DIY Doorgun Project for VR use

[hannibal]

im using A1324 hall sensor from digikey (after trying 2 other models from digikey, and one other from amazon) 

i found a method with 2x 6mm magnets.

i have to say, the response is amazing. i tested the hall sensor as is, no amps (maybe there is an amp inside, i dont know.... but what ever the IC is connected to a leo bodnar BU0386, is working amazingly well

i have no complaints.. i only wish i started to use this in my other projects!

Edited March 8, 2023 by hannibal

[edmuss]

I might grab an allegro sensor from Leo Bodnar (3 quid with free postage as a test) to see if it gives a finer response.  I would imagine that the sensors I have don't have an amplifier, they were about a quid each on ebay!

I don't have a real world issue with the reponse I get from my rudder pedals, they seem plenty fine enough but more control can't hurt!  If there is a significant difference then I'll invest the huge expenditure in the a full set of the allegro sensors for the collective (when I design it) and the rudders

[Thadiun Okona]

2 hours ago, edmuss said:

I might grab an allegro sensor from Leo Bodnar (3 quid with free postage as a test) to see if it gives a finer response.  I would imagine that the sensors I have don't have an amplifier, they were about a quid each on ebay!

I don't have a real world issue with the reponse I get from my rudder pedals, they seem plenty fine enough but more control can't hurt!  If there is a significant difference then I'll invest the huge expenditure in the a full set of the allegro sensors for the collective (when I design it) and the rudders

A1324 is a more suitable sensor for use in joysticks/cockpit projects. People really latched onto the 1302 and I think gravitate towards it because that's what they've seen used and that's what LB sells but it lacks sensitivity. This makes it req 180deg movement for a full voltage swing. That means you are only going to use a fraction of your controller's resolution when using the much smaller arc any joystick or joystick adjacent device will be moving. A1324 is 5mv/Guass and you get a full swing out of 90deg, A1302 is 1.3mv/gauss.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Thadiun Okona

[hannibal]

Running into issue with my design. Looking more I will have to go analog pot for the bottom portion of gimble. Since I have to route wires through center of the gimble..that makes is hard to place the magnet and hall sensor..

Yea.. going potentiometer..I don't want to go crazy looking for solution

Edited March 8, 2023 by hannibal

[edmuss]

3 hours ago, Thadiun Okona said:

A1324 is a more suitable sensor for use in joysticks/cockpit projects. People really latched onto the 1302 and I think gravitate towards it because that's what they've seen used and that's what LB sells but it lacks sensitivity. This makes it req 180deg movement for a full voltage swing. That means you are only going to use a fraction of your controller's resolution when using the much smaller arc any joystick or joystick adjacent device will be moving. A1324 is 5mv/Guass and you get a full swing out of 90deg, A1302 is 1.3mv/gauss.

 

Thank you very much for the insight, I'll give the A1324 a shot

edit: not a single place in the UK that has them in stock for less than 10 quid a sensor

Edited March 8, 2023 by edmuss

[hannibal]

Work still continues on top gimbal.. as I design bottom gimbal on tinker cad.

will share stl files for the gimbal when its functional. hefty print job!

Edited March 9, 2023 by hannibal

[hannibal]

Top gimbal assembly instructions

 

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by hannibal

[hannibal]

fastened the grip assembly to the top gimbal

[Thadiun Okona]

1 hour ago, hannibal said:

fastened the grip assembly to the top gimbal

This reminded me of a mounted machine gun simulator some defense contractor was making for the Army I saw when I was doing some field work.. they took one of the small Buttkicker shakers and mounted it at the tip of the gun to simulate the recoil from firing. It was turned so the piston travel was inline with the barrel.

[hannibal]

8 hours ago, Thadiun Okona said:

This reminded me of a mounted machine gun simulator some defense contractor was making for the Army I saw when I was doing some field work.. they took one of the small Buttkicker shakers and mounted it at the tip of the gun to simulate the recoil from firing. It was turned so the piston travel was inline with the barrel.

 

that is what im planning to do, mount a buttkicker along with audio isolater device which i made with a relay that turns on the buttkicker (in conjuntion with simshaker) only when the trigger is activated. 

else the buttkicker will go off anytime any of the guns of Huey are fired.

Edited March 13, 2023 by hannibal

[Dogmanbird]

Looks great Hannibal!

I wish there was a dedicated 60's era multiplayer server that was well populated and ready for this kind of action

[hannibal]

3 hours ago, Dogmanbird said:

Looks great Hannibal!

I wish there was a dedicated 60's era multiplayer server that was well populated and ready for this kind of 

If not today. May be servers will populate when they release the ch47 chinook

Edited March 15, 2023 by hannibal

[hannibal]

Gimbal assembly continues

 

[hannibal]

At 80 percent completion.

