Curiosity Poll - How much did you spent for HOTAS (stick and thruttle)
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The mod was to replace the throttle’s cursor nipple hat, with one similar to the real one.
Before the mod
After
The new cursor hat
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I’d like some pics of your mods, as while I haven’t noticed too much in terms of centering wear, I definitely have noticed the electrical deadzones on each end that still leave a significant amount of pedal travel. Seems like a weird oversight.
ORIGINAL CONDITION
MODDED
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forget to add… stick cost me 220eur (got it very early before main release) . and the mod… uhm …around 120eur -150eur.
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Hey, that reminds me of one of the Evenstrain-inspired Cougar mods! But I thought you were talking about Simped pedal mods, not X-55 ones!
I’ve actually seen similar mods for the Warthog stick to mitigate or eliminate the infamous “stiction”, too. The stick base plate is certainly wide enough for it.
Also, speaking of Warthog throttle slew control mods: the “nipple” is the least of one’s worries with that thing. It just doesn’t travel enough in any given direction, it’s not a force transducer like a real mil-spec slew control (which won’t actually fit in a TM Warthog right grip due to the lever lock and screw wells inside getting in the way of things), and you can’t simply replace it with a more conventional analog stick because it uses some kinda I2S or I2C interface instead of simply being an analog voltage return like a potentiometer wired in voltage divider mode or a Hall effect sensor. But, hey, I bet it’s already a heck of a lot more ergonomic than before!
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simped mod is very simple…but cant bother taking pics … maybe if i have .i make a description (instruction) for you. ok?
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The mod was to replace the throttle’s cursor nipple hat, with one similar to the real one.
Ah, so the entire thing moves now like a hat switch instead of just a “nipple”?
A.S, what is that mod on your joystick? Is it just to increase resisitance to the stick movement?
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Ah, so the entire thing moves now like a hat switch instead of just a “nipple”?
A.S, what is that mod on your joystick? Is it just to increase resisitance to the stick movement?
Exactly. It had to just right in weight, size, design and strength
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Cool!
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Ah, so the entire thing moves now like a hat switch instead of just a “nipple”?
It’s only realistic to block 25 and perhaps early block 40 cursor control. The newer control looks completely different.
Here would be an example of that older throttle grip look.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6164/6169709851_c5728a1e32_z.jpg
The link below shows a picture of the throttle grip with the newer cursor control as well as side by side looks at the older control and the newer one. It states block 50/52 but this was retrofitted to older models as I never worked on a 50/52 myself yet all of the throttle grips I changed towards the end of my F-16 time were definitely of this design.
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Grab any of these that might work -
https://www.shapeways.com/product/6X3VX2CQR/cougar-cursor?optionId=61626021&li=marketplace
https://www.shapeways.com/product/ARG8VEB84/f16-cursor-knob?optionId=59097861&li=marketplace
They can print them in different colors/materials.
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While those shapeways hats look nice, making it work with the pcb’s mini-switch mounting cap and getting the weight correct so it doesnt apply input via gravity is the trick
@Stubbie,
This cursor nipple replacement was for the Warthog throttle, not the Viper TQS.
Heres the real A10’TQuad
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I have one of these caps to replace the DMS on my Warthog stick - haven’t installed yet, but I can testify that the plastic ones are really light. “Gravity drift” shouldn’t be an issue if you use a plastic one.
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AV8R, do you have any how-to pics of replacing the WH throttle cursor? That mod looks quite sweet and if I could have a hat instead of a small nub, I think it’ll make it easier to manipulate, wouldn’t it?
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I have one of these caps to replace the DMS on my Warthog stick - haven’t installed yet, but I can testify that the plastic ones are really light. “Gravity drift” shouldn’t be an issue if you use a plastic one.
The DMS stick switch is a lot different than the WH cursor mini-x-y axes hat.
Im looking forward to your giving it the ole college try, if you’re thinking of repurposing the DMS switch hat for the cursor. (im of the camp that TM chose the nipple over a hat for this very reason.).
Seriously, Im not saying it’s impossible, as we did the replacement with a 3D hat and switch to hat interface cap; but it wasnt without effort. We started mostly from scratch. Which is why i said we learned a bit of what goes into making a grip.
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AV8R, do you have any how-to pics of replacing the WH throttle cursor? That mod looks quite sweet and if I could have a hat instead of a small nub, I think it’ll make it easier to manipulate, wouldn’t it?
We didn’t document all the work we did, but are you asking how to remove the nipple cursor from the throttle handle?
“Easier to manipulate” is 1/2 of the reasons for doing this. Its probably going to be a case by case opinion as to which is “better”, but know the USAF ergonomic engineering chose the bigger hat rather than an eraser head nipple cursor. Keeping in mind pilots wear gloves usually and theres issues using a tiny hat. The other reason for doing this was both realsim and the challenge.
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The DMS stick switch is a lot different than the WH cursor mini-x-y axes hat.
