Cheap DIY MFD Cougars for VR without Displays?

[Nalfeyn]

I'm currently looking for some DIY MFD Cougars without a display, since I dont need them. I would like to use them in VR just to switch quicker through the menues. Is there something on the internet, because I havent found something like that so far.

 

I just dont want to spend the 100€ for the original Cougars tbh.

 

 

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

prices are insane these days but I pretty much recommend them though. They are well built, match the real counterpart, plug and play and offer 56 pushbuttons for 100€.
However, if you are really into DIY, check those "USB arcade boards" which are also plug and play, very cheap ($5-10) on eBay, and some of the most common pushbuttons are compatible with their faston connectors so no need for soldering at all. I think most of them offer up to 20 push buttons



With those, a couple of electrical black plastic boxes, and the buttons, you can kind of replicate MFD Cougars.

[dukovac]

6 hours ago, Nalfeyn said:

I'm currently looking for some DIY MFD Cougars

Possibly the cheapest way would be to buy Ardunio Leonardo and make a button matrix.

You will need 1xArduino Leonardo, Tactile Push Buttons and prototype board (just watch for dimensions of prototype board, Cougar MFD is 14x14cm)

Code for 64 button matrix is:

 

Spoiler

#include <Keypad.h>
#include <Joystick.h>

#define ENABLE_PULLUPS

#define NUMBUTTONS 64
#define NUMROWS 8
#define NUMCOLS 8

byte buttons[NUMROWS][NUMCOLS] = {
  {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7},
  {8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15},
  {16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23},
  {24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31},
  {32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39},
  {40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47},
  {48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55},
  {56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63},

};

byte rowPins[NUMROWS] = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8};
byte colPins[NUMCOLS] = {9,10,11,12,13,18,19,20};

Keypad buttbx = Keypad( makeKeymap(buttons), rowPins, colPins, NUMROWS, NUMCOLS);

Joystick_ Joystick(JOYSTICK_DEFAULT_REPORT_ID,
  JOYSTICK_TYPE_JOYSTICK, 64, 0,
  false, false, false, false, false, false,
  false, false, false, false, false);

void setup() {
  Joystick.begin();
  }

void loop() {

  CheckAllButtons();

}

void CheckAllButtons(void) {
      if (buttbx.getKeys())
    {
       for (int i=0; i<LIST_MAX; i++)   
        {
           if ( buttbx.key[i].stateChanged )   
            {
            switch (buttbx.key[i].kstate) {  
                    case PRESSED:
                    case HOLD:
                              Joystick.setButton(buttbx.key[i].kchar, 1);
                              break;
                    case RELEASED:
                    case IDLE:
                              Joystick.setButton(buttbx.key[i].kchar, 0);
                              break;
            }
           }   
         }
     }
}

 

[Marcq]

8 hours ago, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

prices are insane these days but I pretty much recommend them though. They are well built, match the real counterpart, plug and play and offer 56 pushbuttons for 100€.
However, if you are really into DIY, check those "USB arcade boards" which are also plug and play, very cheap ($5-10) on eBay, and some of the most common pushbuttons are compatible with their faston connectors so no need for soldering at all. I think most of them offer up to 20 push buttons



With those, a couple of electrical black plastic boxes, and the buttons, you can kind of replicate MFD Cougars.

I have used those a lot, so simple and cheap

 

Marc..

[agrasyuk]

it's possible to build your own cheaper. But pair of TM Cougars will be your best value. mounting , wiring and mapping over 50 buttons will not be  trivial feat. You already spent 4 digit amount on your system even before all the controls and HMD. And there is not much saving all's there either - Pair of Controllers for DIY solution will run you 50-60 bucks 

 

If you were planning for a more detailed cockpit then it's different and DIY is warrantedjust my 0.02

 

Good luck!

 

 

[Rick50]

I think you ought to do a search for used Cougar on all your regional "for sale, used" platforms. Being in CAnada I don't know what they would be for you, but I got a Cougar MFD that I swear never got plugged in, for half the retail price. Actually, I've gotten all my flightsim peripherals from the used market. I got them on Kijiji, which is a company or subsidiary of Ebay, but it might be only in Canada. Similarly, I hear that FAcebook has a really great "used for sale" market, but that feature might not exist in Europe perhaps due to EU regulations (maybe to preserve existing local companies?). 

 

It's a mostly robust product, and I don't think they really wear out, so if it looks decent it ought to work for you. And sometimes, people selling used wil offer up crazy low prices, because they want something gone or need some quick cash fast.

