Br 101 Mini Cabdesk

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by laszlo.balmer, Apr 18, 2026.

  1. laszlo.balmer

    laszlo.balmer Member

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    Hey guys,
    I just wanted to share with you my little Br 101 mini cabdesk. It’s much fun to use it and it’s crazy how much more precise you get with it. The levers are strongly inspired from this model: https://makerworld.com/fr/models/1545701-throttle-lever-for-train-simulator#profileId-1622997
    the Reverser is completely engineered by myself.
    I used an arduino nano to connect it to my PC and the software that communicates with tsw is trenino (really great! You can do a button matrix which is really useful for that many buttons).
    If you have questions or want the step files ask me ;)
     

    Attached Files:

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  2. Shackamaxon

    Shackamaxon Well-Known Member

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    Well done !
     
  3. Emmy_MAN

    Emmy_MAN Well-Known Member

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    @laszlo.balmer

    Would you build a control console like this for someone who’d pay you?
    Because that’s exactly what’s missing from a good train simulator game.
    You could really make a success of it.

    It looks absolutely brilliant, and I really love it.
     
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  4. dal#7945

    dal#7945 Well-Known Member

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    You must have a lot of time and effort into that. It looks great well i hope it makes game for 100x better. Well done.
     
  5. GeraltDW

    GeraltDW Well-Known Member

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    Awesome work, man.
     
  6. Puddington Bear

    Puddington Bear Well-Known Member

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    Would like to know that too. Seems like it would fit nicely under the Christmas tree for many people. Many people who speak German.;)
     
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  7. Choo choo

    Choo choo Well-Known Member

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    Out of curiosity, how long did you spend building this?
     
  8. laszlo.balmer

    laszlo.balmer Member

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    Hey Guys,
    Thanks for your kind words! Really appriciate it!
    So I spent approximately 3 weeks developing it (as i inspired myself from some other builds some parts were pretty straightforward to model) and as a mechanical engineer I have a pretty strong CAD modeling background.

    As for people that would like to have one if you intend to build it by yourself I can give you the 3d files and all the components I used but be aware that some things are far from perfect and match my standards :D. (for example, i used these buttons and i just put the these models on top of it, it looks okay but there are better options that are closer to the real locos)

    If someboddy wants to buy one of of me, I would have to think about it, because I don't personally have a 3d printer nor a lasercutter (for the chassis, which is made out of 5mm PMMA) i can use the one from my workplace but I only work there until end of may so so I would definitely need to invest in a 3d printer if I would have to build a few models which would rise the price. So I would assume one unit would cost about 500 to 600 € (raw materials + 3d printer investment + wiring). So I don't know if some people would be ready to buy this very DIY project for that price. As I said I I can give you my step files if you want to do it. Just let me know ;)
     
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  9. Emmy_MAN

    Emmy_MAN Well-Known Member

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    Hello laszlo.balmer

    You could also make the casing out of wood, as the people at Fahrpult.com do.

    I think that would significantly reduce the costs, and the wood would be easier to source as well.
    I don’t know if you’re familiar with the TSC-X Train Controller?
    https://www.simworkshop.net/de/products/tsc-x-train-simulator-controller

    You can connect it and use it with this software from CobraOne, but there’s also dedicated software available for the TSC-X controller, which you might be able to use as well, to make it easier for people who buy it to set it up.

    Here is the software from Cobra One:
    https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/ts-world-raildriver-and-joystick-interface.61440/

    Here is the software for the TSC-X controller:
    https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...pi-supports-english-german-and-chinese.96486/

    If your control panel could be set up with one of these two pieces of software, allowing you to drive with it, you’d certainly attract some customers.
    After all, your control panel is compact, and that’s exactly what’s been missing until now.

    And if you could set up your control panel with one of these two programmes so you could drive with it, I personally wouldn’t hesitate to pay up to 600 euros.
     
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  10. Emmy_MAN

    Emmy_MAN Well-Known Member

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    Hello laszlo.balmer

    I read the following on the page you linked to in your first post.

    ‘At the moment, there is no solid code base; I have simply used an Arduino Leonardo as a USB joystick and “Ts World Raildriver And Joystick Interface”. The code for the Leonardo can be found below, but you will need to adjust the values slightly, as the minimum and maximum values are currently hard-coded.’


    So your control panel would also work with the software I listed in the post above.

    Perhaps this might also help you: you could operate a control panel like this using the two different programmes mentioned in my post.
     
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  11. CK95

    CK95 Well-Known Member

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    That’s incredible work, you should be very proud of it.

    I bet it adds so much more fun & immersion.
     
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  12. Choo choo

    Choo choo Well-Known Member

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    It would be really interesting if you could somehow capture yourself playing the game using your cabdesk :)
     
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