TM Cougar & CH magnetoresistive/ hall sensor kits

[sirrah]

8 hours ago, rel4y said:

The ronas had finally gotten to me and I was knocked out for a while.. While I wasnt really very sick past the first three days, its propably not a good idea sending stuff out to people all over the world. My quarantine is over this week and I will be making some more mods shortly. Sadly, some of the parts are hard to come by currently and chinese Arduinos have significantly increased in price for some reason..

 

Please dont despair, I will be back shortly with my lineup of mods. There is no giving up on the good old TM Cougar and CH stuff! Thank you guys for your continuous support!

 

Good to hear that it didn't struck you too badly and very responsible of you not to sent out parts in that period 

 

Get well soon mate

Edited April 6, 2021 by sirrah
copy paste error :P

[Tazman]

8 hours ago, rel4y said:

The ronas had finally gotten to me and I was knocked out for a while.. While I wasnt really very sick past the first three days, its propably not a good idea sending stuff out to people all over the world. My quarantine is over this week and I will be making some more mods shortly. Sadly, some of the parts are hard to come by currently and chinese Arduinos have significantly increased in price for some reason..

 

Please dont despair, I will be back shortly with my lineup of mods. There is no giving up on the good old TM Cougar and CH stuff! Thank you guys for your continuous support!

 

It is great news that it didn't hit you hard! I wish a perfect recovery! Take care of yourself! Everything else can wait...

[MAXsenna]

Super happy to hear you're well under the circumstances@rel4y!
Also looking forward to hear any news about you're upcoming mods!
Cheers!

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

[rel4y]

You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for your friendly words and good wishes!

I am out of quarantine now and feeling good! So its back to work, you great bunch have had to wait much too long already for my lazy ass to get stuff done!

 

Over the last few days I managed to order all necessary electrical parts for the mods. As expected, prices have increased so I may have to add a € here and there. It will probably take around two weeks until Ill be able to ship mods again, but hopefully in the meantime I am able to show some cool updates & new projects I have been working on. Thanks again for all your support and friendly mails!

[Cyberadje]

Hi Rel4y,

 

Great to hear you have had a speedy recovery. Keep up the great work. I'm awaiting news on your force sensor mode

 

Cheers,

 

Ad

[samtheeagle]

Glad to hear you're over it rel4y!

 

I shot you an email this morning... Hopefully it gets through, I always worry about hotmail stuff getting junked... Keep up the good work!

[rel4y]

Just started answering all the emails. Quite a bunch of them have piled up, but I promise to work my way through in the next day.

 

Heres prove that I havent been lazy over the weekend, as promised. These are from all the remaining components I still had in stock and they have been made into shiny new sensor electronics and USB adapters and CH upgrade mainboards and GMR sensors and Cougar Ministicks. Most of the CH mainboards and Cougar USB adapters are still missing their Arduinos. The ball bearings, plastic cases and Arduinos are already ordered and should come in within the next two weeks. Yay! 

 

The only mods ready to ship at the moment are a bunch of 4021 shift regs, TM Cougar ministicks and 2x TM Cougar USB adapters + GMR sensors.

Edited June 24, 2021 by rel4y

[sirrah]

Hi @rel4y,

 

I know you only just got back on your feet after getting punched by that awful virus, but is there any news you can share about your Cougar force sensor mod?

 

Pretty much since I read about it, I decided not to touch the Viper anymore, because I'm saving it for when I get my hands on your Cougar modification 

No rush whatsoever! It's ready when it's ready and I'll wait. Just very curious about this project.

[rel4y]

5 hours ago, sirrah said:

I know you only just got back on your feet after getting punched by that awful virus, but is there any news you can share about your Cougar force sensor mod?

 

Pretty much since I read about it, I decided not to touch the Viper anymore, because I'm saving it for when I get my hands on your Cougar modification 

No rush whatsoever! It's ready when it's ready and I'll wait. Just very curious about this project.

 

All good, you are absolutely right to press me a bit on getting things done! My prediction was end of first quarter if everything goes fine, that was a bit optimistic I guess... Supply lines are jacked, some parts are really hard to come by and then I got sick. You now, the usual lame excuses!

Just know that I am veeery close to having stocked or at least ordered all necessary parts for the force sensing mod. Honestly, I can hardly wait myself to assemble the first full blown serial prototype! So much time has been invested in designing and redesigning and messing around with electronics, its just time for everything to come together!

 

Here is a final render with a full Cougar base model and the "Unobtainium" TM 5 pin connectors. Took me literally years to source these mofos!

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by rel4y

[MAXsenna]

Just bought myself a used Warthog stick. Is the progress on the force add-on for that one coming along as well?
Cheers!

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

[Tazman]

On 4/14/2021 at 2:20 AM, rel4y said:

 

All good, you are absolutely right to press me a bit on getting things done! My prediction was end of first quarter if everything goes fine, that was a bit optimistic I guess... Supply lines are jacked, some parts are really hard to come by and then I got sick. You now, the usual lame excuses!

