Getting my toebrakes full up: TUSBA or RUSBA?
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The deadzone, was rewrited a few days a go, because a customer suggestion, and was implemented in the new HID DEV TOOL. Is the program that send this imformation to the R2, and will be released in a few days, just as today is in test by some owners. to check that work outside the laboratory like inside. and as soon as the owner, will give us its OK, we will release it.
This is good to know. I also use the R2 with the Cougar TQS and Warthog stick. Setting the deadzones for the TUSBA via the HID DEV TOOL is currently easy to do. But, It takes some fiddiling around with to get it just right. As they are set the deadzones are not where you think they are.
Here is a pic for the TUSBA -
I think this actually varies from Cougar to Cougar…I have three Cougar throttles and no two are the same. Something I’d really like to try is to get rid of the mouse stick that is in there for the radar cursor control and replace it with a pointing stick unit - the little force-sensing nub that is found on some PC keyboards. That thing behaves more like the actual switch in an airplane as it is, and probably also has a more positive center point.
Not sure about how I’d do the Enable function though…but I’m thinking about it.
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This is the first Id heard of the ministick having a short/nonexistent throw in the jet?
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Yes - if you’ve ever had your hands on one of these cursor control switches (I have, in a few places) they are similar to the force sensing stick or one of these mouse-stick gismos. In fact, the first time I ever encountered one of these mouse sticks the first thing I thought of was how it was like the TDC in the Hornet. Think about it - if you were pulling Gs and had to move the cursor using something as sloppy as what’s in the Cougar TQS, you’d have a pretty hard time at it.
Looking around, I just now did manage to find a “pointing stick module” - which is what these are called - that is x-y-z capable…I’m sure the z axis throw isn’t realistic for TQS purposes, but I’ll take it over the stock Cougar mouse stick as far as performance goes.
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I see your point there, but in fairness I dont think you should be needing to mess with the cursor whilst yanking and banking anyway.
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You might think that, but given that you can slew some of the the radar ACM mode scan volumes and a few other RL things like that I might postulate, I’d beg to differ…
…besides, I even asked RedDog at one point about doing a mod to the mouse stick/button to make the throw stiffer/less “fast” in the quest for “realisimo”, and he didn’t flat tell me I was on the wrong track…or that I might hurt the mouse stick.
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I could see it being useful for ACM SLEW. Not a lot else coming to mind, so please feel free to expound on that a little [emoji14]
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You’re on the right track Stevie And if you succeed I’d be interested to follow the same path
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Thanks, RedDog…
BTW, I found these the other night -
http://sprintek.com/products/sk8702.aspx
and have been wondering if I could simply replace the mouse stick with it, given that it also behaves like a mouse - it even has a Z axis; probably not realistic in throw, but I’d get the function. All I’d need to is make a realistic cap, or fit the Cougar cap to it and…far more realistic controller. Still noodling pinouts.
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Seems like its a higher level device than you really want? Don’t you want the stick part without the IC and PS2 interface? I guess you could strip those parts off it if it works as a variable resistor, and wire it to the cougar in place of the ministick pots. That would still leave the z axis though.
Mebbe its worth starting a thread to brainstorm about it?
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It’s a matter of how it’s interfaced, really. If I can get away with stripping the PCB then yes - that will not only make things easier, I expect it will also make it easier to fit inside the TQS grip. But if the pinout for x-y-z runs though that little PCB then I will have to use it somehow…I have the datasheet for the device but it isn’t quite clear on that how it’s pinned out. I’m still researching.
It may also be cheaper to just plain cannibalize one out of a second-hand keyboard. In any case, I need to get hold of one and figure out how it’s actually pinned by reading it out probably. I have a Cougar TQS that I’ve converted for standalone USB operation using a Bodner board so I can s it with my iMac and FAF - this is the one I’d likely experiment with since I already have the connections broken out. I have three Cougar throttles, so I have some room for maneuver.
Edit: Ok…after looking at the datasheet again I think I know how to take this thing apart and pin it. It looks like it is just screwed into the plate that holds it to the PCB, and that the four solder points are x, y, z, and ground…the excitation voltage and ground come in at PCB contacts 1 ad 2, and VCC must be applied through the case/bracket. On the face of things this looks to me like it could be a pretty straight-forward mod, electrically speaking.