ends firmly, and you have a solid connection between the two wires. Usually.
Oh one of those, ok. Never knew the name of those things.
TIL
Yeah I had to use a bunch when installing my car stereo. Not particularly fun, but it beat soldering.
Man I really prefer soldering to crimps. Installing in a car might be different though.
(Although I'm sure there's a differing opinion...)
Most "professionals" do solder car stereo connections. It provides a much more secure and long lasting connection especially in the (potentially) hot and rattling interior compartments of your car. Combined with some heat shrink tubing, you've got a pretty bulletproof setup.
Most setups you can solder the harnesses together and then once you're in the car it's as simple as plugging them in.
Well, I also was still living at home and couldn't order or buy a soldering station. It did have that harness though.
You can also find them as butt connectors! Much easier to remember ;) http://www.amazon.com/Forney-54827-Connector-Shrink-25-Pack/dp/B009PHFNN8
Usually doesn't seem to apply to me. Usually. I always end up soldering everything after my crimp connectors fail. Maybe I just have crappy connectors.
I wonder how hard it would be to melt some solder info the connector right before you crimp.
For the effort, you may as well just solder it normally. With a decent soldering iron and a little practice I can solder connections just as fast as crimping them.
lets be honest
pros: better quality seal, cheaper, more professional, more lasting
cons: slower, harder to use
Soldering before crimping is actually a bad idea. You won't squeeze all strands when crimping, effectively rendering the crimp connector completely useless.
German VDE (Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technology) even prohibits soldering when using any type of crimp connector for safety reasons, at least when operating at mains voltage.
By the way, it's not that hard. Just use a lot of flux and the solder will flow just into the connector by itself :)
Yeah I mainly did crimping because I assumed I couldnt afford a soldering station. I am just very thorough with my crimps.
Once didn't notice I soldered where I obviously should have just crimped. Said screw it, put a giant blob of hot glue on it and called it good.
Crimp connectors are bush league crap. They're bulky, tacky, and unreliable. A solid solder job should last basically forever.
they're also called butt connectors!
You're a butt connector!
:( but I don't want to be a butt connector!
Even better are the ones that auto solder, you slide the wires into the crimp connectors and hit it with the heatgun and bam, instant soldered connections. If only I could find them cheap!
Convenience is never cheap, it's partly why we DIY.
Also useful in model railroading to connect the feeder wires to the bus wires.
Many are made with a type of heat-shrink sheath, so after crimping apply heat and it will melt to the insulation of the wire solidly enough to make it tough to pull out.
Butt connector?
nooooooooooo.
Soldering is 100% the way to go. he'll get much better at it, too.
googling it was too hard i guess?
For something as complex as this, it would make sense to make a wiring harness for each component, so you only have one big connector for each section. That's what's done in the automotive world.
After working in aviation I fell in love with cannon plugs. Horribly large and inflexible, but it would fit the aesthetic of these panels perfectly.
Cannon plugs are love, cannon plugs are life!
There's also a company that makes lever-nut style connectors -- I think it's wago? I read about it in makezine once. Not as cheap as crimp-ons or screw-hole connectors, but better for connections where you might want to change it.
Keep being good at what you do and use the internet to find people that are good at what you are not. A little bit of elbow grease and connections made around the world can help make this a reality. You have already proven you have a passion for this just from the amount of time you put into this. There are ways to pursue side hobbies (i.e. making a start-up) while still doing what you love doing.
So, what's your day job ?
Making videos. Directing commercials and web shows. Editing things. Occasional visual effects. Things that mostly involve sitting at my computer all day so it's nice to make that expirence as fun as possible
So you work at a production company ? Or as a freelance ? In any case, I'm glad you love what you do and I'm not very surprised either :)
freelance, i love it
Freelance is so much less stressful. Sure, you don't have a guaranteed salary but you make your own hours and have a bit of freedom over what jobs you take. Great job on the panel man, I hope to see more stuff in the future from you if you can spare the time and effort.
With the attention to detail you put in the control panel, would love to see an example of your video work.
my youtube is PixelsPerSecond
16 million views to 12 videos, that's great.
Man, you do awesome work! I really enjoyed the trailer for "The Book of Harold."
You must use this in your regular workflow, then. Have you found that it saves you any time?
Also, I'd be really interested to see it in use during a regular work day. Post a video!
Has job making videos. Doesn't make video of this beautiful creation in action... :(
i like being behind the camera and not in front. i made a short video, just didn't post it
Call center
If you plan on soldering again I'd recommend you watch these videos, very in depth step by step guides and easy to follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIT4ra6Mo0s
The hardest thing about soldering is growing a fourth hand to hold the damn things you are trying to solder with your third hand.
Yup, I have one of these http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODA4WDc1MA==/z/jPEAAOSwBahU4hNL/$_35.JPG?set_id=8800005007
And it's still a pain in the ass :P
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And not inhaling the fumes because you have to bend over whatever you're soldering to see what you're actually doing.
Easy for you to say Mr. Beeblebrox
Great video! But I'm going to go into convulsions if I hear "soddered" one more time.
it would be awesome if there was a site that sold modular control panels that can be customized via web interface.
Indeed, this "internet of things" revolution we keep hearing about could really use some.. you know.. things.
Hi there, I'm an electronics engineer with a job he hates.
I've actually been working on a vaguely similar project, but built my own custom USB controller for learning experience (read: masochism). The advantage of mine is that it can receive status updates from the PC.
Your graphic design skills exceed mine by orders of magnitude. If you want to work together on something, let me know.
thanks! i'm a design first kind of guy since that's my background. what kind of status updates? something like that would be cool
what do you do for a living?
Start the company. Hire others to do the work. You've already done 90% of the work needed to begin selling.
I run a software development shop and I teach people basic electronics (I run NodeBots workshops in NYC). We should talk because I want this to exist in the world.
I seem to have a knack for soldering, just did some last week and the lab teachers were impressed. Maybe I can help you out?
Either way, you did a really great job on that and I am seriously in awe.
This is freakin' awesome. Definitely has that space-exploration feel to it.
Hmmm.. just a coincidence that Captain Jean-Luc Picard was on /r/IAmA today. Or was it?!
If not, make it exist. Honestly, this is incredible and you would open a market that doesn't currently exist. I know I would have one of these hanging at home and one on my desk at work.
You might find these helpful/interesting - they are called wago connectors and they rock. They'll add cost to your project but save on soldering and also make your circuits editable.
Use crimps when it's just one wire to one wire.
http://www.wago.us/products/terminal-blocks-and-connectors/overview/
fuck that's awesome
Yeah, I did a shit ton of wiring with these. They are worth every penny.
I'm sure if you did this for a living, you'd get quite adept at soldering.
If you're good at everything but the soldering, get yourself an apprentice or assistant and become a job creator. We will pay!
I think he'd have to charge at least $5000 for one for his time and materials and at that price I don't think very many people would pay.
Well, that's only his first build. If he had the time and resources to do this more i'm sure he'd get a lot quicker and find ways to make it easier on himself and his time, thus reducing costs.
But still... looks very time consuming even if you're experienced. I bet they'd be several hundred.
I don't think he would have to charge that much. If he is able to find good sourcing for parts that take him the longest (i.e. soldering, etc.) he can cut his time and price down. It is a lot of supply chain and getting your production inefficiencies normalized. If he can get a revenue stream and conceptualize the potential market, I don't see him having trouble getting seed funding or being able to do a kickstarter campaign.
You used a bunch of buzzwords there but I managed to understand it without my head melting. This is how business-speak should be.
Sadly, the "buzzwords" are standard language when talking about business processes. That is why in business, you usually have the finance guy, engineers, etc. stick to their own worlds so they don't confuse the hell out of the others lol. The few, poor saps that serve as the liaison for the groups have it the hardest because they have to translate everything so their respective teams can understand the other teams.
I guess it would be okay if it would be enough people so he could sell one per month, considering it would be 5000$ extra.
No, it wouldn't be $5000 extra... because a large chunk of the $5000 will include the material cost and manufacturing time. Generally, you want to sell a product for around 200% of its production cost, so in this example, he'd be looking at less than or equal to $2500 profit per unit.
Considering what some people have dumped into Star Citizen, people would pay more than that.
Maybe some day they'll get a complete game.
But he could sell sections. I would not want a whole build, but I would totally get a section,
[deleted]
You might be right dude. I don't know how much he spent on everything, but it doesn't mean it cannot be profitable. The junction box alone could cost a couple hundred (2' x 2'?), and the components might be a couple hundred as well. But it doesn't mean he can't find a way to be profitable. Hand-crafted merchandise is highly sought after, just look at Etsy. Put a couple of guys in a garage and you could knock out a couple of these in a lot less time than he did. You don't always have to go to a professional shop right off the bat.
It would be hard enough to sell something like this at just the cost of materials let alone the cost of labor.
That's what they said about computers. They said no one would want them and they are too expensive. There is a market for everything. It may not be the size that Apple or Microsoft competes in, but there is always a demand for goods people make. Finding that demand is one of the challenges.
I mean you can get all hyperbolic comparing a $900 in materials alone computer controller to an actual computer but that isn't fair. You have to admit this is a very niche item.
You are correct. Very niche. But what he has shown is that he has the ability and skills to create a functional product from scratch to serve a singular purpose. Imagine if he applied everything to different situations/practices. He could create products for different types of transportation vehicles (completely aiming for left field). It's all about creativity. Anything is possible. Just don't always assume something can't be done, that's all I am saying :)
He said it only cost him 900 in parts
For reference when I design stuff the goal to hit is 30% of cost-to-produce would be materials. The other 70% is logistics and assembly/processing. This does not included the necessary profit margin of hopefully an extra 30% which keeps your lights on and the business growing. Based on that ballpark estimate he needs to charge $3900 per-unit to really make it worth any amount of time.
Yes those percentages add up to 130%. It's intentional as it takes 100% of cost to produce, and has an additional 30% added for profit margins.
If you build it...
Any reason why you chose On-Off switches as opposed to Momentary? How does that work out if you forget to turn one off?
it's more satisfying the flip things and have them stay flipped. those USB controllers actually create short pulses on the on-off toggles so they never have to be reset. each flip is basically a momentary button push from the computer's perspective
So flicking one on is the same as flicking one off?
That's what she said.
Yep. You can control the polarity of the switch in software, basically.
Basically, the computer only registers a change of state, rather than a strict on or off.
Yes.
Yup, as far as the computer is concerned
Do you know if they make toggle/rocker switches that can be controlled from software? So you could "reset" your system physically.
Which USB controller did you used apart from that Arduino?
Sweet jesus
This is like a Rorschach test.
Weyland-Yutani logo. Luke's targeting computer. HAL 9000 vision sensor. Probably many other items I didn't recognize.
Incredible.
This has to be like the coolest thing I've ever seen in this sub. Is necessary? No. Is it awesome? Fuck yes.
That is fucking beautiful!
This line
If you ever need some laser etching done I got a guy in Buda, Texas.
I'm guessing that area has changed a bit from the 80s. I almost bought a house there in the 90s and it didn't even have central ac.
No AC in Texas? Not sure if cruel or just baddass.
Mostly badass. The guy built it himself and it was all stone. It was basically a big box with a ton of windows. He put in an attic fan that was powerful enough to suck up napkins from the downstairs kitchen. With that going and all the ceiling fans it was remarkably comfortable. Had a gravity pump on the well, several pole barns, and some great views (which are probably all subdivisions now). He really wanted to sell it to us because we loved it, but his wife and I just couldn't make the numbers work out.
Damn numbers, always sitting on the couch.
Damn dollars, not enough in the bank.
Buda' definitely grown a bit but it's still mostly the same town. I was surprised as hell that the laser place there beat out the ones in Austin
The are a lot of fantastic artists in that area. I lived in Wimberley in the 90s and knew people doing amazing stuff. I just sometimes forget that tech is as portable as it is.
I lived in the house at the Wimberley junction in the 80s before they tore it down for that restaurant.
That's pretty bad ass. We probably know some of the same people.
Do you have to stand up to use these buttons?
nope, i made sure everything is totally within reach.
Here I am too lazy to switch from keyboard shortcuts to the mouse and you expect me reach???
In the gif of you hitting the panic button, it looks like it has quite a bit of wiggle. You aren't afraid it's gonna fall on your head one day?
Did you ever consider making it horizontal? Like an audio engineering console? That seems to make more sense to me but maybe that's because I sit at those often.
[Here] (http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/bttf/images/3/36/Mr_Fusion_by_emmokapp.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/640?cb=20130723042343) , now you can have your 1.21 Gigawatts
Or just, y'know, harness the lightning.
I want a video of you using this thing to do completely ordinary things.
The Panic Panel is my favorite. "FUCK IT"
Man, I've wanted something like this for years for flight sims...
and you go ahead and put a "Farting Control" button on it.
long, drawn-out sigh
You could always just relabel it "Chemtrail Generator"
That button is just to fire the A-10's 30mm Cannon aka The Fart of God so it still fits the flight sim theme
Do you have a parts list anywhere? also what did you use on the computer to program the shortcuts and everything?
I don't have a parts list... I guess I can look one up from receipts. The illuminated switches were from Radio Shack but I don't recommend those at all. ControllerMate is the program on the computer side. It's node based so you can have actions trigger any number of things which I needed since the buttons all had to make LCARS sound effects in addition to the keyboard shortcuts.
Ok thanks! I will look more into this seems like a fun project as I have been wanting something close.
So these are probably the most important pieces. These are the USB Boards. I LOVE this site. You can get all the switches and boards here. http://www.desktopaviator.com/Pages/Boards/index.html
The backlights are from Super Bright LEDs https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led-module-strings/
Are these the pieces that allow you to add switches and program what you want the switches to do?
I've been looking for something like this that would work with my Linux home server or a raspberry pi.
I don't know about raspberry pi, but couldn't you connect the switches straight to the pins on the pi and then read the input? That's what you do on the arduino at least.
You absolutely can, but for a large setup I believe there is some power constraints. I may be wrong though.
If you use momentary switches there probably wouldn't be a problem. But this wouldn't be ideal if you wanted to make use of a lot of buttons. I don't like how the USB controllers are so expensive. There's probably a better alternative.
$60 does seem a little steep for one controller
hm probably, just not enough inputs & power for the LED switches
Why not just use Arduinos for the switches? it seems like the boards from Destop Aviator are more expensive.
Another alternative board would be the teensy, which has been used for many custom keyboard projects. The destopaviators get used a lot in homemade mame/arcade cabinets, but the teensy would have let you do things like a "software debounce" to fix your issues with the radio shack switches. But obviously, you got it figured out.
.
What kind of usb board do you use to interpret the switch?
He shared a link above: http://www.desktopaviator.com/Pages/Boards/index.html
I've been wanting to build something tangently similar to this, so this is very helpful. $30 is really expensive for that, though. I wonder if there's a DIY way to do it cheaper.
