TripRodriguez

Nice! Gratz on the real parts for the mi-8/mi-24! Super nice in that picture! Those pedals look like they would feel similar to the MFG Crosswinds actually, aside from the centering force.

Thanks Kadda, I appreciate the pictures.

I'm pretty certain now that the problem isn't anything I did, but a defect in the PCB so I will be having to send that back and wait for repair or replacement. =( I got the collective mostly finished but looks like I really do need to put in a gear reduction setup for the pots. Buttons are all working on the PC now though, so that's progress! I also think I came up with a pretty solid solution for operating the throttle below the idle stop. I suppose first I'll briefly outline the problem: In a real Huey the throttle will not physically rotate beyond the "idle stop" until you push the idle stop release button. After that you continue turning the throttle beyond the stop. In DCS it is not possible to operate the throttle below the idle stop with an axis. Only buttons or keyboard input for throttle up/down work when you are below the idle stop. Obviously, this sucks for those of us with full Huey collective setups! My solution is this: In addition to the potentiometer being driven by a larger gear on the collective, I'm also going to put on a rotary encoder driven by the same gear. This rotary encoder will be set up to tap "throttle increase" and "throttle decrease" depending on which way you are twisting the throttle. I have done some testing and as soon as you pass the idle stop DCS prioritizes axis input over button input and basically ignores the commands that will be coming from the rotary encoder. It should work brilliantly! Also, I could probably remove teeth from the large gear in the proper location if I wanted the rotary encoder to stop working once I get into the working throttle axis, but this would probably be complicating things for no reason based on my testing. I'll be sure to let you know how I make out, and provide pictures of the assembly. Trip

I too need to build pedals, so looking forward to that part as well.

Yeah that panel would have been sweet. I definitely can't afford to buy all the panels at those kind of prices, but that particular one I would have bought if I could.

Update: May 31st Minimum work required to start flying: - New Motion Sim electronics: Have to redo one bit of wiring after parts arrive - Collective: Need to convert RL collective for PC use- NOW IN PROGRESS Tonight I started working on the collective. As always progress was slower than I had hoped, but at least I got a little bit done. I got the wiring sorted, once my wires with the connectors come in all I have to do is a few minutes of soldering and plug them in (those are also the same parts I'm waiting for so I can fix my motion sim electronics wiring). This process took a significant amount of time because I had to identify the wires and the wiring in the collective head is more confusing than you would expect. There was one common ground, and then at least four of the switches had their own dedicated ground. What really mixed me up was the search light on/off/stowed switch. When the switch is in the stowed position it basically shorts the "down" side of the HAT switch which makes sense but took me a bit to figure that out. Even after I figured that out it was a bit confusing to figure out how exactly it was wired. In the end I had a slight problem in that there was no wire going down through the harness for me to use as a dedicated line for the "stowed" position, so I had to combine one of the dedicated grounds up in the head with the common ground and then use the dedicated ground wire from that circuit as my wire for the "stowed" position. I also got the potentiometer for the collective axis attached, but still have to make the bracket for it. The throttle axis potentiometer I haven't got figured out yet, but I have an idea or two. I also have some ideas on how I might work around the annoyingly incomplete "idle stop" functionality in DCS. I sure wish BST did that differently. That's all for tonight! Trip

I'm just going to cut the round pin connector off my collective and wire it up as with any other type of switches. I don't know what to tell you about four wires per switch though, that is weird!

I have no idea what the current status is. =( Emails not getting answered is definitely a bad thing.

Mole that is a really nice simple design. I might draw some inspiration from your build myself to try to mod my microhelis cyclic base. I've got a serious space limitation in my motion pit, so I'm not at all sure what I'm going to do at this point. My dual FFB2 is what I'm now using because it's fairly compact in terms of footprint and doesn't extend below the floor like my sweet microhelis base plus it gives me Force Trim, but if you say the dead zone was bothering you it will probably bother me too. I'm not home right now, but I'm thinking I might be able to make this work for me if I can solve a problem or two and make it fit. The one problem I see is there is going to be no friction/resistance whatsoever when the Force Trim is off. I'm going to ask Comanchero about the feel of the stick with Force Trim off.

Hey guys! In my case I'm looking for the proper style knobs for my huey cockpit, as well as the Fuel switch and it's guard, and the Governor switch with the triangle top. Aside from that though, I'm sure in the future I'll be looking for things from other aircraft as well. Anyway point is that I can't find these huey items (not even on shapeways) and have had no luck looking for similar items in the past. Anyone have any advice on this?

Thanks Sydost, I'll have to check that out.