Im looking forward to your giving it the ole college try, if you’re thinking of repurposing the DMS switch hat for the cursor. (im of the camp that TM chose the nipple over a hat for this very reason.).
Seriously, Im not saying it’s impossible, as we did the replacement with a 3D hat and switch to hat interface cap; but it wasnt without effort. We started mostly from scratch. Which is why i said we learned a bit of what goes into making a grip.
No - I just have the cap to get the correct DMS cap on a WH stick for an F-16. What I’d do to replace the mouse stick in the Cougar TQS or WH throttle would be to use a pointing stick - like on a keyboard. Again - no issue with gravity for the plastic switch cap…BTW - the one on the Cougar TQS is metal anyway…so replacing it with a lighter, plastic one would be a total non-issue.
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Started with FLCS and TQS, about $300 in 1996. TOTAL $300
Upped the ante’ to an FLCS Limited and TQS a couple years later. FLCS Limited -$500, TQS $150, and TM RCS $100. Added the sw22 and asked Bob Church to create a calibration routine with “Dead Zones”, that was free and the best thing that happened to that stick until my next-and last step up. TOTAL $750
What I’ve had since 2004: TM Cougar UBER2 NXT. HALL sensors in stick and throttle as well as SIMPEDS (with toe brakes) Errors in manufacturing have been corrected (alignment of the AirBrake switch and the DogFight switches) and I can’t say how many thousands of hours I have, but it’s been a blast! TOTAL $1300.
Accumulative $2350. And my wife knew about it!!! Now how cool is THAT!?? -
Dang cool cause youre a die hard TM dude like me…
I dont EVEN want to add up my TOTAL as it would be evidence in court; but i started with the FCS, WCS and RCS for Falcon3 on Win31 on a 8" color Toshiba laptop with math co-processor, high mem manager, batch file. 14.4kbs hayes modem, paralel gameport interface. Lets say I have a “collection” of just about every upgrade since.
Still have the laptop and F3 still runs. Whoa nelly, have we cone a long way since.
Started with FLCS and TQS, about $300 in 1996. TOTAL $300
Upped the ante’ to an FLCS Limited and TQS a couple years later. FLCS Limited -$500, TQS $150, and TM RCS $100. Added the sw22 and asked Bob Church to create a calibration routine with “Dead Zones”, that was free and the best thing that happened to that stick until my next-and last step up. TOTAL $750
What I’ve had since 2004: TM Cougar UBER2 NXT. HALL sensors in stick and throttle as well as SIMPEDS (with toe brakes) Errors in manufacturing have been corrected (alignment of the AirBrake switch and the DogFight switches) and I can’t say how many thousands of hours I have, but it’s been a blast! TOTAL $1300.
Accumulative $2350. And my wife knew about it!!! Now how cool is THAT!?? -
I knew I couldn’t be the only one that was this devoted, but I never thought I’d see someone else with MORE commitment than I! As for evidence, I said my wife knew about it, but didn’t say she liked it! She “tolerated it”.
Her favorite pastime came right after I got VAC. She’d sneak into the office, wait until JUST ThE WRONG MOMENT, and shout out EJECT EJECT EJECT!!! Then laugh all the way down the hallway while my carcass floated to earth…
ahem, notice I’m speaking of her as my wife in the “PAST TENSE”….feel free to fill in the detailsDang cool cause youre a die hard TM dude like me…
I dont EVEN want to add up my TOTAL as it would be evidence in court; but i started with the FCS, WCS and RCS for Falcon3 on Win31 on a 8" color Toshiba laptop with math co-processor, high mem manager, batch file. 14.4kbs hayes modem, paralel gameport interface. Lets say I have a “collection” of just about every upgrade since.
Still have the laptop and F3 still runs. Whoa nelly, have we cone a long way since.
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Used to have issues with She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed and she’d get all pouty and grumpy whenever I’d get a new game or new PC hardware. A long, long time ago, she would even ask why I wasn’t like all the other “normal” guys who’d just play basketball with friends; all her highschool girl friends had boyfriends/partners/husbands who would get together and play every weekend. After quite a few of them ended up separating when they found out that their boyfriend/partner/husband were playing with “different balls” , SWMBO finally learned to appreciate my hobby.
At least with this hobby, every purchase had a tangible product –- I wasn’t spending money on someo ther broad.
At least with this hobby, I may spend 4-6 hours flying, but I was just in the upstairs gaming room and she could check on me anytime.
At least with this hobby, there is a pause button… well, on most games anyway. She soon learned the difference between SP and MP.The downside is that she is now TOO supportive. Sometimes, when I’m itching to get a new bit of kit and I’m not too sure about the “value” of it vs. the monetary cost, her “support” doesn’t help me make up my mind at all. At the moment, I’m considering buying an FSSB or FCC mod and still can’t make up my mind which one to get or to wait for a new version… but I already have clearance for the purchase.