BrassEm

X-55 MOUSE NIPPLE MODIFICATION - PART ONE Created by BrassEm 2015. DISCLAIMER The following information is my personal interpretations in review of the issues. You are advised to use your own discretion to the correctness and suitability for your own use. Use of the following information and its outcome is solely the responsibility of the user. While the process worked for me, results may differ. This information is intended as complete. Any fragmentation is outside the scope of its intent. Be aware that any modification inside a manufacturers warranty period will void said warranty and possibly void a repair by the manufacturer outside of warranty. (Bottom line is if your not sure, don't do it.) INTRODUCTION This mod was developed by my frustration with the mouse nipple operation. Direction control was intermittent and I had no DOWN direction unless I really leaned on the stick - when it would work and if I got the right direction. This is a great HOTAS and not wanting to have down time shipping the throttle back under Warranty Return, I purchased another HOTAS to use while I shipped the other. I connected the new unit and still had the very same issues! Driver Issue??? Very possible... Investigating the mouse nipple mechanism I found that it was a carbon membrane contact type switch. I had cured another well known controller that used the same type of mouse controller by replacing it with a tactile switch, time to cure my X-55. This one was tricky as the contacts had resistance both high and low and were not all commoned like other switches. A digital multimeter sorted the issue out. This mod is not heavy duty. Tactile feedback is good and very little force is needed to toggle the direction switch. While not a true mouse where pressure increases velocity, the driver can set the direction velocity so you would need to find a velocity that works for you. As a tactile direction switch it works reliably with little force. The following details were carried out on my secondary HOTAS after proving the original modded throttle worked. To complete a mod like this you would need to have a reasonable degree of technical and dexterous competence. And have a thorough understanding of the process before proceding. If all components are on hand it would take about five to six hours uninterrupted to complete a mod like this. PARTS LIST TPA511GLFS 5 way switch x1. 5.6K Ohm 1/8 Watt Resistor x4. 560 Ohm 1/8 Watt Resistor x2. Arduino breadboard jumper leads - various. (Flexible multi strand wire.) 1.5mm Heatshrink. Plastic rod for switch stalk. Long plastic golf tee's are perfect. TOOL LIST Soldering setup. Small tip soldering iron, solder, wick, Wet paper towel to clean tip. Small philips head screwdriver that has at least 30mm small shank to get into the plastic recesses of the screws. Medium philips head screwdriver about No.2 for the two screws holding the handle in place. Very small philips head screwdriver to undo the Mouse Nipple assembly. Hot glue gun (Small nozzle) to tack the switch and wires into place. Blutac (sticky putty) to hold stuff in place while soldering etc. Small side cutters to trim wires and heat shrink. Sharp blade to trim wires. Tweezers Torch or very good lighting. Magnifying Glass and/or damned good eyesight. Drill or Dremel to drill the 2.0mm diameter hole in you switch stalk 2.0mm Diam drill bit for switch stalk. Pin and superglue to tack on the stalk to the switch if the 2.0mm diam hole is sloppy. (Or try again.) Patience. PURCHASING 5 WAY Switch Manufacturer: C & K COMPONENTS Order Code: 2320116 Manufacturer Part No TPA511GLFS http://au.element14.com/c-k-components/tpa511glfs/switch-5-way-0-05a-gullwing/dp/2320116?CMP=i-55c5-00001621 ARDUINO JUMPER CABLES (65 PACK) DF-FIT0010 $8.79 AUD http://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/products/arduino-jumper-cables-mm MULTICOMP MF12 560R RESISTOR, 0.125W 1% 560R $0.10 AUD http://au.element14.com/multicomp/mf12-560r/resistor-0-125w-1-560r/dp/9343350?CMP=i-55c5-00001621 MULTICOMP MF12 5K6 RESISTOR, 0.125W 1% 5K6 $0.21 AUD http://au.element14.com/multicomp/mf12-5k6/resistor-0-125w-1-5k6/dp/9343369?CMP=i-55c5-00001621 1.5MM BLACK HEATSHRINK TUBING EL-WH5530 $1.60 AUD http://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/products/1-5mm-black-heatshrink-tubing Micro Drill Bit Set 0.7 - 2.2mm CAT.NO: TD2407 $14.95 AUD http://www.jaycar.com.au/Tools-%26-Soldering/Hand-Tools/Drill-%26-Socket-Sets/Micro-Drill-Bit-Set-0-7---2-2mm/p/TD2407 MODIFICATION DETAILS Test the unmodded unit to confirm operation. For ease of handling slide the throttle handle lock in to lock the two handles together. Move throttle friction knob to mid position. Where there is least friction on the throttle handle. Undo 15 screws to remove the bottom part of the case. Release right throttle cable from its holding clip to allow more movement. Undo the two larger screws that hold the throttle handle to the slide mechanism. Release the throttle hand lock to free the right throttle handle. The throttle handle should now be free to be removed from the slide mechanism. Manoeuvre the throttle so that you have good access to the screws and assembly. Resting it on a foam block helps to keep strain off the cables. Remove all the screws if possible. Use the blue tack on the tip of the screwdrive to draw them out if needed. Else the tweezers. Gently crack the two halves of the handle all around. After cracking splay the handle open like a clam. Move the 2x4way switch board over to the left and out the way. Notice that it is located by the notch. NOTE THE POSITION AND CABLE LAYOUT OF THE INTERFACING BOARD. Undo the two screws holding the interfacing board and move the board out of the way. NOTE THE CAVITY UNDER THE INTERFACING BOARD, THAT IS WHERE THE RESISTORS ARE GOING TO BE PLACED. Manoevre the shells around to get access to the screws holding down the mouse nipple board (mn board). Care should be taken when removing the mn board. There is a spring on the red E button cap that holds it in position. Also the plunger for the E microswitch is square on. Note this as it will need to go back the same way. Remove the two screws and remove the mn board. Making sure to not loose the spring on the E botton cap. IMPORTANT!!!! DO NOT CUT THE BLUE AND WHITE WIRES!!! THEY ARE FOR THE RED E BUTTON!!!!. Trim and tin the four wires. Remove the 4 screws and remove the black holding bracket. Turn the board over and remove the two very small screws to remove the mn assembly. Carefully prise the four rubber prongs from the pcb to remove the button membrane. Prep the switch stalk and test on the switch. I used a 1.8mm drill bit by hand and it shanked out to a nice fit without glue. END OF PART ONE.

