molevitch

Russian cyclic update. So, I have been busy with accommodating my new components. The gimbal I had made for the Lynx cyclic did not fit the Russian stick. So I ordered a new piece of aluminium box section, this time 120mm x 60mm x 4mm. I also redesigned the pivot points to the top of the box, as the cyclic has its extension to join onto control connectors. I want to use this to connect to my own force feedback gradients for the pitch axis. The electro-magnetic force gradients will now be mounted under my seat, and parallel, with the roll axis offset through 90 deg via an ingenious right angled triangular pivot. The gimbal is mounted almost under the front of the seat, due to the shape of the stick. Pictures in the morning to follow. Too late tonight! Too hot here in London, and heading for bed....

Здравствуйте Flyning-кошка, спасибо за informnation. Я нашел несколько мест, которые продают их, а другой РСУ парень указал мне на некоторые. Я почему-то надеюсь, у меня будет меньше, чем $100!

Yes, now I have to rebuild all the gimbal work I had started using the Lynx cyclic.... And I guess sell the Lynx piece. See you Sunday!

Too much for me! I just spent £350 for the cyclic and collective I got (great price for the 2!). Sadly, the collective does have a 4 way but the hat has snapped off...:( Think I will have to make a new one). Bizarrely, the 2 way switches are only $10.33! So maybe I get one of those for the cyclic, which is probably correct anyway, and some uncovered switches from asenergi.com, anmd make my own covers for them....:smilewink: I was able to fix the main trigger which has 2 switches in one. Needed a little fine adjustment. Here's what I got. Pretty cool! Thanks again for your help and suggestions. Mole

Thank you -Smil-, I hope I can find some reasonably priced originals. I can always get good alternative, functioning ones. I just fancy some of the real thing! Mole

Thank you Patriot! I really want to try to find replacement original switches. I see your Mi-26 stick has some of the ones I need. How much do you want for it? Mole

Привет русским летчикам РС! Я РСУ вентилятор вертолет, и я недавно получил Ми-24 рычаг общего шага и ручки управления установить. Я хочу восстановить их в полном рабочем состоянии. Я хочу найти переключатели 4КНР х 2. Также кнопки/переключатели с откидной крышкой, переключатель х 2 https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.p...1&d=1496999854 Я пробовал искать и по электронной почте учреждения в России, которые рекламируют, что у них есть запас, но я не нашел. Я базирующаяся в Лондоне, Великобритания. Спасибо, если вы можете помочь! Molevitch

Brilliant, thanks. I did post there with a Google translation version. I will try with Yandex.:thumbup:

Hello Sim-Pit Builders! I hope someone can help me find the following. I need some switches to restore a Russian Mi-24/Mi-8 collective and cyclic. So I need a 2 x 4КНР and also 2 x covered switches/buttons. I have searched online and found "evidence" of plenty of these switches, but have had no luck so far in sourcing any. And Russian is not a language I speak.... If anybody knows where to get them, and that do not cost $500 each, I would be very happy to hear. And if anybody has any to sell, please let me know. Mole:helpsmilie::thumbup:

Привет русским летчикам РС! Я РСУ вентилятор вертолет, и я недавно получил Ми-24 рычаг общего шага и ручки управления установить. Я хочу восстановить их в полном рабочем состоянии. Я хочу найти переключатели 4КНР х 2. Также кнопки/переключатели с откидной крышкой, переключатель х 2 https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.p...1&d=1496999854 Я пробовал искать и по электронной почте учреждения в России, которые рекламируют, что у них есть запас, но я не нашел. Я базирующаяся в Лондоне, Великобритания. Спасибо, если вы можете помочь! Molevitch Hello Russian DCS Pilots! I am DCS helicopter fan, and I recently got a Mi-24 cyclic and collective control stick set. I want to restore them to full working order. I want to find 4КНР switches x 2. Also switches with flip up cover, protected switch x 2 https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=163985&stc=1&d=1496999854 I have tried searching and emailing companies in Russia who advertise that they have stock, but I do not find any. I am based in London, United Kingdom. Thanks if you can help! Mole:helpsmilie::helpsmilie::thumbup:

Hey Bignewy, nice find! Envious I must say. Looks like a job for a few well placed Hall sensors. I look forward to seeing how it develops.

