FPV Joystick Housing for RC Radio

thingiverse

I designed this controller specifically for my Taranis radio, but it can be easily adapted to work with just about anything. The real challenge was finding a way to fit a cheap PS2 joystick that would control the pan/tilt camera on my FPV planes. I spent hours perfecting a housing that would allow me to use this joystick and still have access to the stock sliders. A selector switch is not required, but it's a nice feature that lets you choose between using the sliders or the rear joystick. If you don't use a selector switch, the joystick and sliders will counteract each other when they're not in their neutral position. I prefer this setup because it allows me to use a slider to position the camera exactly where I want it and leave it there until I move it again. To wire them together, simply take power and ground from one of the sliders and send it to the terminals on the joystick. Then, connect the signal wires from each slider to the X/Y terminal on the joystick. Choose which one you want to be X and Y and wire accordingly. You can see exactly where I soldered the wires in the pictures. You don't need to cut anything - just solder to the back of the pins on the PCB and use hot glue to secure the wires. If you're still having trouble, feel free to post a comment below for help. There are now two housing versions to choose from: V1 is the original version that uses four M3x10mm button head screws coming in from the outside of the housing and nylon nuts on the inside to sandwich the joystick to the radio housing. V2 eliminates the holes on the outside of the housing and instead uses four M3x6mm button head screws to pull the joystick housing down. Print the included flat template and the joystick housing of your choice, then open up your Taranis radio and separate the cases. Use the pictures to see where you want to locate the template - it needs to be slightly above the PCB enough to clear the M3 nylon nuts (if using V1), and very slightly off center towards the outside edge between the raised areas on the back side of the rear case. Place the printed joystick housing on the back of the radio between the raised areas so that it's centered and not hitting either of the raised areas. When you're sure it's good, drill your four holes then place the flat template on the inside as seen in the picture and proceed to dremel away the material. When you get close, use a square file to make all the corners nice and squared off. I got my PS2 joystick from eBay for just 83 cents! This one has black plastic rather than white plastic, and it has the word "shield" in the title - I'm not sure if that matters, but since it was designed specifically for this joystick, I'd recommend sticking with the one with the black plastic coming out of the metal housing. You can find exactly the one I have using this link: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=ps2+joystick&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xps2+joystick+shield.TRS1&_nkw=ps2+joystick+shield&_sacat=0 You'll need to trim the bottom side of the thumb cap so that the total height doesn't exceed 0.500" (1/2"). I used curved Lexan cutting scissors - if you don't trim it, the housing will hit when moving the joystick.