Joystick mods

[julian265]

Originally Posted by jimbop

Thanks - I've just been thinking about using a U-joint or similar for building a stick and now I know I'm not crazy... A car U-joint seems a bit excessive though? What about a tie rod end or something?

Is that yours in the link?

Yes, that's my stick.

There's no such thing as excessive when it comes to human input devices!
Also my stick uses the weight (inertia) to give it a more realistic feel.

People have also used motorbike u-joints, which are smaller but can still retain the hollow cross-piece / spider. You might also check out steering u-joints, although they won't have the axis holes, but the metal might be soft enough to drill and tap, unlike u-joint's cross-piece.

IIRC all the completely custom built gimbals are larger than these u-joints, but of course they are made to perfectly suit the base, grip and sensors.

A tie rod end's movement isn't separated nicely into two axes (also it can rotate in the Z axis), so you'd find it harder to measure the X and Y rotation with sensors, whereas a u-joint has done it already. However, there are three axis sensors that can deal witht this method.

[JumpingHubert]

@julian
i´ve overlook your brilliant solution with the u-joint. Wow!

[julian265]

Originally Posted by JumpingHubert

@julian
i´ve overlook your brilliant solution with the u-joint. Wow!

Thanks. It's not just mine - there are a few around.

[jimbop]

Originally Posted by julian265

Yes, that's my stick.

There's no such thing as excessive when it comes to human input devices!
Also my stick uses the weight (inertia) to give it a more realistic feel.

People have also used motorbike u-joints, which are smaller but can still retain the hollow cross-piece / spider. You might also check out steering u-joints, although they won't have the axis holes, but the metal might be soft enough to drill and tap, unlike u-joint's cross-piece.

IIRC all the completely custom built gimbals are larger than these u-joints, but of course they are made to perfectly suit the base, grip and sensors.

A tie rod end's movement isn't separated nicely into two axes (also it can rotate in the Z axis), so you'd find it harder to measure the X and Y rotation with sensors, whereas a u-joint has done it already. However, there are three axis sensors that can deal witht this method.

Thanks julian265, interesting stuff. How do you find the transition between axes? Is there resistance which favours a particular axis when you gently move diagonally from the centre? Difficult to explain what I mean...

[JumpingHubert]

not perfect centered but better as nothing http://www.overclock.net/case-mod-wo...t-case-14.html

[julian265]

Originally Posted by jimbop

Thanks julian265, interesting stuff. How do you find the transition between axes? Is there resistance which favours a particular axis when you gently move diagonally from the centre? Difficult to explain what I mean...

I know exactly what you mean - I noticed it very much with my CH flightstick pro (although I quite liked it that way).

I see it as the static friction exceeding the dynamic friction in the bearings (as is normal), so an axis takes more effort to get moving than to keep moving, which makes the stick feel like it prefers to travel along one axis rather than at small diagonal angles.

I can feel this tendency in my uni-joint stick a bit, although I have my bearings adjusted fairly tight so that it can hold it's position (I never bothered with centering springs) and provide more resistance. See the attached image, taken from the JoyTest2 program. If the tendency was stronger, you'd see straighter lines more aligned with the axes.

If you want to avoid the axis-hugging tendency, adjust the bearing cups to get the desired (lack of) friction. Uni-joints use roller bearings, so you should be able to pretty much remove the tendency. Also, use thin or no oil in the bearings. You'll probably need something to keep the stick centered, such as springs if you do it this way.

[Sokol1]

A squad mate DIY HOTAS with U-Joint gimbal per Julian .PDF.


http://www.gavca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=18154

USB Controller L.Bodnar BU0836, Allegro A1321EUAT HALL sensor in X, Y, thottle1, 2 and rudder, slide trim's with pots.


No disassemble U-join need - in this pictures HALL not adjusted (too far from magnet).

No springs, use homemade damper with silicone as fluid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za5us...layer_embedded

Grip made in fiberglass, using a wooden model:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6002358...097065/detail/

Sokol1

[jimbop]

Very helpful, thanks Sokol. I'm now working on a custom stick using one of Leo Bodnar's BU0836X boards and an old quad bike uni joint. Will update when I'm a bit further along - taking longer than I expected due to life getting in the way!

[jimbop]

I know that BU0836X has 32 buttons plus hat available (yeah, should be enough I know) but has anyone used something like autohotkey to map the output of this board to keystrokes? That way you could assign a couple of the digital inputs to Control and Shift and use double-wired combinations to create even more buttons or switches. Then you would map the keystrokes in CoD.

[Sokol1]

I know that BU0836X has 32 buttons plus hat available (yeah, should be enough I know) but has anyone used something like autohotkey to map the output of this board to keystrokes? That way you could assign a couple of the digital inputs to Control and Shift and use double-wired combinations to create even more buttons or switches. Then you would map the keystrokes in CoD.

Yes, you can use Autohotkey(advanced macros), or SVMapper (allow profiles), Joytokey (allow 16 modes), Xpader (payware)... to program BU0836 (or another USB Controller) buttons as keystrokes.

BTW - To tune axis range, set deadband, response curves, use DView or DXTweak2.

Sokol1