Tomorrow I take delivery of Mi-24/Mi-8 cyclic and collective sticks.... To which end I have been searching for images of the mounting mechanisms for the collective.https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=163853&stc=1&d=1496782661 Found a fascinating and useful blog about Mi-8s: http://szextant.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/91-8-17-and-huaf-markings-s-design-mil.html?zx=b4116420eef6f9f9 Some of you might enjoy and find useful too. https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=163854&stc=1&d=1496782661 https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=163855&stc=1&d=1496782661 Trip, I was thinking of doing similar pedals to UH-1 type, ie typical western chopper see-saw pedals but now I'm not so sure. Might build something more like the Russian designs. Or buy these.... sometime. :helpsmilie: https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=163856&stc=1&d=1496783046

I know the shout you mean, and although it is not in English, i'm not sure why it's in Russian, considering. I think it is basically your co-pilot's fear stricken warning about entering VRS....

Well, my project may have just taken a turn, as I have just acquired a Mi24/Mi8 cyclic and collective off eBay.... At what I think is a fair price. So I may be looking to sell my Lynx cyclic. Anybody interested?

Hi Trip, I am interested to see your solution for the Collective Throttle potentiometer. I used Halls in my collective throttle. Less moving parts to align.... Looking good, good luck over the next few days and I look forward to flying with you finally in a few days time. M

Thanks [FSF]Ian, I figured there may be some redundancy involved, and you may well be right about some info being passed to flight computers too. I will simply have to test and see which ones do anything. I also realise that I have far too much length of cable and need to shorten it anyway, so will be cutting off the connectors any way. I will save them for posterity....

Thanks Fragbum! I may take the soft option and cut the plugs off. Sadly.... there is the 55 pin and also a 10 pin, though the 10 is only host to 4 cables. I think I will cut and terminate in a long connector bar for ease of management. Easier to test as well. I will post some sketches illustrating the pedal design and the overall design later.

Hi Trip, thanks for the kind words. The design is not strictly mine, though the gimbal kind of is. I just needed simple solutions as I don't (yet) have a good tool-shop setup. On reflection, I am thinking to turn the mechanism around, and put the pitch force gradient under my seat, rather than extending into the area where my feet are. That way, the entire mechanism will be an extension of the seating support. I have a sports-car seat which is adjustable and on sliding rails which I got off eBay some years ago for £40.00, and it has space under it so.... Alternatively, for ease of maintenance, I may put it all in a box/under a floor. That way, it will all be accessible for tweaking and tightening up, without needing a full breakdown. I am building pedals to go with it all, and incorporate into the same control system. The interface will be Leo Bodnar board(s) based. And the pitch, roll and yaw will all be read by Hall sensors, not pots. I will be adding cast rubber boots to the cyclic, pedals and collective, once I get there.... Anybody with any advice about interpreting the wiring from the Lynx grip switches would be gratefully received. There are groups of cables, numbered. But each switch has 4 cables.... I think I worked out the 4 way hat switch. A simple test circuit I can make with battery and light bulb, contacts etc, but that 55 pin plug is damn fiddly to connect to! And finding a mate for it is either REALLY expensive, or really random. Found one, but it will need filing to fit.

