Dear all,
following some really neat piece of info online (https://pit.uriba.org/uriba/standalone-cougar-tqs-part-i/ ), I created my own version of the Thrustmaster Cougar Standalone USB adapter.
Differently from other DIY projects, mine is based on Teensy, which provides two analog input converters, and comes with all the digital I/O needed to cover the Cougar functions.
In the post of my blog you’ll also find the details on how to change the USB device identifier/name so that under Windows it shows up as Cougar instead of Teensy (this step is possibly the most difficult one, and completely eye candy, at the end of the day, possibly an unnecessary headache).
The code, also available, has several features:
- an hardware calibration routine ( so to center the axis and take advantage of their full span ). The calibrated data is saved in the Teensy EEPROM and read at startup.
- axis shaping for the Antenna ( so to have more accuracy in the usable range ±40, and coarse up to ±90)
- axis filtering, thanks to the Teensy high frequency it is possible to filter the reads with only minimal delay
- Dogfight override button (Center button)
- In the calibration routine it is possible to set a value for Idle detent (cut-off), currently that part of the code is commented.
- buttons de-bounce
And I also shared the PCB circuit to seamlessly connect the components, a 3D printable case and other neat features, check it out!
https://giovannimedici.wordpress.com/2020/08/28/standalone-usb-adapter-for-tm-cougar-throttle/