Hey gang,I'm starting to get back into the Flight Sim hobby after a many year hiatus (got my start on Flight Simulator 2 for the C64 many MANY years ago... Actually learned how to plot my position using the VORs and ADFs back then... Not bad for what was a 12yr old at the time!) Fast forward 21 years- Having finally gotten to a financial point where I can have a top end PC (specs below) and seeing how the technology has progressed, I'm once again excited to get back into the sim world.I'm looking to set up a MODEST flight sim setup for doing some simming, probably with FS-X although I'm currently using 2004. No specific aircraft, although I tend more towards the 737 and the Learjet, although the Cesna can be fun at times too for low speed/altitude sightseeing flights. Can't be large/unweildy as I use my main PC for other tasks such as video editing, other gaming, programming, etc.I'm looking for advice on how to get started in setting up a semi-realistic sim cockpit. I have on order (just now from newegg) the CH Yoke and Pedals (going to wait on the Throttle Quad for a bit). I also have a Belkin Nostromo Speedpad which I plan to config for some routine button tasks as well (I'd like to get away from keyboard as much as possible.) I'd like to get an AP+Radio deck as well. I've looked at the various GoFlight units, but they're a bit out of my price range, and the do-it-yourself route is a slippery slope I'd rather not delve into. Does anyone make a lower-end/cost AP/Radio unit? Say in the $200-300 range?What about putting instrument displays on secondary monitors or on a second machine running networked? I've heard (but know nothing) about Magenta(?) and WideFS(?) I was thinking maybe I could use my main machine + monitor for the out the window view and drive the instruments off the 2nd machine, although that wouldn't work too well with the Virtual Cockpit, and I was considering a TrackIR unit for use with that...Basically, I'm looking for advice, pointers to good sites that explain all this stuff, etc.Main PC Specs: Athlon64 4800+X2 (AM2), 4GB DDR2-800C3, Dual 7900GT's (SLIed), 4 Seagate 300GB SATA2 drives (RAID5 config), Dell 2405FPW monitor, 5.1 Surround sound speakers, CH Flight Yoke + Pedals, Belkin Nostromo N50 Speedpad.Laptop: eMachines M6809 Athlon64 3200+, 1.25GB Ram, 64MB Radeon 9600mobile, 15.4" 1280x800 display.Tertiary machine if needed (server duty currently): Athlon64 FX-51, 1GB DDR-400 memory, OLD Geforce2 GTS video card, tons of hard drives.I also have a plethora of old CRT monitors of various sizes laying around that could be used as well...--Mike

http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/getting_started.htmThis has links to many informative sites.Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.comwww.mikesflightdeckbooks.com