TM Cougar Throttle to USB standalone conversion - selling spare PCBs

[rel4y]

I had a TM Cougar Throttle laying around which was collecting dust as it uses some weird VGA COM port connection and there is no way to connect it to USB without that really expensive TUSBA Adapter. So I had a look at the Throttle with my trusty multimeter and decoded the pins on the mainboard.



First I completely disassembled the Throttle. I then removed the 16 pin to VGA connector cable as well as the 22 pin mainboard to Throttle connector. Notice the diode array on the lower half of the mainboard. The 3 cables from the white JST go to the throttle axis pot.



I also removed the afterburner and idle detent while I was at it.



I then wired the connections with some Dupont cables from the Arduino to the 16 pin header connector on the mainboard. Next I glued the Dupont cable arrangement on the mainboard in place with some hot glue so the connectors cant fall apart again and let the past 3 hours go to waste. The same was done on the Arduino side.



Final step was to set up MMJoy2 with all the correct pins and find out how the buttonmarix is arranged in detail. This took some trial and error, but wasnt to hard. In the Windows device manager pots, hat and buttons show up and work perfectly.



Because a mess of wires is not very elegant, I sat down and made a nice PCB based design. The benefit is that it is not only very neat and tidy, but also there is room for expansion. I added a 5 pin expansion bay on the very left which allow for either 2 extra axis or connection of a shift register board (4021 or 74HC165) for addition of up to 96 buttons or 48 encoders or some wild mix. Axis resolution is 10 Bit (1024 points) and with addition of a MCP3208 chip I could theoretically up it to 12 Bit like the TUSBA, but I honestly dont see the point in this. 1024 points is plenty as resolution will rather be limited by your hand/ fingers angular movement possibilities considering pots and ministick having very small levers.



The small PCB basically sits piggyback on top of the 16 pin connector and the USB cable will go out the same port where the VGA cable went through. The mod is 100% reversible and plug in, load MMJoy profile and play. I am very pleased with the results. I have the PCBs on order, but that may still take some weeks.

[Baffin]

Remarkable! You might want to post this in classifieds so it doesn't "Time Out". Good luck with sales.

[ATAG_Highseas]

Awesome post!

[rel4y]

Thanks guys! I dont really plan to sell these commercially, just the surplus ones.

MMJoy2 is a project of MegaMozg and I dont want to take credit away from him or infringe his terms of use. While technically the hardware/PCB design is mine and I could sell it freely, without the software it is useless. Everybody who is interested in this kit needs to install MMJoy by himself on the Arduino. Now this is luckily rather easy business and afterwards one only has to load my profile for plug and play action.

Somehow the pictures are messed up.. I guess postimage is having troubles.

[1lokos]

A bit late, but is a 4x3 matrix:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php...12&postcount=4

[1lokos]

Antenna and Range pot' with TLE501x.

[1lokos]

BTW - Want a "vintage" FSX throttle?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-SAF...MAAOSw9gRaMBM9

The price is of antiquity.

[rel4y]

I guess I should have googled a bit more before starting the project, then I would have found all the info without a few hours use of a multimeter.. That thread on the eagle forums could have been started a day earlier as well.

https://pit.uriba.org/uriba/standalo...ar-tqs-part-i/

Good work on the TLEs, though I think they are a bit of a waste on these pots. I have several TLE5011s in my main joystick axis where they really shine. Currently I am working on 3D printed hall sensor pots based on Allegro 1324s for the Cougar. I have previously made some for the larger CH pots which work pretty well overall, but I still have to make a few design changes. Hopefully next week I find the time to finish these, but I always have to wait for shapeways to ship.

That vintage throttle.. lol 550$, sure!

