Simviation Forum - Force Feedback flight yoke!

Jul 17^th, 2005 at 11:28pm

Midnight_LS1 Offline
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Posts: 394

One thing I had in mind, make the yoke force feedback!

Ebay again, won a broken rudder axis Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick with USB connection, that came out to $40.
At the same time I win the same yoke I have for 99 cents (IBM Easy Options flight yoke) in case the force feedback didn't work out well and I can't revert it due to cutting the old one already, the older one had a intermit connection inside the wiring too so that was the one to be hacked up.

Took it apart, d@mn microsoft used "security" screws in the middle of the underside. It wasn't much of a trouble to get them out with a screwdriver.

Took out the power supply circuit board, then the force feedback module board, then the force feedback motors.

Come up with an plan how to make it work with a yoke, one week later and the end result:

The wiring mess will be cleaned up later. I just want to fly.

The yoke moves with varying resistance to the amount of travel, feels the landing gear deploying and retracting between locks, feel the bump to the ground, feel the runway conditions, feel the grass/dirt if you run off the runway or do a takeoff from it, the stick shakes when the aircraft is in a stall (except light planes)...etc

The command center with the LCD screen for setup

And today I put in 2 rear sony speakers for the surround sound effect feature from the tv, the pictures on the wall shakes with radial and jet engine noises and my ears are still ringing from using too much thrust reverse Cheesy

-Chris

-Chris&&Active Camera Pro&&MegaScenery NY&&PSS 777-200LR&&Aerosoft Scenery Manhattan&&TrackIR3 Pro with Vector&&ActiveSky 6&&PMDG 747 'Queen of the Skies'&&AlphaSim F-117

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Reply #1 - Jul 18^th, 2005 at 12:59pm

TacitBlue Offline
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Very interesting! So the force feedback circuitry is independant from the rest of the basic joystick circuitry?

A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y

Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB

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Reply #2 - Jul 18^th, 2005 at 1:36pm

JBaymore Offline
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Midnight_ls1,

WOW...... the force feedback yoke needs a LOT more pictures and explanations. I think a lot of people will be VERY interested in this concept.

I certainly am. I have been trying to get CH Products or Goflight to build a ff yoke for a while with no luck.

So please explain it a bit more. You look like you are driving some pretty hefty servos or gear motors there........ I am assuming that is driven by an external circuit? The ff from the stock joystick doesn't directly drive them... does it?

best,

................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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Reply #3 - Jul 18^th, 2005 at 3:00pm

Midnight_LS1 Offline
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Posts: 394

Quote:

Very interesting! So the force feedback circuitry is independant from the rest of the basic joystick circuitry?

The force feedback is intergrated into one circuit, look inside the half top clear and half bottom white plastic box, that's the intergrated circuit board, the one on the top of it is the power supply for the force feedback motors.
I think because it has to relate with the pontimeters because the way it works is that if I pull back hard on it in a Cessna 172 at high speed, you can feel a moderate amount of resistance in that direction, If I bring it back to netural, the force gradually goes back to normal.
Also in it's netural state, the motors keep the yoke centered (The blue rubberband shown is for support when the motors are off because the yoke is slightly tilts foward due to the aileron feedback motor weight.

And if your at the end of the yoke's travel (full left or right alierons or full up or down elevator), it will only put feedback in the opposite direction so the motors don't bind while trying to push the yoke past it's stops.

In a General Aviation aircraft such as the Cessna 172 at idle on the ground, the feedback feel when you move the controls is that you feel what I best can describe is cables moving through pulley's such as the 172 has it.

In a deep stall conidtion, the ailerons feel like there's no resistance (slack condition) until your out of a stall condition.

Run off the runway with one or hit a building, it vibrates good.

-Chris&&Active Camera Pro&&MegaScenery NY&&PSS 777-200LR&&Aerosoft Scenery Manhattan&&TrackIR3 Pro with Vector&&ActiveSky 6&&PMDG 747 'Queen of the Skies'&&AlphaSim F-117

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Reply #4 - Jul 18^th, 2005 at 3:07pm

Midnight_LS1 Offline
Colonel

Posts: 394

Quote:

Midnight_ls1,

WOW...... the force feedback yoke needs a LOT more pictures and explanations. I think a lot of people will be VERY interested in this concept.

I certainly am. I have been trying to get CH Products or Goflight to build a ff yoke for a while with no luck.

So please explain it a bit more. You look like you are driving some pretty hefty servos or gear motors there........ I am assuming that is driven by an external circuit? The ff from the stock joystick doesn't directly drive them... does it?

best,

................john

I will post more info and pictures tonite. The force feedback system is entirely from the Microsoft Sidewinder 2 Pro USB joystick.

at least 90% of the force feedback system is from the Sidewinder 2 joystick, except the bolt that crosses through the yoke for the aileron force feedback connection and the support brace for the aileron motor to the yoke's vertical square plastic.

The circuit is entirely from the sidewinder 2 joystick.

The stuff that got ditched from the Sidewinder 2 joystick is the outer base shell, the grip and the side to side mixing brace. Everything is taken from the inside and a few parts have been modified to work with the yoke.

You will need a dremel moto tool with a cutoff wheel to do this. Mostly plastic you will be working with.

P.S. Speaking of the CH products, this is what I did with it
http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=homebuild;action=display;n...
Wink

-Chris&&Active Camera Pro&&MegaScenery NY&&PSS 777-200LR&&Aerosoft Scenery Manhattan&&TrackIR3 Pro with Vector&&ActiveSky 6&&PMDG 747 'Queen of the Skies'&&AlphaSim F-117

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Reply #5 - Jul 18^th, 2005 at 3:55pm

TacitBlue Offline
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OK, I basically see how you did it now. I've been thinking about doing something like that for a while, but never really took it seriously. I also have no $$$. Roll Eyes

BTW, Nice work!

A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y

Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB

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