[simpits-tech] Home made HUD?

[Gene Buckle]

> Problem with HUD's is that the image is projected out to 300 feet (the
> beginnings of infinity for practical purposes) and that tricks the eye
> and brain to focus on both the HUD image and the distant image as both
> at infinity and thus superimposed on one another.  I was talking a while
> back with Chris Woodul about this and he said a lot of sims just project
> the HUD image on the screen with the rest of the stuff.  Not a true
> likeness of the real thing, but a lot easier, cheaper and more practical
> to do.

You've got a good point there.  However, it's really hard to avoid the
pure "cool" factor of using a real HUD if you've got one available. :)  At
some point I may build a fake HUD for display purposes since the one I
have is VERY inaccurate and will be even after the new face is built on
it.

The trick with an on-screen HUD is getting the display resized and in the
right position so that your combining class frame properly brackets the
image.

If you go to the effort of building a working HUD, you have the advantage
of being able to set the focal point where ever you need it to be.  In
commercial military sims that use real HUDs, they use a specially modified
optics chamber that keeps the focus at the vertical plane of the exterior
view display screen.  I've only heard of this being done in F-16
simulators though.

g.