This project is not difficult, but you should have some electronics experience (enough to figure out which wire goes where, and why not to let your mother in law use a hair dryer in the shower), know how to solder wires, and have a smidgen of mechanical talent.

Tools required are:

1. Volt Ohm Meter (VOM)
2. Drill
3. Hacksaw
4. General Tools (Pliers, wire cutters etc.)
5. Soldering Iron

1. 2 x 1meg (1 Million Ohm) LINEAR TAPER POTENTIOMETERS
2. Roll of Electrical tape
3. Various lengths 1/4"nc bolts with nuts and washers
4. Model Aircraft 4/40 size Ball Joints, threaded rod and links
5. 2 x 1/8th inch phono plugs and jacks
6. 2 x 45 degree 1/2" ID copper plumbing elbows
7. Thrustmaster "TopGun" Analogue Joystick
8. 10 feet joystick cable
9. 10 feet 2 wire cable ( telephone or speaker wire)
10. 24"x24" 1/2" Plywood
11. 4 feet 1/2" OD ABS Plastic Plumbing Pipe
12. 3 feet x 2 1/2" square plastic drainpipe

Required model aircraft hardware can be ordered from East Coast Model Center

1. 8 each: 4-40 EZ Adjustable ball links (part# DUB259)
2. 2 each : 4-40 Spring Steel Kwik-Links (part# DUB304)
3. 3 each: 1/4" Wheel Pant Mounts (part# SIGSH721)
4. 2 each: 4-40 Fully threaded rods (part# DUB379)

Everything else is easily bought at the local hardware store.

Now the nitty gritty stuff.

I found that the cable that came with the Thrustmaster TopGun did not have all required 15 wires, so I cannibalized another joystick I had laying around for the right cable. The first thing you should do is to identify the male pinouts on the connector that is on the end of the joystick cable you plan to use and figure out which wire is doing what. The pin layout seems to be the same for all analog joysticks, but the colour coding of the wiring is never the same !! The pins are numbered from left to right (as seen in the WIRING DIAGRAM) and they are numbered as if you are holding the cable FROM THE JOYSTICK FACING YOU. The joystick DB15 plug is tapered, so you should have no trouble figuring out which is pin # 1.

PIN # DESCRIPTION

1. +5 Volts
2. Button # 1
3. X- Axis ( Cyclic, Ailerons)
4. GROUND
5. GROUND
6. Y- Axis (Cyclic, Elevator)
7. Button # 2
8. +5 Volts
9. +5 Volts
10. Button # 3
11. X-Axis (Pedals)
12. MIDI
13. Y- Axis (Collective)
14. Button # 4
15. MIDI

The wires are colour coded. Since no two manufacturers use the same colours, we have to figure out which wire goes to which pin on the male connector. This is where the VOM comes into play. Open the joystick and look at the wiring. Each one corresponds to a pin on the joystick plug. Touch a wire with one pole of the VOM and then touch each pin on the connector till you get a circuit. Identify the pin # and the colour of the wire attached to it. WRITE IT DOWN. Do this for all wires until you have identified which colour wire is attached to which number pin. Compare your results to the WIRING DIAGRAM so that you fully understand which wire is doing what.

The wiring from the "cyclic" and all wiring from the pedals and the collective must join together somewhere in order to plug into the computer. I Installed 2 x 1/8" RCA type phono jacks into the base of the joystick. (SEE PICTURE) This is where I plug in the pedals and collective. (On the wires from the potentiometers from the pedals and collective, wire a corresponding 1/8" RCA stereo phone plug. If you find that the collective or pedals move the wrong way in your sim, just swap the wires on the potentiometer.) Doing it this way makes the whole thing easy to put away and/or transport as a modular unit.

Now, go to next page and see how the whole thing fits together.

     © Copyright 1999
     Steve's Helicopter Controls