[1lokos]

Rel4y

Take a look in AS5600 "12-bit Programmable Contactless Potentiometer", this sensor model allow program their "electric angle" - one time, with option to do without specific I2C programmer, that is not too expensive.


http://ams.com/eng/Products/Magnetic-Position-Sensors

http://ams.com/eng/Products/Magnetic...On-Axis/AS5600

https://www.mouser.com/ds/2/588/AS56...ual-948143.pdf

Order a sample: http://ams.com/eng/Products/Magnetic...On-Axis/AS5600

How to program:



A trim wheel for flight games made with similar AMS sensor:

http://robdobson.com/2017/04/flight-trim/

[rel4y]

After getting rid of the initial 2 spare PCBs rather quickly I redesigned the PCB to be a lot more powerful. In principal it still does the same thing, but there are a lot more options and expansion possibilities now. I currently have a small batch on order.

So first of all I added an MCP3202 dual channel ADC. I initially said I dont see the sense in this, but more options are always better, right? So now the main throttle axis and the antenna range dial can easily be made 12 Bit (4096 points). In case you deem 10 Bit (1024 points) are enough, you can simply bridge these via two 0 Ohm resistors. Furthermore there is the possibility to add shift registers with up to 100+ buttons, encoders, etc and to add digital or analog axis. Initially there was the possibility to add shift regs or two analog axis. Now a 14 Bit TLE501x can be added as all the necessary SPI pins are provided.

The expansion possibilities:
- shift register with 100+ buttons, 6 encoders, virtual axis, etc
- up to 3 additional analog axis at 10 Bit (pots, hall sensors, KMZ41)
- up to 3 additional digital axis at 12 Bit (KMZ41+MCP32xx) or 14 Bit (TLE501x)
- or combine shift register + 1 additional digital/analog axis

Here is a picture of the backside of the new PCB with options:



I also ordered a batch of SOIC CD4021 24 button shift registers, as I was asked several times for these. They can be daisy chained up to 3 times (=72 buttons) and are 100% compatible to Thrustmaster hardware (the same as in Warthog, Cougar, FLCS grips). These are minimal footprint (50x23mm), so much smaller than the original TM variants and fit pretty much everywhere. (Btw the photo is of a very similiar design 74HC165 shift register I personally use in my setup.)



To round the whole thing up I also plan to build 12 & 14 Bit digital axis sensors for the Cougar. I had prototyped a sealed, ball bearing hall sensor based on Allegro A1324 for the Cougar joystick before, but now I have all the parts needed for a KMZ41 based one. The KMZ41 sensor is used eg in GVL MagRes or Komaroff RAMS sensor, both notably used in Baurs BRD line.



Salute

[Tumbler]

How is this project getting along? I thought I saw an ad from you on Kleinanzeigen? Do you offer a plugandplay option just like tusba? And what's the status of the RAMS sensors?

[rel4y]

Yes, thats me on Kleinanzeigen. The USB adapters are working great. I have already sold one of these on the SimHQ forums and one here on ATAG.

Here are a few pictures of the little guys.



The Cougar MR and hall sensors are done in principal. I ordered the PCBs from OSH Park and the 3D printed parts from Shapeways last week and now am waiting for these to arrive. All the necessary electronic parts, magnets and ball bearings are already here. Once I have them working I will post an update. Here are some shots of the final prototype 3D models.

[rel4y]

CH pot prototypes are also done. For the final pots I will rearrange the PCB, so the cables connect on top. But since I already ordered the first PCBs based on the Cougar layout why not test it like that? Here is a bit of a prettier render than the ones before.

[Dildaria]

Huzzah got mine and installed it today.

Spoiler: 

[mariner3302]

Id like to do this mod. I dont have much experience but thats ok. I have both the Cougar throttle and stick. I want to use the throttle as the end of a collective for helo's. What I dont like is the Foxy/Cougar software. Using mmjoy would bypass that, correct? I fly DCS in VR, mostly...