Just know that I am veeery close to having stocked or at least ordered all necessary parts for the force sensing mod. Honestly, I can hardly wait myself to assemble the first full blown serial prototype! So much time has been invested in designing and redesigning and messing around with electronics, its just time for everything to come together!

 

Here is a final render with a full Cougar base model and the "Unobtainium" TM 5 pin connectors. Took me literally years to source these mofos!

 

 

 

It is like having a flashback.

This reminded me of Arend's similar challenge to obtain the 5 pin connector, as it was reported in his update post "FCC3 UPDATE 9 MARCH 2015"on his home page in http://vipercore.nl/index.php

 

"The future of FCC3 production is secured.

After a long search I have been able to source 1000 pcs of the Cougar centre connector, so I have enough connectors for the coming 50 years or so :) ".

 

Imagine if these could pass to you. Beside the practical fact that you would be covered "for the coming 50 years or so", this would be as a heritage from the original FCC creator and a 'link' between the old and new FCC generation...

Edited April 15, 2021 by Tazman
Minor position editing, link corrections, pic insertion

[Mudspike]

On 3/4/2021 at 2:09 PM, Tazman said:

Let us know how it goes!

 

I received it last week and had time to install USB conversion kit / sensor / radar cursor the other day.

 

Installing hardware and configuring MMjoy was a breeze.

 

What a difference!

Whole new TQS… I am so happy  to get the radar cursor back and that with a seemingly higher resolution.

However, I had to swap X and Y in BMS setting in order to be able to control it in a more intuitive way though…

Rotating a PCB may not work as it is a rectangular shape….

Now, hoping my antenna and range pots' last.... 

[bones1014]

Got the mainboard and two new sensors installed in my CH Fighterstick. Works great! I was a little concerned when the stick didn't appear in the CH Manager and the LEDs on top didn't turn on but then I realized that with the new mainboard that's bound to happen. Still works fine in the windows control panel and in the calibration software used for setup. Thanks!

[Tazman]

On 4/16/2021 at 6:50 PM, Mudspike said:

I received it last week and had time to install USB conversion kit / sensor / radar cursor the other day.

 

Installing hardware and configuring MMjoy was a breeze.

 

What a difference!

Whole new TQS… I am so happy  to get the radar cursor back and that with a seemingly higher resolution.

However, I had to swap X and Y in BMS setting in order to be able to control it in a more intuitive way though…

Rotating a PCB may not work as it is a rectangular shape….

Now, hoping my antenna and range pots' last.... 

That makes me excited and impatient for my cougar's upgrade! Enjoy your 'new' TQS until the rest upgrades are ready!

Btw, what is involved in radar cursor's installation? Is soldering needed?

[Mudspike]

Hi

No soldering needed at all...

 

[Tazman]

18 minutes ago, Mudspike said:

Hi

No soldering needed at all...

 

That's awesome! Thanks for the reply! 

[Regidor]

Rel4y,

 

Hope that your recover is continuing to go well and you aren’t experiencing any lingering issues. 
 

I was wondering if you have started shipping units again? If so, what exactly do you have in stock regarding cougar throttle upgrades/mods? I’m mainly interested in the USB adapter, hall sensor, and mini-stick. 

Thanks

 

[rel4y]

On 4/14/2021 at 3:50 AM, MAXsenna said:

Just bought myself a used Warthog stick. Is the progress on the force add-on for that one coming along as well?
Cheers!

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk
 

 

Yes, last work to be done on the Warthog version is making the force sensing PCB Warthog compatible.

 

On 4/15/2021 at 2:30 PM, Tazman said:

 

It is like having a flashback.

This reminded me of Arend's similar challenge to obtain the 5 pin connector, as it was reported in his update post "FCC3 UPDATE 9 MARCH 2015"on his home page in http://vipercore.nl/index.php

 

"The future of FCC3 production is secured.

After a long search I have been able to source 1000 pcs of the Cougar centre connector, so I have enough connectors for the coming 50 years or so :) ".

 

[image removed]

 

Imagine if these could pass to you. Beside the practical fact that you would be covered "for the coming 50 years or so", this would be as a heritage from the original FCC creator and a 'link' between the old and new FCC generation...

 

 

Yeah, wow! He seemed to have had the exact same issue, these TM 5 pin connectors are just an absolute pain in the butt to source! I actually tried to establish contact via the email on Arends page, but I dont think anybody is still cheking it. But now I also should also have enough for the next 25 years or so.

 

On 4/16/2021 at 5:50 PM, Mudspike said:

I received it last week and had time to install USB conversion kit / sensor / radar cursor the other day.

 

Installing hardware and configuring MMjoy was a breeze.

 

What a difference!

Whole new TQS… I am so happy  to get the radar cursor back and that with a seemingly higher resolution.

