Reto Stöckli

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Liebe Energie Wasser Bern (EWB)

Wir besitzen einen Boiler, der im Winter von unserer Pelletsheizung und im Sommer elektrisch geheizt wird. Die elektrische Heizung wird durch den untenstehend abgebildeten Boilersteuerschütz der ABB gesteuert. Dieser Baustein reagiert auf die durch die Energie Wasser Bern (EWB) generierten Signale im Stromnetz und lädt den Boiler in der Nacht. Man kann mit dem schwarzen …

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Löhne Bund vs. Privatwirtschaft: ein reales Rechenbeispiel

Die Löhne von Bundesangestellten werden öfters von den Medien wie auch im Parlament als zu hoch erachtet. Es wird argumentiert, dass der mittlere Jahreslohn in der Privatwirtschaft bei 90’000 Fr. und beim Bund bei 131’000 Fr. liege. Somit würde die Privatwirtschaft Arbeitskräfte an den Bund verlieren. Ist es möglich, dass bei diesen Studien unreflektiert Äpfel …

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DIY Multi-Projector geometric Warping and Blending for X-Plane

Introduction This article is about setting up multi-projector visuals on a cylindrical screen for a flight simulator home cockpit. There are three image transformations one will need to accomplish for it to work properly. Figure 1: Sample three projector system (left). Distorted images and overlaps when projecting from X-Plane without warping & blending (center). Properly …

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Simulation of “Smoke in the Cockpit”

After finalizing an almost complete Boeing 737 Flight Simulator, I thought about going one step forward and trying to simulate emergency situations. Smoke in the Cockpit is one of them, and not a funny one (See for instance the fatal Swissair SR111 Accident, where a fire with the flight entertainment system generated heavy smoke and …

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Microsoft wants your kids to play games 15 hours a day!

Like many parents we use Microsoft Family Safety to limit screen time of our children. It turns out that the default screen time is … 15 HOURS PER DAY !!!!! So when you register a Microsoft device (e.g. Windows computer or Xbox) for your 9 year old, the default screen time for your 9 year …

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Bye Bye USB, Welcome Ethernet

I’ve just removed and replaced the last OpenCockpits Hardware, the Forward Overhead Panel, which was connected via USB to the flight simulator. Apart from the extensive wiring needed, USB devices by OpenCockpits were quite difficult to use because a) their communication protocol is not “Open” as the name misleadingly suggests, and b) the OpenCockpits USB …

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How to convert a Boeing Lightplate to LED Backlighting

Boeing 737 classic aircraft use cockpit panels which are backlighted by incandescent bulbs. They are driven by 5V (not 28V like all other bulbs, so please don’t burn them, it happened to me). The bulbs are connected in parallel, they are directly soldered onto a PCB and fit through holes into the semi-transparent backplate. Unfortunately, …

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How to transform a Korry 318 annunciator from a 28V to a 5V device

Korry annunciators are used in many larger aircraft. Boeing often uses (or: used, e.g. in the Boeing 737 classic series) the Korry 318 annunciator. It consists of two 28V white light bulbs (Type 387 T1 3/4 Midget Flanged). The annunciator can be pressed, activating a switch to test the annunciator’s light bulbs. The light bulbs …

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Flight Simulator 1.0

Not many words needed. I’m happy to show you some pictures of my first flight yesterday on 26 March 2024 with the newly rebuilt Flight Simulator Home Cockpit, now featuring a second flight management computer and the newly built aft overhead panel, and, and, and … also many thanks for the VACC (VATSIM Controllers in …

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Back to Step 1

After having almost completely mounted the Sim in a newly built wooden house including a curved 210 degree screen and three projectors, a small metal part of the mechanical rudder pedals broke. Since the B737 sim is mounted in a real cockpit enclosure, there is no way to access the rudder pedal from the front. …

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