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Thrustmaster mods --------------------------------------------- F/A-18C (Hornet) grip upgrades OTTO P1 push buttons | OTTO T4 trim switch | OTTO T5 sensor control switch F-16C (Cougar) grip upgrades OTTO P1 push buttons A-10C (Warthog) grip OTTO P1 push buttons | OTTO T4 trim switch | OTTO T4/T5 hat switches for TMS/DMS/CMS A-10C (Warthog) throttle NEW--> Full mil-spec switch upgrade [OTTO, Cutler-Hammer, Honeywell, Mason] --------------------------------------------- Just a heads up, guys - the friendly engineers at Thrustmaster made it easy to swap their stock TM buttons with OTTO buttons to massively improve the clickity on the new Hornet grip same as what you can do on the Warthog grip. I opted for the 2.5 lbs actuation force for the pinkie and full 4 lbs for the pickle button. OTTO product numbers are P1-11111 and P1-11121 respectively: Here we go mashing buttons on the grip like a fool. No trouble reaching anything. Disassembly of the grip is pretty straightforward but you will run the risk of bricking it and you will probably void your warranty. First remove the paddle lever by unclipping the c clip and pushing the shaft pin out. There’s a spring in there and a small washer on the shaft. Unscrew the three hex bolts in the handle and pop the cover off. One of my bolts wanted to stay in the grip. Unscrew the PCB and push it out of the way. Unscrew the neck part that’s held in by a single bolt that also holds the ground wire and a small lock ring. Disconnect the pinkie button connector from the PCB and pop the button out through the front by pushing in the tabs on either side. You may need to rotate the button in place with pliers to be able to access both tabs. Cut the wires, strip the ends and solder them onto the OTTO button. You’ll want as much wire as possible for the new button as it can get a little tight in there. The OTTO button has a smaller diameter than the TM button so wrap some electrician’s tape around it; press it into the grip and connect it to the PCB. Fasten the neck part and PCB back into the grip and move on to the top part. Unscrew the two outer screws in the top part and pop the plastic top back and rotate it out of the way. The pickle button should be easy to pop out by pressing the two tabs in. Note that you have to cut the wires before removing this button, unless you want to try to disconnect it at the main PCB and re-threading the wire back down the neck of the grip. Replace it with the OTTO button same way as the pinkie button: leave as much wire in place in the grip as possible and use electrician’s tape to make a tight fit. You could file down the contacts or remove some plastic backing in the grip at this point if you want to set the OTTO button as deep as the stock button. I didn’t do it so mine sits at a very slight angle. Be careful not to pinch the flimsy wires and screw the top part and cover back on the grip. The paddle lever goes on last and it can be a bit tricky to get the spring seated correctly. Upgrade complete! Here's a short video showing how to get the paddle lever spring back on: In terms of difficulty I’d say this is easier than modding the Warthog since there’s fewer buttons to mess with. I suppose you could change the spring or the tact switch on the Hornet paddle lever but it’s not going to be as much of an upgrade as what’s possible on the warthog with a P1-11122. Compared to the Cougar though this is a walk in the park. Seriously. Don’t mess with the Cougar like I did. It takes a lot of Dremel grinding to fit the OTTOs in there and the result is not going to be as neat as what’s easily possible on the Warthog. Also, the new pinkie switch gets in the way of the paddle switch since they’re much closer together. Well, good luck if you decide to mess with your grips!
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--------------------------------------------- Warthog throttle Upgrading the throttle panels NEW-> Upgrading the outboard (left) grip Warthog, Hornet and Cougar stick grips Mil-spec upgrades for Thrustmaster stick grips --------------------------------------------- I've upgraded all switches to mil-spec on the Warthog throttle to improve the switch feel and make it more functionally realistic. This is probably only of interest if you really like the A-10C. This includes mil-spec locking and standard Eaton/Cutler-Hammer switches on the panel, the locking flap switch, OTTO push buttons and a functioning Honeywell mag switch. I had to provide 12VDC and install an Arduino running DCS-BIOS and a MOSFET circuit to control and sync the mag switch with DCS. Due to the size of the mag switch I had to extend the height of the throttle body with a simple 3D printed frame. On the throttle grips I put in all Eaton/Cutler-Hammer and one Honeywell toggle switch, OTTO hat switches and push button, and a Mason force transducer slew control out of a real F15 throttle unit. The force transducer is interfaced directly with the throttle using a small prototype PCB from Deltasim. I couldn't fit the whole mechanism from the F15 so I dropped the push functionality. It does exist in the real A-10C AFAIK but it is unused so not a great loss. While I was at it, I rewired the panel backlight to the Arduino I needed for the mag switch. This allows the LEDS to be directly synchronized with the in-game panel light intensity using DCS-BIOS. We included the actual brightness parameter in the latest DCS BIOS module for the A-10C. We have it for the Hornet as well in the DCSflightpanels branch. Here's a short video showcasing the look and feel of the switches. I've listed the switches I used, what they are in the real jet (based on Deadman's list) and some Honeywell alternatives at the end that are readily available from e.g. mouser.com This mod is neither cheap nor easy to do. It could be argued that it is in fact totally unnecessary and I would for sure have loved to convert a real throttle unit instead and it probably would have been cheaper. Good luck finding one though I intend to post a more in-depth guide to the various mods later - here's the short version for now: Rip out all switches and sub PCBs Poke it a bit with a Dremel tool Install new switches and wire them up You're golden
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