Cogar Throttle Mod (MiG Theme)

WIP pictures of a MiG themed Cougar Throttle:

24 Switches (4 rotary positions, 10 SPST, 5 SPDT) 2 encoders with push-button, 3 axes, Pro-Micro bypass to make throttle grip standalone, handmade shift register circuit-board with 3x 74hc595 shift registers + original switches and microstick in grip. Leonardo for the base switches and encoders. MMjoy2 firmware used in both.

So far only 4 positions of the rotary switch are connected as another shift register will be needed for the remaining 8 positions. In an effort to reduce wires all switches are grounded to the conductive case through diodes. Two ground wires run from the interior case to the shift register board to complete the circuit.

The first mod (14 switches, 3 axes) worked well but the button matrix was too messy and I wanted to modify the throttle/base further to look like something from the cockpit of a MiG fighter.

First Mod:

very effective! but it looks like a phone

Throttle near completion.

The Leonardo will be swapped out for another pro-micro to save space, one more shift register will be added in the future.

I like the buttons under the throttle. I can see that as being very handy.

What controllers card for your extra switches and rotaries ?

MiG throttle? Need an "afterburner" "trigger". :D

What controllers card for your extra switches and rotaries ?

All of the switches in the base (except encoders) are connected to a shift register circuit board. The shift register circuit board and encoders are connected to an Arduino Leonardo, the 2 encoders (one in base and one in throttle handle) are connected in a button matrix.

MiG throttle? Need an "afterburner" "trigger".

 

The throttle has a built-in detent which is currently turned around and disabled, an idea I have is to add a switch to the throttle cylinder and have a diode wire make contact to the internal base when the throttle passes the detent, completing the circuit and activating the mapped afterburner key.

Keypad reintegrated to throttle base. Faceplate was spray-painted to match throttle base, backing of keypad was also removed to reduce height. Still deciding if I want to repaint the throttle grip to a steel like color or leave as is.

very impressive

Added a fourth shift register for 7 rotary switch positions (left one position disconnected for an off state), added two force-sensing resistors under the throttle grip in attempt to replicate the function of the "rudder rocker" or "toggle rudder of X-45 HOTAS and TWCS throttle.

Fourth shift register and circuit board (bottom left)

Force-sensing resistor circuit board for the 10k resistors, 5v, ground and output wires.

Force-sensing resistors mounted under grip with wires running down the inside of the grip support and into the base.

Force-sensing resistors now share an axis and work as I originally intended them to. In order to do that I had to take out the circuit board I made earlier and replace it with a newly built one.

The design and testing:

Sockets were installed so different resistors or a wire could be inserted and used to adjust the force needed to reach min and max value of the axis.

Work resumes again on the Cougar Throttle this time the shift register board was rebuilt for a new more compact design. Extra 5v and ground pins were added and resistor arrays were used for compactness. Soldering went better this time around though still tedious. Tested and works great so far.

Next step is replacement of the old throttle potentiometer with a TLE5010 magnetoresistive angle sensor. I tried to replace it earlier with a hall sensor but couldn't get it to work correctly. So far this new sensor is working excellent in the test setup, it's very sensitive to magnetic fields and has good resolution.

Really awesome ... love the keypad onto the throttle, very neat.

Design and construction of TLE5010 adapter and circuit board:

The TLE5010 is a surface mounted chip so an adapter was used to attach to the perfboard. The adapter was mounted on top with a piece of paper sandwiched in-between to prevent short circuits since both sides of adapter contain circuits and solder points.

Installation:

The metal potentiometer bracket had to be cut back to fit the sensor module and diametric magnet. A piece of wood was wedged in the space between the throttle end bracket and sensor, hot glued in place and sensor wires zip-tied to hold the top. Works so far but a better installation method may be needed if it comes loose.

Throttle base interior after 3rd rebuild:

The Arduino Leonardo was replace with a smaller pro-micro, potentiometer wires all replaced around case, a dual pot from an old radio was installed, force sensing resistor circuit board connected to original throttle potentiometer connector, a strip of wood placed to hold the shift register board back for the throttle cylinder, and switch diodes all connected together with ground wires instead of directly to case interior.