Tip for left-hand throttle-on-stick in HOSAS (Star Citizen)

[dogjutsu]

Hi folks,

I'm a new dual-Kosmosima user in the process of getting my sticks set up to my liking for Star Citizen.

It seems to be 'common knowledge' that you can remove the spring from the Y-axis of your stick and crank down the clutch so that the Y-axis will stay where you put it for use as a non-return-to-center throttle for those who prefer that. However, if you want your throttle to operate this way for front-and-back (without a switch to swap it between 'forward' and 'back' operation), it lacks any sort of tactile indication of where 'center' is, leaving you to set a big deadzone and relying on guesswork/on-screen feedback to know when you are 'center'.

So here's my tip (if folks haven't already discovered this): Overstretch a #10 spring (do it a tiny bit then check till you get it right) until it is permanently lengthened such that there is just a little bit of tension when the cam is at center position so it doesn't fall out of place during operation. I found the Space-H cam works best with this (the prominent center helps with the very light spring). Next, crank down the clutch on that axis until there is enough clutch resistance to overcome the spring and keep the stick where you put it.

The result is an axis with reasonably light resistance (or heavier if you prefer), no return-to-center, and tactile detent at center stick. The precision for 'center' is close enough that I have no problems consistently getting zero throttle in Star Citizen when I want it without setting additional deadzone.

I'm doing this with the 100mm 'S' extension -- your mileage may vary if you are running no extension or the long extension (if you try it and have success, please share!).

Anyway, this is working great for me and I hadn't seen this method posted anywhere, so I thought I would share. I hope it helps somebody.

[glu]

Dear Citizen,

I'm really interested by your work, can you send some pictures ?

Last but not least, can you upload your profile of this HOSAS for Star citizen ?

Thanks you

[AR-870]

That is excellent! thank you for sharing.

I have placed an order for a left and right premium gladiator nxt. While I may not be able to modify them physically as you can with the higher grade sticks, I am hoping to utilize these in a HOSAS set up as well. I realize the spring tension may bring fatigue into the picture but if the tension on the sticks is anything like the real world equipment I run then I think I will be ok (and at least SC has cruise control which I will use). I do not know if the profile for your gear is usable on the gladiators but I too would be interested in seeing what profile set up you have.
In the verse I go by MineHawk.

happy flying!

[guytrance]

Dear Citizen,

I'm really interested by your work, can you send some pictures ?

Last but not least, can you upload your profile of this HOSAS for Star citizen ?

Thanks you

I second this. thank you for your tips, would love to have your in-game proflie.xml

[Lobstar]

Is there a recommendation for max spring tension? I have a 20# spring on my left stick with the hard center space cams to act as a detent and put moderate pressure on the clutch. I like to have that resistance and it feels like it's just on the cusp of slipping/holding with the 15 degree forward lean on the mounts.

[dogjutsu]

Sorry to the folks who replied to me, I was expecting to be emailed if anybody replied, but I must not have that set up properly.

I'm waiting on an 80/20 order to build my stand to mount the sticks to (supposed to finally ship this week -- the cuts/machining take a while apparently). Until I have that built I won't be set up to really properly play with and refine the HOSAS setup. My stand design is heavily inspired by the Monstertech version (and if I had gone Monstertech I would have paid about the same even after shipping and had it in hand a week or two ago), but I wanted to make some modifications on their design and gain the experience doing it myself.

When I get my stand setup and my config all done and refined to the point I'm feeling good about it, I'll be sure to share it here.

[Kaarno]

Another +1 for a glimpse into what you have set up for HOSAS bindings for SC especially.

I have just received my RH SCGp GF3 and have changed it up a little as standard (Avia-S / 20mm) was not centering on the X/Y axis for me...so in game my ships were wandering.

I am coming from a HOTAS so a big shift to HOSAS. I am at a bit of a loss with bindings.

When my LH SCGp GF3 arrives, I am keen to make it have that throttle feel.

[dogjutsu]

Sorry all, I've been distracted by real life / Squadrons. I did however take advantage of Prime Day to grab two Amazon Fire 10-inch tablets for GameGlass. I mounted them to my stand with a RAM "rail" mount ball base (which works perfectly on the 80/20 rails) and car-style tablet mount/arms -- I'm not sure how practical it actually is yet (haven't played), but does look neat.

I still intend to upload my SC stick binds when I get back around to it.

@Kaarno Regardless of which spring/cam combo you use, you'll want to adjust the deadzone(s) to avoid drift. Hard center cams / heavy springs / light clutch will generally require less deadzone than light springs / soft center cams / heavy clutch. For self-centering axises (ie, not my L stick Y throttle axis) I increase the deadzone until 100% of the time when I release the stick (regardless of direction or amount of deflection) the stick always comes back to rest and reports dead center. Note that if you change cams/springs/clutch you should re-calibrate before setting the deadzones. Also note that if you are setting up your deadzone with the VKB software that you'll want to ensure zero deadzone is set for any in-game settings.

For my non-self centering throttle axis on my left stick, I set the deadzone quite large so that I never "miss" it if I stop when I feel the center "bump" in the axis from the cam.

[wasd1983]

Thank you so much. I'm thinking about the same setting and I was wondering if it would be possible. I can live without center, but I'd really like to have it.
In my guessing, I would use a rubber band, but your idea is really good.
I'm simply waiting for a better moment to order space cams without holidays in the middle then I'll do my experients.