I wonder if there's a DIY way to do it cheaper.
You could scavenge a keyboard or gamepad from a bin / garage sale / thrift shop.
The illuminated switches were from Radio Shack but I don't recommend those at all
Are you referring to the switches for the MAIN SYSTEMS panel? Those look perfect for some projects I've been wanting to do. Why would or wouldn't you recommend them?
PS AMAZING WORK with everything, I really like the etched acrylic panels.
so those switches work really terribly with my USB controllers because they're spring-based. most switches snap immediately, which the USB controller interprets correctly and sends a pulse. Those switches cause the USB controller to send like two dozen pulses and I had to put relays in to steady it out. AVOID. Trust me.
Ah, I see. Gotta debounce them. What if I were to be using them purely as switches for on/off applications? What about the physical build of the switch; is it easily breakable being plastic? It would most likely end up in my car serving just as a switch for various lights, or electronics.
im sure others have said by now, but what your running into is called contact bouncing. If you were to rebuild it(i think i just heard your blood pressure raise), go with a proper micro-controller/micro-computer. you can script debouncing into it. or i believe a capacitor would do it(though a bit of circuitry would be better). Honestly, all switches/buttons bounce. the real question is how the detecting device handles it, which appears to be not well.
that being said, where did you find those illuminated red/green toggles? i NEED them!
Where did you get all the buttons and switches?
For those who want to get some illuminated pushbuttons, I would recommend suzo-happ. They produce a lot of parts for the gaming and amusement industry, and they sell direct to the public.
Dude, that is the most awesome project I've seen on /r/DIY so far.
What are those switches? Where can I find some?
radio shack but they SUCK, don't use them. they look great but caused me so many problems. They're spring based so they cause these weird feedback ripples with the USB controllers. Had to install relays to fix them
Wow, I did not expect you would still answer after over 1200 comments, and in less than 10 minutes. Thanks mate!
As far as the switch ripple, usually a small capacitor soldered on the switch in parallel with it fix that problem. Depending the load of the circuit, the capacitor can be small and inexpensive.
Edit: Do you know if there was any part number on them?
Almost all switches do that. You can fix that by either placing a condensator over the switch or programming a denounce' in the USB controller.
AKA a capacitor
Sorry. It got lost in translation.
Read about debounce. Both hardware and software solutions are there for this ooooooold problem.
You're a fuckin' nerd. I'll take two please.
You want 2 nerds?
Two nerds arguing Kirk/Piccard will create the energy you need for the 1.21 gigawatts.
He said he wants two fucking nerds. Read the text! What or who they are fucking remains to be stated.
With two nerds you can rule the world!
If I wasn't so lazy I'd do an "ah the ol' reddit switcharoo".
Holy mother of god. Kid I'm over 60 years old and pretty much seen everything-twice. I haven't seen this kind of brilliance in planning and execution of a novel idea before. Awesome!
Weyland-Yutani or Wumpscut or both?
Definitely W-Y. We gotta compile the easter eggs & references:
There's a reddit alien on there too.
Definitely looks like Weyland to me.
I'd recognize Weyland Yutani ANYWHERE, that logo is burned in to my brain.
I was having fun looking at the pics and then i noticed: hold steady!
Congrats on having both an awesome project and a great taste in music :p
the Hold Steady are so awesome they were given two switches, one for all their music and one for just The Swish, that's the Swiswitch in the music panel and it's probably the one I use the most
That is ridiculously awesome. (I wish /r/unifiedscene was more active!)
Came here to give props on the Hold Steady switch. I personally would have it programmed to play the chorus of "Stay Positive." Brilliant project dude.
More computers need a dedicated Hold Steady button..
It certainly stuck out to me also.. I need a hold steady button.
I noticed that too, fantastic switch, need that on my own PC (though to be fair my iTunes playlists are all very THS based).
I've that logo etched on me for life, constant reminder to stay positive.
http://i.imgur.com/rdKG10A.png
http://i.imgur.com/oBK5X6Z.jpg
what's on your other hand? 'FAST'? I always wanted 'Hold Steady' across my knuckles but i'm two fingers short
Yep, and I was exactly the same, settled for Hold Fast and the symbol. (I've Anxiety Disorder/MDD/PD/Bi-II/ASD, so both are kinda reminders for me to get through things. Also pretty tattoos. Mostly pretty tattoos, but I've a backstory for when people ask)
Totally dig the Aurebesh
"DONT EVER PUSH THESE BUTTONS"
Most fun buttons to push.
As an Electrical Engineer, that wiring gives me nightmares. Not because I could or would do it better, but because I have done it exactly that way and had brief moments of "HOLY SHIT I have 30% confidence that I did this right and if I didn't I'm going to destroy 1000s of dollars of equipment in the flick of a switch." Cool build and awesome result, congrats.
I'm working on my EE right now, but I've been a technician for years and done things like this. So much modular design and ring out checks. sometimes hear my meter's "BEEEEEP" in my sleep.
I will say, having a heat shrink label printer makes a world of difference though.
YES!! My company does a lot of cross over work with a major University, so the last time I did anything approaching this much wiring it was in their lab and their label printer was broken, causing me much stress.
Your company wouldn't happen to be in San Diego and need an experienced intern would they. wink wink fingers crossed ;)
We definitely need the experienced intern, but unfortunately we aren't in San Diego. Instead of Paradise, we are in Delaware, a Chemical Company Wasteland and tax shelter for Corporations everywhere.
Congrats.
This post is now the top-voted post ever in /r/DIY.
1.21 GIGAWATTS?!?!? 1.21?!?!?!
Pfft. Just go down to the corner drugstore and pick up some plutonium.
Yeah, it's not like it's 1955 or anything.
How could I be so careless!!!
I would be on edge at all times, worried that this giant metal box is going to fall on my head.
Its attached to metal building struts and the wo metal wired can hold a hundred times what it weighs. I feel safe
battlestation of damocles
Looks like most of the control names came from Space Team. I dig it.
"Question authority"
-check
"Set mandrill to 7"
-check
yesss i noticed this too and it's amazing
I love the Weyland-Yutani detail. The whole thing is badass.
Much agrees
I'd love to see a timelapse of you using this thing.
on the usb midi, what software did you use for it to assign a control to specific actions?
this please, OP
This is glorious!! My girlfriend would role her eyes so hard you'd hear it the other side of the planet!!!
Haha, good one. There's no way this guy has a girlfriend.
He's... he's got a button for that.
"Installed it all by myself because I am not a smart man. " made my fucking day
As the drummer to his former high-school punk-rock band, I can vouch for OP making innovative things for as long as I've known him. Take for example, his solution to our lack of noise-cancelling headphones while recording drums to a click track. Genius!
P.S. We were called "fluffer."
Wish it was more like this
EDIT: 9001st upvote.
HA. If have seen that before hand I would have worked it in
Very impressed!
This might be the coolest fucking thing I've ever seen.
"No idea what I'm doing" my ass. I'm an electrical engineer and this box is beautiful.
Well done, dude. Well done.
whoa! thanks. And here I thought all the electrical engineers were going to cut me a new one for my wood motherboard
For production? Maybe. But for a DIY or prototype like this, you use what you have available.
I hacked a Kindle for my sister a while back, to add large arcade-style buttons because she's got cerebral palsy and can't work the tiny buttons on the old-style Kindle. Mounted the whole thing to some old pine boards I had laying around. Worked like a charm.
And mine didn't have fancy LED backlighting or a Firefly button.
Be proud of this thing, dude. Make notes on what you'd do differently next time, but seriously - this is great.
You're a fucking genius dude. You could sell those!
You should update it with somethink like that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djc8FPHs45o
Ha! Just what I need, my control panel to fight back.
Very cool concept, great implementation.
When I was a baby my mom had bought me one of those walkers; the ones with all the silly controls that make noise, and visual patterns. I called them a UFO as I got older, because that's what it made me felt like in there "flying around." When I would get in, I had hoped/imagined I would unlock it's secrets, and rain destruction. Fortunately, I never found the manual, not that I could read anyhow.
THIS is what I thought of when I saw your board, a grin crept over my face. That little destruction Czar lives in me still, you awoke him with your switchboard panel.
When I would get in, I had hoped/imagined I would unlock it's secrets, and rain destruction.
Easy there Stewie.
Do you take orders!
Is that a question!
No?
What!
Damn good job! That looks like it took some serious time.
I want this so badly. I've always felt the need for a control panel. The more the better I always say.
That is bloody awesome! Great work.
You should cross post in /r/somethingimade and maybe even /r/SurplusEngineering
Wow, this is awesome. Well done sir.
I think I am going to make panels like this now for my setup. I will make a DIY walk through if anyone would be interested? dont mean to step on any feet OP but DAMN! This is a great idea! TY so much for the insight :)
Seriously Well Done, Sir!
Shut up and take my money
Fantastic work, it reminds me of everything I loved about the giant Steel Battalion controller for Xbox.
Do you have the model number of the switches and USB controllers? This definitely looks like something I'll attempt!
(though significantly smaller)
Check out Desktop Aviator. I can't recommend the illuminated switches I used since they're giving me trouble
I'll take a look! Thanks!
Also: are you experiencing latency at all?
none, everything is instantaneous
Funny I saw this and the first thing that came to mind - this would be an epic control panel for Elite Dangerous - and the top comment was just that lol.
I could see this being an insanely popular item on thisiswhyimbroke.com
Reminds me of this
This is AWESOME. Have you considered adding voice control to version 2? You could use a Raspberry Pi in addition to the Arduino...then you could also add some touch screens without too much extra difficulty :)
Why use a RasPi? You can just run Voice Attack on the PC it's attached to.
This the most reddit thing I've ever seen. Complete with neckbeard, classic phrases (no idea what I'm doing, I am not a smart man, etc) and cat video. Props for being the ultimate nerd.
How could you go with "More Rock" and "Less Rock" and not "More Cowbell" and "Less Cowbell"?????? :)
What kinda of chair is that?
What's the total you spent on this? $$$ wise
probably about a grand, but that's because I broke half the shit I bought. I'm sure I could do it again for $500, plus six months of labor
Do you think it's possible to make a smaller one (tablet size) for ~$100?
I bet you could make it for cheaper. If you can find a military electronics surplus store in your area, or hit up the junkyard, you can harvest switches and panels. Or just hit up ebay for lot orders
then look into using an arduino or teensy controller to interface.
then if you're using windows use autohotkey to assign the buttons.
Thanks for the info!
You could probably fit it all in a military ammo can.
That's awesome! Love the HAL unit you got there.
functional too
You magnificent bastard. THAT'S AMAZING.
Top center panel reminds me of HAL9000. If it asks you about the cargo bay doors you might rethink the whole AI thing...
I really need to know if there is a chance that the coffee control button actually brews coffee for you.
that was the idea! i might add that functionality when i do my next set of repairs
This is so absurd. I absolutely love it.
I would have killed someone for this when I was 7-8 years old.
Without it being attached to a computer.
I KNEW YOU WORE GLASSES! I KNEW IT!....P.S. Well done son.
I really wish the big red button was a party button that turned the lights down and started blaring music.
My wife says it is impractical because you can't reach the switches while sitting down.
Impractical, but cool!
You can reach everything easily, or I can at least
She would be wrong because OP can reach them while sitting.
No, that's not why its impractical
Wow. As a high school electronics teacher, I salute you and will be showing this imgur thread for years to come. I loved the graphic design of it all, the names of all your buttons, and the idea of physical switches. My hat is off to you! Bravo!!!!
When you pushed buttons / flipped switches the whole unit would wobble. It didn't seem very solidly attached to the wall. What do you think is going on there? I'd hate to see it come down on you.
Coolest thing I've seen in a long time.
so it's solidly hanging from the ceiling, and that's supporting all the weight. i'm using a tv wall mount to attach it to the wall, and i think i can add some crossbeams to make that better
Graphic design, metalworking, wiring and programming? I don't believe you to be a novice at all!
i leveled up quite a bit
http://imgur.com/KCNJ0VW
I normally reserve swear words for appropriate situations and this happens to be one, Dude this is fucking sweet
Excellent all around, my only suggestion for improvement is a button that sets the volume to maximum and labeled "11"
With the banana for scale and geekiness all that is missing is To the moon button with a Dogecoin sticker
I do mine Dogecoin on that computer
You should add a "to the moon button" to start the mining software and make a post in /r/dogecoin to tell them about it. +/u/dogetipbot 200 doge verify
^[wow ^so ^verify]: ^/u/The-Big-Giant-Head ^-> ^/u/smashcuts ^Ð200 ^Dogecoins ^($0.028302) ^[help]
For someone who doesn't know where they're doing, you sure as hell know what you don't know you're doing.
This is amazing. Was getting a bit tired of the same old keggerators, snes and pallet board stuff. Thus is a breath of fresh air. So cool. Good work.
I love everything about this build.
It's done very well, and I wish I could think of some useless thing to make this for. Cheers.
W T F ?
What is the object with some buttons that stays under the main screen? Looks like a VHS recorder...
it's this old power thing i got from my dad. like a batter backup without the battery
sweet pussy deterrent you got there.
i needed something to get your mom off my back
Lol that'll do the trick, well played.
I've been looking to do something like this for a few years now (mostly as a home control center). I'm stealing several of your ideas.
A few questions, who did you get to do the Lazer etching/cutting? All the guys I know suck.
Did you use any guides to learn the wiring? You mentioned you had no clue what you were doing...and neither do I.
Fire Light Laser in Bude, Texas is great. Wiring wise, you can buy these small project kits. I built a half dozen of those until i built one that worked. I made a lot of test control panels before the big one to make sure it could possibly work
Do you mean Buda? I've got buddies in San Marcos, so that's actually surprisingly conveniant.
I think I love OP and am ready for marriage. If OP is a dude I will go to therapy to become gay. NICE JOB! I would never leave that chair. They would find me one day slumped over surrounded by a pile of Mountain Dew cans.
What LEDs did you use, exactly? Because those were SUPER bright and glowy and I've never seen them look so... tron
Super Bright LEDS
Protip: Get a regular super bright LED (I used to get mine from Chi Wing LEDs on eBay, but they seem to be out of business), then take some medium sandpaper and evenly rough up the diode. This will diffuse the light emitted by the LED.
Uh oh. You made a 'cool' spot. Now you'll have to do the rest of the room.
Yo dawg, I heard you like controls for your controls......
OK, but how often are you going to reach all the way up there, just to do something that you could do with a few keystrokes in your current hand position?
You said a few times that you had no idea what you were doing. The fact that you custom fabricated a giant external control panel for your computer begs to differ.
It may be horrible of me to point this out, but I think I spy a typo. The Aurebesh that is in picture 41? The one at the bottom of it's panel? It says "Don't even push these button". I may have some letter off, since I'm transliterating from memory, but I'm pretty sure it's off.
i'm so mad about this. i'm borderline illiterate and never thought to have someone check the spelling on my aurebesh
Hey, it's still sexy af. The only people that will ever be able to tell are the 100 people that know aurebesh and are intent on translating every text they see. Only reason why I knew is because I've been watching the Clone Wars on Netflix and had my cheat sheet handy.