Thanks for sharing! I am just at the start of breadboarding now. (Link to worklog soon.)

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I apologise for the loss of the images linked. Without warning Photobucket are now asking for $399.00 USD to restore the picture links. Please bear with me while I make other arrangements to host the pictures. US NAVY HELSEACOMBATRON FIFTEEN HSC-15 'Red Lions' UH-1H Skins for DCS World. Created by BrassEm 2015. Additional Textures by Home Fries. These skins are an interpretation of the modern paint scheme of the MH-60S as operated by the US Navy Squadron HSC-15 Red Lions. HSC-15_Red_Lions.zip Airframes; 611 Serial 168531 612 Serial 168532 614 Serial 168536 616 Serial 168538 617 Serial 168539 BLANK NAVY The structure of the ZIP is; 6 Directories containing the required files. HSC-15 Red Lions 611 HSC-15 Red Lions 612 HSC-15 Red Lions 614 HSC-15 Red Lions 616 HSC-15 Red Lions 617 HSC-15 Red Lions Blank To install unzip the download file and copy these directories to your DCS BAZAR directory. (I.E. For non-steam.) C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\Bazar\Liveries\uh-1h MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ZIP FILE IN THIS DIRECTORY OR ELSE YOU WONT SEE ANY LIVERIES! NOTES; Reference websites; https://www.facebook.com/HS15RedLions http://www.seaforces.org/usnair/HSC/Helicopter-Sea-Combat-Squadron-15.htm https://www.dvidshub.net/ http://everyspec.com/ http://encycolorpedia.com/ Based on MIL-STD-2161B(AS) APPENDIX B Figures D-2, D-14. FED-35237 FED-36320 FED-36495 The FED colours appear too light compared to published photos. Also depending on light conditions the grey tends to reflect the surrounding blue more. No disrespect is intended for not applying the appropriate crew labeling, including the golden wrench. It is just to keep the paint schemes more generic. The shoulder patch is improvised due to texture limitations. Airframes are based on what reference was available for interpretation at the time of making these files. While it would be brilliant to have a full MH-60S in game, the Huey is very welcome and fun to fly. Special thanks to Home Fries for allowing others to utilise his excellent textures. These were obtained from the DCS website http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/646161/ Texture files used directly; pilot_uh1_01_Des_USMC.dds uh_1_blade_nomark.dds uh1_weapon_grey.dds (renamed to the default filename.) Texture files modified to suit this scheme. pilot_uh1_02_Des_USMC.dds - No disrespect intended. pilot_uh1_patch_1_usmc_des.dds At this time I cannot modify the Gunners Arm patches or the weapon colours. When it is possible I will undate the files. ALSO; Many thanks to Eagle Dynamics, and everyone involved with supporting this brilliant combat sim.

