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PTT switch

JayH

JayH

Registered User
NE Iowa
Greetings,
I would like to hear some comments/opinions on the PTT switch being mounted on the throttle knob or tunnel near the throttle. In my wiring scheme, it would be SO much easier to put it there, without the long cable run under the floor, ware at the flex point at the bottom of the sticks, no rear stick removal issues, and very easy to work on and trouble shoot later. Did anybody mount it on the tunnel and regret it later?? Is there a whole bunch of hand switching, or inconvenience in reaching it when tuning the radio in busy airspace..........?

Thanks for the insight!
Jay
 
JayH said:
Greetings,
I would like to hear some comments/opinions on the PTT switch being mounted on the throttle knob or tunnel near the throttle. In my wiring scheme, it would be SO much easier to put it there, without the long cable run under the floor, ware at the flex point at the bottom of the sticks, no rear stick removal issues, and very easy to work on and trouble shoot later. Did anybody mount it on the tunnel and regret it later?? Is there a whole bunch of hand switching, or inconvenience in reaching it when tuning the radio in busy airspace..........?

Thanks for the insight!
Jay
Click to expand...

Jay-

Mine are on the sticks. The front one was broken when I got the plane. The rear was broken when I took somebody for a ride. I also can't take the rear stick out because it is there.

Needless to say, both switches are getting moved to the fairing by the throttle when I take it down for annual.

Tim
 
My personal Cub has always had momentary toggle switches on the left wing root. The only time it is tough to get to them is in the flare - and usually even that is fairly easy. I like them there.

But the new Cub had the velcro button wrapped around the stick. Wires everywhere! I moved it to the throttle and everybody is delighted.

Did you know that at least some Huskies come from the factory with throttle mounted buttons? Works just great! Let us know if you get knobs with buttons in them, and where they come from?
 
Mine is located on the the tunnel ahead if the throttle. I like it there. No problems. With it located ahead of the throttle I can rest my hand on the tunnel and not interfere with the PTT.
 
Thanks guys, I think I'll look at the tunnel application. Just needed some confirmation from some with some mileage under their belt, Thanks.

Bob,
I haven't researched a source for those yet. I was thinking a switch right in front of the throttle on top. If I come up with a source for the knob mounted switch I'll let you know.

J
 
Thanks Ralph, was typing the same time you were. Where in western Iowa? I worked in the Sioux City, LeMars area for a while.
 
I put mine on the front stick knob and the rear throttle knob. No issues and I would do it again in those positions. You want a small normally open (NO) push button switch and it is wired to a ground so one end can be attached to the nearest ground.

I drilled the knobs on a lathe using a bolt stub to hold the knob on-center. The switch is Super Glued into the drilled hole. Clear Super Glue can be easily broken with a twist of the switch body.

prior_to_fabric_0121.jpg


The wiring for the front stick PTT exits the stick through a rubber grommet just above the stick pivot point and then goes under the floorboard to the terminations.
 
Mine is on the top of the stick, and it's great. Since I ordinarily fly with my hand on the stick, even in the calmest conditions, it feels very natural to have the switch mounted there. Since my left hand is typically not on the throttle once I've reached cruise I think it would be a nuisance to have the PTT operated by the left hand.

I'd be curious to know where StewartB mounted his PTT when he rebuilt his -12: he put a good deal of thought into the placement of everything in his plane and may have some well thought out opinions on what's best.

Eric
 
I'd be curious as to where Stewart B. placed his too but I haven't seen a post from him in a while. I kind of like the way the Husky has theirs on the throttle knob....just don't press the throttle by accident when you are on the gas. :eek:
 
kevin said:
I'd be curious as to where Stewart B. placed his too but I haven't seen a post from him in a while.
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ianfjYzeqps&feature=channel_page shows it...

on the stick with velcro thing... I whine if they want other ones....

but I am intrigued by the IN the throttle knob idea.... have a shiny new lathe that would just love a project like that.....

sent Stewart an email, see if he shows up.....
 
Sticks.. and just put a couple of quick connect butt connectors on the wires if you want easy stick removal
 
I have a stick PTT on the Super Decathlon and the aforementioned wing root switches on the Cub. For the life of me, I cannot see any operational difficulties going from one to the other. If you carry lots of non-aviator passengers it is better to get the rear PTT located where they cannot easily grab it.

They are so trivial to hook up - you might try it in several locations, then choose what is best for you. You can have more than one in the same seat - the Decathlon has one on the instrument panel, so I can talk while Linda flies.
 
PTT

I like my PTT on the front side of the front stick about 2" or so below the knob, That way you can't kick it getting in or out and its easy to operate with your pinky or ring finger.

Dave
 
Minor correction: ALL Husky aircraft and Pitts Specials coming out of Afton have the PTT switch mounted on the throttle.

When I first started flying Huskys, I thought that location was kind of odd, but I quickly came to really like it. After several thousand hours flying them, if I were building a Cub, that is where I'd put the PTT, no doubt.

I would point out that there's no need to have your finger on the PTT switch while cruising cross country, and it's no sweat to reach up to the throttle and punch it to talk.

One of the nice things is that, mounted in the throttle knob, you don't have to use quick disconnects.

THat would be my first choice of location.

Our Top Cub has the REAR PTT switch located in the wing root. THAT is purely a pain, so I make the students do all the talking....

MTV
 
PTT

My PTT is one of those large red-button velcro thingies that come with ICOMs. It is mounted on the vertical tube right behind the throttle, and is very convenient; I push it with my pinky. For what it is worth (not much, do what you like) airliners mount them on the control wheel and fighters have them on the throttle.
 