I'm curious, though, what was the process for printing out the text on those acrylic blocks? It looks amazing.
IDK why, but everytime I see one of these posts I think it's all done in a day with no plans. And then I wonder why I can't do any of this stuff in my own life.
This is amazing!!!! I WANT this to control everything in my house.
Totally unnecessary. Beautiful. Art!
I'd wager money this dude has woken up to cheetos residue--on both his fingers and dick--at least once...
Yep neckbeard confirmed
This by far, by far and FAR, the best reddit post I have ever had the pleasure to stumble upon, and I am proud of you without even knowing who the flying fuck you are. Level: Master.
Think of you had spent even a portion of this time into trying to talk to a woman
95% of graduating electrical engineers have never used a soldering iron.... so that's a win for you!
That is great OP and thanks for the banana it really gives us a sense of the scale of your project. Props bro. 🍆👊
GOOD WORK
Goddamn. I want you to build me one for my recording studio. This is fucking megatits.
I was honestly thinking this would be for Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen
Holy shit fuck! That is the coolest most unnecessary box of awesome. Lights, switches, buttons, a metric shit tonne of wires all to make things more difficult. I love this and would love to have a whole wall of this!
Congratulations! You just won /r/pcmasterrace!
This is the best DIY banana holder ever
This is the single greatest thing I've ever seen on DIY. I am in awe.
I would fund you to try to take this to market.
You invest so much time into your set-up and then you use iTunes. Why is this?
You're kind of a jack-ass. My hunch is people don't like you very much, both on the internet and in real life.
iTunes isn't good, honest is a respected trait where I am from.
http://i.imgur.com/40Idny0.png
I'm an 'asshole'? Why do you bother commenting?
The mechanical aspect of this is really cool but how does the programming side of this work. Like getting all these buttons and switches to do what you want them to do
That is inspiring. I'm stoked to hear it finally worked cause I know the frustration of fixing one thing only to break two more.
By the time this panel was done I couldn't wrap my brain around how it worked anymore.
That's how you know it's the good kind of project.
Edit: sorry if you've already answered this a million times, but I couldn't find it after a quick scroll through the comments - what did you mean by "the wrong kind of electrical tape?" Do you have like a prank roll of conductive electrical tape or something? (Also, look into heat shrink. I bought a bag of assorted heat shrink from sparkfun and never looked back)
I bought this colored electrical tape from the depot and after a few days it lost it's adhesion and fell apart. total nightmare
Upvotes for days.
This is so cool. How's it feel to get the top post of /r/DIY in only one day?
Truly amazing work — would love more information on how you managed to get the USB controllers working, especially with so many switches. What kind of macro management or software on the PC side?
I'm interested in knowing where you got the USB parts and the associated controllers/software?
Basic electrical stuff I know pretty well, but getting the digital stuff in there to happen is that "rubber meets the road" area that I understand very little of beyond the pitiful "lessons" found in my college textbooks -- Heathkit trainers don't include USB or any other "modern" technologies. I really need to learn this aspect of the process.
Btw, this is a really awesome build!
Thanks! Check out Desktop Aviator for the USB Controllers, and a program Called ControlerMate for the software. You can teach yourself the software real easy
Where did you get all of your buttons from? I know some were from Radio Shack, but the square colored buttons, etc. They are not cheap so I'm sure you have a lot of money in your switches but am curious to see where they are from as I'm doing a custom dash on my Polaris RZR. Thanks!
Also, how would I go about adding a dimmer to my LED's so they're not blinding me at night but are bright during the day? Potentiometer? How do I know what voltage ranges (or is it amps?) to use?
I got those buttons from a local breaker supply store. They're 12 Volt LED buttons. I'm sure you can also find something similar online. I think it was like $120 for all of them.
Voltage is 12 across the board. I wish I could talk about electricity in clear terms but I'm way too self taught... I originally tried to use a potentiometer but I blew it out because my wattage was way to high. So I ended up using these kinds of resistors https://www.jukebox-revival.eu/staging/weerstanden/resistors-20-watt.html I have five of them with different ohms and a four pole selector dial http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/677/479/261/1281252921785_hz-myalibaba-web6_3809.jpg
Dude this is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Nice job! I'm totally going to make one of these.
The pressure is building up Cap'n, divert all excess power to farting control!
You definitly need to create some sort of parts list and build log for this thing. This is truly a beautiful DIY post and I will ride it to the top with you!
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He said elsewhere that it was $900 in parts and $100,000 in self labor
Probably a lot. The HAL 9000 replica was 500 bucks alone on thinkgeek.
I wish I had half the skills to do this. It looks amazing. And, as a fellow Star Citizen nerd, I would use the crap out of it in the Verse.
you can do it. i'd never built anything before this
As someone who does programming for a living and dabbles with electronics as a hobby... you can do this if you put your mind to it. It's a great project to get started with. If you can build a PC from parts you can do this. I was gobsmacked by the simplicity of OP's design. It's like electronic lego.
If you follow OP's links and pick up one of the control units and find some switches and LEDs you can throw something together and then expand from there.
The first thing that popped into my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoxpMgMX3p8
Virginity switch: on at all times.
Right next to the Anti-Reality sub-panel, I see.
Still as a work of set-design, very impressive. Let's hope he can evolve his skill into something more girl-friendly.
Did you see him?
Dude is weight loss away from being man pretty.
There needs to be a big red button encased in glass that will jettison the control panel. Label it "In case of girl, break glass"
Neckbeard for scale.
Fedora for sale
Great work, but I need to know...why? I mean sure it looks cool but having to stand up and press a button over just moving your mouse to the program seems like a step backwards.
This is the more awesome way. Plus some things don't have keyboard shortcuts, like switching audio output to headphones. Something's that have keyboard shortcuts are hard to hit or remember, like the photoshop shortcut for saving files to the web, which is like Ctrl-Option-Apple-S or some shit. Much more fun to slam a switch and hear a sound effect with it
He doesn't need to stand up. And mostly it's just shortcuts made into physical switches. You can't really argue that shortest are unnecessary because you just need the mouse.
Which one calls your mother to pick you up?
Came here to reference that dog, beaten to the punch by 3 minutes.
So so so many great quotes from that clip. Seriously.
Looks cool I guess but insanely impractical. I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry.
exactly my reaction
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I have the link in another post but Desktop Aviator sells a ton of these little boards that take switches and turn them into signals that the software reads
He said he used ControllerMate.
I want to know this too. How does pushing a button cause a specific program to open? Is there some software that does this?
All these questions are literally answered and linked by the OP in this thread.
Love the Aperture Logo
And the Weyland Yutani logo. And the Hal. And everything.
Excellent Work. I assume you watched quite a few Youtube videos on wiring? I wouldn't know where to begin!
yeah, a couple. you can buy these little practice kits at radio shack or wherever. I did those for a while. It's really not hard.
This is downright amazing. Also, never in a million years did I think I'd see the words "laser etching" and "Buda" in the same sentence in a positive light. Well done sir.
Please.... take my money, I'd love one of these!!
Very awesome and creative. Dare I ask if you have a schematic?
That screen/control thing you have hanging on the left. What is that?
A Cintiq tablet monitor. The 11 inch model. Fairly old.
The small details really make it amazing. Trill playlist? You sir have earned reddit pyrite for sure from me.
Jesus....
dope
please be my friend.
Give this man a goddamn crown, he is now our king.
Holy shit, dude. That is fucking amazing.
You've managed to fit a reference to just about every one of my favourite movies on there. If I could buy you a beer, I would.
Holy crap.
This BOSS. You should make one attached to your chair for fun things!
Out-fucking-standing!
I think you could make a part time business out it.
This is the nerdiest thing i have seen in a long time
I love it
That is so awesome :D
How many go to porn websites?
I would love to see a self destruct button that really worked on the HD's. :)
Really neat project. How did you interface with the pc, I saw somewhere you mentioned a usb controller?
I would totally buy that. You need to patent that and go into business......NOW! BEFORE SOMEONE STEALS YOUR IDEA! SERIOUSLY!!!!
Upvoted cuz Hal / 2001
This is by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen
Goddamn this build kicks ass OP.
Loving the Alien reference on the Waveform Collider!
Wow you crazy fool, that's awesome!
Da bomb!!
Every once in a while there is a post that I can't not upvote. This is one of those posts.
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I don't know. I got them used in like 1998...
You might want to show this to r/StanleyKubrick, because it's amazing.
so it looks awesome, but it looks too high up to use..
Totally in reach
wow, seriously? in that case, awesome!
"Fuck'em Ups" killed me.
I need this in my life.
This is SO FUCKING COOL. I have wanted something like this for years but never bothered to build it. Now I must.
What kind of chair is that? It looks awesome...and I am looking for a gaming chair.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LK1YNO
I want to buy one like this from you plox, or something split. This rubs me right in so many ways.
It looks Fan-Fucking-Tastic!!!! What does it actually do?
Man, you were REALLY in need of a project. Well done, 10/10.
Coolest fucking thing ever.
Make one designed for KSP and I'll buy, please.
I've been thinking about that actually. I love KSP
Nice work, OP!!! That is awesome.
That is awesome!! now go outside and play
Any chance you could provide an estimated total cost for this project? It looks really amazing!
Sick.
This is both delightful and ridiculous. It's the Amelie of electronics.
To quote Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, "And which of these buttons calls your parents to pick you up?"
Sorry...couldn't resist. But, dude...that is AWESOME. Great work. I would love to have something like this geared towards music production software!!!!
Awesome, OP. Love how you incorporated the targeting computer.
On a side note: Where is that polygon bird print from?
It's a game of thrones poster, has the words of the nights watch written in...
You magnificent bastard.
Honestly, I didn't understand the purpose of it(somethings don't need a purpose tho...yet I went through the whole Album, reading word to word, and just admiring the dedication... I mean Dafaq dude... this makes me speechless... If I sum it up to one word... "Priceless" :D great work!
Ok, I've never really lost my shit about anything on the internet. But now if anyone asks me if I have, I will flash back to this, the most glorious 5 minutes of my life. Kudos.
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thanks! 1) It's a 2010 Mac Pro, 12 Core, 48gigs of ram and a Nvida 680. 2) The small ships I found at a thrift store for like a dollar(!), the bigger Enterprise D at a model shop in town.
Man, I hope that chain doesn't break, otherwise we're gonna see you smashed to death by your overhead control panel of awesomeness on the evening news!
Nice work.
I used to have a job as a SysAdmin at a smallish company. Anytime something went wrong I would usually be found reading error messages and digging through logs trying to figure out what to fix, or actually fixing stuff. Which meant I was usually found sitting at my desk as usual during a crises.
My boss would always come by and demand that I start doing "something" to fix the problem, when usually I was already on it, except that now I'm not fixing it because I'm explaining that I'm already fixing it instead of actually fixing it.
Anyways, we used to joke that I needed a big panel of toggle switches so that when SHTF I could just jump up and start flipping switches furiously so the boss would actually think that something was being done since I wasn't in my chair.
This is seriously awe inspiring. I wish I had the time/resource/talent to build something like this.
WOW! nice job.
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It's white, the back lights leds are bright enough to shine through. Had to test a bunch of acrylics to find he right density. Clear acrylic wasn't consistent enough, had too many light and dark patches
I remember what spare time was like.
This is incredibly cool. I have no idea how you did it, but it is amazing!
Checkmate, console users.
Would you be willing to make another one if I paid you? This is seriously awesome.
This is amazing.
But also, When that thing comes crashing down on your head, you will die in a cool way.
Looks amazing!
but..
the little gif where you press the big red button and cats fall down.. seems to show that its not mounted properly. its wobbling left and right. you should mount it a bit better, to prevent that, imo.
Truly amazing. Great craftsman ship. Ooo and shiny
As amazing as this was, I'd pay so much money just to have the "Control Panel Control" board with the broken AI switch. That's just so fucking cool.
This is so badass! The design is really off the charts. People would definitely pay top $$ for something this awesome. Well done dude!
Dude! Now I HAVE TO HAVE a Hold Steady switch somewhere in this house. "Clever kids screwing with some new device.."
"we're going to build something this summer"
A+
As a nerd, this is fantastic...
As an EE, I shed a tear... but was then comforted by its greatness.
And I may, or may not, enjoy a similar taste in aural stimulus...
This is fucking beautiful and way to go on all of it
Great job. How did you convince Seth Rogen to come take that picture for scale? He must be a great guy.
This is perhaps the goofiest, and best, thing I have ever seen.
Dude, that thing is killer!!!!!
Am I the only one bothered by the wobble? Other than that, +1000 geek points, my friend!
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1 USB host can support 127 usb devices... I would imagine the connection to the PC is literally 1 usb cable.
Edit: Simpliest way to program it would be something like this https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/goglobal/bb964665.aspx
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Honestly if it was me I would have gotten a couple of these - http://www.ultimarc.com/a-pac.html (or something like them) and each section would be wired to its own.
Edit: https://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html - This one seems to be a little better for the task.
There's a USB hub inside the panel that connects to the four USB controllers, so it's 1 USB to my computer.
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Hell no. Do I look like a nerd?
Well it kept you from rioting and looting for a couple of nights
How did you prevent the LED backlights from bleeding into the other colors on the other panels?
Were any of the switch panels uneven? Because I think you should add a switch labeled "switch" that does absolutely nothing.
Make it red, and outlined in caution tape.
I've always wanted to build something like this, and I have an arcade machine that this would be perfect for, too. If I understand correctly, the laser etching just eats the paint and maybe a tiny bit of acrylic and the light still shines thru?
Yeah, it etches off the paint and the backlight shines through, looks so good. The etching also made the holes for the switches, and if you find someone who knows what they're doing they can do both in a single go
this is amazing. I'm planning on building a similar set up for my Kid as a Spaceship playhouse. i need to know more about the laser etching you did!
Fire Light Laser in Buda, TX is where I went.
Did you happen to add any starting sounds like that similar to a spaceship about to fire up, or a 747 getting started? Probably not needed, but wanted to ask.
Very awesome job, and well done. I like the idea of the photoshop overlay in the beginning. That level of visualization would absolutely have to be key in getting something like this accomplished.
All the sound effects are from Star Trek Next Generation
Where did you source the sfx from? And do you have ship's white noise always running in the background?
Goddamn, that is some phenomenonal work!
That is amazing. Totes jelly
This is incredibly cool. I've always wanted to do something like this, but with vintage buttons, switches, and indicator lights. I have a feeling I'll be forever in the collecting vintage buttons, switches and indicator lights stage.
Very impressive sir!
Looks great. Your montage made me laugh. It seriously looks like from inside a space capsule.
