X45:
http://www.geocities.com/jeroen_huijben/X45_schematic.gif
P8k:
http://www.geocities.com/jeroen_huijben/P8k_schematic.gif
Cougar's TQS:
http://www.geocities.com/jeroen_huijben/CougarThrottleEdit.gif

Thanks a bunch for the links Jeroen, no doubt those will come in handy. As soon as I get my monthly payroll I'll be making the X-45 purchase with the deals on ebay at $15-20 plus $15 shipping.

I'm really hoping to ditch the old keyboard in simming after this project.

I used an old MS Extreme Force feedback stick to convert into control box.

It gives me prop pitch, and trim controls via dials on the front. You could use all the buttons from the stick but you need a big front panel for that as that stick had a lot of buttons.
Does not have any problem and works fine with my full CH setup and IL2.

Well while waiting for a decent auction on ebay for an X45 I decided maybe I should practice my skills first before destroying a used joystick. I picked up an old Logitech Wingman Extreme Digital from my brother and went to work taking it apart yesterday. I was able to pull it all apart to the point where I only had the board, wires and pots.

The pots are very cheap plastic but there are four axis (throttle, pitch, roll, rudder) and have three wires each. All the fire buttons are hardwired to the board and the 8 pos. hat switch is only 4 buttons, when two buttons are pressed it activates one of the diagnal Hat positions.

I dont have a camera handy to take pics but I plan on taking some pics or finding some on the web.I hope to desolder the buttons so I can attach center off toggles (I think those are the kind that are spring loaded, press and returns to original pos.). I'm also hoping to replace the pots with something a little more durable. The hat switch is my biggest concern, as I'm not sure if I'll be able to exploit the 8 button potential but 4 buttons isnt that bad either.

If any of you have any experience in hacking a logitech wingman I'd greatly appreciate the help. Hopefully I'll get some pics of the board up to help. I think the buttons are going to be the biggest issue here.

Actually, they are called momentary contact toggles. A momentary pushbutton switch is like a keyboard key. (it bounces back up) A momentary toggle switch is spring loaded to return to center. Alot of times you will see them labeled like this, too: OFF- (MOM).

With replacement pots, know the originals's resistance (10K, 50K, 100K, etc.) and be sure to check the specs or the data sheet, of the replacement. Pot durabilities can vary anywhere from 5,000 to 100,000 cycles. Industrial position sensors (fancy pots ) are rated for a million cycles. Hall effect sensors (no wipers to create wear ) are rated for about 2 million cycles. Of course the last two are a bit pricey!

Digikey is a great place to look. They have data sheets for most items. Although, they do have a minimum purchase requirement.
Mouser is a good choice for small orders.

Thanks for the advice Grizzly. I bought the project box yesterday and now I just need to take some pics of the board and buttons/pots. I did come across an example of my joystick being hacked for a project but it didn't go into detail about how the joystick was hacked. The guy had attached wires to spots on the board where the buttons were and added new buttons/switches by bypassing the old altogether and leaving the old in place.

I'll try and find a link to that one....

I rewire, for friend, a old CH PRO Throttle gameport, using the USB circuit of a nameless stick:

His USB circuit provide 4 axis, one HAT (8 angle/corner) and 12 buttons.

The CH PRO Throttle gameport originaly have 20 buttons, distribute in four 4 way HATS plus more 4
push buttons.

CH PRO Throttle whit new USB circuit:


To allow all original 20 buttons and HATs of CH PRO Throttle to continue working, I used the corners of HAT (of USB stick) as 4 buttons, using diodes to avoid that two buttons pressed at the same time in diagonal generated commands. This provide me the necessary 20 buttons.

Diodes in one HAT, wiring in original Stick 8 way HAT. This allow to use HAT corners as four buttons:


Tip - avoid solder in USB circuit, or use grounded iron. They are sensitive to ESD.

Others gameport sticks awaiting rewire is:
One Suncom Hawk, one CH F16 Combatstik, one CH Force FX (maybee whit Logitec FF circuit) and one
TM TopGun. I like this stics due to his design based on real ones.

Sokol1

LOL great to see others into this stuff. This is my first controller hack project and hopefully not my last! I did get around to taking some detailed pics of the board today though and here they are:

Everything altogether minus usb plug


Cheap Pot (4 in total but all the same)


Top of joystick (4 buttons & 8 way hat switch)


Base of stick (two buttons throttle/pitch/roll pots connect here)


Top Backside (just for kicks)


Base Backside


I need to figure out how to utilize the 8 way hat switch & 4 top buttons/trigger as 13 independent buttons (momentary push once release). Then I need to figure out what to replace the pots with plus how to wire the new ones in there place.

In all I have or would like to ed up with:

13 Buttons
4 Pots

Thats if I'm guessin right by the looks of the stick.

I think the pots will be the easiest part by the looks of things. The hardest part I think is the 8 way hat switch. The hat is physically 4 buttons but when the hat was pointed say northwest or diagonally it contacted the top/left buttons at the same time. I have'nt got a clue where to start but I have a soldering gun all the tools and I'm ready to learn! Any help on what to do, how to do it and what to get is greatly appreciated. I've seen the work you guys do and its top notch, better to learn from the pros like you!

Thanks
Chris
AKA Hitch

HitchHikingFlatlander

To wire 4 momentary toggle switch (SPDT)to you HAT board:



To wire 8 momentary toggle switch (SPDT) to you HAT board:



Use 8 toggle switchs instead thes doubles show above, if desire.

IMO - The original push button in HAT board are normaly open (NO) switch, is more easy leave this in board that try de-weld (remove).

Sokol1

Thanks Sokol1 thats a huge help. Now if I were to mount 8 switches like this:



http://www.radioshack.com/product/index....rentPage=family

Actually I'd like to use a momentary switch like the toggles in your pics, ones that spring back to the original position. To be perfectly honest I like to use either switch for every button on the board. Would you be so kind to give me some tips on how to wire those in?

I'm also curious if the switches I should be looking for (momentary that is) should be normally open or closed?

Once agains thanks a bunch for helping out, I really don't have a clue where to start!

Best,
Chris