hardware – Page 5 – hc625ma's cozy hangar

June 28, 2018June 30, 2018

AB412 collective test print photos and thoughts on software

Finished the first test print of the head, and it looks good! Seems like it will be quite interesting from a point of software: with 3-way switches, there will be 17 buttons + 2 hat switches, and if we add a mode switch, it will triple this number. The question is, whether the master controller will be able to poll all this stuff and return values to windows without lags (in windows joysticks have weird limitations of 32 buttons, 1 hat switch and 2 7 axes per piece, so it will have to look as several joysticks to work everywhere). In the worst case scenario, it will be a semi-scale head with 2 hats, 11 buttons, 1 rotary axis and (probably) a mode switch.

June 26, 2018June 30, 2018

AB412 style colelctive head progress

Everything should fit together at this point. Have just started a test print, let me know if you need a dev snapshot. This head is not yet supported in software, so its release is expected in a week or two.

June 24, 2018June 25, 2018

AB412 style head development pic

Here’s the development screenshot of the AB412 right seat collective head! It will hopefully be finished in a week or two. Stay tuned!

June 22, 2018June 30, 2018

Single engine collective with head support released!

After a week of testing, I can say that the lever is now good enough to be released. You can download it from hc625ma.org or thingiverse. Assembly and test flight videos, along with the manual page will follow shortly, stay tuned!

June 17, 2018July 4, 2018

News on single engine collective with head support

I’ve been working on the new lever for some time, and it’s very close to release now. This lever is a successor of the twin throttle 412 themed lever with some improvements, which simplify assembly process by a considerable degree, yet significantly increase its strength and, most importantly, rotation smoothness. Because of a new tensioner with rubber bands added to it, the lever can hold any type of a head of large enough weight and still feel as light and smooth as the simple one!

I’ve been able to fly with it today for a while, with my old cyclic grip used as a head mockup (to simulate a head’s weight) and it feels just right. It can be set up so that the tension is barely noticeable even with an object as heavy as this dummy cyclic grip. This lever has 200-degree throttle travel range. After a few days of testing, I will release it along with an assembly and demo flight videos.

I have added support for a new lever to simchair software. Check it out on GitHub!