[Whisky Walker]

Hi, I'd like to do a mod like this to my Cougar throttle but I need to know if there's a way to bypass the original PCB as mine is damaged. All suggestions and input appreciated

[ATAG_Highseas]

You can probably do it with an arduino leonardo board and mmjoy2


You can set those boards up with something like six axis and a tonne of buttons. Windows will only see 32 buttons mind (or 36.. i cant remember).

Sound be fairly straight forward.

Do a quick Google of mmjoy2.. that should kick up some forum posts.

if you find any forum posts here or elsewhere by 1Lokos (or Sokol1) read them. He's got the know how and knows how to explain it too.

I've built four peripherals now using these boards.

Once you have your head round it its dead simple (just like everything else in life really.... until then its a mystery!)

[69th_Zeb]

Hi Whisky,

From a very basic standpoint (without getting into noise filtering or fancy jargon), it's pretty easy if you know how to solder.

For switches, they just have a ground and a power side, you can connect them backwards and will still work. One wire goes to ground, the other goes to any arduino standard pin (for example pins 0-12). This configuration will make noisy switches, but you can fix that later with software debounce or with some cheap electrical bits.

Most slider/rotary potentiometers (throttle movement) will have three wires. One end goes to arduino ground, other end to 5V, and the middle to your analog input (A0 for example). Do not solder directly onto the pot as they have dielectric grease that will cook it. I'd desolder the wiring off the old board.

There's a lot more to it, but you can experiment. I'd recommend getting an Arduino with the 32u4 chip with pin headers, some test leads that fit it, a switch and a potentiometer. Once you get those going, you can figure out most joysticks.

This guy has some good diagrams for describing the above better:
https://github.com/MMjoy/mmjoy_en/wi...ng-up-software

Arduino has built-in libraries for joysticks which make it plug and play ready for any computer, you do not necessarily have to use mmJoy firmware/software in background. You can program all your joystick curves and add complex functions internally as well.

Kendy has some rad ready to go, noise free hardware too if you want to go crazy on it (shameless advertising for a friend).
https://www.amazon.com/Gear-Falcon-J...rds=gearfalcon

[ATAG_Highseas]

And i was about to day... Zeb, Kendy and Marco all know their way around this stuff too.

Like Zeb said... if you can solder.... go for it... if not.... thats easy enough to learn.

[Whisky Walker]

I have 2 Arduino micro boards here already, 1 from a DIY ED-tracker I built that didn't quite work/wouldn't calibrate; And 1 from an Ebay-bought ED-Tracker made by someone who CAN solder - which does work but never gets used now I have Opentrack and an IR clip...

For the money, it looks like the Gear-Falcon suits my needs best.

[Whisky Walker]

It doesn't show up on Amazon UK though, so Kendy doesn't ship outside the US?

[69th_Zeb]

Shucks. Yeah, I believe he might only be selling in the USA. I have heard very good things about Leo Bodnar's similar device and he's based in the UK. Here's a link.
http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index....dbf07ab31db007

If it's too much and a bit of overkill, you can still go solderless with arduinos containing headers. You can buy prototyping dupont jumper wires to connect with. Pots can get a little noisy if the connection is not tight.
Here's a crazy pic with solderless connectors when I was prototyping my quadrant.
z1_avionicsSpaghetti.jpg

[ATAG_Highseas]

Solderless? ?!?!

What dark Majyk is this ?


and is that a bread board ?!

Why I outta




EDIT:

For the avoidance of doubt (if any was even needed) Zeb is light years ahead of my rudimentary ability.

[69th_Zeb]

Breadboard indeed. I'm on a diet....hence the two little bits of spam on it. I call it smoked breadboard and spam.