Of course I will as it comes along. I am away this week but will continue building on my return

I have been running a 2xMSFFB2 modded cyclic for a number of years. I fly DCS helicopters almost exclusively now, especially the Huey, Mi8 and Gazelle. My current stick has a long extension with a CH fighter Stick Grip with some additional buttons and an extra hat switch from Warthog spares. I find the deadzone in the MSFFB rig increasingly frustrating when flying the helicopters using refined and necessarily miniscule motor skills. The "twitchiness" of the Gazelle is frustrating with such a deadzone exaggerated by the stick extension. I have been interested in the idea of incorporating an authentic cyclic (and collective) into my rig for some years, but the real things from surplus MOD stock are often prohibitively expensive, or just plain trashed. So imagine my surprise when I acquired a Lynx cyclic recently on ebay for £180.00. Similar items are generally listed at £250 plus. So now I have the core for a new cyclic build project. A real cyclic, with a heavy steel tubing stick and cast metal grip is too heavy for any standard retail joystick gimbals. Time to get real! I am not an engineer, and I do not have access to CNC machinery. (Well I do, but its a 1 hour drive away....). But I have a good set of tools, and a reasonable skill set. Plus I am a designer of things.... I wanted to be able to achieve good and effective results without resorting to complex machinery, to keep it simple but efficient, and to use as many readymade components as possible. Design. After many hours of internet searches, I referenced these other projects, and credit them as my guides and inspiration. http://1stcavdiv.conceptbb.com/t2568-building-a-cyclic-with-force-trim I set about ordering components. For my gimbal, I settled on a combination of aluminium box section pieces, pillow block bearings and steel rods. All ordered from eBay. 35mm box tubing would be cut to a 100mm length and filed to fit over the base of the cyclic tubing at the pivot point, and to give it some flat surfaces to mount other connections. At 35mm external, this will fit inside the 50mm x 100mm x 100mm external box giving a clearance for rivets used to secure pillow blocks on the outside of the ext box. See images. 3x Steering dampers ordered from China via ebay. 1 to be saved for upgrade to existing collective system, 2 for the cyclic project. Springs ordered from RS components. The dampers end attachments were removed after heating with a blow torch for a few seconds to soften the glue used to secure them. The 50mm long compression screws were then threaded onto the rods at each end and the stops and connectors reattached. These will be the force gradients for attachment to the gimbal. 3 x fire-door electro-magnets ordered from China via ebay. These will be the magnetic brakes for the force gradients. running from a 12v transformer, they will be disengaged by a PTB button added to the cyclic grip as the Trim button. The steel blocks which are acted on by the electro-magnets will be mounted on short bearing sliders, for drawers, also bought on ebay for a few pennies.... With all components on site, it took a morning to put it all together. I learned one extra valuable lesson. DON'T buy cheap HSS drills.... The biggest and probably most time consuming part of the project is probably going to be working out how to connect up all the switches from the wiring loom. Luckily all cables are named and numbered and grouped, but all disappear into a 55pin mil circular connector.

Hi Trip, Wow, looking mighty fine there, with your dedicated Huey setup. Do you have Jetseat in there too, or Buttkicker? How are you setting up a collective brake/damper? Looking forward to flying with you at BSD in a few weeks time, low level over Normandy I expect....

Very much looking forward to flying choppers on this map!

I am away from evening of 26th for a week! So I will miss all the server crashes, snails pace downloads, etc. I bought Normandy bundle already, but won't see it until 3rd of June!

Well I put in my pledge for a pair! I figured that I will end up buying one once they come out and so I thought I'd help them along and benefit from the 36% discount. And they only need $8000 to fulfil their target now. Come on guys! I bet you all want one!:joystick:

Well I took a look at the Captoglove site and Kickstarter and I thought, You know, I am probably gonna end up buying one if they get the backing and produce it anyway, so why not back it? So I did! I have no affiliation, but if all we VR pilots chip in, we will be that much closer to being able to use our hands in cockpit. I mean, they just demo'ed that we will be able to.... I have Leapmotion, but that has no immediate prospect of DCS compatibility. And the OR Touch/Vive Controllers are things you have to hold. Captoglove need another $9500 in the next 26 days. And we all want VR gloves!