Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Delirium on April 01, 2008, 08:20:42 AM
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What I really want to do is have a dual throttle for my P38 in AH. I even went out and bought an old Suncom throttle that has a decent split throttle set up and I was going to gut the thing and insert the guts for 2 CH Prothrottles. My other option was to take my CH Throttle Quadrant and somehow place all the hats/buttons/etc next to the farthest right hand axis to emulate the CH Prothrottles feel. My idea is the same feel I have now, but with 2 axis under my left hand...
The problem is, I really have no idea how to begin... do you have any pictures that show the interior of the CH Prothrottles like you do for the Left hand stick? Do you have any suggestions or ideas?
I would be willing to pay someone to have it done, but I'm concerned if I don't build it myself, if anything goes wrong I will be out of luck on repairing the thing unless I know how it was built.
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The Saitek Aviator joystick is designed with dual throttles. $40
I've never tried it but seems to fit your bill.
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It doesn't have what I'm looking for, neither the functions of the Prothrottle nor the feel.
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CH throttle quadrant is all you need. The issue/problem is ergonomics. I'll take a pic of my setup when I get home and explain how I learned to love (nay, NEED) this device for flying. That'll have to wait til this evening, though.
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Dilirium,
Very doable but a good bit of work. I had plans to do one but never could get my hands on a Suncom throttle. I finally bought a Suncom F15 Talon stick (the other half of the HOTAS) and was so turned off by the crappiness of the plastic and the cheap switches that I lost interest.
I recommend you go and hang out at the ch-hangar (www.ch-hangar.com) and do some searching and asking questions. My buddy 531_ghost over there built one using a CH Throttle Quad. Do a search on his name and you'll probably find it. I was going to use a Pro Throttle (the mini-stick is actually an X and Y axis is is perfect for the throttles) as that would be more than sufficient. It turns out that the electronic circuits between the CH FighterStick and Pro Throttle are identical except for the plug-in chip. Of course the switches and button panels are different. BTW, my name is "snomhf" over there.
Probably not what you want to hear but good luck.
-hb
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I think this would work:
http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/quad.htm (http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/quad.htm)
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The thing with the CH quadrant is that it's tall. If you can mount it LOWER it will be way more comfortable. At first this turned me off for a couple of weeks. I almost gave up, then inspiration kicked in.
I had removed a keyboard tray from my desk, as I don't like them and don't use them. After yanking off the tray-stop front edge, it was a perfect mount for the quad. It lowers the levers to the level of the desktop (this is where the stick is while I fly.
I have a slightly curved desk, and the way my seat sits my torso is angled in a bit. The red arrow is the way my torso points. The red line shows the height of the top of the desk relative to the quad.
I then found by accident that it was more comfortable to angle away from me (to the side so that my hand position was much more natural. Almost as if an extension of the arm rest itself. The other arm doesn't need this as it rests on the stick palm rest. I use the right most quad button down position as "look up" and with a bit of practice this works just as well as my old mapping (both hands on the stick). It might look a bit of a stretch, but I've got big hands and my thumb can rest on the button most of the time. It's rather simple to adjust any of the trim without shifting my hand. I can adjust from left to right roll trim, elev trim, RPM1, RPM2, throt1, and throt2. Just using my other fingers I can push or pull the levers and make adjustments as I wish without moving my hand back and forth or taking it off.
Modes 3 and 4 are mapped for 4-engine bombers.
(http://www.nakatomitower.com/chquad-1.jpg)
(http://www.nakatomitower.com/chquad-2.jpg)
(http://www.nakatomitower.com/chquad-3.jpg)
P.S. forgive the mess I was tearing my desk up today looking for a post-it with a password.
P.P.S. I move the pedals out of the way when not in use. That's why they're at an odd angle.
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I had that exact same desk for a long time and hated every minute of owning it.
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Hehehe, it's actually not too bad, compared to some others. A little flimsy though, not the best construction. Wouldn't recommend for CRTs, as there's precious little room on top of it.
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Delirium, I had the same idea as you. I even looked at the suncom throttle but couldn't find one at a reasonable price.(dirt cheap) I may see if I can modify a CH pro throttle if I can find the time. Right now I have too many projects going and can't even find the time to fly.
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I've got an old Suncom SFS throttle that I've held on to with the hopes of doing the same thing. Going on several years and counting, and it's still sitting here completely assembled. I think wiring the switches up would be the hardest part- the 2 throw toggles might require some creative wiring, but the pots shouldn't be a problem, I don't think. Might be a good idea to gut a cheaper stick, since the SFS throttle has the 2 main axis, a roller type lever for the pinkie, and another lever on the right side of the base. Not sure if they're trim tabs or for a separate axis.
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I actually have a throttle quadrant, the other idea I had was to attach the Prothrottle's hat area to the right most throttle and use that for my views.
Anyone have any other ideas?
Thanks everyone for helping me out. :)