Arduino is versatile, like converting a Wurlitzer pedal set to MIDI...so when you see your bros again, you can jam to RUSH covers with your feets and geetars.
wurli_soldering.jpg

[Whisky Walker]

Shucks. Yeah, I believe he might only be selling in the USA. I have heard very good things about Leo Bodnar's similar device and he's based in the UK. Here's a link.
http://www.leobodnar.com/shop/index....dbf07ab31db007

If it's too much and a bit of overkill, you can still go solderless with arduinos containing headers. You can buy prototyping dupont jumper wires to connect with. Pots can get a little noisy if the connection is not tight.
Here's a crazy pic with solderless connectors when I was prototyping my quadrant.
z1_avionicsSpaghetti.jpg

This is exactly what I need, thanks. I was already looking at an Arduino Mega board connected as such. Although, there's a soldering iron on offer at Aldi...

[69th_Zeb]

Unfortunately for some reason, the Mega is not sold with a 32u4 USB version, so you would have to link it via serial protocol to a 32u4 chipped arduino (pro micro, leonardo, etc). Sure would be nice to have 50+ pins and analog inputs available.

[rel4y]

Id like to do this mod. I dont have much experience but thats ok. I have both the Cougar throttle and stick. I want to use the throttle as the end of a collective for helo's. What I dont like is the Foxy/Cougar software. Using mmjoy would bypass that, correct? I fly DCS in VR, mostly...

I was off grid for a few weeks. MMJoy bypasses the Cougar software and has some unique options. Furthermore the mod will increase the axis resolution eg on the main throttle axis to 12Bit (4096 points). I also have finished a mod for the throttle axis pot to be replaced with a fully digital 14 Bit GMR sensor. I currently have some Arduinos on order but it will take around three weeks till they arrive. If you are interested shoot me a PM.

Hi, I'd like to do a mod like this to my Cougar throttle but I need to know if there's a way to bypass the original PCB as mine is damaged. All suggestions and input appreciated

What exactly is damaged on your PCB? There is no IC on the throttle PCB, so all that could possible be broken are traces? Can you maybe post a picture?

[Whisky Walker]

I was off grid for a few weeks. MMJoy bypasses the Cougar software and has some unique options. Furthermore the mod will increase the axis resolution eg on the main throttle axis to 12Bit (4096 points). I also have finished a mod for the throttle axis pot to be replaced with a fully digital 14 Bit GMR sensor. I currently have some Arduinos on order but it will take around three weeks till they arrive. If you are interested shoot me a PM.



What exactly is damaged on your PCB? There is no IC on the throttle PCB, so all that could possible be broken are traces? Can you maybe post a picture?

Hi rel4y, I have a really early build Cougar (Serial 1346) with the low voltage pot. My attempt to install my own hall sensor meant I had to break the resistor track to then bypass it & pull the voltage up to 5 so the sensor would work. However I was too heavy handed with the drill & went clean through the board, across the pot signal trace that just so happened to be on the opposite face of the PCB. In my attempts to bridge both the resistor and signal traces with some wire, I melted the PCB around the pins & it's just a horrible mess. And there's no chance of a replacement. A buddy was going to donate his to me but then heard DCS are developing an F-16 so a HOTAS Cougar is worth more than gold to him right now.

Even if I was to get the PCB repaired, I still need to make the throttle a stand-alone as the joystick gimbal is badly worn & the pots spike badly over 50% deflection so it's just about scrap, apart from the handle, which I intend to renovate & attach to a Virpil mongoose base. Also looking at all these projects makes me want to add some extra switches to the throttle housing much like the warthog has.

[Kendy for the State]

It doesn't show up on Amazon UK though, so Kendy doesn't ship outside the US?

I'm not sure what would be involved in shipping to the UK...I know you Europeans require ROHS, for one. My through-hole board with the terminal strips is ROHS, but the SMT version without connectors is not. I had trouble getting good reflow on the fine-pitch parts using lead-free solder paste, so I switched to leaded solder.
That said, the Bodnar boards are very good, might be more economical for you to buy those locally.

[Whisky Walker]

Damned Europeans and their pollution laws... Bring on Brexit lol
Thanks for the reply Kendy, I will obviously be going down the bodnar route but using yours as an inspiration.