My startup is TrackIR, HUD, TeamSpeak, Helios, DC World (usually). I Will have to make note of sequences and effects. A full reboot gets the startup working again.

If you ever get this problem sorted would you let the forum know please Deeplodokus. (I never touch the ingame assignments if I can help it, and prefer to use the controller to issue the correct command to the game command defaults. Once the profile is loaded into the controller I shut down the programming app.)

That would be a great help with these other references.

The switch is not straight forward as there is resistance between BOTH on/off as measured with a FLUKE. And are not commoned like most 4 way switches. I will be posting a mod for the X-55 in a new thread which works for me. It works reliably as a directional switch but not as the proportional mouse of course. (Should take a week or two to get the photos on the steps involved. Applying the mod to a new unit from scratch.) MADCATZ only scratched the surface on the capabilities of the chip they used for this controller. :doh:

You might want to check out DCS-BIOS to start delving into accessing UDP traffic. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=136570. And THIS! -> http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=122577

I saw the technique applied to F-18 simulators a long time ago in the late 1980's using pneumatics. Not until I saw your posts did I realise its full impact, only being aware of full motion simulators. Being very limited for space this is very very do-able, especially with the current state of electronics. Thank you for sharing this information and letting others gain this experience.

...

I didn't photolog this mod - wasn't sure whether it would work - and it does. But I have all the details. If you can solder some wires together then it is very straight forward. Disassembly and reassembly can be a bit tricky though and there are some things to watch out for. At least the damn thing works reliably now as a 4 way switch! Stand by while I revisit this and I will post a thread in this section. Give us a couple of weeks to re-order the parts and do the build log. I don't regret buying it but disappointed at the build quality like you mention.

I have found that; Silicone grease is definitely required for all slides on the joystick tension mechanism and the red spring. (Teflon grease is better). Takes some getting use to it on the detent and no proportional tension. Throttle tension still tight even at lowest friction setting. (This needs to be revisited). Programming a profile is tedious between modes. Setting up a switch is fine but no two stage. Profile printouts primitive. Mouse stick on the throttle is useless. Inconsistent U/L/R and no Down, even after adjusting trigger thresholds. This was on two different units. Ended up moding it myself by replacing the carbon switch with a 4 way tactile switch (Voiding warranty to get it to work as it should have out the box). Other than that in my opinion it is okay.

Thank you! I can appreciate the effort involved (Photoshop?). I hope that you will progress this work further. It makes it so much better to fly this great aircraft. So many labels though!

Excellent! Two happy MiG-21 Pilots :thumbup:

G'day BigBadVuk, I did a "repair" on DCS World. (Located under Eagle Dynamics on the Windows Start button. It still would not boot. I downloaded the latest MiG21BIS install file on this website. Then installed the module with "Administrator" privileges. (This writes the files back over a "fresh" repaired DCS World.) When it boots up, don't forget to enable the MiG-21 module to get the missions enabled. Let us know how you get on. Cheers, .

[RESOLVED] G'day, Downloaded and installed the new 1.2.15 version of the install files for the MiG-21BIS. This appears to have resolved the problem file references and DCS World Booted! :) It appears as though the uninstall module routine for the MiG-21BIS left some references that the repair didn't pick up on. I am not going to uninstall the module again for testing purposes now that I got it back. Cheers, .

