I’ve had my Obutto Ozone for some time now and I know I will not be going back to sit at a normal desk lightly for gaming, if I move house there has to be room for the Ozone!
Over time I have made some tweaks and changes to the point that I think I am settled with the overall set up. It has ruled out using it for racing sims, but I don’t have the time for them anyway (DCS has taken over pretty much completely – with the exception of Far Cry 5, which can provide a welcome distraction!)
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I’ve managed to clear a bit more space and make room for the keyboard and mouse tray to be a permanent fixture; previously I’d been using the box from my old monitor, with a mouse pad, as a mini-desk for the mouse.
I’ve now added my Logitech Z-5450 5.1 speakers, I managed to reclaim them from my parents now that they have moved house! So I now have proper surround sound for those times when I don’t have to worry about the volume (few and far between but worth it when they happen!). The slight downside is the central speaker can get knocked if I really shove the stick fully forward, but that is a rare occurence. I had been tempted to buy the speaker mounts, but I don’t have a need for them. Right behind my chair is a set of shelves and they have the rear speakers at ear level with the power cables managed out of the way.
Although I was very happy with my Logitech G-5 mouse the cable could end up getting tangled when I moved the keyboard tray in and out and it wasn’t quite long enough – though I did use an extension cable to resolve this, it just meant another cable trailing around. I took advantage of an Amazon sale and bought a Wireless Logitech G602. This is working out quite well and means one less cable to manage. When it comes to cable management, you can see in the original review they were quite a mess, I bought a couple of new additions to help tidy things up. One of the best things has been a set of neoprene cable management sleeves These have really manage to keep all of the cables together and looking smart. I’ve also bought a set of velcro cable ties, which finishes things off.
Raising the keyboard on a laptop stand has really allowed for the addition of the speakers and the Thrustmaster MFDs; although it is also sat on top of the box for the MFDs for the proper clearance. The box can not be seen as it is well hidden, but it did give the exact clearance required for everything, and even holds the speaker in place with room underneath for a phone or the remote for the speakers!
The most recent addition has been Phillips Hue lighting strip which runs around the home made mount for my Mac Mini. which sits behind the monitor.
This has saved me desk space (meant for my wife to work on) and allows me to have a machine dedicated to working and media running through the same monitor as my gaming PC. (Photos to follow). There is also a Phillips Hue light bulb in the main light. The benefit of this is that when playing games like Far Cry 5, where I am not using VR, the lights can be coordinated with the scene on the monitor and they can really add to the experience. This is great for films and there was no noticeable lag, even when watching a the light sabre fight at the beginning of Star Wars Episode III. When playing Far Cry at the final scene it really made a massive impact as the whole room reflected the screen and added to the intensity of the scene. With the lights controlled by Alexa or Siri it makes for a useful, as well immersion building, addition.
The final piece of the puzzle is the Gametrix Jetseat. This has been updated now and works with the F/A-18 and the Harrier. I had been contemplating taking it off the seat as it wasn’t working with the aircraft that I flew the most, but I am glad that I didn’t, in the end. Combined with VR it really adds to the immersion. I’m yet to write about the Jetseat, but it can be a really good addition to simming, both racing and flight, once you’ve managed to find the latest software for it.
The only thing I’d like to do now is add screens to the MFDs, but there is little point to this while I fly with VR, it would just be novelty and I can’t afford that for the sake of it; I do like seeing other people’s simpits with fully working MFDs though, I just think they look great.
The Development…
All of the pictures from day 1…
79vRAF 
Pffwooarrr!! looks proper good. Nice “Logitech Z-5450 5.1 speakers” photo too, showing off your photo skills.
I need to get some pics of my rig, but it’s super-low-light in my room and I need to get camera set up right so the shots aren’t grainy.
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I did end up using a tripod for some of them because it’s either too bright in there or too dark! Easier to close the blind and set the lighting to use a tripod that way!
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