Joystick mods

[JumpingHubert]

good decision. If you have later questions how to reduce the tolerance or the strong springs of the coguar i have a couple of tips.

[jimbop]

Originally Posted by JumpingHubert

good decision. If you have later questions how to reduce the tolerance or the strong springs of the coguar i have a couple of tips.

Just bought a used one - please pass your tips on, thanks!

[JumpingHubert]

you can reduce for example the tolerance of the one axis beside the long slot with the sheet of this http://www.klangspiel.ch/boat_bausat...126_093150.jpg
No joke. I´ve done this tweak and it works very good. Fix it with glue on the opposed side (hotglue). I´ve lost the cable of my camera so I cant make photos of it.

the other thing are the potentiometers. there is a very expensive alternative called hall sensor or a cheaper but 1000 times better alternative as the original plastic pots. Look here: http://leobodnar.com/products/BU0836X/p260.pdf
I got 3 of the p260 model. They are steered with a servo horn for throttle, x and y axis to gave them a working degree of nearly 170°. the smaller the servo of the pot in relation to its opponent the bigger the working area. Its similar to this http://www.wingsofhonour.com/hardwar...090718.en.html
I hope you can follow my horrible english

edit:

looks messy but works. The good thing on hotglue is you can remove it completly or adjust all glued elements.

[JumpingHubert]

Originally Posted by jimbop

Just bought a used one - please pass your tips on, thanks!

are you kidding? I asked you if you´r interested in more tips and hints. I gave you tips, opened cougar, made photo and....no reaction? It seems you doesn´t bought a used one. Very odd....

[jimbop]

Originally Posted by JumpingHubert

are you kidding? I asked you if you´r interested in more tips and hints. I gave you tips, opened cougar, made photo and....no reaction? It seems you doesn´t bought a used one. Very odd....

I have bought it (eBay) but haven't received it yet. Your stuff will be very helpful when it arrives - thanks for passing it on and nothing wrong with your English...

I like tinkering! Still have the X52 obviously and will give it a last chance with another mod but I don't like the plastic internals one bit. Right now I'm pulling apart an old Logitech joystick to make a new panel and starting to think about how to use the hat switch buttons...

[JumpingHubert]

Originally Posted by jimbop

I have bought it (eBay) but haven't received it yet. Your stuff will be very helpful when it arrives - thanks for passing it on and nothing wrong with your English...

I like tinkering! Still have the X52 obviously and will give it a last chance with another mod but I don't like the plastic internals one bit. Right now I'm pulling apart an old Logitech joystick to make a new panel and starting to think about how to use the hat switch buttons...

sorry, misunderstanded completly.....

[julian265]

If you're interested in, but not familiar with HE sensors, have a read of the link in my sig.

You can make them quite cheaply (under $10 each) with linear output, no spiking, and no contacting parts -> no wear.

The hard part is mounting them nicely in a stick with a conventional base.

[jimbop]

Originally Posted by julian265

If you're interested in, but not familiar with HE sensors, have a read of the link in my sig.

You can make them quite cheaply (under $10 each) with linear output, no spiking, and no contacting parts -> no wear.

The hard part is mounting them nicely in a stick with a conventional base.

Thanks - I've just been thinking about using a U-joint or similar for building a stick and now I know I'm not crazy... A car U-joint seems a bit excessive though? What about a tie rod end or something?

Is that yours in the link?

[Widowmaker214]

I just finished modding my cougar...

Got uber cougar U2NXT gimbal replacement and hal effect pots.

also got the hal pot kit for my thrustmaster elite rudders.

Awesome. Expensive.. but.. awesome.

[julian265]

Originally Posted by jimbop

Thanks - I've just been thinking about using a U-joint or similar for building a stick and now I know I'm not crazy... A car U-joint seems a bit excessive though? What about a tie rod end or something?

Is that yours in the link?

Yes, that's my stick.

There's no such thing as excessive when it comes to human input devices!
Also my stick uses the weight (inertia) to give it a more realistic feel.

People have also used motorbike u-joints, which are smaller but can still retain the hollow cross-piece / spider. You might also check out steering u-joints, although they won't have the axis holes, but the metal might be soft enough to drill and tap, unlike u-joint's cross-piece.

IIRC all the completely custom built gimbals are larger than these u-joints, but of course they are made to perfectly suit the base, grip and sensors.

A tie rod end's movement isn't separated nicely into two axes (also it can rotate in the Z axis), so you'd find it harder to measure the X and Y rotation with sensors, whereas a u-joint has done it already. However, there are three axis sensors that can deal witht this method.