At long last, my Boeing 767 flight sim throttle quadrant works beautifully. My belated thanks go out to JohnInTx, and to Mr. Chips, for their advice that since all else had failed, I needed to read the instructions, and install decoupling caps on my pc board.
With the caps installed, all those noisy output voltages stabilized and smoothed out like magic as I advanced the jet throttle levers, and operated the flaps selector, speed brakes or elevator trim. Why I held off installing those caps in the first place, I'll never know.
Earlier, I had encountered a minor speed-bump while configuring the NanoBoard HID/USB interface module, but once that was squared away, there was this euphoric Eureka moment when all the levers of my twin-jet throttle quadrant came to life, with their every movement mirrored by the on-screen Virtual Cockpit throttles of the Level D767-300ER I so love to fly.
Abandoning decorum, I leapt to my feet this morning, and danced around my computer desk like a right loony. Commercially marketed flight sim throttle quadrants are priced anywhere from $300 to a couple of grand USD, for top-end models with stepper motors that move the throttle levers when auto-thottle is engaged, yet, for about $50 in parts, I have cobbled together a realistic feeling throttle quadrant with the same or better functionality than most of those over-priced models advertised on the net.
Once again I doff my hat in humble thanks to JohnInTx, and to Mr. Chips, for steering me in the right direction as I muddled along with this project. I'll post a picture a bit later on, showing the new throttle quadrant when I have it incorporated into my home flight deck, comprising an old Range Rover car seat, a CH flight yoke, Saitek rudder pedals, and an overhead laser projector for wall sized scenery in the immersive world of Microsoft Flight Sim 2004.
Now, if you will excuse me...... Yeeeeeeeeeehaw ! Had to get that out.
With the caps installed, all those noisy output voltages stabilized and smoothed out like magic as I advanced the jet throttle levers, and operated the flaps selector, speed brakes or elevator trim. Why I held off installing those caps in the first place, I'll never know.
Earlier, I had encountered a minor speed-bump while configuring the NanoBoard HID/USB interface module, but once that was squared away, there was this euphoric Eureka moment when all the levers of my twin-jet throttle quadrant came to life, with their every movement mirrored by the on-screen Virtual Cockpit throttles of the Level D767-300ER I so love to fly.
Abandoning decorum, I leapt to my feet this morning, and danced around my computer desk like a right loony. Commercially marketed flight sim throttle quadrants are priced anywhere from $300 to a couple of grand USD, for top-end models with stepper motors that move the throttle levers when auto-thottle is engaged, yet, for about $50 in parts, I have cobbled together a realistic feeling throttle quadrant with the same or better functionality than most of those over-priced models advertised on the net.
Once again I doff my hat in humble thanks to JohnInTx, and to Mr. Chips, for steering me in the right direction as I muddled along with this project. I'll post a picture a bit later on, showing the new throttle quadrant when I have it incorporated into my home flight deck, comprising an old Range Rover car seat, a CH flight yoke, Saitek rudder pedals, and an overhead laser projector for wall sized scenery in the immersive world of Microsoft Flight Sim 2004.
Now, if you will excuse me...... Yeeeeeeeeeehaw ! Had to get that out.