MilesD

I am going to send you out a few parts that I redesigned to give you more flexibility in adjustments. Hopefully you can lock it in without to much more time being spent on it. Miles

Wow, I really like that DiView. You are a wealth of information!! Thanks Miles

Hi Andre Why don't you give me a call so we can talk through this. If you can use joy.cpl like Sokol said that would be helpful. If you are still getting to much throw you only have move the ring laterally away from the sensor. Thanks for the help on this Sokol. There is the posibilty I may have installed the magnet backwards. We will know when we use joy.cpl. I am home all night tonight so give me a call. 203 278 3601. Miles

Hi Andre, I really have to make a better video, Sorry for that. I am using the windows device manager, On windows 7 just click on "start" then "device and printers" You will see your Cougar hotas there. But the thrustmaster TARGET script editor device analyzer works works also. I just like to see the raw data. The ring should be in the forward position when the throttle is pulled back to idle, or not only will the top not close but the magnet completely rotate away from the sensor when you move the throttle forward. Also check which way the magnets are facing. As in the video the visible magnets should be facing away from the sensor. It sounds like you may have the magnets facing the sensor. If it is in that position, the controls will be reversed and the magnets will be to close to the sensor and you will have the condition you described with to much sensed movement per the actual throttle movement. After you turn the ring around you can fin tune it by sliding closer or farther away from the sensor. I hope that does it for you, Feel free to call me on my cell phone of you have any other issues. 203 278 3601

Hi Sierra I am still on windows 7 & XP on most of my machines. I think I was the last DOS holdout thinking Windows was just a fad, with all this WYSIWYG stuff. I know I was the last guy using Lotus 123 with always. ah the days of cd\tetris. I just use the cougar as a standard joystick, with DCS mapping software being so good I see no reason for additional software. I made a replacement PnP board for the F22 pro that turned it into 2 USB 32 button joysticks so you had all of the buttons with 2 functions, all with the stock joystick drivers. I made one for the TQS that turned it into USB also. Sorry got off topic. Miles

Hey Guys For everyone that PMed me for orders, I have been sending out paypal invoices and shipping throttle kits in the order received. The Joystick kits will start shipping Monday so you should get your paypal invoices this weekend. If you have not sent me a email address please PM with it. I should have the Joystick installation video up in few days. Thanks again for everyone's support Miles

Hi Sierra I am shipping more throttle sets today. I hope to be shipping throttle and stick sets in a few days. (My sister works at Disney also, and she loves it, its her life) Miles

Hall sensor kit installation instructions I know this is not the best video but I wanted to get something out there quick. My son is going to help me make a better video in the future. you tube link [ame] [/ame] Miles

Hi Vulpes I would be happy to share any information. The four magnets are oriented North to South pole, like batteries in series. The reason I are oriented them this way is because of limited both in the throttle and joystick. If you are designing your own controller, a simpler and easier way to adjust them would be to remove the center magnets and spread them out or make them closer depending on how far you need them to move mechanically . This allows much easier adjustment to achieve your 8 bit resolution (or 256 step) in the throttle calibration. The throw is less critical if you are using the joystick X or Y axis because those are 16 bit. Just be sure to get "bipolar linear" hall sensors and read the data sheets and you should get all the info you need. Also be aware many of the new hall sensors are 2 volts not 3.3 or 5. So you may want to use a reference voltage to get the best performance from these sensors. But you should not have a problem finding next generation sensors in 5 volts. Good Luck Miles P.S. Here is rough Idea of a reasonably priced collective (compared to whats out there) that I am working on now. I hoping to keep the price down to $169.00

U.S. Post office looks like $24.00 USD. I will check other methods. If anyone knows a better way to ship from US to other countries please let me know. Thanks Miles

Shipping Throttle production units were completed early and are shipping today for those of you who just wantied the throttle. Here is a picture of the final product. It will come assembled as in the second pic. I don't ave the web site up yet so those of you that are interested just PM your email and I will send a paypal invoice. Joystick and throttle Kits are still on track for the 10th Thanks Miles