Gotcha. I'll be doing this with typical toggle switch guards purchased on ebay (I already have them). Smil's type installation may work for me, I'll have to get one of the covers out and tinker a bit.

The springs are small diameter, located directly underneath the 3/4" PVC that is directly below the lower motors. I'm happy to hear the dead zone isn't internal to the pots. Sounds good on using a separate board for the actual signal, I wasn't sure about the possible negative effects that might occur if I tried that. I have another much more important question: Windows calibration doesn't seem to affect my FFB2's. Is it working for you guys? It's possible this is because I was hitting "next" with the mouse instead of using an actual button on the stick but I just realized I can actually click the on-board buttons on the PCB's so I'm going to try that.

Can either of you guys show a picture of exactly how you installed your buttons actuated by the covers? I'm sure I can figure it out but it's always better to replicate something you know for sure worked well! This is the method I'd prefer, due to my looking at the pit in VR.

@DoveMan I'm going to be using a Cougar PCB for the Stick buttons. This is why there is an opening in the tube directly below the stick, I'm just going to run the PS2 cable externally. It won't be pretty but it will get the job done and the Warthog grip will remain unaltered so I can swap it onto the Warthog base when I'm using that instead. @Okona Yes, Roland's mod had caught my attention earlier but I went for the solution I thought would take me the least amount of time to implement for now. Eventually, maybe over next winter, I will likely pick up another FFB2 and attempt to build a Roland FFB stick. Okona do you happen to know anything about dead zone with the FFB2?

I already mentioned that I did this mod, and also did the "give your FFB2 steroids" mod increasing current to both FFB2 units. Also I realized that a counterweight would not work for me since the stick is on a moving platform. When the platform tilts left for example, the weight of the stick AND the weight of the counterweight would now be pulling the stick even harder left! My solution was springs. There isn't enough spring tension to center the stick, just enough to counter most of the weight of the grip. Here is my stick, without it's skin:

Minimum work required to start flying: - FFB Cyclic: Ready to fly! Added springs today. - New Motion Sim electronics: Installed and working but have to redo one bit of wiring after parts arrive - Collective: Need to convert RL collective for PC use Today I took down my Super Sidewinder FFB and added four springs (instead of a counterweight) to give it better feel and help the force feedback mechanism deal with the heavy Warthog grip on an offset extension. I'm very happy with the feel now. I added the "floor" panels around my center console that make it bolt down securely on my modular floor grid. Lastly, I tested the overhead clearance since the motion sim is once again capable of motion! In so doing I punched a hole in the ceiling! Good thing the ceiling of the Sim Room isn't finished yet. Regardless of that incident my conclusion is that there is less clearance issue overhead than down below and with the settings I intend to run it should be fine. I am going to tweak the overhead console just a little to help avoid collisions. Ultimately I want to lower the motion sim about six inches to eliminate these clearance issues, but this will be a several week project in itself so that's going to wait probably until next winter. Unfortunately I'm probably not going to get any more sim work done until Tuesday. I'm now on wife time, and have to go to the in-laws for a couple days through Monday. Trip Adding image from tonight: Please note that much of the white you see will be painted black, and the rest will be painted the same gray as the actuator covers:

For me it was just over a month. My order shipped exactly when they said it would upon placing my order, and took about 10 days to arrive in the US. This was before Yogi's employee issues, but I'm sure that once he gets everything sorted he will be back to on-time deliveries.

That is a fantastic thing to behold! Incredible work Kadda. I don't imagine you and I are the first ones with the covers problem, maybe someone has already found a solution?

He has flown the Huey, he finds the helicopter a little frustrating but an interesting challenge. I wound up not getting the L-39 this sale past as money was really tight, but hopefully next big sale I'll get it. His next fixed wing flight will be in the A-10C, I find it is very easy to get along with and we know it's got one of (likely "the") most accurate flight model.

For the same reason I prefer WWII, Korea, and Vietnam aircraft simulations above all modern aircraft. I'm absolutely certain there are a lot of people flying DCS who prefer antique technology! :pilotfly: In the interest of full disclosure, I don't know exactly what equipment was added to the Cobra for AH-1W spec. Perhaps I would like it fine, but for me to be really happy it must have no auto hover, no SAS, and no guided weapons! If the AH-1W fits that description then I redact my statement.

After the Harrier :pilotfly: , what we need is an AH-1 Cobra, vietnam era, to fly with the Huey!

:pilotfly:Thanks @Kadda ! You will only be jealous until you get your sim moving!

You continue to impress, amazing work!

I say yes, but what I really want is a Vietnam era AH-1 Cobra! PS- Harrier is my most anticipated module and I LOVE how much Razbam is sharing etc. Great work guys! :thumbup: