My new F-16 TQS project, with a few tasteful mods.

[Braeden108]

Hey guys,

 

I've always thought the F-16's throttle quadrant system was the coolest looking throttle. So when my brother offered to 3D print some parts for me I knew what I wanted to do right off the bat.

I found this model from a nice guy on seedling.

 

http://www.seedling.org/The_Official_Hempstick_Site/F16_Throttle.html

 

I modified a few of the toggle switch mounts as well as designed a new MIC switch. Modelled a new mount for it as well as a full mounting system and friction block.

 

I also wanted a few more functions on my TQS. First and foremost I'm sick of taking my hand off the stick to use the mouse, it sucks. I searched high and low for any information on the IBM trackpoints, you know the little nubbin mouse you find on thinkpads? Hens teeth. Can't find any information about them anywhere so I had to give up on the trackpoints. Luckily our favorite fruit flavored phone existed. I was able to buy a trackball mouse from Pimoroni and it runs on I2C. I've been able to hook it up to an Arduino and get the two communicating. More work is needed on it though. Hopefully I'll be able to have a nice useable mouse.

 

The next modification is to the manual range knob. I wanted another hat on my stick so I found the coolest little device. It's an encoder, a 4 way directional hat and a push button all in one. If you look close at the range knob you can see I added an indentation. This will help me to actuate the hat switch.

 

The last modification I made is the dedicated modifier key. I'm a big fan of modifiers in DCS so I added a toggle switch in place of the pinky switch for the afterburner. Though its not in any of the pictures.

 

Below you can see what primer sanding and paint can do to a 3d print.

 

Next is the mounting mechanism, friction block, and pot gearing.

The friction block will have greased leather as a friction pad. There's also a stop build into it. The gearing allows me to use a 270 degree pot to get good detail out of the rotation. Could've used a hall sensor but, didn't.

 

I'm pleased with how the finish turned out, must've been 4-5 coats of black enamel paint.

 

Next up is the long process of wiring the thing. Should be fun.

[stormrider]

Impressive!

[Sokol1_br]

... and pot gearing.

 

Why use pot? And gearing?

 

Instead Bi-Tech 6127 series Hall sensor, e.g. model with 60 degrees of "effective electric angle". Wiring is just 3 like an ordinary pot, just pay attention with pins names.

Edited July 26, 2020 by Sokol1_br

[Fusedspine33]

Very nice Job! Have to agree with using a hall sensor to eliminate future issues. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Braeden108]

Why use pot? And gearing?

 

Instead Bi-Tech 6127 series Hall sensor, e.g. model with 60 degrees of "effective electric angle". Wiring is just 3 like an ordinary pot, just pay attention with pins names.

 

 

I'm aiming for this to rotate 90 degrees. But I'm sure 90 degree hall sensors exists.

 

Why did I use geared pots? Honestly because I felt like 3D printing gears. They turned out really well actually. Very smooth running. Though I realized I geared it such that when the throttle rotates 90 degrees the pot will rotate 270. No room for error. Should've done 250.

 

And yeah haha, "not ordinary wiring" I've been bit by that before with hall sensors.

[Braeden108]

Very nice Job! Have to agree with using a hall sensor to eliminate future issues. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I might upgrade on the future. Gears just look cool.

[Sokol1_br]

I'm aiming for this to rotate 90 degrees. .

 

This Bi-Tech 6127 series has model with 90 degrees of effective electric angle" and other angles, I just don't see the 30 degrees model, despite by mentioned in datasheet.

 

AMS AS5600 contacless sensor can have the "effective electric angle" programmed for match joystick handle movement angle, is supported by FreeJoy firmware for STM32 boards.

 

GVL224 MagRez (KMZ-41) can have the angle desired set through resistors in sensor PCB.

[recoilfx]

That's awesome! I am also working on a F-16 TQS, which is also based on Hempstick's work. Though instead of a rotating throttle axis, I opted for linear rails.

 

 

 

 

 

Which ALPS switch model is that encoder+hat switch? How is it wired up? Did it require any diodes or matrices? I am thinking of converting the hats from the TM style hats to the ALPS ones. Thanks!

[Nikolas_A]

Though instead of a rotating throttle axis, I opted for linear rails.

Looking great! But why a pot on the pinky lever?

[recoilfx]

Looking great! But why a pot on the pinky lever?

 

 

That's a TT/BI P160K pot. It's cheap, good quality(100K cycle), easily mounted, and most importantly, I have coupe of them laying around. The effective resolution is around 8 bit (native is 10 bit on the Arduino, but using around 1/3 of the rotation), so it's way enough for brake lever.

[Nikolas_A]

My question is why use a pot? IRL the pinky lever is just a mechanical release to allow you to turn the throttle grip up an go past idle to shut down. It's not an analog control.

[Lobinjaevel]

He did say it was for a brake lever. Nice placement, don't think I've seen it there before!

[sirrah]

That's awesome! I am also working on a F-16 TQS, which is also based on Hempstick's work. Though instead of a rotating throttle axis, I opted for linear rails.

 

 

 

 

 

Which ALPS switch model is that encoder+hat switch? How is it wired up? Did it require any diodes or matrices? I am thinking of converting the hats from the TM style hats to the ALPS ones. Thanks!

 

Wow! That looks awesome!

 

I've been pondering and thinking a lot about modifying my Cougar throttle, to add a mechanical AB detent and increase it's travel range (by extending the arm length). I have some ideas in my head, but so far didn't dare to actually start the project :P

 

Although it's too much modding for me, I really like your linear rails :thumbup:

[recoilfx]

My question is why use a pot? IRL the pinky lever is just a mechanical release to allow you to turn the throttle grip up an go past idle to shut down. It's not an analog control.

 

 

Ahh ok, i thought you meant why i chose a regular pot instead of a con tactless sensor. Well, I am not going to 100% accuracy here, just what works right for me, so the pinky lever is now an analog brake lever (since I like it for Brit/Rus Warbrds). You still need to lift the handle to push thru the AB stop though.

[recoilfx]

Wow! That looks awesome!

 

I've been pondering and thinking a lot about modifying my Cougar throttle, to add a mechanical AB detent and increase it's travel range (by extending the arm length). I have some ideas in my head, but so far didn't dare to actually start the project :P

 

Although it's too much modding for me, I really like your linear rails :thumbup:

 

 

Thanks. The reason why I chose linear rails is because I dislike the mini stick on the Cougar. The Cougar has a smaller travel distance than its real life counterpart, so TM try to get by increasing rotational angle. My big gripe is that the axes of the mini stick changes you rotate/push the throttle, it's hard to develop muscle memory to know the exact X & Y axes of the mini stick, leading to some wiggly motion when I first start slewing. With linear rail, the angle of the throttle remains constant, it's easier to learn how to slew accurately. In the future, I may swap the location of mini stick with the index finger hat (kind of like A-10/F-18) where the angle is a lot less awkward.

[salaxi54]

@Braeden108: Nice one! I have followed the same route, and had the parts printed too. Been sanding, sealing, re-sanding and had plenty of paint and varnish coats in the end. Here's how mine turned out:

 

 

 

 

I haven't yet decided on the electronics, but here's where i'm a little confused:

 

Have you taken any pictures of assembling your parts? By the way, i plan on using an Arduino Nano, but not 100% sure yet.

[markturner1960]

On 7/29/2020 at 9:02 PM, recoilfx said:

That's awesome! I am also working on a F-16 TQS, which is also based on Hempstick's work. Though instead of a rotating throttle axis, I opted for linear rails.

 

 

 

 

 

Which ALPS switch model is that encoder+hat switch? How is it wired up? Did it require any diodes or matrices? I am thinking of converting the hats from the TM style hats to the ALPS ones. Thanks!

Wow, I am just blown away by the skill and ingenuity of you guys who make this kind of stuff..........just amazing.....

[Braeden108]

On 5/3/2021 at 2:07 AM, salaxi54 said:

@Braeden108: Nice one! I have followed the same route, and had the parts printed too. Been sanding, sealing, re-sanding and had plenty of paint and varnish coats in the end. Here's how mine turned out:

 

 

 

 

I haven't yet decided on the electronics, but here's where i'm a little confused:

 

Have you taken any pictures of assembling your parts? By the way, i plan on using an Arduino Nano, but not 100% sure yet.

That looks great! How did the original files turn out? I modified them quite a bit for mine.

 

 

I used a promicro, two actually. One runs the joystick the other run the ball mouse.

 

I actually finished my throttle, nearly a year later haha

 

 

[Hempstead]

I am still working on it…. But mostly the guts of it for the last 3 years, and mostly on the optical 8-way HAT switch, a real bitch with all my requirements. Today, the prototype of 9th complete redesign of the sensor cap finally proved to work well. What are left are just refinements and jigs to make making them easier than free handing it, and a lot of clean up, packaging, and documents, switching to MSLA instead of FDM. ( come on, Phrozen, where are my 8K mega and 8K mini?)

I am considering releasing it, not necessarily OpenSource. 

Then, on to Hempstick Pico. 

Damn, I need to finish these for my DCS F16!

[Miwashi]

I'm very interested in converting  my throttle to a rail setup. Do you have any detailed shots of the rail mechanism? Was it entirely 3d printed?

[Braeden108]

1 hour ago, Miwashi said:

I'm very interested in converting  my throttle to a rail setup. Do you have any detailed shots of the rail mechanism? Was it entirely 3d printed?

This isn't a rail. It's a pivot. Like a warthog or a cougar.

Do you mean a rail like a Russian jet?