DIY Collective Build

I've always hated flying helicopters using a throttle. Yesterday I finally started on a collective build. It's not based on anything in particular, since I fly all the different choppers anyways.

The head was machined from a solid block of aluminum. The adapter that connects it to the tube was machined to somewhat mimic the friction ring on a Huey. There is a twist throttle, there's a small pot mounted inside the tube. There's a 2-axis thumbstick and pushbutton in the head, there will also be three more toggle switches when they arrive, my stash of standard size switches are much too large to fit. I'm using a motorcycle steering damper to control the movement, it's also adjustable which is nice. Using a Hall sensor and an Arduino Mega with Megajoy code. It's just taped in place to figure out the proper sensor and magnet placement.

Very impressive build Deezle. I have been meaning to try the adjustable motorcycle dampers. Will they hold the collective in place or will it slowly drop like with a car steering damper?

Very impressive build Deezle. I have been meaning to try the adjustable motorcycle dampers. Will they hold the collective in place or will it slowly drop like with a car steering damper?

I would like to know if the motorcycle damper holds position too.

Is it also smooth and easy to operate?

The head is too heavy for the damper to hold it in place, at least on a soft enough damping setting. A counterweight would be all that's needed to make it hold position if you want. It falls pretty slow, I have heard in some real choppers that the collective does fall slowly by itself.

Movement wise, this damper does have a touch of stiction to it (after all it was pretty much the cheapest one on amazon) but I've found it to be quite controllable and it may smooth out with use.

thanks for the info Deezle.

Impressive! Nicely done!

Very nice build!! I run the same damper on my collective and have found issues when flying in ARMA with the stiction, the breakaway force tends to cause over controlling at times.

What setting are you running the valving on? I started full soft and would still like it a bit less resistance. When I tried different settings I found that it jumped around a little bit in the middle, not sure if it was air bubbles getting in the valving or if it is just a product of the quality control (or lack there of) that comes with getting the cheapest adjustable damper I could find. Have you thought about switching the hydraulic fluid to a less viscous one? Also did you consider orientation of the body when you built it or was it primarily just the orientation that afforded the best mounting method? Mine is inverted of yours and truthfully I did it only because it worked the best with the base I was using and I am wondering if reversing it might be better for any possible cavitation bubbles that it would see in use. While they are intended to be on their side normally I've not had any experience with the adjustable linear dampers as my race bike uses a rotary damper.

The damper should smooth out with use.

A friend of mine, who used it for pedals, found that it smoothed faster after using it at hard setting for a while.

I found that applying some silicone/Teflon grease to the shaft at both ends, reduces the stiction a lot as well.

Great job! What brand damper did you use.

This one here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FMOJ1TO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And yeah I think the stiction is caused by the o-rings sticking to the shaft, perhaps a bit of silicone lube is just what it needs. I think the range of adjustment is perfect for me, if the maximum stiffness is 10, I'm probably running it in the 3-4 region.

Hey Deezle Thanks! A little off topic but on point about stiction. I have KTM300 that front forks were known for having to much stiction. One of the tricks to get rid of it was to take the front fork tube all apart and turn the tube on a lathe and polish them up. Not for sure the materials to polish them with but after it was done they move more freely thru the fork seals. Anyways thanks!

How did you build the throttle grip?

Here it is pretty much finished. Works really nicely.

How did you build the throttle grip?

The grip is just a tube with an ID slightly bigger than the OD of the main tube. I the machined UHMW bushings for a nice friction fit. The main tube has a slot cut 90º around the circumfrence. There's a small pot mounted inside the main tube. A screw connects the grip to the pot.

Not unlike this build here, but a bit cleaner execution (not knocking whoever built this).

And a video demo.

Most of the hardware seems straigntforward but how do you know which wires go where? This is about the only thing I am unsure of:book:

Most of the hardware seems straigntforward but how do you know which wires go where? This is about the only thing I am unsure of:book:

Well, the Arduino has dedicated groups of pins for different things. It also depends a bit on the code you're using. In my case all the switches share a common ground and they switch to their own digital input pin. Both the pots and hall sensor need a 5v source, a ground, and an output pin. The outputs for these go to the analog input pins. This is a very basic level of electronics, anyone can do it.

Thanks for the answers. I don't like to ask but when you say code ?????????

CODE or firmware is the program that need be stored (record/write) in Arduino board EPROM memory to make then became a HID "joystick" - a game controller - for Windows and games.

I like MMjoy2 (for Arduino PRO Micro, Teensy 2.0,++2.0) because is easily configurable be user, support analog and digital BUS sensors (pot', HALL, magnet resistor...), encoder, toggle switch in continuous or momentarily mode... allow set filter, curves.

Well I guess its never too late to learn a new trick :)

Thank you

Looks really cool!

The software part is for me the easier side, building the tube with the rods and the bearings looks to me currently impossible without the proper tools. Or can one buy most of the stuff?

Great job Deezle, what do you reckon it cost you to build ?

Between the Arduino, switches, mini stick, damper, neoprene grip and UHMW stock it was about $100. All the metal was laying around.

if there is alot of resistance. u can not only injure ur wrist, but its not going to feel good.

next to no resistance is better for long game play.

also someone mentioned that in the real helicopter collective, the head sinks, so u have to constantly handle the collective

great build none the less!

How did you make the top plates for you switch panels in the background? The plates on top of your switch boxes with the words? They look really good.

Nice work sir