New lease of life for Cougar throttle

[aelfewulf]

Internal mods & hardware, (all from rel4y)

Standalone USB adaptor 

Digital contactless 14 bit GMR throttle sensor

Ministick slew replacement

ANT magnetic sensor

24 bit shift registers x 2

 

Landing gear switch is a 3 position (ON-OFF-ON) switch to prevent embarrassing mishaps. 
To create more space to fit additional wires in the throttle stem, I made a spacer using an old USB cable. 
There’s still room to fit another 2 buttons/switches in the base, if I wanted to. 
Labels are done using dry transfer decals.
Those breakout wires will be connected to a button box designed after the F16 MISC panel.
 

Thanks for reading!

Edited July 27, 2021 by aelfewulf

[Gumbie]

Hell of a Job Sir, Hell make a little money on the side with this.

 

[rconley111]

Nice Job!!!  Would you be willing to do the same to people who have a Cougar Throttle?

 

RC3

[aelfewulf]

Here’s a pic of the innards...

 

And a button box modelled after the F16 MISC panel. Acrylic face plate from Hispapanels.

ALT REL button will be used as EJECT button. It sits flush with the panel, so embarrassing mishaps are unlikely.

 

All connector wires can be easily disconnected for serviceability. A bit of masking tape ensures they don’t get loose and disconnect.

 

Throttle friction mechanism totally removed. I replace with Nyogel 767A, the feel is incredible! Throttle friction adjustable by simply adjusting the tightness of the 8 base screws.

11 hours ago, rconley111 said:

Nice Job!!!  Would you be willing to do the same to people who have a Cougar Throttle?

 

RC3

Well, I’d love to, but since I’m based in Singapore, the shipping costs 2 ways would make it impractical...

[trigen]

I love it! 

I have plans to do the same with mine and ive done my own AP panel and ICP too.  Ive had nygel on mine for quite some time and i have a counterweight on the throttle arm for perfect balance

[Vekkinho]

Lovely!

[aelfewulf]

Rearranged the positions of the shift registers. Connectors are now more accessible, and wiring is shorter and neater.

 

Here’s the finished setup...

Cougar modded with Vipergear FCC3 White Edition. Those decorative gold screws really create a premium look, don’t they? 
 

And the throttle + MISC Panel 

 

[_Anvil_]

Hello alefewulf,

 

great job, indeed! Can you please offer the details of the componetes you used (a shoplink), and the mmjoy config?

This would be great!

 

Anvil

 

[KulWun]

This looks incredible and with a lot of thought and hard work put into it.

 

If I had the option to buy an "Upgrade Kit" with all of the components and easy to follow instructions. Right now my Cougar is sitting in a box doing nothing and if I had a chance to bring it back to life... Well, I would happily pay for this!

 

Very nice job alefewulf

[aelfewulf]

12 hours ago, _Anvil_ said:

Hello alefewulf,

 

great job, indeed! Can you please offer the details of the componetes you used (a shoplink), and the mmjoy config?

This would be great!

 

Anvil

 

The mod is possible thanks to the PCBs, controllers and sensors by rel4y. For more info u may refer to his thread or drop him a message.

He also provides instructions on how to setup mmjoy2. 

Switches and buttons can be found online at electronics suppliers eg. Mouser, element14 etc. 

[aelfewulf]

As as alternative to the shift registers offered by rel4y, one could also install a Leo Bodnar board.

It can support rotary encoders. So the HDG & CRS will become rotary knobs instead of toggle switches. (even though the tiny flat lip toggle switches works  great for me) 

 

[aelfewulf]

My love for the F16 style throttle continues…

… and this time it’s the ancient, all plastic TM TQS!

 

I’ve upgraded the main throttle axis to hall sensor, using 3D printed parts, Allegro 1324 hall sensor and N52 magnet. 
Powered by Leo Bodnar BU836A + matrix board. All 32 digital inputs, 4 POV and 8 analog axis are fully utilised. 
Acrylic panels are laser cut/marked. The fonts are not perfectly white, but serve the purpose well. 
I especially love the F-ACK and MASTER CAUTION industrial switches… long smooth firm actuation, loud CLICK. I find myself mashing them just for the heck of it LOL

This is WIP…but it’s 95% done. Just need to shorten the bottom row of 4 screws so they don’t stick out. 
Not shown in the above pics are 2 additional push buttons + 3-way pinkie switch on the throttle grip, and a PSP ministick replacement for the red “eraserhead” cursor slew. The ministick performs well in testing, but needs a large dead zone.

I feel this modded TQS looks much cooler than my Cougar mod…what do u guys think?

Will update with  more pics soon!

[aelfewulf]

Red “eraserhead” slew replaced with PSP ministick. Since this ministick doesn’t have a push button, Cursor Enable is now the added blue Omron tactile button. 
 

Another FUN  button is that big black arcade button. 
This is a high quality Japan SANWA part, very reliable and meant to be mashed, abused and slapped. 
That’s why I designed it as the  F16 slap switch (countermeasures program 5). U can literally slap it! Or press and hold to EJECT. 

EDIT: the stock brake pad mechanism totally removed. 
Just the application of Nyogel 767A makes the throttle action feel smooth and dampened. Resistance is easily dialed by tightening/loosening the bottom enclosure screws. Simple.
 

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by aelfewulf

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

11 hours ago, aelfewulf said:

Red “eraserhead” slew replaced with PSP ministick. Since this ministick doesn’t have a push button, Cursor Enable is now the added blue Omron tactile button. 
 

Another FUN  button is that big black arcade button. 
This is a high quality Japan SANWA part, very reliable and meant to be mashed, abused and slapped. 
That’s why I designed it as the  F16 slap switch (countermeasures program 5). U can literally slap it! Or press and hold to EJECT. 

EDIT: the stock brake pad mechanism totally removed. 
Just the application of Nyogel 767A makes the throttle action feel smooth and dampened. Resistance is easily dialed by tightening/loosening the bottom enclosure screws. Simple.
 

 

 

Great projects sir! 

How did you create the ejection command? By arduino coding or dcs lua? 

[aelfewulf]

On 11/9/2021 at 1:00 PM, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

Great projects sir! 

How did you create the ejection command? By arduino coding or dcs lua? 

By using Joystick Gremlin to program keybinds. Short press is one keybind, long press is another keybind. In Falcon BMS it’s even simpler, everything can be setup within the game.

[aelfewulf]

The biggest weakness with the old TM TQS (not Cougar) is the plastic detents.
Firstly the plastic gets worn down, and the detent becomes soft. 
Secondly setting both idle and AB detent shortens the throttle working range.

My solution to this problem: digital detents programmed via Joystick Gremlin.

How does it work? 
Pushing throttle to the max physical limit gives MIL power. Then by pressing a button, the afterburners are engaged. Throttling back disengages it. Quite intuitive actually.

Pros: intuitive, won’t accidentally engage AB or idle cutoff, extended throttle working range + precision

Cons: unrealistic, needs some work to setup via Joystick Gremlin/game controller setup, and AB stages are not simulated

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

For adding pushbuttons and switches, is ordering the bit registers mandatory? 

I already have my cougar upgraded with the new pcb standalone and magnetic sensor