Yes, this system will be available to buy. It should be ready later this year. Completed is too strong a term, however. I am making this field upgradeable. I am working on getting all the hardware onto it that I figure I will need and then making it functional. As I get the systems and UI worked out better, they can be installed by people who have them. The programmer for these chips are readily available and inexpensive. Also, only one person in a club would need the programmer. My problem right now is making sure I have the hardware correct. The version that is running right now has several hardware problems that I cannot rectify in software. The BOM cost is also way too high for me to sell enough of them to even recoup my non-recurring engineering expenses. I have a system that I know works; now I am going over my component list to see what is either unnecessary, overpowered, or simply overpriced. Then I need to make sure the architecture will be good enough and flexible enough to handle what I can foresee it being used for. The software can be (and will be) changed later, but the hardware needs to be solid upon release. The system is being made so that ships can be either built around it or retrofitted in with some loss in performance (but no worse than an existing setup). The ship in the video, the HMS Hood, was a retrofit. Having the ship built around it will entail the use of the built-in speed controllers, pump circuits, and solenoid valve firing circuits. Many existing turrets will need to be reworked, however, to get rid of the stripped servos. There has to be some sort of directional feedback on the turrets in order to make it work, and those servos will not cut it. I could probably work out a way to use the angular position sensors we mentioned earlier for the feedback, but that is lower on my priority list (unless a bunch of people want me to make it higher). Stephen
Madwand, I believe the term you're looking for is "hacked" servos, not "stripped". Sounds to me like I'm not the only one who wants one of these things
Is anybody still interested in collaborating on a distributed system? Or, has Madwand's announcement killed all other projects? JM
Sorry to dig up a zombie thread but having seen the videos and reading this thread I'm curious if this system has seen combat and how'd it do? Also curious if it has progressed at all or has been shelved?
Hi TC, it's been put on the back burner a bit as we've gotten busy with Strike Models. Stephen Morgret is Madwand, and I'll have him jump on here and give an update in the near future.
