Looking into getting an old joystick for the grip of a homebuilt cyclic (using a Bodnar board). The ThrustMaster MK 1 or Nk 2 looks nicely built, classic


but the Suncom Eagle has more buttons (a pinky button and a second hat?)


Are either particularly difficult to work with in combination with the Bodnar board? The Suncom looks pretty complex inside but it seems the PCB is not needed except to hold things in place.

Also, anyone know if the Suncom comes in 2 versions, one with 2 hats, the other with 1 hat? Most of the images online are too dark to see if there are 1 or 2 hats, looks on some models the center one is a hat and the right hand one is a button or trackball:
Ebay Picture of Suncom

Ah, I see there are several variants of the Suncom:
http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=471844

It depends on the size of your hand. I would use the B8 (TM stick) since I have stubby fingers. But then again, I don't use Hat1 on my Cougar very often.

Good point. Anyone know if there is a difference between Thrustmaster's B8 look-a-like models: Mark I, Top Gun and X Fighter?

Hi Pakfront,
I've got two suncoms in my pit. One (Raptor) on the collective and the other (Talon) as the cyclic.

The Raptor has the basic 4 switches plus 1 hat that works, both hats are there but the castle one is only moulded (don't move). The Talon's hats BOTH move.

I've connected them to a Bodnar and they show up and calibrate, but I did remove the guts of both and took the connections straight to the pots and switches.

Haven't actually played the game with them yet as I'm still building.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andy

Pakfront, the SFS grip is a pretty simple rebuild, but you'll need to take the time to suss it out with a multimeter. There's a little chip on the internal circuit board that you can de-solder in order to re-use the plated holes it's occupying.

Here's what the one I rebuilt looks like:

(completed)


I used a 1" EMT threaded fitting for mine:


The grey goo is JB Weld. It's NOT coming out. The connector fits right over the top of a 1" EMT tube.

Here's another pic:



As you can see, the connector goes into the short half of the grip.

g.

Suncom grip is easy to rewire as Gene said, but your gimbal system is hard to fit with new pot or HALL sensor.
So, if you have a new gimbal system (ie, automotive u-join, etc), go to Suncom.

Sokol1

Great info, thanks guys. AndyB, that cyclic and collective are pretty cool. Good luck!

I was planning on using a motorcycle u-joint once I figure out how to mount it and drill the holes in the spider needed to mount to Hall sensors. (no shop tools, just hand-helds at the moment)
Looks like the 2 Hat Suncoms are hard to find; but I'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to replace the red (LED?) thing in the SFS with a D-pad or a 4-way momentary switch (where would I get that?). I don't really need 2 hats, but more buttons are always useful. Does that red thing pop out pretty easily?

Pakfront, instead of a d-pad, you might want to give one of these a shot:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9032

They're very similar to the mini-sticks on a PS2 controller. You can't beat it for $3.95.

g.

Suncom Eagle with big red "LED"replaced with mini-stick:

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/5525/ministick4.jpg

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2063/ministick.jpg

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2039/ministick2.jpg

Or borrow any HAT from generic joystick - HAT are only four micro-switch's, see the main HAT of Suncom Eagle in the right side of the first picture.

Sokol1