I hated the Husky throttle ptt...

I would always have a hand on the stick, but often the left hand would be trimming, fuel etc. To talk I would have to stop, push the button, then go back to what I was doing.

I have one that is just attached with velcro, but the wires go under the floor boards. Some tape to hold the wire and it is easy to remove.

For the rear seat, heck, that stick comes out more than in, so I have the stupid portable and it almost never sees the light of day. I don't need the passenger talking anyway!

When I rebuild my plane, I am looking at a field approval to make the rear throttle removable, or have a cover over it most of the time...
 
Synopsis:

(almost) Everybody likes their button wherever it is, & they've got used to.
ONE even likes it way up high.
ONE says his left hand is bizzy with things like fuel, trim, hair, & whatever else he plays with. :)
Mine's on the throttle tunnel, I can push it with any one of four fingers. (Thumb is a bit of a twist)

Seems that whatever seems good for you, will be good for you!
Push 'em if you got 'em!
 
I got a picture of it but I don't know how to post pictures on this site. If you send me your email address, I will send you the picture I have.
 
I am airsick just looking at it. It has enough stuff that one could fly it without looking out the window - er, can it be flown while looking out the window?
 
I machined out the inside of my throttle knobs and manufactured my own buttons for reliability, and like the arrangement with some exceptions. My front seat back is wide, so the rear throttle button would be triggered on take off when my torso 'englished ' to the left a bit....also, I tend to key the front button when I raise my arm to the throttle. It would be better if I had placed the button 'on top' of the knob a bit instead of straight out the front. Working great for 15 years, now....
 
My PTTs are on the front stick and on the throttle tunnel cover just behind the pilot seat. The rear jacks are on the rear throttle tunnel cover beside the rear seat, pointing down. These keep the switches, jacks, and cables out of the way with no wear issues on the rear stick. You can do maintenance on the rear jacks just be removing the rear throttle tunnel cover (only about 6" long).

The front jacks are mounted below the instrument panel. If I had to do it again, I'd probably mount them on the throttle cover beside the pilot seat, pointing down. Mounting the jacks in the wing roots causes the cables to be in the way looking out. Not a big deal, but a nuisance to me.

I like the PTT on the pilot stick down where it is actuated by my pinky finger. I often fly with my fingers on top of the stick, so I don't like the PTT sticking up or out near the top of the stick. Entirely personal preference.
 
PTT

In the 76 cub I used to have I put the PTT on the throttle like in the Husky pictures. I liked it there OK except the wire would break once in awhile due to bending with throttle changes. I also couldn't talk when flying with my left hand and pointing my right out the door :D
I haven't found any down side to the front of the stick location so far. If I need to remove the front seat I left enough of a wire loop that I can lay the stick on the floor without unhooking any wires.

In a cub the one place you always have a hand is on the stick it

Dave
 
ag-pilot,

With the PTT on the throttle, you need to leave adequate strain relief, to prevent problems with the wire breaking.

I'm often amazed at wiring jobs that leave no strain relief in aircraft.

In response to your comment about hand always on stick, I would respond with the old saw "don't drop the airplane to fly the microphone".

Never been a really tight situation where I felt like I needed to talk more than fly, and in the tight spots I have been in, I've had my hand on the throttle as well as the stick 8)

Couldn't resist.

MTV
 
Great discussion everyone with great insight, thank you much. I have come up with some ideas and will try them. I like the idea of more than one PTT for one seat. They are simple enough to hook up, I may try that. My main goal is to have the wiring fixed to eliminate breakage and maintenance down the road. I may even try wiring in a fixed jack in a particular location, so when I want a PTT on the stick I can plug into the jack and Velcro the button to the stick and go. Just a thought. Thanks again.

J
 
Jay,

More than one PTT on a single keyline might be a problem. Remember, these are normally open switches, so if you have two on the same keyline, you'd have to push BOTH to make it work.

BUT, you could rig both keylines to PTT switches that are available to the Pilot Guy, as opposed to having one in the back seat.

MTV
 
mvivion said:
Jay,

More than one PTT on a single keyline might be a problem. Remember, these are normally open switches, so if you have two on the same keyline, you'd have to push BOTH to make it work.

BUT, you could rig both keylines to PTT switches that are available to the Pilot Guy, as opposed to having one in the back seat.

MTV
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that to "activate" your PTT you just ground the wire. I do know of one plane that wired in 2 PTT switches in series.....what a pain!

Tim
 
Speedo said:
Mine is on the top of the stick, and it's great. Since I ordinarily fly with my hand on the stick, even in the calmest conditions, it feels very natural to have the switch mounted there. Since my left hand is typically not on the throttle once I've reached cruise I think it would be a nuisance to have the PTT operated by the left hand.

I'd be curious to know where StewartB mounted his PTT when he rebuilt his -12: he put a good deal of thought into the placement of everything in his plane and may have some well thought out opinions on what's best.

Eric
Click to expand...

Eric,

I thought about a lot of things during my rebuild but I never thought about a PTT. Mine is velcro'd to the stick and the wire is a coiled mike cord that is routed under the seat. I like the adjustability that the velcro attachment offers and I adjust it several times during a flight. My PTT is on the stick because that's absolutely where it belongs. I despise sloppy and lazy radio communications and I have no reason to ever make a delayed response since my finger is on or very near the switch ALL THE TIME. Operating my radio is intuitive and easy in any circumstance.

Stewart
 
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