Truth.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=De2SuYAjrdY&autoplay=1
Be careful with that Fireball man. It'll get cha
Heaviest nerdgasm that I had on Reddit...
I am just in pure awe right now.
Best thing I have ever seen on reddit, 100,000,000 internet points to you sir, this has made my week!
Dude, submit this as a part of a resume to Disney Imagineering and you'd be making Star Wars Land in no time.
how much?
I don't know who you are.
But I will get rich.
And I will find you.
And I will make you an offer you can't refuse to build me one of these too.
Jesus, do I feel extremely dumb right now. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Great job dude!
That is fucking cool, well done sir
Amazing!
Space team control?
I had to spend many nights troubleshooting. I messed up and used the wrong kind of electrical tape, and most of my wires had to be redone. Every wire I fixed would then break two more. I seriously wondered if I'd ever finish.
This. And you pulled it off. Awesome.
How do you translate the button pushes into actions. What software did you use?
I built it because it didn't exist and I felt like it needed to
Nope, it definitely didn't need to exist. But I'm definitely glad it does =)
What you need to do now is make a bunch of smaller panels and spread them throughout your house and convince people who come over you have the whole thing wired together in a central AI system.
Then fake a rouge AI incident. Because reasons!
That's some nice work !
this is....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_05qJTeNNI
Flawless! Claps
I see the Star Wars aurabesh on some of those switches! I used to pass notes in that shit in high school! The only way I could find to translate was via Star Wars Monopoly rulebook. Best secret language ever!
Hey is there any way you could make a real inbox that prints out your Reddit mail and puts it in a lit up see through box?
This is amazing and I'm super jealous.
Absolutely love the look of this.
Yeah this is cool as fuck but I can't do this lol
I'm stealing your idea and making my own. I'll show you the results when finished here in 60ish years
/r/battlestations
I'm actually rather disappointed there's no Magic/More magic switch.
And he will not get laid this world is messed up
If you don't play Kerbal Space Program - now is the time.
"half-Tron, half-Luke's targeting computer" you rock
I wish I could upvote this twice. Freaking amazing work. Sharp, cool, original. And it incorporates all manner of geekery. I love it. Three thumbs up.
you open to making more/selling them?
Have you ever played SPACE TEAM?
Isnt the placement awkward? you have to stand up for everything.
That's pretty bad ass! Well done sir.
Extreme nerding.
That's like THE BEST THING EVER! Well done.
The ship looks like the Descent 3 spaceship
Haha this is brilliant. "I don't know what I am doing" is the best for DIY. I love seeing where you started from to how it changed by the end. Great job.
Is it your ability to do cool stuff like this for others which affords you the financial resources to do cool stuff like this for yourself? Or are you a badass in some other area that pays for this awesomeness?
Some other area. I make movies and stuff.
That's a lot of baddassery. You're playing the game of life like a pro.
This is amazing. Love the incorporation of the Weyland-Yutani logo.
I'm getting a lot of Space Team vibes ;-) Really nice job dude
So you keep claiming you have no idea what you're doing; what DO you do? i.e. I'm guessing you have some variety of technical background.
Video editing, commercial directing, visual effects artist
Alright, so beyond making the art you really didn't know what you were doing. Checks out.
Very, very cool, by the way.
This is gloriously done, so cohesive but so many references. And all that neon sexiness, I'm weeping because my faith in the universe has been restored.
how much did this cost?
Time/money/functionality?
You should definitely xpost this into /r/battlestations!
Interesting, but mostly useless. Who want to reach up to open documents or start programs?
Would've been nicer as some type of console, e.g. like an audio mixer.
waveform synth control and all of these "synth" functions but no synth. Are you aware of what a 'synth' is?
As if I didn't need another reminder that I'm woefully inadequate.
Well done sir.
Holy Fucking SHIIIIT This is brilliant.
Don't worry about the soldering points, took me about two years until they looked any different. They'll work anyway.
Damn, all that cool stuff and awesome computers and you have an Apple device? Man, that sucks
hey OP, could you share your wallpaper shown in pic 1? thanks!
uh, so is it still on the cables too? for safety?
This is so fun! Nobody else has one in the whole universe. :o) It's REALLY cool.
This is truly amazing. I liked it before and then the hitchhikers guide button made me love it. Now i need a button to give me random guide clips...
Hope you hang it tight enough, mate!
Post a video of you using it :D
Wow, this is SO COOL! What's your background in, if you don't mind me asking, and what was your experience with electronics before this? I only ask because I'd love to attempt something like this, but coming from an almost entirely noob perspective.
Splooooosh!
That is insane..great job!!!
AAAAAAAAHHHHHH this is the coolest thing I've seen in a while. I've really been wanting to do a project involving a ton of buttons and switches but couldn't figure out a use for such a thing. I think I'll take a crack at something like this down the road.
Shut up and take my money!
Right.
You win.
I'm proud of you for not giving up when you had wiring issues. I'm that point on an arduino project right now and I'm frustrated with the wiring. I've let it sit for almost 2 weeks. Need to get back to it.
I took on the project (like you) so I could learn... but I'm just getting mad when it doesn't work.
Also... LOOKS SOOOOOO COOOOOL!
I got stuck so many times. this project mostly felt like a big knot i was trying to untangle. stick with it
This.Is.The.Coolest.Thing.I.Have.Ever.Seen.
SO what's your favorite band? Is it the Hold Steady? Unclear.
This is awesome. Too bad no females will ever see it. I KEEED, I KEEED.
I am so jelly of how creative some people are, and they also know how to spend their overflowing money in a cool way.
My only fear is the thing dropping. Even if there is a 0.01% of the wires snapping. Maybe I'm just afraid of things looming over me because I'm scared to turn on the ceiling fan for that same reason.
That's cool but... why specifically a Weyland Industies logo on your waveform collider. Do you plan to harvest aliens?
Where do you start to learn how to do shit like this?
Computers were invented to avoid having control panels.
Itunes? really?
I don't know if i should think you have either, "way too much time on your hands" or "baddest mother fucker on earth". Awesome job.
Can you program it to do more than on/off functions?
How much did it cost all in all?
Where'd you buy the motherboards?
wow I have been planing on building something really similar, but as a gaming desk/cockpit sort of thing. do you have any specific specs on how you did this?
This is pretty baller.
Sorry if someone already asked this, but what's the story on the Wacom on the side? Is it just docked up there, and you can take it down to work on? You don't draw on it while it's hanging up like that, do you? I'm just confused because it's like mounting a keyboard vertical on a wall.
Amazing work, by the way.
Love the Weyland Yutani logo! Awesome stuff!
Damn I gotta step up my game!
How can I hire you?
I'm subbed to DIY but never post here...just had to comment on this though, it is fantastic. Well done and thanks for sharing.
Very good job you did there!! I'm impressed. Can you tell me what software you used on MAC OSX? It's very important that people know that they can do such things without being a pro in electrics/wiring/assembly, just with enough effort, love and a purpose!
This is just awesome.
Dude you nerd hard, impressive work.
tis you not on a wee bit too much adderall....
This is one of the coolest posts I've seen in over five years of Reddit.
Integrate the banana FTW
This is way cool, but seriously OP...you need to get laid.
so what software are you using to get this integrated? did you write it? if so, mind if I ask you some questions about it? I've been very interested in doing something like this myself..
How often a day do you say "make it so"? And does it dispense Tea, Earl Grey, Hot?
This is awesome OP!
That's incredible. Good work my friend
You are smooth out of shit to do.
What was the total-ish cost of parts not including labor for this bad boy?
All I can say is...
Damn.
How does the back-lighting work? Can you post a picture showing the back side of the acrylic and how you positioned the back-lights? From the one photo (labeled "Finally got everything working") it looks like the back-lights are at the back of the box and in my mind there'd be a lot of leakage between the panels, and I'm curious what you did (if anything) to make it look as good as it does.
Wow, i don't know whether to salute you for your ingenuity or to call you a giant dork. Either way its still pretty impressive...
I'm guessing none of those switches are for calling your girlfriend.
This is truly epic. My only concern if I owned it is I feel like I'd forget the majority of the functions. I'd have to have a manual nearby haha.
Im a network engineer and the first time I used 4 monitors to start work, felt pretty amazing! What line of work are you? (If you dont mind me asking?)
Your seat looks like its used for entering the Matrix, at least we know that we're real; or is that what they want us to think?
you forgot the fedora dispenser
Respect.
I am pretty impressed you did all those holes in aluminum as neatly as you did with such meager tools
Please tell me Hold Steady plays The Hold Steady. That said, such a cool project, well done.
the Hold Steady needed two switches, one for all their music and one just for The Swish. The 'Swiswitch' gets a lot of use
"And which of these buttons calls your parents to pick you up?"
(sry. i had to.)
How many girls have you slayed on that computer chair
Nerdgasm.
Next level shit!
I just started building a foot midi controller from an arduino, now I am sad my midi controller isn't this cool =(
Control panel falls off wall, OP dies. RIP OP.
What is the monitor on the right?
Awesome
What is that panel on the left? LCD that isn't on? Touch thingy?
tablet display. i only boot up up when i've got some roto to do
The Pizza Hut app can save your favorite order for 1 click purchase.
Maybe you could hook up one of the buttons to have a Pizza delivered???
I think it would be super cool to do this by stripping the board from a logitech G15 (first gen with 18 macros) and then just using logitech gaming software to setup macros. Just solder new switches on the board. Heck, you could even integrate the LCD into it somehow.
This is amazing. You should be proud OP
This is awesome! Most people would be content with memorizing all necessary keyboard shortcuts and making their own "pew pew" noises.
Ok Tony Stark, you win this one.
Really cool looking! I think you could have saved a few bucks by using only the arduino and some shift register chips, but this solution might have implied a bit more coding... Anyways, I'm jealous.
"4th Generation Hyper drive - Coffee control"
That whole panel gave me a chuckle. This looks awesome.
You are a madman in the best possible way. Now I need a cockpit/battlestation. Speaking of which, definitely x-post to /r/battlestations
Wtf this is rad. and here I am struggling to map sounds to my midi keyboard on logic pro x...
How old are you and what was the series of events in your life that led to this?
I'm 31 and it all started when i watched Alan Tudyk talk about flipping switches in a Firefly BtS
Awesome!
My God... It... It's beautiful.
Neat! Just make sure it doesn't fall and crush you to death.
I think you meant "HALf-Tron" maybe?
Dude, great Fucking job man. This is the most awesome thing I've seen in a while. I see customer orders in your future
Dude....this is soooooo cool to me, easily the best thing I've seen on DIY....and that counts the dude who made a 1950's hunting cabin in his basement.
Buying it....
That's the coolest thing of all time! Great work, man! Incredible!
Ho Lee Fuk
I love it, it looks great. Your comments to each picture was an interesting read as well, particularly the bit about you having basically zero experience wiring things before you started. Makes it all the more impressive.
This is fucking incredible.
This looks fucking amazing. But I'm not going to lie, besides fart control, I have no idea what any switch on that board actually does.
This is some of the coolest shit I've seen a person create to take their gaming experience to the next next next level. Everything about it is awesome and you have a true battle battlestation.
But unless that wacom has touch input, the actual application of a tablet at that angle would give you carpal tunnel use a stylus in like, I don't know, the first 15 minutes?
yeah well i got up and brushed my teeth today and looked on stuff on the internet
Remind me! 3 hours
Is that a curse word board I see? Including "Gorram?"
I like you.
EDIT: I just noticed that panel made the cut but the labels didn't. I don't know if I like you as much anymore.
go frell yourself you fraking belgium
HEY DUDE I RECOGNIZED THE ITALIAN AND IM LOOKING AT THIS ON MY LAPTOP IN ITALIAN CLASS!!!
He could have built it to send key binds to the computer and us it for EVE Online. If he did that then and only then would i respect him.
Please tell me the fart control button operates a can of air freshener somehow!
I think the people in /r/MAME would love this! There are lots of DIY custom in-home arcade game machine cabinet builders over there, and your magnificent work might provide a lot of inspiration for some of them!
This is fucking sweet dude....totally unnecessary, but fucking sweet! Mad Props....
http://i.imgur.com/ujlF3kx.gif
This is awesome and it reminds me of the amazing Star Trek panel graphics a lot. Also, dat Weyland Yutani logo though!!!
Love it.
What amazes me the most is OP's resolve to try to make and completely finish such a huge project. The design especially points out his creativity, but to not give up till you make something this awesome itself is a striking thing I noticed and is of major importance than anything.
your control panel looks like it should be in RLGrime's video VOID.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ufimjXEbA
Where/ how did you get it laser etched?
I wanna push the fuck it button
Ultimate geekage
And all I care about is the Wacom tablet on the ergotron mount.
This is the best DIY i have ever seen. Wow....freaking smart people...
WANT!
Awesome. We need a good soldier against upcomming boston dynamics revolution.
Jesus man, that thing is a work of freaking art. I know a little about electronics and it probably would have taken me twice as long and ended up looking half as good.
BTW, how long exactly did this take to put together?
How much would you charge to make me one?
Why the fuck would you ever have a "Less Rock" button?!
This thing is ridiculous. It's pointless, silly, obtuse, and a huge waste of resources. In sum, this is the coolest goddamned thing I have seen in ages!! Well done, good sir.
Holy Heck that's cool. How long did it take all together to build?
i hope you get paid for this kind of work. what is your job?
You should totally try starting a Kickstarter for this. I'm of the same opinion of some other posters. If you could get the right team of entrepreneurship-minded people, this could a successful product. Just looking at your components, looks like the raw materials cost around $200 or $300, and there's nothing particularly special. That's definitely a number bulk manufacturing can drive down to be appealing to game/peripheral companies like Blizzard or Razer to try to integrate into a Collectors Edition or market as custom brand HUB hardware.
So freakin cool! I would love to see a video of you using it!
I'm sooooo jealous right now. It would look so awesome in my office too. And my son would think of me as even more if a geek.
What software are you using to make the computer understand all the inputs?
But what does it do?
Could you provide info on how to create your own driver to accept inputs from the panel?
Saw the HAL 9000 in the first picture and immediately creamed
You sir, are a god among men! Well FREAKING done!
Damn, the programming in Controller Mate must've been just as difficult as wiring the thing
This really cool. Something I don't understand though, you said one of the panels opens applications that you use a lot, but they are switches, not buttons.
Example: You flip the switch for chrome on. Do you never close it out anymore, and just flip the switch to close chrome? Or does flipping the switch in either direction control the action?
Edit: I found the place you explained this. Fucking sweet man, now I have to build one.
I can't help but notice you are missing the button for Ludicrous Speed.
Butt there is one for Farting Control. First things first, I always say.
one of the rejected panel ideas was to do a whole section of fictional FTL terms. Ludicrous, Warp, Hyperdrive, Infinite Improbability...
You're one handy man, sir!
Can we see it in a video?
