Throttle friction mod
-
Hi folks,
a friend of mine (cougar owner) is looking for a way to increase the throttle friction on the cougar (it’s worn down so much that the throttle grip regularly falls into either AB or idle from its sheer weight), and it would be great to replace the pots with higher resolution ones (I think the cougar has 256 values while the WT has 16k, right?).
The latter one would not be required but it’d be great if the throttle would stick to its position again. Thanks in advance for any ideas!
Uwe
-
I put sone discs cutted out of plastic sheets under the cougar friction wheel.
-
-
Its not the “pot” that define’s the resolution of the output, its the “Analogue to Digital” converter (ADC/DAC) in the throttle/Stick.
I imagine it could be possible to find better quality pots to use but it won’t change the definition.
-
Personally, I see zero difference between a Hall pot mod and an upgrade to 12 bit over 10 bit resolution by modding a TQS with a Bodner board. The difference in smoothness and precision of 12 bits over 10 is immediately notable.
-
If you’re looking for cheap and easy, I just removed the brake shoe and made two passes around it with black nylon electrical tape and wiped some of the existing lube on the tape and put it back together. Happy with the results and it has been that way for a couple of years now. Works great. Just make sure there are no wrinkles in the tape on the friction side.
YMMV
-
Having modded my cougar throttle quite a bit, here’s what I recommend:
- pick up some nyogel 767a. I went through several different lubes trying to find a substitute, but there really isn’t a good one.
- degrease the entire assembly with rubbing alcohol.
- lube the axle, bearing caps, and friction brake surfaces liberally with 767a.
- stick a washer under the friction brake adjustment wheel
- use a dremel to machine out some clearance in the bottom housing for the extra height of the adjustment wheel. This is critical, as the wheel will bottom out on the housing otherwise.
Once you’re done, you’ll have buttery smooth throttle action with no stiction and enough resistance to keep the throttle from moving on its own.
As a side note, I also rotated the idle detent ring to match the AB detent, which provided a stronger AB detent. I don’t use the idle detent, as it’s never been strong enough to prevent accidental shut down while slamming the throttle around during flight.
-
If you’re looking for cheap and easy, I just removed the brake shoe and made two passes around it with black nylon electrical tape and wiped some of the existing lube on the tape and put it back together. Happy with the results and it has been that way for a couple of years now. Works great. Just make sure there are no wrinkles in the tape on the friction side.
YMMV
This seems the easiest and cheapest fix thanks.