TM Cougar & CH magnetoresistive/ hall sensor kits

[CybrSlydr]

2 hours ago, Habu_69 said:

I have an unused Cougar throttle ministick (without PCB) I can sell you. 15 USD + shipping. Probably about 30 USD shipping to USA. PM me if interested.

Appreciate it, but I bought one from Relay last weekend.

[JCook]

Rel4y

I sent you a couple eMails on my parts order. Please let me know when these are available and when I can send payment.

Thanks.

John

[sirrah]

-- knock knock --

@rel4y are you there mate?

 

Been way too long since we last heard from you! 

 

My poor old Cougar needs your force sensor mod man! He's all like: "why doesn't rel4y like me " 

[Tazman]

3 hours ago, sirrah said:

-- knock knock --

@rel4y are you there mate?

 

Been way too long since we last heard from you! 

 

My poor old Cougar needs your force sensor mod man! He's all like: "why doesn't rel4y like me " 

Actually, I only hope @rel4y is healthy and strong. I've no doubt he's working the best he can for this project, but sometimes life gets in the way. Patience, support and encouragement is all it's needed.

[sirrah]

2 hours ago, Tazman said:

Actually, I only hope @rel4y is healthy and strong. I've no doubt he's working the best he can for this project, but sometimes life gets in the way. Patience, support and encouragement is all it's needed.

Well yes, obviously I also hope rel4y is doing well and yes, I am patient..

My post was merely meant to show my positive anticipation on his work

Edited December 16, 2021 by sirrah
grammar

[Tazman]

2 hours ago, sirrah said:

Well yes, obviously I also hope rel4y is doing well and yes, I am patient..

My post was merely meant to show my positive anticipation on his work

 

Don't get me wrong, your comment at that moment obviously reveals patience and anticipation and you did right to break this long silence. I was about to do sth similar. It's your poor old Cougar that showed signs of impatience, that I was addressing to actually. 

[de.Impact]

Got some Cougar mod parts from him last week, so dont worry

[Mearcat]

On 6/5/2021 at 5:53 PM, aelfewulf said:

@Rudel_chwSearch eBay for “Woodlands Scenics MG738”

Have fun!

I'm a bit slow on the ball because I'm enjoying flying but ..... Nice!
I finally have the correct Text to use on future referbs.

I had to use my model building skills with water slide decals for my joystick referb. Mine were produced through CAD and printed on white water slide transfer paper for laser printers.

Its also been coated in a fuel/sweat proof clear coat so none of the paint will ever bubble and peal off again:

                     

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

1 hour ago, Mearcat said:

I'm a bit slow on the ball because I'm enjoying flying but ..... Nice!
I finally have the correct Text to use on future referbs.

I had to use my model building skills with water slide decals for my joystick referb. Mine were produced through CAD and printed on white water slide transfer paper for laser printers.

Its also been coated in a fuel/sweat proof clear coat so none of the paint will ever bubble and peal off again:

                     

Could u share that cad file ready to print? 

[Mearcat]

19 hours ago, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

Could u share that cad file ready to print? 

that should print out in the correct colours but it depends on your printer pen settings.

Joystick Text Decals A.dwg

Edited December 20, 2021 by Mearcat

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

2 hours ago, Mearcat said:

that should print out in the correct colours but it depends on your printer pen settings.

Joystick Text Decals A.dwg 107.8 kB · 0 downloads

 

much appreciated

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

So just wondering if I'm able to add some switches at the cougar throttle with the upgrade I bought several months ago. 

Refuel door, battery and jfs, not much. 

[13sq*Axe]

Greetings rel4y, 

I'm interested in purchasing hall sensors for my CH gear, Fighterstick, Pro Throttle and Pedals. Let me know availability and how to order/contact you. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you. 

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

On 1/6/2022 at 12:32 AM, 13sq*Axe said:

Greetings rel4y, 

I'm interested in purchasing hall sensors for my CH gear, Fighterstick, Pro Throttle and Pedals. Let me know availability and how to order/contact you. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you. 

Drop him an email, you have the address on the first post

[13sq*Axe]

12 hours ago, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

Drop him an email, you have the address on the first post

Got it! Many thanks!!

[rel4y]

Alright guys, I am back! Sorry about the long silence, life has a tendency to get in the way...