....and still can't do a Windows 10 update from the control panel, throws a fist punch and shatters the 9 month long project into bits
throws a fist punch
as opposed to a non-fist punch?
This is completely unnecessary and I fucking love it!
Knowing my luck, it would fall off the hinges and smash my monitors in the process.
Fantastic DIY, nonetheless.
Fuck, and I can't even get my LED strip plugged into my raspberry pi to light up :(
Heat the wire, not the solder. You have a bunch of cold solder joints from the looks of it. They'll probably be fine for something like this, but always best to learn how to do things right.
Freaking awesome work though, you wanted to do something and you did it. Much better than my usual projects which would involve buying half the parts, then saying fuck it and throwing it all in a box to finish later.
This is amazing. I need to do something similar asap.
From a monumentally huge tard in the tech arena, but someone who loves cool light-up stuff, I salute you. Your board is a thing of beauty. I am very impressed and bow down to your tech-savvy.
Would hire.
Hey /u/smashcuts I think you live in Austin and know my sister. She sent me a photo of this a year or so ago.
yeah, probably. it's been installed for a while and many people have taken photos
well, this is much better than the cell phone flick she sent me. Cool to see you getting some shine!
How did you assign the levers with actual functions? I know this is a stupid question (I may know soon as I'm starting an electronics course) but I'd like to know.
This guy is my hero!!
You also have a $600 dollar chair. One of the comfiest damn office chairs I have ever sat in. Well worth every penny!
sure is!
i totally looked at your solder joints.
I don't think I can do this myself.
I'd be afraid of that thing falling.
Fuckin awesome man!
You should just give out the name of your laser etching shop. The guy probably deserves the publicity.
I have no idea what those buttons do but I want one
http://i.minus.com/i2lSnYY3nOY7l.gif
Holy shit
u/smashcuts , I see the Hold Steady are your favorite band? Any chance MN can claim you as their own?
i'm sequestrated in texas
Haha well done.
Fucking epic dude. Well done. You just fucking did it. Really badass.
Way too dope man, like, wow I am blown away. INFINITE INSPIRATION.
You stole from Weyland Yutani, Apature Science, AND the Twelve Colonies of Kobol...
You either have a serious lack of self preservation or the biggest balls of all time. I hope they don't find you.
Totally bad ass. Given the expense, I will probably just double-click still
Any videos of this in use?
This reminds me of Tom Paris building the Delta Flyer on Star Trek: Voyager. More tactile things!
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/5/54/Delta_Flyer_II_helm.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130221042358&path-prefix=en
You should sell those! You'd make a killing.
That's so awesome. I wish I had this kind of free time.
OP, Who the fuck are you and how did you get these skills??
Very awesome
What chair is that?
How is it?
Amazing build and album, by the way.
That is exactly the kind of thing I'd love to make if I had the time/money, yet here I'm struggling to just install one of these as a "fun" kill switch in my car. Amazing job OP.
What finally worked for the acrylic panel cutting? did the 3rd company just have the right kind of laser cutter? or did you change the materials from white-acrylic/black-spray-paint?
about how much did this cost you? It's so beautiful. I'll be on vacation for 60+ days soon and this looks like a fun project
amazing
Can we get a video on how this works? Would love to see it!
Hey OP question (if you ever get to see this). How much knowledge of circuitboards, chips, etc. do you have to know to create something like this?
This just makes me think about how stupid I am. Amazing job!
This is very impressive - the kind of thing I dreamed about building when I first heard about computer modding. I love the mechanical switches - especially the ones with guards you have to flip up to access.
I think a lot of people would appreciate a comment grouping together some of the resources you called on to complete this project - not just a rough part list and where you got them like I saw in one of your other replies here (which was great) but videos you watched to teach yourself how to do this, wiring guides - anything. Thanks for sharing!
So, will you take orders?
Love the Weyland-Yutani logo!
No joke, if you made custom DJ panels for traktor you'd make a fucking killing!
Holy Shit
It looks a little high above your desk to actually use all the buttons without having to stand up. Do you have freakishly long arms or something?
don't get cocky, kid
lol that's going to be part of reddit forever now, isn't it.
A banana, for scale.
Virgin's! Man your battle stations!
Weyland Corp
Nice!
In terms of the fun you got out of this, solid A+. Learning new things is awesome.
On the other hand, some of the controls you built into it leave me a little confused. I'm a user experience architect, helping people make things that are usable, purposeful, and efficient. A few questions:
Do you have to stand up to use this?
RE: Software controls (Photoshop, AE, etc) are these simply on/off controls? And, if so, can you explain why? If you turn on, say, Disehnance/Blur, what happens on screen, and what happens when you turn it off?
Completely disregarding the fun you got out of this - how do you feel this is more efficient than using keyboard shortcuts?
NERD!^I^love^it.
All I can say is, "Kickstarter project" This looks great
"I have to recreate this" - Every nerd who seen this
Can you provide a cost estimate of the whole project please?
Truly an amazing concept! I really love how you have made so many funny buttons just because you can haha!
I just fell in love with you.
Looks awesome but you do know there is a thing called a 'keyboard' it can do everything that you need
That's really cool man, you're very talented. Great job!
/u/smashcuts I love that arm swivel for your Wacom! Where did you get it? I wanna do something like that for a smaller computer monitor.
Congratulations, you are today's winner of the Internet!
On a side note - how do you enjoy the chair? Im considering buying the same one and not sure if its worth the money (very expensive over here).
Activate the "Somebodies not gettin' any" button.
Nice job man! Probably one of the coolest things I've seen in a while
This deserves much respect.
You're such a nerd.
I love it.
Where'd you get the HAL-9000 at?
Think Geek, I think they call it a Iris 9000
Well, I feel like a failure in life now. Thanks...
Make more of these and sell them. Make custom ones for people. You can make a lot of money with this.
This thing is GLORIOUS!! Well done, OP!!!!
I want this... in my car...
THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME! You could definitely build these things and sell them. I know I'd buy!!
This is what happens when you're a good designer and good technical engineer (if that's the word for it)...most people are either one or the other.
Yep, this is kind of hard to admit, but you are better than me.
Amazing build!
This is awesome. way to commit to a huge project and pull it off. Great job man congratulations. Pat yourself on the back
That's fucking awesome. Would you be intrested in a commission build? I'd love to have one similar but with a different design!
"Open a new Window Hal"
"I'm afraid I can't do that"
Reminds me of MEGAS XLR control panels.
I know some people over at /r/KerbalSpaceProgram would drool over this.
Dude, you're living my dream. I need one of these for my own station too now!
I logged in just to upvote you. Well done man, this is truly aspiring for those of use who want to try something but are too scared because we have no experience.
I WANT THIS
Where is the "make me a sandwich button"?
Fuck you, that's awesome. I have no idea how any of that was put together, but fuck that's cool.
I'm confused as to how you use it? Do you have to stand up to use a shortcut? =O that seems so crazy impractical, though? I mean, I didn't read all the shortcuts in there, but getting up every time you need to ctrl-z something, wouldn't you end up never using it?
On another note: THIS IS TOO AWESOME. Jeez.
Would be great to see a video of it in action.
That is amazing. Just imagine if it were actually useful!
Were you inspired by Wash? I think you had to have been.
Now I want one, but I have nothing to suspend it over my head with. :(
You are a master of your craft. Farting, engage.
This is so amazingly needless and would honestly waste more time than using the appropriate keyboard shortcuts themselves.
But it looks so freaking cool I want it anyway.
For someone who didn't know what they were doing that came out awesome as fuck. Good job.
/u/notbacon
This is AWESOME! Nice work! I'm really impressed with all the wiring that you had to do to get it to work.
That's perfect. I've been thinking about building custom cockpits for a few years for those of us who will be mainlining Star Citizen. I will utilize almost everything you did here. I didn't even THINK of using USB controllers. I wonder if I could get that to control hydraulics, too...hmm.
You give that stuff back to your autistic brother OP. I wasn't meant for you!!
This is a work of art - really well done, beautiful art (and I'm totally geeking out over the reference jokes and the cool artwork)! You have my sincere respect!
Is the diagram of the jet near the farting control the Blackbird? That was my first thought when I saw it then I saw the X-men poster.
I'd love to see this paired with Flight Sim X. Have 3 of theses plus the typical flight sim x setup....
This is impressive and amazing. As a kid, I always wanted a control panel with switches, knobs, buttons and lights. Even if it didn't do anything, I didn't care. I could always use my imagination, but nothing is more satisfying than flipping some switches and pressing buttons. This DIY project has all that, and it's functional!
Quality nerding right there.
In the anti-reality section i SEE THE Aperture logo. (portal2)
Always wanted to build something like this just don't know where to get started
Awesome. Can't wait to see your next build.
this is incredible. geek factor thru the roof! i love it!
Brilliant. Until the .gifs, I had no idea you were that close to the console to hit the switches/buttons. I thought it would be quite the reach for it, but it seems perfect for your seat height.
There's gotta be a computer geek trophy out there somewhere. You sir, win it!!!
BarnaclesNerdgasm will be wanting one of these
Quite the project. Nice job!
This is a great DIY, and this is the best DIY Remote Control I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing, this looks amazing. So for non electrical person, the point is to get buttons, connect them all via USB to the main computer and in computer assign to all of them their respective functions? not really sure how it all talks to the laptop/etc.
Great job anyway!
https://hallofbeorn.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/nerds-ogre.jpg
Fuck.. respect! This is the best!
Pretty cool! I see you got fart control on there.. Thats a must.
Wow! You have a lot of free time man! Jk :) you're an inspiration, to never give up even though you don't know what the hell you're doing.
Also, how did u learn programming ? I wanna learn sometime but dunno where to start ... Also I'm scared it'll take too long to learn.
What did your wife say?
That is seriously awesome... I can't overstate how happy it makes me that the hobby electronics scene is more alive and kicking, probably thanks to microcontrollers, than it ever has been before.
I have a similar project in progress, though much smaller (10 buttons total, a rotary selector to swap between programs, and tiny DIP 8-segment LED arrays to act as labels for each button). When you change programs, the labels change. It's kind of like a retro-looking Optimus keyboard.
What is the part number/source for those wonderful illuminated square buttons?
PS: I can't believe you used a Dremel for cutting that panel. After trying that once, I decided that's not what Dremel is for. Seemed very unsafe and the cuts were crap (rough and imprecise). I suggest a Nibbler tool, or a coping saw... depending on the thickness of the metal.
Looked like Pacman in the thumbnail.
wow...
I came.
Love it. Can think of my own half Trek, half Star Wars, half made up hodgepodge of Gatchaman, Voltron, and made up sci fi fantasy. Will have to consider it...
Sooo... the laser etching... it cut the holes and removed the black so the white acrylic shown through? I'm gonna need the name of your guy...
This is amazing. Side note, how did the release of Eternal Death Slayer 3 come out, JP?
Son, your mother and I are worried about you. We think its time to try and meet some new people.
Holy shit, that is some incredible craftmanship. I salute you, you crazy genius!
So, can you reach this from your seat or do you have to stand up to toggle most switches?
This is bloody fantastic man. I am both amazed and inspired.
"No idea what I'm doing"
Pretty sure you had some idea of what you were doing.
"Seriously, no idea what I'm doing." You keep saying that and yet....
Props for using aurabesh in the green panel. The force is strong in you
Nice job disposing of that income. Well done!
There's way too much Awesome in this pic. GTFO.
Fuuuuccckkkk yooouuuuuuuuu.
Next top Reddit story, "Fully-Functional overhead control panel for computer crushes user 3 days after previous Reddit post"
Next level up is to add a CB radio style microphone to execute voice commands.
That's definitely is one of the record breaking DIY!
The "fuck'em ups" panel was bloody brilliant
Those video clips OP linked to did not satiate my curiosity. Imma need a video WITH SOUND of each switch in action. Please.
Wow, you're insane, but I like you!
Virginity level: 1000
/s
you need to x-post to r/battlestations, this is some evil villain lair dungeon awesome kinda thing... amazing!
Did I spot some Star Wars text on there?
this is inspiring thanks for sharing!
p.s. what is that err, monitor? on the left?
I should mention that I have no idea what I'm doing.
As evidenced by this badass creation, you know damn well wtf you're doing...
You are a crazy person. Bravo!
I've seriously considered building something like this for my Mechwarrior games. Very well done sir!
The last time I spray painted acrylic it sorta just shriveled up and fell off. Did you use a plastic primer to make it adhere properly?
Must be nice to have all that disposable money.
[deleted]
I'm actually at work so I got paid to make that snarky comment.
This is so fucking nerdy I just jizzed my pants.
So like could you build me one lol?
The "Shut up and take my money" macro has never been more appropriate. Seriously awesome - thanks for sharing this!
This is so cool!! Question for you, is that a Cintiq? I have a Cintiq 24HD. How'd you get it up on that mount?
What was in the top right panel?
Serenity Now cues a Firefly clip
Excuse me???
"Control Panel Control"
Yes but what controls the control panel's controls?
Please, oh please post a video using it and another one just switching all on/off
GLaDOS called, it wants their logo back
bad dude
this is extremely fucking cool dude. well done
Hey /u/smashcuts,
This is now the top post on reddit. It will be recorded at /r/topofreddit with all the other top posts.
+1 for awesomness +2 for Weyland Yutani logo
Brilliantly done!
You could seriously make a lot of money taking custom orders.
Wow, I have no idea what it does, but it is cool.
Cool! Hey wait. Is that HAL in the middle? Couldn't you just ask him to do all that shit?
If that thing falls say bye to your screen:(
Yeah I know this dudes a virgin.
This gave me like nerdy butterflies.
Fantastic work OP. Fack i would love to see it and flick a switch.
Fack.
Crazy, therefore awesome!
Must be nice to have that much disposable time and money to waste.
Must be nice judging people by how much they make and what hobbies they choose. Jesus, stop bitching.
It is pretty nice, actually.
as an engineer student, i hope im just doing shit like this for fun one day.
sooooo... how much for mine
You are my hero.
Wrong electrical tape?
When laser etching, you should check out inventables laser etching line. They make acrylic with a top coat that can be a later with a laser cutter. A little less tedious than painting the acrylic yourself, and they have some nice looking surface finishes that look like metal Etc.
Op this needs posting to /r/battlestations
This is pretty cool but you will never finish if you don't prioritize. The interface is nice - now make a warp drive!
THAT IS FUCKING BADASS
This thing... this thing.. truly is awesome!!
One improvement suggestion: red panic button should bring up Nude Tayne instead.
Now add a big ass gyroscope.
Holy shit dude.
Had to be a Texan to build this.
I think your arms might get tired.
Hold Steady is your favorite band?
Perhaps the coolest peripheral I've ever seen.
Great lighting, cool switches, funny labels A++ .
I've misplaced my glasses. What does it day beneath the button? "Don't... ??? ... ??? ... ??? ... button."