Done Production prototypes are done and work great. I am going to continue to test them over the next few days. Price is still $30.00 for the throttle and $50.00 for a complete X and Y set for the joystick plus shipping. I am putting up a web site to purchase them, as well as installation instructions and video. I will probably only ship a few units until I get feedback and evaluations before I continue to take orders. If you are interested in one of these first units and are familiar with taking apart your cougar let me know. I had to use a different sensor for the throttle so I wont be able to ship the first few units Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks Miles

Hi Guys, I am back from taking the kids to Disney and jumping right into finishing this kit up. I did not expect this must interest and support from 1 post. Thank you for all your support, I am still fine tuning the design for the throttle (clearance and throw issues). I hope to have it done today and I will post the new pics as soon as I machine out the new parts. Thanks again for your support and words of encouragement . Miles

Oh sorry, my mistake. Yes the magnet holder is positioned to clear the tension lever and pad. Thanks for the help Sokol. Miles

Hi Dave If you are talking about the missing detent ring in the picture, yes it can still be there. Mine had a broken screw so I just removed it pending repair. The magnet holder slides on from the opposite side so you do not even have to touch those detent rings. Thanks for the question and interest Miles

I am going on vacation until March 2. I should be able to start shipping production units around March 10th. Thanks for the interest Miles

Cougar Throttle Hall SensorKit Here is the latest iteration of the cougar throttle kit. It went through a few changes to make it the most user friendly to install. Just swap out 2 of the main board screws with provided longer ones to attach the plate and sensor assembly. The magnet holder just slides on the shaft and locks with a set screw. I still have some fine tuning to do as the angular displacement of the magnets is large. I will probably have to add a 3rd magnet or a second sensor to get everything right. Here are some pics so far. Miles

Wow Sokol, Thanks for the detailed info. You are a wealth of information. As you can tell I am new to this community. I will have to pick up a Warthog for testing. Miles

Hey Sokol, since I am doing the other mods for the cougar, is this something I should look at also? There is plenty of room in there if I need to put in a small micro-controller. I was thinking PS3 style joystick with a attiny85 to get the output right. Miles

Here is the 3D model for the cougar throttle sensor board bracket and magnet holder. Should have them milled out and the PCBs done by the end of the weekend. Its a PnP replacement just like the throttle. Phillips screwdriver and allen wrench all all that required. Thanks for the interest PoleCat Miles

Delivery I don't see delivery being a problem. I cut some production boards and spacers today. I am just waiting on the JST connectors and some longer M4 bolts to replace the stock ones. I am also working on the throttle conversion now. Thanks for the interest :)

I will be doing a dedicated throttle kit next, and that should be around $30.00. Thanks for the interest Miles

I will try and add "cougar" thanks TQS is next on the list I also made replacement boards that plug in for the old F22 and TQS that turn them into USB 32 button controllers if anyone is interested. Reference your lag question. If you put to large of a filter capacitor in, it will slow down response because of the time it takes to charge and discharge. Its mostly only noticed on the discharge side. This is a very low pF and has no effect on speed. The internal filtering on this sensor is so good I did not really even notice any changes with it. I only added because the spec sheet suggested it. Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the info Sokol1_br As you can see in the pics I took a different approach to this retrofit. When I get some more time today I will post some video showing linearity and precision, as well as oscilloscope pics showing circuit stability. Anyway here a few pics. I removed the Y axis board for clarity of the set up. These mounts are PVC, production will be delrin. Miles

Hey Guys Thanks for the info Brewnix, I was looking for a more economical replacement for everyone other than $100.00 a sensor. Java_Platypus is correct. These are just a direct replacement. However these sensors put out between .5 at the low and 4.5 volts at the max which pretty much match the stock pot. Some sensors do put out 2 volts max as Java says. I went through dozens of sensors and magnet combos to get it just right as far as range and linearity. In the end I was surprised it did not even require re-calibration from the stock sensor.(although you should calibrate) I will post some pics and videos today. Thanks for the feedback Miles