Lately, I have been modeling a bunch of OTTO hats & buttons to original spec and this is where I am at currently. (Big thanks to DeadMeat!) All shown parts are 100% to OTTO spec (maybe except the CMS, working on it) and I am especially proud of the F-16 COM hat, which I believe is the most beautiful of all variants. (Huge thanks to Korbi!) The plan is to make a "universal" type hatswitch to real OTTO specs available at affordable cost and no soldering required. I have ordered all sorts of ALPS and OMRON switches to try and make the most realistic and reliable hatswitch I can. There are already several types of variants modeled in CAD that I wont showcase yet, like the TM style with a spring, the SergeyPe style and the CH style. I will also make a variety of CH aka APEM (like) hats available for a reasonable price and probably open source the STLs while I am at it, because thats just ridiculous... https://www.digikey.de/en/products/detail/apem-inc/500-526/2063280

In case anybody owns a real F-16 CMS hat or knows a guy that does, please contact me and receive my eternal gratitude.

 

Late last year I got into MSLA printing and by now I have pretty much mastered it to the point I am churning out perfectly dimensioned parts. The printing mechanism allows me to manufacture parts to sub 0.02 mm precision, which is absolutely incredible. Here are my Cougar stick sensors printed with my lovely MSLA printer and I actually was able to tighten up the tolerances to pretty much null. Consistency is amazing after a few mods to the printer and a good understanding of what the heck I am doing. Honestly, I still believe there must be some black magic involved with this stuff! The only downsides are the quite involved clean up process as well as the likely toxic fumes of the resin... But damn, whats permanent lung damage in comparison to a bunch of perfectly printed parts?! Gotta have priorities!!

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by rel4y

[LtFransky]

Thanks for sacrificing your lungs for our entertainment. The replacement pots are excellent. I can't wait to see new hat switches.

[Phil C6]

Quote

In case anybody owns a real F-16 CMS hat or knows a guy that does, please contact me and receive my eternal gratitude.

What you need? check mp i maybe know someone who could help you

Best regard

[Maxx_6dof]

Great to see your amazing product line improving! I'll be emailing you soon! Quick question though.  Will your 24 bit shift registers be recognized as warthog if installed in a warthog stick? My register is apparently cooked and I've been trying to figure this out.

Thanks for your great work!

[Hempstead]

On 2/16/2022 at 4:51 PM, rel4y said:

Alright guys, I am back! Sorry about the long silence, life has a tendency to get in the way...

Lately, I have been modeling a bunch of OTTO hats & buttons to original spec and this is where I am at currently. (Big thanks to DeadMeat!) All shown parts are 100% to OTTO spec (maybe except the CMS, working on it) and I am especially proud of the F-16 COM hat, which I believe is the most beautiful of all variants. (Huge thanks to Korbi!) The plan is to make a "universal" type hatswitch to real OTTO specs available at affordable cost and no soldering required. I have ordered all sorts of ALPS and OMRON switches to try and make the most realistic and reliable hatswitch I can. There are already several types of variants modeled in CAD that I wont showcase yet, like the TM style with a spring, the SergeyPe style and the CH style. I will also make a variety of CH aka APEM (like) hats available for a reasonable price and probably open source the STLs while I am at it, because thats just ridiculous... https://www.digikey.de/en/products/detail/apem-inc/500-526/2063280

In case anybody owns a real F-16 CMS hat or knows a guy that does, please contact me and receive my eternal gratitude.

 

Late last year I got into MSLA printing and by now I have pretty much mastered it to the point I am churning out perfectly dimensioned parts. The printing mechanism allows me to manufacture parts to sub 0.02 mm precision, which is absolutely incredible. Here are my Cougar stick sensors printed with my lovely MSLA printer and I actually was able to tighten up the tolerances to pretty much null. Consistency is amazing after a few mods to the printer and a good understanding of what the heck I am doing. Honestly, I still believe there must be some black magic involved with this stuff! The only downsides are the quite involved clean up process as well as the likely toxic fumes of the resin... But damn, whats permanent lung damage in comparison to a bunch of perfectly printed parts?! Gotta have priorities!!

 

 

Oh, whatever, screw it...

Here it is. These three attached files are hereby published in the public domain. Do whatever you want with it.