Damn, this is awesome!
But that AI override control - you need it ASAP! Make it short the electricity for the whole neighborhood, you know, just in case :-)
You're gonna get shot in some FPS game one day and that panel is going to explode like it's right out of Star Trek.
pretty sure this project secured your virginity until your mid 50's
That is so fucking awesome!!!
I would have used Shen and Thesh in "Don't ever pu~~sh~~ ~~th~~is button".
Laughed pretty hard when I saw the "Fuck-em ups" section.
In all, this is pretty dope, would pay pretty good money for a custom panel.
I now feel fully inadequate with myself. Bravo, you wizard you
Damn dude..do you have a life>
this needs to go on hackaday.com
freaking awesome, i am planing on doing something like this as well, can you list the buttons and switches used?
All it needs now is a Jared Fogle live feed from his prison cell
You done good, OP, you done good.
Everyone sees all the pretty lgihts and buttons... Im just like thats a pretty nice Office Master ErgoHuman chair you got there... ;) (Office Furniture Salesman.. LOL)
I dig the use of the Wumpscut logo.
That was fucking awesome. Good job dude!
This is the nerdiest thing I have ever seen. Bravo sir...Bravo indeed.
HAL 9000
http://i.imgur.com/CIFbtGU.jpg
Biggest geek hardon of 2015.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?
Holy crap man...
Wow.
seems extremely unnecessary but cool
This is the coolest thing ever.
You are my DIY hero.
That is sexy as fuck
Pretty cool. Wonder if you are actually using it though :D
I'm not a computery sort of guy and I don't even own a single computer game, but I am very impressed with whatever the hell this is. It looks so cool.
Astonishing. Looks like something out of Knight Rider. I love it
Seriously, this is awesome. I'd be interested in helping you out in making more.
Would $500 get you to build another and send it to me? I don't have $500 but I'm sure as hell going to get it if you say yes.
wow . . .
Mother of God. This looks amazing!
How much did this cost in total?
This is awesome. My only request is for a video of everything in action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CIYR_XgBSY ill just leave this here
How much does something like this cost to make?
I think I'm jealous of your ingenuity, as I was actually going to contribute a good idea/a good way to improve this, but stopped when I realized you would actually follow through with it, and then I would be mad at myself for not doing something cool myself, and you taking credit and doing more cool stuff lol.
Congrats on your build! It's very flashy and shiny, and....what does that button do?
Looks too ricey IMO. Like it'd be good in a scifi movie and neat to show off but I wouldn't want it actually in my room
Nerdy, unnecessary, wonderful. Love it!
I'm late to the party but as many others have said this is definitely one of the coolest and amazing things I've seen. Not sure if any of this is patentable, but definitely look into it and get it massed produced. People will definitely buy this.
So I'm going to need a video of this in action...
You would make the best space sim rig.
Imagine if that fell on your head randomly lol
Screw Firefly, "Serenity Now" should cue a youtube video of Frank Costanza.
Star Citizen?
Do you plan on releasing the arduino programming and stuff so people can do this too ?
You took geek one level up.
Also, next time you're having an internet argument with someone, send them a pic of that control panel, and one of your fingers on one of the "FUCK'EM UPS" buttons. That'd be badass, and could probably end up as a meme, with enough panache.
You. NEED. To. SELL. These.
next...world domination.
Wow, take my Karma. You DEFINITELY earned it! My girlfriend is going to beat me with jumper cables when she comes home and I have one hanging above the couch in the living room.
Sheldon Cooper just declared you a nerd.
Nerd.
OP go deeper! https://youtu.be/hgNOHzVBX1c
Where do I buy one?
Your repeated failures along the way are exactly the type of thing my projects always get bombarded with, although I usually respond by giving up because "I'm just not cut out for this I guess".
I'm used to seeing these DYI galleries going without a hitch like it just comes naturally to all these motherfuckers. So this was very inspiring for me, thank you.
Even though I was badly hoping that the flux capacitor would still be a part of the final build, and that you had put it on the back of the box to surprise us in the last picture. Oh well, I forgive you.
I just picture this guy going to /r/photoshopbattles like a fucking pilot. Flipping switches. Dialing in the meme thrusters.
Did you steal this from a airplane?
Weyland-Yutani is not to be trusted
How did the wiring work out? Did you have a schematic? Could you list the parts you used?
I like the Aurabesh, it's subtle
They can't stop the signal Mal...
Holy shit
So who's your guy in Buda? I'm in Austin and have some stuff I'd like to do.
Fire Light Laser, guy's name is JIM
Amazing, commenting to save.
I see posts like this and start thinking "what am I doing with my life?"
One word: Sploosh
That is one of the coolest DIYs I have ever seen. Rough guess on what it cost and what it would cost if you were to do it again. Also, how many hours and how many would it take a second time?
aw'who are you?
https://youtu.be/lC6dgtBU6Gs?t=106
Wow .. just wow, this is so cool.
Incredible, beautiful, awe inspiring ... completely fucking useless. I want one.
Now that is awesome!
Trill button was a perfect addition
dirty south
/r/pcmasterrace
"More power to the farting systems!"
"I'm giving her all she's got cap't!"
I enjoy the control panel control panel.
I spy a Firefly class ship called Serenity on my wee little iPhone. Aye.
the inspiration for this came from Firefly BTS video with alan tudyk talking about his overhead switches.
I just noticed something else and hopefully people don't give you shit for this but, I'm sure you're a designer or animator or something art related in your field of work/hobby. But, with that sweet ass set up I'm sure people will be displeased to know that it's run on a Mac.
Not judging. I've been a Mac user as well.
That's awesome! Nice job!
I love that you have that old surge protector / monitor riser. I used to have the EXACT same one. The little panel on the left flips down, to give you a place to store floppy disks.
I must be getting old, least in body, because as amazing as the whole setup is, I just want to know what chair is that and how much is it. Been looking for a good PC chair for awhile now and that one shits on everything I've seen so far.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LK1YNO
Thanks
Anyone know where I can find knobs? All I want is a bigass knob I can use to control volume. Fuck all these push buttons.
[deleted]
Fire Light Laser in Bude, Texas
I see H.A.L. 9000 has already ensured its own safety and removed the override, you are fucked. Goodnight sweet prince.
Videos in this thread:
VIDEO|COMMENT
-|-
Basic Soldering Lesson 1 - "Solder & Flux"|9 - If you plan on soldering again I'd recommend you watch these videos, very in depth step by step guides and easy to follow.
Science|3 - The first thing that popped into my head:
Invader Zim - Because it's cool.|2 - Truth.
I have a MIGHTY NEED|2 - I wish I had half the skills to do this. It looks amazing. And, as a fellow Star Citizen nerd, I would use the crap out of it in the Verse.
WRAP IT UP(DAVE CHAPPELLE)|1 - Needs a wrap it up button
You're a Nerd - Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (HD)|1 - Congradulations!
Larry David: A Pretty Good Tribute|1 - this is....
I'm a bot working hard to help Redditors find related videos to watch.
Who do you work for and why isn't it N.A.S.A?
This is bitching stuff. You have inspired me good sir. I must summon more to enjoy this.
u/plaugueofunicorns
super badass...wish i knew how to do this sorcery!!
I wish I was smart.
Yes yes, a million times yes!
If/when there is a next time, consider making subassemblies for each panel.
Solder a switch to a D-sub connector, and then make a D-sub->ribbon cable to hook up to the electronics.
You can isolate the relatively fragile solder connections and you still have the ability to move wires around (by moving them within the D-sub connector itself.
Also, solder connectors aren't the best for these kinds of things. Vibration/heavy duty environments use screw connector switches instead.
Source: Worked on flight simulators where panels like this are tiny in comparison. I was in software, but talked to a lot of hardware guys on the reasons they were connected the way they were
I used to make backlit, acrylic aircraft panel. You were luckily to find a place to do a good engraving job. It can be a bit of a nightmare.. Paint thinkness and all. We used to have the LEDs mounted and internally wired. Now that was tricky.
Is there a list where I can find these parts?
I was head over heels in love with this project by slide #2. When I got to the Don't Panic panel with the Hold Steady mode I lost my shit.
Seriously incredible.
I swore off Kickstarter years ago, but I would back the fuck out of a campaign for this.
this is fantastisch!
TIL: I need to be a millionaire first, and "cool" second
to the far right, is that...No.5?
Someone has way too much time and money on their hands.
My lazy ass looks at that and thinks of all the extra effort of reaching up constantly.
"And which of these buttons calls your parents to pick you up" -Triumph
All that work and no porn panel? OP..
Look at you /u/smashcuts destroying Reddit! And two time gilded! Well done.
That's hot.
what's your SC handle? Do you go on the Forums?
-Flashpoint.
LoneStarr. no forums in a long long time. i like spaceships more than people
Yeah. The forums are quite the hive of scum and villainy.
now this is cool. Amazing job dude!
One of the coolest fucking creations I've seen. Strong work, brother!
Nerdius Maximus! ^_^ I like!
You are my god.
fuck... this is awesome. wish i had half of your knowledge and id try something like this, but i wouldnt know where to begin
Super cool! Well done!
Bravo!!!!
This is really picayunish but "Serenity Now" originated on Seinfeld so when I saw that it was linked to a Firefly quote instead of Frank Costanza yelling "SERENITY NOW!!" I was a little miffed. Firefly is indeed awesome but I felt I needed to get that off my chest.
What do you do for a living?
Alright, so this is not for sale, but is there any chance of getting schematics?
Oh my..waw .. ok marry me.
Star Citizen!!!!
And that's why you don't get laid.
Holy fuck that is so cool. Upvotes will never convey the awesomeness you've unleashed
Dank as fuuuuuuck!
Now the question is: does it blend?
And here I was proud of myself for remembering to lift the toilet seat today Well done OP
This is so cool! Nice job!
OP is much smarter than I am
http://bit.ly/1hOO7dq
I'm compelled to list all the easter eggs & references - please help with any I've missed/mistaken:
pretty good start. the ship's just something i've been doodling forever...
OK, glad to know it wasn't something blatant that I'd overlooked. The general style reminds me of the damage/weapons indicator from the Wing Commander or Mechwarrior games. Pretty standard/classic HUD stuff, really.
Amazing work with this project overall! It was a lot of fun to look at in detail.
yeah wing commander, huge influence
The ship actually looks VERY similar to the ship from the Descent series. Here's an overview of said ship.
This dude does not masterbaite. Kudos on making a cool as control panel. Looks sick!
WOW...Wow...This is amazing!! I have always wanted to create something like this but I had no idea how to start. You have giving me hope and inspiration to set one up myself. Thank you!
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."
You made the central cluster look like HAL on purpose, didn't you?
And all I want is a volume mixer so I can raise and lower volumes without minimizing games and what have you....
everything is for sale...
how about some real dough in the proximity of $ 25k?
Fantastic project! By the way, are you Italian? I saw the PAL test pattern mouse pad and a label that says "tutti" instead of "all".
This warms my heart OP - great job! Very inspirational!
Could you provide some basic tutorial on how to make something like this (in a much smaller scale of course)
Want to build me a .midi controller?
R u a wizard?
Thats Badass! I hope to get the chance to build one one day
That is amazing. I really want to build one that's smaller and can function as a dac/amp as well as a control panel.
Dude: brains work in different ways. I tip my hat to you. I could not pull this off to save my first born child. I can draw. I can paint. I can rebuild car engines. This shit is just Greek to me. Kudos.
Very awesome, but I have to admit that watching it wobble above your head when you flip switches is a little nerve racking.
That is quite the project to attempt first go. well done
OP speaks Italian. And is most impressive. Molto bravo.
That's amazing! /r/pcmasterrace
You have to much time on your hands!
Dig the Phenomenauts patch :D
Earth is the Best
you spent more time on it than they did in "dark matter" they just use a novation launchpad. http://i.imgur.com/aUIqrGk.jpg
I thought this was from my Star Citizen sub at first, and then I realized you're using this for things like photoshop and itunes... yikes.
Wow. There's some real talent going to waste here.
hope it doesn't fall on your head
You should x-post this over to /r/battlestations
This is simultaneously the least useful, yet most awesome thing I've seen on this subreddit. Well played, sir, well played.
Now patent it, sell it, and make a million dollars
Thats beyond fuckin cool. is the arduino mego set up as an HID usb device? or did you write an app that manages serial/usb comm and invokes the commands on your mac?
Great work man.
this. this right here is why i have hope for humanity. this is so cool - i can just imagine you plugging away and knocking switches on this panel.
That looks cool as fuck! I'd be afraid of it coming loose and smashing on my head though...
Which button brings up the pornhub home screen?
I want to be able to build just one of these panels. Two questions, both for the overall community and you:
Could I make a midi controller using this style + a Gen 1 Raspberry Pi?
What type of container would you recommend to do a small desktop-mounted board (using the same 3-year-old rpi that's lying around)
I will want this for star citizen.
I insist that you indeed have some idea of what you're doing.
Awesome job man! That's so freaking cool, and I wish I could make something like that. On another note, please tell me the fedora in the background is just a joke.
Ok. That's it. You are officially dubbed the king of all nerds. That's incredible! Well done!
This is amazing! Awesome job, it'd downright inspirational
badass.
Dude, amazing effort. I would never attempt this as I would have no idea where to start. Good job
For once, awesome is the appropriate word.
I can't be the only one to see it? Right? RIGHT!?!?http://www.starshipcorporation.com/weylandindustries/images/logo_weyland.jpg
Standing up clapping and crying gif anyone?
That's amazing and I'm insanely jealous
Truly and awesome job. Now it's time to go out there and lose your virginity.
This made a LOT more sense when you showed that you stand at your desk. There was not way that was low enough to be reached from a sitting position IMHO, but I could be wrong.
I'm super curious, can you reach all of the buttons while sitting down or do you need to stand for some?
All of my DIY projects start with the same crude style hand written drawings as yours. None of my DIY projects finish with the level of craftsmanship and details as yours....
The overhead control panel is a bit much for me, but I'm really interested in the Wacom(?) tablet setup you have on the left. What kind of arm did you rig it with? Would it work with a touch monitor?
One: you have way too much time on your hands. Two: I need to become rich so I can hire you
Dude, that is slick as shit.
This is just the coolest fucking thing. fuck its cool.
Methinks you have some serious skills... as in you should be designing sets for Hollywood.
Can you make one of these for EVE?
It's a pretty awesome build, but is it actually faster to use the switches for photoshop commands, rather than just keyboard ones?
flicks switch to turn off "I'm sorry Smashcuts, I can't let you do that."
What happens when you press the "farting control" button?
This is art. Nice work, man.
I literally have no idea what the hell is going on. But I want it. Amazing work OP
Sooooooo...
what does it do?
Very cool! GJ
Marry me
dude..you fucking ROCK!