G'day, Installed 1.2.15 on Saturday for VFA-113 Stingers Combined Arms online mission. Unchecked the MiG-21BIS module prior to install due to STARFORCE change. Installed and Combined Arms worked no problems. Restart next day, tick the MiG-21BIS module. Flew the SU-33, SU-27, MiG-15BIS no problems but got this when I started up the MiG-21BIS in Mission Editor. Maybe I should have uninstalled the MiG-21BIS first before the update? Okay so uninstalled the Mig21 via the module manager in DCS and I will re-install it next boot up. Restart DCS but nothing happens??? NADA. ZILTCH. :( Ran Repair several time without change. Run DCS and don't even get to the very first screen... Log file reports error; 00000.956 UNKNOWN main: GUI Error: [string "./mods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Cockpit/KNEEBOARD/indicator/CONTENT_orig/sample_page_with_text.lua"]:1: attempt to index global 'LockOn_Options' (a nil value) Do not know how I will fare as I have all the current modules installed. (Except for the uninstalled 21 and do not own C-101) This is not a steam install either. === Log opened UTC 2015-03-03 05:15:03 00000.000 INFO EDCORE: createSerialQueue IOQueue 00000.002 INFO VFS: Using 'Saved Games': "C:\Users\Dave\Saved Games" 00000.063 UNKNOWN main: locale: en EN 00000.211 UNKNOWN main: me_db_api creation started 00000.889 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/C-101/entry.lua 00000.891 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/C-101/C-101.lua 00000.892 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/C-101/Views.lua 00000.893 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/F-86/entry.lua 00000.895 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/F-86/F-86.lua 00000.896 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/F-86/Views.lua 00000.898 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/MiG-15bis/entry.lua 00000.908 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/MiG-15bis/MiG-15bis.lua 00000.909 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/entry.lua 00000.911 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Entry/Aw 00000.913 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Entry/Am 00000.915 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/aircraft/MQ-9 Reaper/entry.lua 00000.916 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/WWII Units/entry.lua 00000.919 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/WWII Units/Weapons.lua 00000.921 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/WWII Units/FW-190D9.lua 00000.922 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/WWII Units/Views.lua 00000.925 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/WWII Units/Bf-109K-4.lua 00000.925 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./CoreMods/WWII Units/Views.lua 00000.926 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/tech/CombinedArms/entry.lua 00000.927 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/A-10C/entry.lua 00000.929 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/Bf-109K-4/entry.lua 00000.930 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/Bf-109K-4/Views.lua 00000.931 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/F-86/entry.lua 00000.932 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/F-86/FM/config.lua 00000.934 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/Flaming Cliffs/entry.lua 00000.935 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/Flaming Cliffs/FM/F15/config.lua 00000.937 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/FW-190D9/entry.lua 00000.938 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/FW-190D9/Views.lua 00000.939 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/Ka-50/entry.lua 00000.948 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/Mi-8MTV2/entry.lua 00000.950 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/Mi-8MTV2/Views.lua 00000.952 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/MiG-15bis/entry.lua 00000.953 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/MiG-15bis/FM/config.lua 00000.954 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/MiG-15bis/Views.lua 00000.956 UNKNOWN main: MOD loading: ./mods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Cockpit/KNEEBOARD/indicator/CONTENT_orig/sample_page_with_text.lua 00000.956 UNKNOWN main: GUI Error: [string "./mods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Cockpit/KNEEBOARD/indicator/CONTENT_orig/sample_page_with_text.lua"]:1: attempt to index global 'LockOn_Options' (a nil value) GUI debug.traceback: stack traceback: [C]: ? [string "./mods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Cockpit/KNEEBOARD/indicator/CONTENT_orig/sample_page_with_text.lua"]:1: in main chunk (tail call): ? [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:853: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:1012: in main chunk [C]: in function 'dofile' [string "./Scripts/Database/db_main.lua"]:211: in main chunk [C]: in function 'dofile' [string ".\MissionEditor\modules\me_db_api.lua"]:277: in function 'create' [string ".\MissionEditor\MissionEditor.lua"]:202: in function 'loadDatabase' [string ".\MissionEditor\MissionEditor.lua"]:342: in main chunk stack traceback: [C]: ? [string "./mods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Cockpit/KNEEBOARD/indicator/CONTENT_orig/sample_page_with_text.lua"]:1: in main chunk (tail call): ? [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:853: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:1012: in main chunk [C]: in function 'dofile' [string "./Scripts/Database/db_main.lua"]:211: in main chunk [C]: in function 'dofile' [string ".\MissionEditor\modules\me_db_api.lua"]:277: in function 'create' [string ".\MissionEditor\MissionEditor.lua"]:202: in function 'loadDatabase' [string ".\MissionEditor\MissionEditor.lua"]:342: in main chunk 00000.956 ALERT LUACOMMON: Error: GUI Error: [string "./mods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Cockpit/KNEEBOARD/indicator/CONTENT_orig/sample_page_with_text.lua"]:1: attempt to index global 'LockOn_Options' (a nil value) GUI debug.traceback: stack traceback: [C]: ? [string "./mods/aircraft/MiG-21BIS/Cockpit/KNEEBOARD/indicator/CONTENT_orig/sample_page_with_text.lua"]:1: in main chunk (tail call): ? [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:853: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:847: in function 'scan_path' [string "Scripts/Database/db_mods.lua"]:1012: in main chunk [C]: in function 'dofile' [string "./Scripts/Database/db_main.lua"]:211: in main chunk [C]: in function 'dofile' [string ".\MissionEditor\modules\me_db_api.lua"]:277: in function 'create' [string ".\MissionEditor\MissionEditor.lua"]:202: in function 'loadDatabase' [string ".\MissionEditor\MissionEditor.lua"]:342: in main chunk === Log closed. Help please. .

