I've been scouring the web to see what's available to give my 17" monitor a little more pizzazz with FS2002. I'm interested in those magnifiers that attach to the front of your monitor. Do these magnifiers work well or do they distort the image too much? Anyone using them?Thanks!

Nobody is trying these big magnifiers for monitors with FS2002?

You mean a Fresnel Lens? There's been a couple discussion about them here, try searching for that. ;)Matt

I've been using a Fresnel lens in my home flight deck for some time now and couldn't live without it. The lens is in front of a 19" monitor which shows the outside view only.Two other 17" monitors below show the primary and secondary instruments on custom made panels along with FSNav4.The lens, in addition to making the image much larger, provides a depth of field which makes things more 3D like. The far end of the runway looks far away.There is no distortion but you must spend a little time at initial setup to ensure that the lens and monitor are centred and at the right focal distance.However, I have not tried the lens with both the outside view and the panel on the same screen so you might not get quite the same effect - but bigger is better in any event. In using a Fresnel lens the only view is from in front of it. Anyone in the first officer's seat will see nothing!!!Also, you don't want any unwanted light reflections spoiling the result.A good quality lens is essential. I got mine from www.rcsimulations.com - about UK

Thanks for the response. I found a number of places on the internet that sold these but was unsure of the quality or which style was best(some just hang in front while others seems to attach to the monitor). Sounds like this could make quite a difference in simming. Thanks for the webpage.Anyone else have these and where did you get them?Randall

See :-http://ideal.tvn.co.uk/hah/cgi-bin/product...1985-1016617185This is exactly the same product as rcsimulations sell, but is one third the price.Chris Ehttp://www.circle-software.co.ukhttp://website.lineone.net/~flightsimukAvoid AGP texturing = Better Performance ;)

Thanks, Chris.

Hey Chris,Thanks for that link.Some while back when the discussions of Fresnel lenses was on going I looked for UK or internet suppliers and I could only find small plastic ones (no good) or RC (too expensive) so your link is valuable, I may now take the plunge.Slightly off topic.These sort of devices are often marketed at disabled folks and it is interesting to compare prices.Recently I was looking at suppliers of the ED tracker, you know that that IF thing with the spot stuck on your head.ED's price was reasonable but my search brought up numerous UK sites for disabled people offering a similar or identical item and prices were around

I would assume it would magnify the pixels too, meaning running fs in a higher res. if possible. I invested in a 22" screen and it still does the job no matter how old the rig. I just upgrade the pc; the screen remains, it doesn't degrade!(Iiyama visionmaster pro 510)

I'm very interested in getting a fresnel lens for flying. Does anyone know who I'd contact in the USA about purchasing one? I'm having a heck of a time finding vendors online! Usually a google search will immediately dig up a lot of relevant information, but this time it's giving me mostly old, out-of-date information. Help?

Thanks to the link from Chris I have just ordered one ;) .If this msg is still alive after trying it I'll let you know how I found it on a 19 inch monitor, I want it more for the 3D effect than making the screen bigger.Who konws, if it doesn't work out there wil be a cut price fresnel for sale :(

Well. mine arrived today, thanks for that link Chris.It's Ok...yes it's good, magnification does not detract from or 'pixelate', the image. There is a modest degree of '3D' enhancement and this is particularly pleasant for external views.2d cockpit views suffer very slightly in terms of instrument readability, but you can move the lens to compensate - trade off image size for clarity.I have a very small table for my monitor/yoke/keyboard/mouse, so this arrangement isn't ideal - my range of fore/aft movement of the lens is limited, but I'm pleased with it. Good for the money -

Thanks for reporting back--great timing as I happened to be looking for a reply to this thread today. I take it from your report that you did not experience any distortion (for example, around the edge).You didn't mention its effect on the virtual cockpit--any improvement?Thanks again for your report.R

>Well. mine arrived today, thanks for that link Chris. Today the link is showing the item unavailable, however if you delete the last part of the address and enter through the main page, select the ihs option instead of the hah option, the item is still available. Just ordered one too.

Well, I've had mine for about 2 weeks now, and will not be using FS without it from now on. I can't recommend it any more than that.Chris Ehttp://www.circle-software.co.ukhttp://website.lineone.net/~flightsimukAvoid AGP texturing = Better Performance ;)