Breaker breaker, come in Earth, this is Rocket Ship 27, aliens fucked over the carbonator on engine four, I'm gonna try to refuckulate it on Juniper. Uhh, and hopefully they've got some, space weed there, over. How... how was that buddy? I don't fuckin' know.
You crazy crazy magnificent bastard! (I say this with all due respect and I mean it as a complement.) This is amazing!
Did anyone figure out what the Warning: (weird text) is? It has to be a code or something?
How long ago did you build this op? While i was shopping on thinkgeek for my brother i noticed they had some various flux capacitor items.
inspirational!
You could start a business OP
Is that a bottle of lube / oil on your desk ?
whiskey
Brilliant doesn't even come close. Thanks for sharing this. (Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!)
I have an electrical engineering degree, know exactly how to make one by look at the pictures. But my build will be butt ugly. Good job OP.
Every time I lose in a video game this is basically what I picture...A super nerd who I never stood a chance against.
On a serious note, that's pretty cool!
This is brilliant. This must really bring back the physical workmanship feeling to computing. I am curious though - How do the switches and things send signals to the computer? You have some kind of program that maps the signal sent from USB hubs to Keyboard strokes?
The divorce is strong with this one.
Like many of the best things in life, it was created just because it could be. Bravo.
Battlecruiser operational.
I hope you mounted it safely, I would not want that to fall.
This totally satisfies my need for buttons and knobs and fiddley things! I don't have a desktop but I want this!
this is so awesome. My penis can only be SO erect man.
Virgin status: engaged
Wow that is amazing!
This might be the most impressive thing I've seen on Reddit. Not only because how incredibly awesome this is but you figured it out all on your own! You must have the patience of a saint! Really awesome stuff, man!
wellp i know where i'll be for the next few weeks. goes to build one of his own cause this is frickin fantastic
i think you mean months...
Mebe. I'm gonna build a smaller scale one probably. Though of course with classes starting, you're probably right...
Who's your Buda connection? (atx here needing good laser guy)
Fire Light Laser, Jim
Panic button made me feel completely Zen.
you have entirely too much time on your hands, and i absolutely adore you for it.
I first thought this was some star citizen (I.e. weird cult) thing.
WUMPSCUT engage...
How long did this take to build?
This is awesome as fuck
Please tell me you're J.P. From Grandma's Boy!
"I am not a robot"
Dies it actually make coffee?!
"Featured" on The Verge! Way to go man!
This is probably the coolest PC related thing I've ever seen. I wish my set up had this overhead...
Wow!!!!! Nice Job!!
Which USB controller did you use? I'm looking to assemble some switch panels for flight simulators.
Desktop Aviator
That is ludicrous and completely nonsensical.
I love it.
This is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen and a ridiculous waste of time, energy, and resources.... and I want it
Daaaang
Can I buy it off you
This rocks! Any chance you used LED silicons button ? I mean those button where you can put a led inside. Where did you find those? This is really amazing work. What program did you use btw ?
wanted to add my voice to the "that's so cool" chours. well done!
I am in awe...
Looks awesome, great job
WOW that looks like it should be in Star Wars! Well done good sir.
This is fucking awesome and swearing was absolutely necessary!
This is freaking amazing
Can I has it?
You should make more of these and sell them. I would buy one!
I used to make these out of cardboard when I was a kid. Thanks For the nostalgia
2 questions: How long did this take to make? How much would it cost me for you to make one for me?
I'd love to know more about what all the controls do.
If you haven't, post this on /r/arduino
What type of illuminated buttons are those?
This is, very likely, the coolest nerd thing I've ever seen. And I want one.
That is so fucking sick dude.
Dude...this is fucking amazing. Like, I think my geek card is yours amazing. Holy fuck....10000/10
You would be a hit with the modular synth crowd my friend. Good work.
[deleted]
THANK YOU
That thing rocks. So, what does the big red button do?
catbounce.com
wOw that is really something to be proud of! Nice job. Good craftsmanship!
Man, awesome job! I envy your imagination and talent to bring that imagination to life. You sir, are amazing.
This is so f*cking dope it hurts.
fucking hell is that a Herman-Miller also?
Ergohuman!
it's like the guys over in /r/vxjunkies finally figured out how to make something work!
God damn. Its like a commercial jetliner cockpit. Bravo sir.
that was the idea, only also space
Where'd you get your molly-guarded switches? Those are neat.
Radio Shack. they have an interesting switch collection aimed at car modders
Wow, this is awesome. Well done sir.
I Looked at this and thought WTF! You, Sir, are a nerd of the first order and I mean that in a most respectful way...:) I am so impressed with your idea, the perseverance to carry on, and the sheer beauty of the finished product, especially flying by the seat of your pants in putting it all together. Well Played, Well played indeed!
I have no idea why...but I want this.
Amazing work OP!
Need!
OP, you are on TNW:
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2015/08/21/man-builds-real-life-control-panel-for-his-computer-and-its-awesome/
Pretty awesome but I'm sure that's why we have a desktop lol but yeah really creative and smart! And I wonder what the big red button does...
I just found out lol I'm crying
It pulls up catbounce.com
Haha yeah I saw the video lol (':
Holy MotherFUCK.
This reminds me of the time that some guy did the same thing but made it into a game controller for MWO (online MechWarrior game for anyone who knows about it) but that guy used actual helicopter avionics that he scrounged and put together.
I wanted to do something like that so bad...
That was back when people thought MWO was going to be a good game instead of a mech collecting sim.
Yeah, I remember trying it out and liking it but my laptop's graphics card was fucking me over.
I just wish a new Battletech game would come out for the console or the PC. I'd play the fuck out of it. Literally the only things I have are Mechwarrior 4, Mechcommander 2 and Mechassault 2. Fuck this.
check this shit out then! a new turnbased battletech game made by one of the creators of BT, using the art from MWO (the part they got 100% right)
WHAT THE FUCK
SIGNING UP NOW
DO IT! It's not hard. The first 10 hours of Witcher 3 were harder to me. If you can play with legos you can figure it out.
Well I might as well put this BSEE degree to some use...
Holy fuck.
As a spacegeek, HOLY HELL THIS IS BEAUTIFUL
The other day i dropped my cell phone in the toilet.
For some reason, I bent over to pull up my pants AFTER I turned around to flush.
I did not need to turn around to flush, I just did. I didn't need to have the phone in my shirt pocket, it just was.
I hope you're a set designer, or otherwise highly compensated in your profession. Because people like you bring the Sci-Fi world to the rest of us vicariously.
Now you can live out your Millennium Falcon fantasies. I'm so jealous.
Gotta say, you did a great job of creating a bullshit computer terminal thing that extras fiddle with in the background of scifi movies.
You should make these and sell them, I would totally buy one
This is a beautifully done DIY interface. Very inspiring! I saved your album to build something myself in the future. I love that you touched at alot of different rapid prototyping tools. Keep sharing the things you make - I'm sure there are many!
Between now and the next time you do this, you have time to learn how to make PCBs, which you should definitely consider. You could cut down on a lot of that wiring by mounting the switches onto PCBs. Because they'd be very simple layouts, you could lay them out yourself and have them made at somewhere like OSH Park or Seeed Studios.
I'm impressed at how much light comes through the white acrylic. What thickness is that?
Finally, what is that wall mount that you used?
Love the Weyland-Yutani reference!
Which one of these buttons calls your mother?
CALL YOUR MOTHER.
This is a fairly elaborate way to say "I'm single".
Become a pilot, you get to do this a lot.
This might be the best post I've ever seen of Reddit. That must have taken so long.
UH-MAZING! I love it, and I'm not a tech geek in the least. Really, really great job.
That's pretty fuckin' awesome, dude. it's one of those projects we all talk about doing, "oh yes, it can be done.." ... but then we never actually DO it.
You did it.
^^......................you ^^DID ^^it.
This is brilliant. Well done sir. I tip my hat to you. This is really freaking cool.
I soaked my panties.
This may very well be one of the coolest things I have EVER seen.
This is the coolest thing ever. Awesome job.
The neckbeard is strong with this one.
Well done.
The nerd is strong with this one.
That is the most unnecessary I've even seen and I fucken' want one.
which button opens the porno?
How do you use that cyntique?
It swings out in front of me
/r/battlestations
So... Erm... How much did the damage$ come to?
Are you an engineer?
"Less rock" the most irrelevant button ever
OP, this is hands-down the coolest thing I have ever seen on this sub. If I had the money and the time, you bet I'd make my own, but for now I'll just look at yours and dream...
You are the coolest nerd ever!
Dude, WHO are you.
Have you ever heard of the game EVE?
I can't even... This ADD suburban mom needs a toy like this. Seriously one of the most awesome things I've ever seen. You, OP, rock!
Must go show son. I think I figured out what his college major should be.
I'd like to see console gamers try to do something like this. Kek.
lol this is just great after reading the functions
i have two questions sir:
do you do this for a living?
why not?
This is turbo-nerding to the max. I love it.
I wish you were my dad.
Shut up and take my upvote!
Nerd alert! Nerd Alert! haha, seriously though, great job. You are a true inspiration.
You, sir, are amazing.
I love your project!
You should sell these.
Oh my god... You could sell these you know?
Amazing! Imagine if you had used 1 tenth of that effort or money toward something that was actually productive.
We should have this to play EVE.
that looks fun as hell...
do you do the thing where you flip a row of switches left to right (or right to left) to turn things on?
you really need to post this to /r/battlestations
SO AWESOME.
People that are smarter and more driven than me piss me off! But that's an awesome build.
That is so amazing. I'm glad I came here on Reddit today.
whatisthisIwantit...
you need to make a moog type synth with this look. fantastic.
It's pronounced "Byoo-duh."
I don't understand a thing but I'm impressed either way
This is a tremendous amount of work to avoid clicking the icons on your screen.
Dude, you are a genius, nice job!
Coffee control. I like your priorities.
Now give it an AI and voice commands, webcam and all! :O
I see all of these things...do you use it for E:D?
I just don't like techno.
I bet if you had robot ears you would.
I feel like you're better than me and I'm ok with that.
Please make a video. It doesn't have to be long.
fully-functional
I don't think that term means what you think it means.
I really want to make fun of you but I just cannot because this is fucking epic , and I wish I had a drop of your talent to make something like this or something I love.
Respect bro
You mean to say that's a REAL signed Stingray Sam poster on the wall?
wow dude ,....you need to be working for a Hollywood FX department making props , that's awesome!!!!
This is brilliant; thanks for sharing. I am seriously inspired to do the a similar thing as an Elite control console. Nice work, excellent build book!
This is awesome. I build control panels that end up at Toyota plants for a living and while the wiring isn't "pretty" this whole thing is very impressive.
You rule!
HAL 9000? R.I.P. OP
Fuck that's dope. What the fuck am I doing with my worthless life?
I know nothing about computers but you definitely got my respect!
how much meth was involved?
Late to the game, but I have to ask, is it really necessary to have a Belgium button?????
Think of the children!!!!
Great job! Ever play SPACETEAM on your phone with a group? I think this game would be totally up your alley.
This has to be one of the coolest things for a gaming setup I have ever seen.
I gotta see it in action!!!
Amazing.
thats fucking cool
This by far the coolest thing I have ever seen on the DIY subreddit.
"It's programed to go off before you do" http://imgur.com/r5zhQym
OP, I know this will get buried but I need your help Obi! I'm in the process of building a pi controlled home brewery and am over my head. I am a master welder and fabricator but am a caveman when it comes to things like this. Please let me know if building more amazing controllers is something you are interested in.
Zomg this is beautiful! Great job, you fantastic human being!
Wow that's awesome. But, why?
Even if it takes me years of building up the knowledge base to do it, I would like to eventually have the skill to build one of these control panels on my own.
I only ask that someone -anyone- give me a list of subjects I will need to study to possess the knowledge necessary to do such a thing. I humbly ask for guidance in this matter.
How tall are you?
Nice phenomenauts patch on your bulletin board. Didn't know you were a galactic pioneer!
Call me when it falls on you while playing Dota 2
Awesome!!! Share a video pls!!!
You've inspired me to start up some more cool electronics projects. I don't know if I'll ever be at this level of ingenuity, but I can at least probably make some cool stuff happen. Points for using Arduino, those things are bitchin'.
You're pretty awesome.
Awesome job!
But really, I just like your super comfortable looking computer chair.
I'm happy that that overhead control panel exists. Awesome work OP.
This is all so unnecessary but damn if I don't love it!
For those who the time and money...Enjoy!!
Why all the lights? They just make it harder to read
Awesome project! Beautiful design. What would you say the power consumption of this beast is? You said you added a fan, but did you check the temperature inside? Congrats on your work!
This is incredible.
Wiring and programming the stuff must have been a headache for you. Salute to your handwork. keep us updated with any change or modification.
I bet you get a lot of girls.
Completely unrelated but... how can I find a computer chair like that? Does anyone know the brand and model?
You say you did the etching at a place in Buda. Are you in the Austin area?
Hands down the best DIY I've ever seen, I am incredibly jealous and wish I had a brain and funds enough to create something like this.
Bro, do you even reach?
how do the toggle switches work for short cuts in programs like PS and premier? do you flick it once and then have to put it back to the off position? or does each flick execute the shortcut once?
I'd think he made it extra awesome by making the flip down kills the program
that makes sense for the switches that launch applications, but not for the switches controlling effects in PS, or import/export. Unless one switch position closes the import/export/effects dialog. But thats seems inefficient because your mouse cursor will already be on that part of the screen when you're done using it, so you could easily hit 'ok' or 'done' to close the window instead of reaching overhead.
Now you should make more of these and sell them.
YOU ARE A GOD
/u/nomad218 /u/curiousmadscientist
That. Is. Awesomeness.
What does PANIC button do? :3
r/battlestations would wet their pants
I'm torn, first this is amazing and I want one. But then part of me wants to take you to the beach and kick sand in your face NERD.
Thought it was cool....until I saw the word "trill"....I'm out.
That's one pricey cool paperweight. I just double click. It's p easy.
You've mixed up Weyland-Yutani and Aperture and is that a Viper? Hnng!
Download google chrome please Cortana
This is the coolest thing. Very well done.
So much of this reminds me of the game Spaceteam
First time I have fapped in DIY, holy crap is this amazing.
Why do I feel like OP is going to be on /r/watchpeopledie in the coming weeks?
how much do you want for it
What's it like to have just too much money?
This is someone who has too much time on their hands.
Now I'm contemplating building a slightly smaller version. Like, the size of two keyboards. I'm surprised no one over at Instructables has already.
Way fucking cool man. I'm totally saving this to incorporate parts into a future DIY.
I just wana know how u programmed the buttons to do stuff on the computer. awesome stuff
This is the coolest, most original DIY I think I've ever seen here. Congrats on this - looks like it was a huge undertaking. You deserve all of the points.
Side note - probably mentioned elsewhere - did you consider putting it on a more secure tilt and swivel type mount like some TVs have? Would maybe allow you to reposition if need be. Maybe it's just too heavy for something like that. Either way - unreal. 10/10 - would read again.