Note that the text is supposed to be about 0.915" to 0.1" high, or about 6.5pts to 7.2pts. I drew the "right" size... but it looked "funny." So I reduced the size to make the text look "better" but obviously undersized a bit. Anyway, don't count on the text size too much. They are very difficult to measure the correct size, unless you know your "fontography" in and out, and know where to measure. So, I often measure it roughly and adjust by how they "feel." Moreover, if you have enough authentic panels in your hand, you will soon realize the same thing I realized -- they don't all use the same font/size...

In case you are wondering. The font I used, no surprise, is Gordon URW Condensed (GordonURWCond.otf/.ttf).

 

TrimCacBody.SLDPRT TrimCap.SLDPRT TrimTop.SLDPRT

Trim.SLDASM

Edited February 21, 2022 by Hempstead
Grammar correction... and forgot the assembly file.

[rel4y]

On 2/19/2022 at 10:13 PM, Phil C6 said:

What you need? check mp i maybe know someone who could help you

Best regard

Thanks again for helping me out Phil!

On 2/21/2022 at 6:43 AM, Maxx_6dof said:

Great to see your amazing product line improving! I'll be emailing you soon! Quick question though.  Will your 24 bit shift registers be recognized as warthog if installed in a warthog stick? My register is apparently cooked and I've been trying to figure this out.

Thanks for your great work!

Yeah, the shift regs will be recognized by any TM base (incl. Warthog) as they are the same 4021 chips as on the TM vanilla shift regs. However, they are currently sold out and I have made a new & improved layout after some valid criticism. The new layout has all pin holes arranged to fit a standard 0.1 in matrix, so it can be stuck on top of eg a breadboard. Further, they now have two M2 mounting holes so they can be screwed onto something. The rework was quite extensive and I will make a batch of the new layout soon.

On 2/21/2022 at 4:45 PM, Hempstead said:

lots of awesome stuff

Without context this post seems pretty out of the blue, so let me explain: As I knew of Hempsteads outstanding past CAD work on the F-16, I contacted him for help on the trimhat font via PM. And sure enough he was gracious enough to help me, and you all for that matter, with a good font and even provided his CAD model of the trim! Now, thats awesome! Thank you so much Hemp and great engineering btw! I might have to ask you one or two further questions in the future, so dont be surprised..

 

Now here is my take on the Mason Trim. While its not 100% finished yet, Ive had enough of it for a few days. The radius of the text is not the same as of the brim and thats correct btw. Modelling text based cut extrusions on a curved surface is an absolute nightmare... This has got to be the 8th plague to scourge mankind! I was so aggravated at one point, that I had to take a walk outside in the rain and cool my temper. Whoever programmed the text feature into CAD software must be an absolute misanthropist of most vicious character! Geez... Here are the pics.

Edited February 23, 2022 by rel4y

[rel4y]

Today I have pretty much finished all the buttons, hatswitches and stuff I will need in the future. First is a picture of the OTTO trigger. I didnt invest too much time into the case, as I most likely wont be needing it. Second picture is the F-16 grip locking nut, which I have reworked and it should be to original specs now. (Huge thanks once again to Korbi!) The third picture displays all the trim hatswitches I have modeled to date. left: F-16 original trim hat, middle: large Mason trim hat, right: OTTO large T4 trim. I dont like the shape of the original large Mason trimmer, but the other two are sexy!

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by rel4y

[Viper1970]

Hey rel4y, awesome work .

[LtFransky]

What do the internals of the Otto switch look like? Are they simply 4 tactile switches or something more sophisticated?

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk

[rel4y]

4 hours ago, LtFransky said:

What do the internals of the Otto switch look like? Are they simply 4 tactile switches or something more sophisticated?

As said earlier, I am experimenting with several major design options: Warthog, SergeyPe ALPs and other ALPs. Currently, I am testing several 9-way ALPS automotive switches, the drawback is that these will likely need some diode matrix or an extra IC. Looking at pictures I believe Virpil are using these as well, but without diodes... Not sure how that works.

Talking in terms of sophistication though I would argue that the original OTTOs are also just 4 or 5 microswitches, either tactile or not, molded in a nice quality case. The only real difference in functionality is the force required to operate these, which is basically just a question of spring (plate) forces. There is no magic involved with OTTOs and off the shelf ALPs switches will probably outlast the OTTOs in a desktop environment, as they are rated for lower voltages and thus produce less wear on the metal contact parts.

Edited March 8, 2022 by rel4y