Hope to rock the DIY on DCS soon

 

[hannibal]

Messy wiring.. what happens when you incorporate too many buttons

 

[corbu1]

This is an amazing device!!!

[hannibal]

i just completed most of the build with only making the base plate and mounting a buttkicker left.

happy to say that the doorgun is electrically functional

will be sharing the remainder of the stl files for this doorgun project.

i need a break after this build..

Edited March 25, 2023 by hannibal

[corbu1]

You will mount a buttkicker to it? That is awesome I‘d wish I could shoot a few rounds with it. I Imagine that must be freakin amazing  

[Dogmanbird]

You must have put some time into it. I can't wait to see the final product in action! 

Did you end up using pots or manage to get hall effect sensors working the way you wanted?

The one I made uses a Chinese 3D hall effect project board. Unfortunately the pickup area is circular, therefore I could only achieve full resolution in up/down/left/right, but not diagonals. Therefore had to keep magnet movement range within the black square area below and I lost about 35% resolution overall. It's still enough to to have some fun.

I was trying to build something quickly and  found it easier to have the magnets fixed to the shaft and have the 3d board move about, 

https://i.imgur.com/RXjLWdb.mp4

[hannibal]

2 hours ago, Dogmanbird said:

You must have put some time into it. I can't wait to see the final product in action! 

Did you end up using pots or manage to get hall effect sensors working the way you wanted?

The one I made uses a Chinese 3D hall effect project board. Unfortunately the pickup area is circular, therefore I could only achieve full resolution in up/down/left/right, but not diagonals. Therefore had to keep magnet movement range within the black square area below and I lost about 35% resolution overall. It's still enough to to have some fun.

I was trying to build something quickly and  found it easier to have the magnets fixed to the shaft and have the 3d board move about, 

https://i.imgur.com/RXjLWdb.mp4

Wow. Like wow. 

I thought I was the only one crazy to build a doorgun. My doorguns can traverse a range of 270 degrees.

But for DCS world, the huey uh1h door guns have a much less traverse range of somewhere  100 degrees. 

You don't need alot of traverse / slew in dcs uh1h. Ill make a video on how to tune a doorgun to function good enough for a great VR experience.

You have made my morning @Dogmanbird

By the way how does your doorgun build respond in windows game controller properties? Like any other joystick, it has to be functional in windows before you can even begin to deal with a game

Also note on the hall effect. The sensor I used worked perfectly (A1432, digikey part number 620-1432-ND). The kicker is I was only able to use it for the top gimbal. I had to use conventional pot for the bottom gimbal since the wires went through the center of the gimbal axis

Edited March 25, 2023 by hannibal

[Dogmanbird]

 

Yes, it all works as a game device joystick. The sensor and buttons are attached to an Arduino pro micro running mmjoy2

ive got it set for full coverage for what the huey door gunner needs, but that s all. If I had to go wider, there's not enough resolution and it gets a bit jittery. Two amped hall sensors based around each axis would be ideal.

I'm sure you could do it on your build with a pair of moving magnets on each axis, each side of the hall sensors. North facing one side of sensor and south facing the other side. I mad a joystick gimbal just like this that work fine  The raw data might not be perfectly linear, but if you've got enough resolution, you could apply a curve.

Alternatively, you could use a magneto resistive sensor (mars), similar to what VKB use. They are based on rotation and results are quite linear.  They come in an analogue and digital version. 

 

 You've done such a great job of everything   

Edited March 25, 2023 by Dogmanbird

[hannibal]

As mentioned ur suggested diagram i can not impement because there are wires going through the center. If i made a simpler grip, maybe it is possible. Going thru my center is the wiring for 12 buttons on the spade grip, and wiring for the top hall effect sensor. I wanted to route speaker cable through it, but i had to abandon that idea.

Make a video of your doorgun in action..

@Dogmanbird

we need a diy doorgun joystick group! More dcs world controlled turrets and doorguns! 

[Dogmanbird]

ah, ok. Sorry might have missed that bit.

Though if the sensor is amplified, you may be able to extend the magnets beyond the centre pivot point, so there's room for wires, and still have the resolution. Stacking the magnets on top of each other or side by side can help increase range, up to a point. You have the advantage of using non metallic parts too. A raised bracket leaving room for wires to pass through, could also work for a mars sensor

but like you mentioned, if 270 degrees of pan as a non huey usable gun is needed, for ground troops and trucks etc, there's probably not a hall effect solution without adding gearing 

a group would be cool  

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Dogmanbird

[hannibal]

5 hours ago, Dogmanbird said:

https://i.imgur.com/RXjLWdb.mp4

 

im still impressed by your build! show it in action, mister!

[hannibal]

showing how i get some..

made a shout to you @Dogmanbird!

Edited March 27, 2023 by hannibal