Just curious - where did you buy the buttons, etc. Is there a cheap place to buy such things, I always find buttons/switches costing the most.
Most beautiful and useless thing created by man.
Dang... How long did that take you to build?
Sweet X-Men poster
You have blown my mind. The project alone is worthy of gold, but your persistence and tenacity even more so. You are an inspiration my friend.
While this is extremely cool this is less of a DIY and more of a show and tell...
weylands heart of gold
The Weyland-Yutani logo is a nice touch!
I love how people always try to play it off like they don't know what they're doing when doing stuff like this. If you really "had no idea what I'm doing" you wouldn't have ended up with this.
What a geek!!!
Seriously, that's pretty cool.
I need this in my life. And these comments oh god Reddit you be so funny
Extremely impressive! And congratulations for persevering through the troubleshooting stage. I also love the graphic stylings that you created. Very slick. that Tron/hal/Star Wars panel is my favorite. What program did you use to code the buttons/engage scripts?
Edit: I see I somehow missed the original post in dyi, glory to x-posts.
I will read though the comments im sure my question has been asked/answered
Can we get a video with sound? Pretty please?
This is both the most awesome and useless thing I've ever seen in my life.
I fucking LOVE it.
Fucking amazing.
You've inspired me :)
"I should mention that I have no idea what I'm doing." My ass you have no idea what you're doing, you know exactly what you're doing. Siick project though :)
Where is the control for control panel control?
Can you tell us more specifics about the physical switch--->USB thingy--->translated to actual keystroke/macro you used? (i.e. what are the USB boards called, and what program do you use to "translate" them into keystrokes the computer can use?
This is awesome, totally impractical terrific stuff.
Fantastic stuff!
You repeatedly said you had no idea what you were doing, but obviously took the time to get it done right, eventually.
Awesome work. This is why I love Reddit!
Also- take my money!!!! Build more! Sell them when you do! 10/10, would spend money I don't have!
That's pretty awesome! But how often do you make practical use of it, I wonder
Nice Job done!
Who are you, and can we be friends?
you deserve all the nice things. for at least two months.
Do you let your girlfriend use this? Oh...wait
That's pretty fucking badass! Got some serious talent going on up in here.
Fatality.
Amazing.
Now you're making my head dizzy. I really do admire people who can actually create something like this which is beyond what my human brain could imagine. When faced with this many buttons, my mind went blank.
YOU MANIAC! This is ridiculously awesome.
This is awesome! May I ask you how much did the whole project cost?
You are sooo getting laid.
I'd say he's gonna get laid and if this post make it into the right hands he's gonna get paid!
You sir, are epic. That's awesome!
I want to make my own version purely for video editing now, cheers for the inspiration OP :3
That things gonna drop on your computer like a ton of bricks.
Next have a look at r/mechanicalkeyboards
this is brilliant. I know top notch nerds would pay to have something like this for their computer.
Just so you know, the two places that screwed up your laser etching did so out of pure laziness. You can remedy that by just using lower intensity, it just takes longer to do the cuts.
Speechless... Wow
Nice work!
Congratulations on being awesome like Jaimie Mantzel, and making something awesome, to contributing to the awesomeness of the world!
Totally awesome.
Highlight for me : Less rock and More Rock :)
The most awesome thing I saw all week!
When I was a little kid they told us we'd have computers in our homes some day. Other than the mounting angle, this is what I imagined.
damn now I feel like my custom fan controller which is just a single line of 6 switches isn't cool enough.....I might have to make one of these.
You have dedicated porn switch, i am blown away. But seriously this looks amazing.
Someone needs to make a video of this.
Are those setups fucking real...wow!!! man
Sick sauce, but you need a better keyboard.
This is just amazing.
Could you provide a specific parts list OP?
This sub should be renamed to /r/ihavesomuchmoneyandnothingtodowithitletsdocrazyshitwithitinstead
Very cool.
but you can't reach the buttons unless you're shaq
Are you going to play star citizen with that thing?
reminds me of SpaceTeam
I'm sorry. I'm afraid you've created a monster, Dave.
Edit: Saw an Arpeture Science logo too... You monster.
Holy shit, your gonna get so much tail.
Be right back, building myself one of those...
Absolutely incredibly work!
YES. Wash flipping his switches is what inspired this entire thing
What does the big red button do?
The panel looks awesome, but where's the button for bouncing a gravitation particle beam off the main deflector dish? Or what about an inverse tachion pulse?
I love this.
Yer a fuckin' stud! That is awesome!
You're a fuckin' nerd. I'll take two please.
Love the Weyland Yutani logo on there!
There are times in my life where I wish I was creative. This is one of them. This is so cool.
You wouldn't hate it if you had robot ears.
Panic control lol
Are some of those letters in galactic basic standard?
I think so! Good find!
Take my money, now. Plexiglass should save on shipping :)
Amazing! I am sad to see the flux compositor didn't make it into the finished product, though.
Wow if people are this smart; i feel like quitting the computer science education immediately and work in wallmart the rest of my life. My will and brain capacity will never let me achieve something big like this -.-
Star Wars fan, eh? I see the aurebesh on that panel below the photosynth switches.
Farting control. OP thought of everything.
This makes me so unbelievably happy. Thank you for sharing.
Your panel lighting gave me the idea to spraypaint the transparant panel instead of trying to laminate it. I wanted to get a clear panel with black back side (so you see the back end of the panel) but couldn't get it right. I will try the paint solution with laser etching! Thanks.
I wish it was for ksp and it was mine.
Buda...? do you live near Austin?
(note: for the english-speaking world, Buda is pronounced "Byoo-duh". I have no idea why.)
= Mind blown.
I have such a massive respect for people like you how do this kind of awesome DIY stuff. Mad props!
That is bad ass! Awesome work!
Live action space team?
Any votes for a kickstarter to manufacture this for the rest of us? ;)
OP, can you press a haha button for me?
This is probably the most amazingly overly-unnecessary thing I've ever seen...and that's what makes it so awesome! My response to the "banana for scale" picture was definitely one of the 3rd laughter switch variety! (Partially before my first thought when seeing the picture before reading the sub-text was "It also works a banana holder") XD
I know for sure that if I were to sit in that seat I would not be able to reach any of those controls...because I'm extremely short (148cm or about 4"10), in saying that I'd still be satisfied with just being able to be in the same room as such a magnificent creation. Good job, sir!
Incredible.
Awesome build, I might end up building something similar. One question, where did you buy the buttons and switches?
I too was curious where you would get switches and buttons for this. Awesome controller. Your effort and attention to detail clearly shines in the final product.
Cool stuff
What do you do for work? Sorry if I'm late, I just have gotten lost in bunch of subreddits and also I'm baked beyond belief right now and I am connecting with you on a deep emotional level right now.
I make stupid videos for youTube and stupid TV commercials when I'm not doing that. joe-nicolosi.com is my website
GREAT job man! I can see that you put a shit-ton of effort into this! You most definitely get an upvote for "badassery"
Thanks! It was several shit-tons actually
Controllermate is excellent, and blimey this monstrosity to just awe inspiring!
thank you! I'm rather attached to it
So I'm curious how you wired the illuminated switches for light. The USB controllers just track button pushes but don't illuminate the button. You mentioned the Arduino for the flashing lights. Is the Arduino powering the LEDs for the switches? Or is it just controlling then? Can you offer any insight into how you accomplished that? Again, stellar build. You are pretty phenomenal at this.
What happens when that thing gives and smushes you?
By the way it's fucking awesome and you're a genius.
r/outrun
Go talk to the people at /r/mechanicalkeyboards that thing you type on is not worthy of you
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thank you!
Wow, you should learn emacs
I've seen this exact post at least 3 times now
SO FREAKIN' AWESOME!
Farting Control might be the best button ever designed. I need to learn how to build panels like this. For real tho.
Plot Twist: He flips burgers for a living at Wendy's.
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Holy shit, i had no idea
/u/IIDrGreyII
/u/iidrgreyii
You also included a Weyland - Yutani logo!
I know this post is 5 months old, but I just found it.
Best. Thing. Ever.
Well done, sir.
Chances this guy has a social life?
This 'looks' cool but it has seriously zero utility... You have to stand up in order to reach any of those buttons and knobs. It's 100x easier to just bind those actions to keys with AHK or something in a large keyboard.
It's certainly a feat of engineering but it's not really rational to use it at all and you wouldn't find me standing up or trying to reach those knobs to perform tasks that could be done with a simple double-click or whatever.
I think it would have been a better idea to turn your table into some kind of huge glowing switchboard or something. Then you could just reach over and flick things around.
Also your workspace looks like it would be a real pain to dust and clean every week or so.
TL;DR
This is awesome but it I think it would have been more feasible to have turned your table into this switch board instead of hanging some huge dangerous heavy thing over monitor, keyboard hands and possibly head...
Man, this is the awesomest thing I have seen on reddit for a while. I've been wanting to build something similar myself using arduino, but I never had the guts to start. Perhaps your awesome project would give me the push I needed.
Holy shit I need one of these for eve.
This is amazing.
Quit your job and do this full time
That is mind blowing! Thumbs up!
class 5 vents - farting control
r/im14andthisisfunny
The fact that there are 306 comments and NOBODY has mentioned the "Serenity Now" setting is a tragedy and an inditement of the reddit community at large. SERENITY NOW. That is far and away the best part of this entire project. .
Which button activates Level III Virginity Shielding?
Aperture logo :)
Is there a button that gets you laid?
What s waste of time and money
Think of all the money you'll save on pussy!
Or just use the keyboard shortcuts :o
Not fair... not fucking fair.
Very true but how useful is it? I would hate to have to always reach over my head to trigger an effect or start up an application.
Edit: Typed tool instead of true.
So now instead of learning keyboard shortcuts you just have to reach 3 feet and press a physical switch
The Mac User ladies and gents
It must be really boring to be you
What's the use of being skilled enough to do something like this if you put it to use with something so completely pointless?
I estimate this thing sees like 5 days of use tops before you realize how retarded it is to have to be reaching all around you flipping switches and turning dials to control a simple set of shortcuts.
What's the Fart control button do?
Unbelievable man. Fucking incredible haha, I'm so jealous.
Absolutely beautiful and brilliant, and you need to get out the house more, but well done!
I find this to be both absurdly amazing and utterly useless. Great work.
You're pale aren't you? I'm guessing you're very pale.
What's with the jumbo Atari Lynx to the left of your monitor?
You play EVE online don't you
what am i a nerd
No I play too!!
iTunes! Shame on you
i like my itunes, got 15 years of MP3s in that library. plus with the panel i don't have to bother with that fugly interface
ADD A PORN BUTTON
u should get a girlfriend
dibs
I've seen a lot of DIY stuff in my life, but this... is... the... NERDIEST
[bursts out laughing]
...but, sorry about your life, man. That... That sucks.
[burts out laughing]
that's cringy as fuck
I was copying the script from Tommy Boy.
still a dick thing to say either way
Good.
edgy
That's some nerd ass shit dog but, it's cool homie. Hit me up if your ever in the Bay Area and I will give you a block pass so you can come hang with some true bloods.
How much is it costing you in electricity to run this beast?
Thats really neat
But it seems to put form way WAY before functionality.
Wait, you're running a mac? Suddenly it all makes sense.
~~Nerd.~~ Geek.
How about you go out and play some Outdoor Sport?
how about you get off this subreddit
how about you get off this subreddit
That's it? That's the best you can do? What's the matter? Did I hit a nerve of Truth? I must have. LOL!
Just trying to save you from diabetes type 1 or 2.
Lol good luck with your life man. Go make some friends and get a life
There is nothing wrong with playing video games, but like with anything else, in Moderation. Stay active!
Just don't let it fall on you -_-
also what does it do other than look pretty?
commenting for later
/r/cringe
Cool, maybe next time you could build yourself a fully-functional girlfriend and your family will start taking you more serious for a change.
That is the most useless thing I have ever seen. Mac user as well lol
it's really useless
WOW good job man ! You should start a company. ( i know i would buy one)
How do you relay buttons to start programs ? how is that even possible ?
And then I look at my shitty little desktop, and cry a little bit....
I had the pleasure of sharing the office with this evil genius and I can confirm that he actually performs his often very complex work using these buttons and switches. It's truly a sight to behold. Sometimes we'd be chatting with our backs to each other and then he'd reach up and a flip a switch that cued a laugh track.
Knowing OP, can you give some insights into what porn sites the ANTI-REALITY CREATOR switch navigates to.
You know you're addicted to porn when...
... You need an overhead control for it.
OP looks like he's ready for Star Citizen. Except he will have to modify his VR system to show the overhead console so he can still use it while hes in the flight cockpit.
Seeing the pics I was expecting he was a hardcore SC or ED guy. But it only makes it more awesome that he isn't and just uses it for fart sounds and cat videos.
...instead of the very super ultra serious task of playing video games
perhaps an EVE player
...and it's the big red Panic button.
Did you have a stroke half way through that?
☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)
This guy!
the blood just went out from his brain to serve a more important organ...
You're telling me there's a bloodthirsty organ that requires people's blood to play music?
You're telling me your penis doesn't play music?
Skin flute
... His dick.
... His dick.
TheXearta, if your comment was in response to skwull it would have been funny. Seemingly you'd be pointing out the obvious, which is often a form of humor. Here, I'll fix this.
When what?
...you have a strong and harmful need to regularly watch porn.
/r/pornfree if anyone needs it
You need a space shuttle head rest for the orgasm that blew a hole in your "work sock"
Given that OP states that switch is used to open Adobe Premiere, I'd say it'd likely be a lot of self-shot porn...
It's just a picture of a nude Tayne.
http://i.imgur.com/tLex5ws.gif
Reality kings.
... I don't think that laugh track thing would ever get old
That's freaking hilarious.
'Hey John, I'm gonna need those TPS reports'
stares down for a couple seconds then reaches up and flips on the laugh track
I wish I could be as gloriously and magnificently unpractical as the gentleman you're describing.
Impractical even.
That's just a testament to how impractical he is.
doesn't this take an insanely longer time to do things than to use the mouse? I only say this because if you constantly stood up to change volumes, it would make me crazy.
No, this is faster. One button to do something instead of going to a menu and scrolling down. Hot keys rule.
Yeah, but think about the karma and leetness
From the gif of him using it, it doesn't look like he needs to stand up to reach any of the switches.
Someone like /u/FutureManGaming might like this
Correct
Your mate must be Italian, I can tell from the name of the iTunes playlists....
I want to see that in action!
How does it send commands to your computer ?
But why no swiveling arm to say, "See Tom, the projections for user uptake of the new DRM software are at 98%, kindly go fuck yourself."
what is this does its even plays light as you watch over...your control room is awesome does this generate heat to it.
We demand a vid or you're a dirty liar.