New home made double H gear shift

[Lesthegringo]

Hi All, currently replacing my old double H pattern shift I made (can't believe I made it 18 years ago!) with a more robust and hopefully better tactile feel version. I'm replacing the open gate style of the old one to a more race car type, the main reason being the number of times I got my finger caught in the open gate while using VR!

Give me a chance to get some pictures up here, and assuming it works well I am happy to post the CAD drawings up here for anyone to copy

Cheers

Les

 

[Lesthegringo]

Here it is so far, still in the construction and prototype phase

Still have to make the gear lever upper part and knob, the coupling shaft between the lever and box, and the two hall effect switch PCB's

Les

 

[blekenbleu]

I preferred the feel of my shifter after replacing the top plate with Delrin.

 

[Lesthegringo]

I have some delrin, PTFE, Nylon, aluminium (the one made) and phenolic to try so if I don't like the feel of the aluminium one I can make another. I toyed with the idea of making the gate follower pin out of delrin, but I am not sure how it will stand up in terms of wear

However to your point, the feel of the box is really important, especially in VR as apart from muscle memory you have no other cues. I have made it with an axial detent (easily seen in the picture) and also a rotary detent so that when crossing across the gates I have a bit of feedback as to whether I've got the right plane. Both can be adjusted in terms of strength, which I suspect will be crucial in obtaining the right feel.

Les

 

[Lesthegringo]

Here it is on the rig for trials

Once I replaced the follower pin with a steel one it helped as the aluminium one was predictably picking up on the aluminium gate. Once it has worn in a little more it will improve the smoothness further, though I will make a Delrin version to try. I realised the Delrin stock I have was not big enough to cover the entire length (150mm vs 160mm) so had to order some more

The difference in feel over the old one is very big, and it feels like the gearchange from the triumph Spitfire I had in the 80's. The only thing I am not so happy about is the side to side swing is a little more that I would have liked, so the new Delrin Gate will change that too. Luckily I made the side to side detent replaceable to cover that eventuality

 

[Lesthegringo]

I had to replace the PTFE bushes I made for the gear lever pivot rod end bearing with Delrin ones, as the PTFE ones were too soggy, allowing movement between the lever and the rod end ball. The new Delrin ones completely eliminate the play

One minor point - it is a lot louder than the previous version, so be warned that the other half may not be so happy with the improvements!

 

[Lesthegringo]

I have made the circuit boards with the Hall Effect switches, and have tested them using the type of magnets I am going to use along with a Leo Bodnar BU0836-LC board. I'm happy to report they work perfectly without crosstalk, and also with a reasonable distance between the magnet and the switch, so getting them positioned is not going to be a pain.

The result is contactless switches, so no wear, and all solid state electronics. I also don't have that small, but irritating little sound when the microswitches are pressed - it's amazing how clearly you can hear it when you are playing with the old one! It is also a much simpler setup, and much tighter packaging too, so anyone worried about space concerns would appreciate that detail aside from the JST-XH connector I decided to use, it is less than 4mm thick

 

[Lesthegringo]

While I am really happy with the way this has turned out, I do want to make another gate plate with narrower gate angles. The current angular movement is just a bit too much, so by reducing it by 20% it will improve it. I will use the Delrin plate I ordered as referred to in a previous post, I want to see what difference it makes to the feel.

The changes will mean new hall effect switch PCB's and a new cross detent plate, but I had made these as replaceable so that I could change things if I wanted to.

I'm running the switches through a Leo Bodnar BU0836-LC USB board, and it works just perfectly. The 6mm diameter 10mm long magnets that I bought off ebay come within 5mm of the OH137 hall effect switches, and this is more than close enough for the switches to function, and I have had to make zero adjustments to the positioning for it to work.

I also have to make the case to cover the internals. The grit and sand in the air here will soon make a mess of the internals if I don't plus obviously covering all the oily bits so they are protected is important. Still not sure what to make it from, it doesn't have to be structural as the main box case does that, but I do think using some material that helps deaden the sound would be good

 

[blekenbleu]

cover the internals

Perhaps a real shifter boot?

 

[Lesthegringo]

That's certainly a thought - especially for the front where the input shaft goes in, as it could move with it. It wouldn't be too hard to make one from leather. Nice idea!

I tried machining a pin so I could put a PTFE sleeve over it, and used that for the follower pin. The difference is dramatic, a lot smoother and quite a bit quieter too. It'll probably wear but seeing as it only took ten minutes to make, if I have to replace it a couple of times a year it's no big issue