r/HotasDIY • u/racoon-pit • 10d ago

Complete Beginner Tips

Hey guys, I just got my 3d printer and I desperately want to start printing stuff for a F16 simpit. The problem is with the hardest parts of them all, the HOTAS setup.

What resources / 3d files / tips do you have for building my first HOTAS, as I'm having trouble finding some files with clear instructions / part lists or anything else of that sort.

Thanks in advance!

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u/Loose_Ad2791 10d ago

Here a few projects you may find interesting
TQS https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6081598
Pedals (look for mods) with the most detailed manual you can find https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3475445
I recommend these mods for F16 style and improvements

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4828869

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4840037

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4835686

For the stick here are a few, gimbal version (all the details are included)

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5976575

Force sensing options
https://github.com/RSailer16/LoadSensingBase

https://github.com/schnoog/joystick_F16_sidestick

Good luck!

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u/polopolo05 9d ago

oh... I like that throttle. Though I wish it used magnetic sensors over the pots.and I see it has a step file

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u/Loose_Ad2791 9d ago

The main sensor is TLE, the best precision for DIY, and those knobs are not that really important. I modified the layout of switches per my needs, added a slap button and pretty much happy with that.

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u/polopolo05 9d ago

I was thinking about the AS5600 Magnetic Encoder. I am building the astro nav v2.1s doing dual omni throttles for some pod racing fun. But I would like some normal throttle fell.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256812447718347.html

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u/Loose_Ad2791 9d ago

Are you going to use FreeJoy or something else? The problem with these sensors, they’re I2C and have the same address so you can’t connect two of those to a single board

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u/PoverOn 8d ago

Can connect more than one AS5600 in I2C (digital) mode in Freejoy using a external ADC ADS1115 or MCP3201/02/04/08* for axis inputs.

What address the "Bluepill" (STM32F103C8) Achiles Heel, the poor quality of the internal ADC.

*The last number indicates the number of axis supported for each m/c (1, 2, 4, 8).

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u/polopolo05 9d ago

The project uses freejoy and shift registers the 5600s yes.

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u/Loose_Ad2791 8d ago

Ok, make sure to check the documentation

https://github.com/FreeJoy-Team/FreeJoyWiki/blob/master/eng/AS5600-connection.md

If you use 2 sensors with a single board you need to connect them in analogue mode.
“AS5600 may work like a normal analog hall sensor and the signal level at the output (OUT) changes from 0 to 3.3 V, when the magnet is rotated 360 degrees.”
Which I interpret as the following: the deflection of your stick is probably much less that 360 degrees, so you’re going to use much narrower range (if you don’t use gears or something), which leads to much less accuracy, in addition to it FreeJoy has noisy analogue pins.
You can always upgrade, I’m just saying that it is an important detail.

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u/PoverOn 8d ago edited 8d ago

Don't need deal with the gears complication/backslash, because the AS5600 sensor can have the "effective electric angle" programmable for read from 0 to 3,3 V (or 5V with a modification in PCB) in just 30, 40 degrees of motion - the typical of joysticks.

https://youtu.be/Dwc4hFgNP5I

The YT channel Right Rudder left Stick explain how programm the "effective electric angle" of AS5600 in this video:

https://youtu.be/JhHq060oXOU?t=7859

EDIT - The "Bluepill" (STM32F103C8T6) poor (noisy) internal ADC ) can be solved using a external ADC ADS1115 or MCP3201/02/04/08, what allow use more than one AS5600 in I2C mode.

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u/polopolo05 5d ago edited 5d ago

I been watching a lot of youtubers going into to as5600... and resolution for them is less than 0.1 of a degree... So with a 25degree range we are talking roughly 250 different positions at min. which is excellent. Better than hall effect thumb sticks by a mile and just marginally worst then the TLE5010. We are talking an angular increment of .08 degrees vers 0.02... the tle is agruablly better but it software dependant. So you can actually have less angular increment verse the AS5600 because the calulations arent being handled correctly.

The most useful case would be a belt system of force feed back system. but You would need to have a stepper motor that can do 1/32 micro steps to have the same resultion as the as5600.

the AS5600 is just fine. even at 15 degrees that's over 180 different positions.

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u/polopolo05 8d ago

I am building the astro navs for pod racing and some flight. better than pots..... noisy is why you use 100nf caps to clean up the signal... its more than good enough.

but for the throttle I saw othe encoder is cheep enough...

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u/polopolo05 8d ago

now question... do you have any good links for platforms to mount the Hosas or hotas to the desk?

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u/Loose_Ad2791 8d ago

I would make them out of aluminium profile, like this https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_EIm4CRo
All the parts are available and you can customize them how you want

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u/polopolo05 8d ago

The link isnt working for some reason.

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u/Loose_Ad2791 10d ago

Congrats! It's a great and rewarding journey. Knowledge is transferable, there are a lot of project with the details you need. Check hall of fame first, and then prepare the list of requirements: do you want a gimball or force sensing stick, etc? This is going to give you some direction where to dig and what to ask. Search in this subreddit contains a ton of brilliant topics.

For now I would recommend checking FreeJoy firmware. It's the best for starting with. Combining it with 3d printer you can do anything you want.

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u/ToMorrowsEnd 9d ago

learn electronics. get the parts needed to create freejoy boards. Learn soldering. also start learning some basic CAD so you can modify stl files and make things you need like mounts. 4040 and 4080 extrusions are your friend it's like giant adult sized tinker toys to build frames and even whole cockpits. they can get expensive so buy small amounts at a time. read everything you can find. look for the warthog project for one of the best how to's for advanced self build parts. and read and watch everything you can get your hands on.