However, I had to swap X and Y in BMS setting in order to be able to control it in a more intuitive way though…

Rotating a PCB may not work as it is a rectangular shape….

Now, hoping my antenna and range pots' last.... 

 

Awesome, glad to hear! I had to switch X and Y axis on the replacement slew as the new ministick has a larger footprint than the older one, but didnt adjust the pinout. When I have some time, I will make a rev 1.1 with original axes layout. But I think switching over axes is not much of a big deal for now.

 

On 4/23/2021 at 4:55 PM, Regidor said:

Rel4y,

 

Hope that your recover is continuing to go well and you aren’t experiencing any lingering issues. 
 

I was wondering if you have started shipping units again? If so, what exactly do you have in stock regarding cougar throttle upgrades/mods? I’m mainly interested in the USB adapter, hall sensor, and mini-stick. 

Thanks

 

 

No, all good! Actually, I feel great and I am moving forward quickly right now. Today I have finished a new batch of all sensors and mainboards and tomorrow I will answer all the emails that have piled up. I have also made some 34,4mm spaced TLE5011 sensors, the same type I had uploaded on OSH park as open source DIY PCBs.

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by rel4y

[samtheeagle]

Hi Rel4y,

 

I'll send another email, but I'm getting concerned that you're not recieving them... Can you let me know whether you get anything from my hotmail please?

 

Apparently you are! So order incoming!  

 

Cheers.

Edited April 27, 2021 by samtheeagle

[rel4y]

By now I have worked my way through all the emails and everybody should have an answer.

 

I have two new mods in stock now, first is the 34,4mm spaced TLE5011 sensors. A while ago I had uploaded similar footprints to OSH Park as open source for DIY projects (https://oshpark.com/profiles/rel4y). Now I decided to offer these ready made for everybody who is not keen on messing around with surface mounted parts. The mounting holes are spaced in the standard 34,4 mm distance (Virpil, Baur BRD, GVL224 MagREZ, RAMS, etc) and the connection pins are normal 0.1 in spaced header pin holes. Cost: 15€ per set of two.

 

Second is the 13 deg angled Thrustmaster tailpiece. It is made of very durable selective laser sintered (SLS) polyamide (PA 12). The wall thickness is increased in several key areas and it is probably stronger than the original TM Zamac cast piece. It fits the Warthog, Cougar and F-22 Pro sticks. I can also dye it grey so it looks like the vanilla Zamac one. Cost: 12€

 

  

 

As many know, I have also made a locking nut to original F-16 specs. This one is currently not for sale and only works on the TM bases in combination with my upcoming force sensing mod. I may make a few metal ones as a limited time offer together with the force sensing mod.

 

 

 

 

[Cyberadje]

Great news Rel4y, thx.

[ismaeljorda]

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post to thank Rel4y for his good work. I received sensors for the Cougar's grip and throttle last week and just installed them.
Installation and calibration does not involve any difficulty and sensors work perfectly.

Thank you for giving my old Cougar a new youth, Marvin.

All the best,
Ismael Jordá

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by ismaeljorda

[rel4y]

The ANTs are here! Yay!

 

 

After an eternity and two weeks, I can finally proudly present the new contactless Cougar Throttle ANT sensors.  They are working very well and I am very excited about showing them off, although I have already messed up two sensors learning and playing around with the angle programming feature. This cool feature allows me to program the min/ max voltage output of the sensor to correspond to the exact min/ max angle actually used in practice. For the Cougar ANT pot this means 270° of rotation in total.

 

The PCB design allows me to use them on 5V as well as 3.3V and to hardcode rotation direction either clockwise (CW) or CCW. It is possible to program them anywhere between 18° and 360° (but mostly suitable for angles above 90°), which opens up a whole world of new possibilities. The same PCB will be used on the RNG sensors which are the next sensor type I am planning to offer for the Cougar.

 

Currently I only have 8 working sensors and therefore they are gonna be vaporware initially, as most of them are already reserved. Please keep in mind that these sensors do need to be soldered (and the vanilla pot needs to be desoldered first), so soldering is required for this sensor!

 

---

 

On 5/11/2021 at 11:23 AM, ismaeljorda said:

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post to thank Rel4y for his good work. I received sensors for the Cougar's grip and throttle last week and just installed them.
Installation and calibration does not involve any difficulty and sensors work perfectly.

Thank you for giving my old Cougar a new youth, Marvin.

All the best,
Ismael Jordá

 

I am glad you are happy with your purchase and great pictures! Enjoy your new mods!

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by rel4y

[Yardstick]

Great, yet another service life extension coming up for my Cougar throttle 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Yardstick

[59th_Wittman]

Hello rel4y!

 

"Cougar Throttle ANT sensors"

 

It's a great news!

 

I'd like to thank your work in name of the Cougar users!

 

When is possible to order it?

 

Cheers!

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by 59th_Wittman