 

For instance, yesterday I cruised that site, looking for a large Pelican travel container. There's several for sale, all roughly half of retail price before taxes. This is for a large Pelican that's about the size of a medium to large suitcase for air travel, this one being a 1650 model. Here they would likely go for about $440 Canadian before taxes or shipping. But just an hour before I checked there, someone posted one for sale for just $120 cash. Sure, it's got some torn stickers on it, some scuff marks, but that's a SERIOUS savings, and I will surely end up with my own stickers torn and intact, will have scuffed one as much if I'd bought new. He let me inspect the latches interior and so on, before we completed the deal. He recently moved into an apparement so space was suddenly at a premium and he no longer had a need to travel. So he benefited by selling it 4 hours after offering it for sale, I benefited by getting a near indestructible "suitcase" for an extremely reasonable price, and I didn't have to wait for Amazon shipping

 

(unlike in USA, in Canada often their shipping is... well 2 weeks or so, with Prime not being much benefit up here. Depends on the products, if it's a true "Prime" product that sells in very large quantities here, might get it in a day or two, unlike the 1 hour delivery some pple experience in very large American cities)

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

52 minutes ago, Rick50 said:

I think you ought to do a search for used Cougar on all your regional "for sale, used" platforms. Being in CAnada I don't know what they would be for you, but I got a Cougar MFD that I swear never got plugged in, for half the retail price. Actually, I've gotten all my flightsim peripherals from the used market. I got them on Kijiji, which is a company or subsidiary of Ebay, but it might be only in Canada. Similarly, I hear that FAcebook has a really great "used for sale" market, but that feature might not exist in Europe perhaps due to EU regulations (maybe to preserve existing local companies?). 

 

It's a mostly robust product, and I don't think they really wear out, so if it looks decent it ought to work for you. And sometimes, people selling used wil offer up crazy low prices, because they want something gone or need some quick cash fast.

 

For instance, yesterday I cruised that site, looking for a large Pelican travel container. There's several for sale, all roughly half of retail price before taxes. This is for a large Pelican that's about the size of a medium to large suitcase for air travel, this one being a 1650 model. Here they would likely go for about $440 Canadian before taxes or shipping. But just an hour before I checked there, someone posted one for sale for just $120 cash. Sure, it's got some torn stickers on it, some scuff marks, but that's a SERIOUS savings, and I will surely end up with my own stickers torn and intact, will have scuffed one as much if I'd bought new. He let me inspect the latches interior and so on, before we completed the deal. He recently moved into an apparement so space was suddenly at a premium and he no longer had a need to travel. So he benefited by selling it 4 hours after offering it for sale, I benefited by getting a near indestructible "suitcase" for an extremely reasonable price, and I didn't have to wait for Amazon shipping

 

(unlike in USA, in Canada often their shipping is... well 2 weeks or so, with Prime not being much benefit up here. Depends on the products, if it's a true "Prime" product that sells in very large quantities here, might get it in a day or two, unlike the 1 hour delivery some pple experience in very large American cities)

Yes sir Facebook marketplace is available on Europe. That´s where I found my current Rift S headset.

[Nalfeyn]

I would definately go for used ones in the local sell markets - but there are no mfd cougars on sale. Not in the internet stores, not on the used sale stores/sites or on facebook. 

Besides that, people are selling them, if someone is selling them, basically for the price for brand new articles which is about 100 Euro [150/160 CUSD]. 

 

Since Im flying the Hornet, I would need 3 MFD Cougars anyways. 

 

Those controllers have up to 20 Buttons, I need 23 I guess per DDI. For the MFHD a little bit more. 

[dFlow]

i've built some little button box with having cougar mfds in mind

here i have a single box, with some numpad in the middle for all nummerical entries

some switches and rotaries too for anything needing those inputs (lights, master arms etc etc)

one of the 3 pos switches is used as modulator, so i can use that buttons in a total of 3 different settings (like 3 mfds in a hornet for example) 

 

 

its not the most beautiful thing, but it works pretty good

Edited January 8, 2021 by dFlow

[Muellerman]

Hey dFlow..

 

I saw your DIY Cougar Button box and that is exactly what I have in my mind for my VR-Setup.

 

I use a Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS mounted on a Wheelstand Pro, and instead of mounting MFDs, I think I will try a Buttonbox on the right side of the Wheelstand.

 

My Arduino kit has already arrived yesterday and my first DCS Bios examples worked out perfectly, Nevertheless I would like to ask if you would like to share your part-List (especially the buttons you used (where to buy? Are you happy with them?)

 

And if you would share your 3D Printer files and Arduino Code just to get an idea of how you got this thing to work.

I would appreciate it very much.

 

Best regards,

Muellerman

[dFlow]

you got PM

[Gil80]

On 1/8/2021 at 10:26 AM, dFlow said:

i've built some little button box with having cougar mfds in mind

here i have a single box, with some numpad in the middle for all nummerical entries

some switches and rotaries too for anything needing those inputs (lights, master arms etc etc)

one of the 3 pos switches is used as modulator, so i can use that buttons in a total of 3 different settings (like 3 mfds in a hornet for example) 

 

 

its not the most beautiful thing, but it works pretty good

 

Hi. 

Sorry for reviving this post. That looks really good. 

Are you able inform me of the hardware and code? 

[dFlow]

No worries, I used 2x Leo bodnar 32 button box interface boards. https://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=94&products_id=205&zenid=9da2c7d0ac88218adc72d6ea48a3886c

 

The reason was simply because some games do not (or did not) recognise 64 button interfaces, so hence I split it.

 

The buttons and switches I bought in my local electronics store.

 

Hope that helps