The last part of installing the application. To uninstall go to Control Panel, Programs and features, select VRi2DCSBIOS and right click, left click uninstall. I will emphasis that part more. .

Thanks guys, you've just saved me some time from grief.

G'day ozTRipwiRE, Gotta love the touchscreen and Helios, just got mine a few weeks ago and got everything setup great, after the update, nothing worked properly, as you describe... If you got to you main directory for DCS World you should see some directories like... C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\_backup.001 or _backup.002 etc, numbered sequentially. Every time you install an update, any non-standard default files the install finds it puts them in these numbered backup directories. ( I am up to _backup.008 ) You should find your modified files in the latest backup directory. You will need to re-instate them/copy them back to the correct directories again to get your Helios config to work again. At least that is what I found happened to me with the latest update. A slight inconvenience but at least it puts all your modded files into a convenient backup directory. Hope that gets you back on track. Cheers,

Looks like it can't be interrogated by the SerialFP2 calls to the VRinsight MS Panel. Sorry but this isn't going to work for this device at the moment. (Thank you for your efforts, I will update the first post. Read the readme on the procedure to uninstall the app.) Taking standard Windows device inputs would be further down the track. Helios does take standard windows device outputs, DCS-BIOS is making access to DCS WORLD easy. I know Gadroc and [FSF]Ian are working together so I am hoping that the two programs will integrate. .

The app was written in Visual Studio 2013 C++, you've never run a C++ app of this version on your computer before so never needed the the run-time dll. You will need the latest Visual 2013 C++ Redistribution package (x86) installed (vcredist_86.exe) from microsoft to get the run time libraries for your operating system. Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013 All should be good after that. (Updated initial post, thanks!). .

Hey tagge, A pot as a switch? (Gear lever for example?) Very possible. It will depend on what form the VRi device sends its info. If you get to the panel with VRiSim to get the read info, then I can work with it. The program takes whatever the VRinsight device sends via SerialFP2 calls, if it finds a match in the keys.ini lookup, it will send what ever DCS-BIOS you set to DCS World, and thanks to DSC-BIOS, act on it. .

K, thanks.

Sure is! Just got to be able to utilise them in DCS World like the VRinsight devices too! ... cough VRinsight. Hey skunk160, I notice that you have a VRinsight Switch Panel! Can I ask what type of key presses get sent from it when you use VRiSim? (VRiSim set to Key Commanding (Non-MSFS), Open Config Dialog checked and Test & Debug Read Checked.) The VRi2DCSBIOS program should work for this as well with addition to the keys.ini, but I will need some help as I dont have one. .