Removing the springs from the TM HOTAS X?

[Inrideo]

I don't have an FFB joystick and find the centering spring in the HOTAS.X to be more of a pain than a help. Has anyone taken apart their stick to remove the spring? I've found references to modding the throttle but nothing on the stick itself.

[debolestis]

I had top gun afterburner ii. It looks simillar. Remove bottom plate and uscrew the spring adjustment knob, remove the spring and that is it. 5 minutes.

[Inrideo]

It went exactly like you said it would :)

 

Sure beats removing the cover of something and having springs shoot one way and some important connector go another.

 

Part 2:

Taking the center stop out of the throttle :)

[Inrideo]

Things I have found so far. Removing the center stop from the throttle makes for a much smoother experience, but the calibration still shows a dead spot in the middle of the traversal. Boo. I saw someone else mention it and now it's confirmed.

 

For unknown reasons the lower half of the joystick's XY coordinates jumps all over the place now. Not sure if this happened from removing the spring or if it's why I found the Huey very hard to control recently.

[debolestis]

Your hotas has potentiometers, and in your model they are crap. I recommend to mod them to hall sensors.

[Inrideo]

Sounds like another fun project after making the EDTracker.

Having the body of the joystick is great if I can gut it and improve it :)

[debolestis]

Look here.

[Inrideo]

I have some powerful little rare earth magnets that would be just the right size.

I cannibalized them from the RC plane I had whose wing snapped off mid roll in only its second flight. THAT was an expensive waste.

[Inrideo]

I think this might have some potential too. https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/td_joystick.html

 

edit: Ordered the Teensy3-pins (2 bucks extra to save on some soldering, why not). Now to get some hall sensors from Digikey :)

Edited May 5, 2015 by Inrideo

[Sokol1_br]

For Teensy 2.0, 3.0 better firmware: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3899105/MMJoy_-_Build_your_own_USB_con

 

Converting ordinary pots to HALL sensor (ideally use Honeywell SS495A1, Allegro A1324)

 

The above linked firmware allow use digital position sensors - more easy to set than HALL, but a little more difficult to assembly (need PCB).

 

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4097757/Re:_MMJoy_-_Build_your_own_USB#Post4097757

[Inrideo]

Do I need a specific resistor for the Honeywell SS495A1, or does it have a built in film resistor?

I got a couple and made a test circuit on a breadboard but I'm not getting much of a range on readings at all reading the analog state of the pin. (Teensy 3.1)

[Inrideo]

I couldn't find any info specific to that sensor about resistors, and other models from other companies vary in whether they needed one or not.

Fiddled around and got a config that reports from -512 to +512. Sample code I found for another sensor works well. Just needed to adjust the pin value.

 

/*
*  FILE: MM01
*  AUTHOR: Rob van den Tillaart; modified Ralph Martin
*  DATE: 2012 06 10 
*  ORIGINAL URL: http://playground.arduino.cc/Code/HallEffect
*
* 
*/

#define NOFIELD 505L    // Analog output with no applied field, calibrate this

// Uncomment one of the lines below according to device in use A1301 or A1302
// Formula: (Voltage / 1024) / (y)mV
// This is used to convert the analog voltage reading to milliGauss
// #define TOMILLIGAUSS 1953L   // For A1301: 2.5mV = 1Gauss, and 1024 analog steps = 5V, so 1 step = 1953mG
// #define TOMILLIGAUSS 3756L   // For A1302: 1.3mV = 1Gauss, and 1024 analog steps = 5V, so 1 step = 3756mG
#define TOMILLIGAUSS 1048L      // Honeywell SS495A1 3.1mV = 1Gauss, and 1024 analog steps = 3.3V, so 1 step = 1031mG

void setup() 
{
 Serial.begin(9600);
}

void DoMeasurement()
{
// measure magnetic field
 int raw = analogRead(A6);   // Range : 0..1024

//  Uncomment this to get a raw reading for calibration of no-field point
//  Serial.print("Raw reading: ");
//  Serial.println(raw);

 long compensated = raw - NOFIELD;                 // adjust relative to no applied field 
 long gauss = compensated * TOMILLIGAUSS / 1000;   // adjust scale to Gauss

 Serial.print(gauss);
 Serial.print(" Gauss ");

 if (gauss > 0)     Serial.println("(South pole)");
 else if(gauss < 0) Serial.println("(North pole)");
 else               Serial.println();
}

void loop() 
{
   delay(100);
   DoMeasurement();
}

[OldCinjun]

That is awesome. At last a stick for helicopters.