DIY HOTAS throttle?

[Kilo]

Hi everyone! For quite some time I've been bugged by the idea of making my own throttle and I've been mentally designing one. Has anyone else ever attempted building a bristling-with-buttons HOTAS throttle? If so, what were the problems encountered? Any words of advice?

[Sokol1_br]

You find some 3D Printer projects in Thingiverse.

 

And this project can give some idea:

 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.ru/topic/12841-руд-gel2/

Edited February 27, 2021 by Sokol1_br

[Kilo]

Hi! I'm terribly sorry for replying *this* late, but here we go: 

 

Thanks for the link, it's really helpful to see the innards of a throttle! The only trouble is that I don't own a 3d printer, so I'll have to make-do with other materials...

 

For now, the biggest challenge is the internal mechanism for the lever. Most of the other details are already designed, I just need to put them on paper...

[Sokol1_br]

Look at how are made GVL224 mechanics with bearings and make your version,

or buy just the lever mechanics from then, price is reasonable, see their sales topic, ask by PM the lever mechanics price.

Edited March 12, 2021 by Sokol1_br

[FeistyLemur]

I always wanted to try making one with igus bushings (or linear ballbearings), rods, and printer belts to kind of emulate the sliding style throttle the mig29 has.

It seems like it might be precise and offer a lot of resolution compared to a rotational movement, along with keeping the grip (and therefore the buttons) at a constant angle.

What I learned making myself a button box though is don't expect to save any money.  Projects get expensive and are incredibly time consuming.

[Sokol1_br]

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/throttle-v10-assembled-and-blown-out-86e776c0488b47a9b53c16c1c66cc299

[Kilo]

On 3/15/2021 at 8:19 AM, FeistyLemur said:

I always wanted to try making one with igus bushings (or linear ballbearings), rods, and printer belts to kind of emulate the sliding style throttle the mig29 has.

It seems like it might be precise and offer a lot of resolution compared to a rotational movement, along with keeping the grip (and therefore the buttons) at a constant angle.

What I learned making myself a button box though is don't expect to save any money.  Projects get expensive and are incredibly time consuming.

That's a cool idea! Good luck if/when you go ahead with it!

 

Quote

What I learned making myself a button box though is don't expect to save any money.

That's a fair bit concerning, as saving money was one of the main incentives to make my own stuff

 

On 3/17/2021 at 3:15 AM, Sokol1_br said:

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/throttle-v10-assembled-and-blown-out-86e776c0488b47a9b53c16c1c66cc299

Thank you for the link! I noticed some technical challenges that I will need to overcome should I start the actual building process

[shu77]

Its well worth having a look at some of the examples on here as a reference on how to build.  My first attempt at home building a HOTAS was based on using a couple of ebay purchased 2nd hand Wingman extremes, remounted to a small metal toolbox which held the electronics and gave me a platform to mount the resistors to. My second attempt was to build a collective which was originally based around a prototype box, but I ultimately found a 3d file and ran across a friend who would print it for me.  

 

 Best place to start is to decide what sort of shape you are trying to build and how many switches you have, do you want to try and replicate a specific aircraft, or do you just want 20 options at your fingertips?  do you want buttons, toggles, twists or hat switches. From there you can try and find a similar example.

Worth considering how many inputs and axis you want, the Leobodnar board is excellent.  Even if you only want one throttle having 2 axis on a microstick to drive a DMS/TMS or even external view control  is awesome.

 

You could for example get a USB Handbrake like the one I did for my collective, which has a 20 button 4 axis Andruno Leonardo board going to waste on there.  That would serve fine as a throttle base once you drop the spring out, so you could use that as your throttle travel and then mount anything to the end to use as an anchor for the buttons. Alternately you could get a wingman extreme or even a USB gamepad second hand, strip it down and use the left/right axis to mount to a similar variable Pot that has a couple levers matched to a base.  Its a bit of a slippery slope to building home cockpits but it can be a very fun diversion.  

Edited March 19, 2021 by shu77