Okay, so the lever grew a tail...
After playing with the physical object for a bit, I decided it wouldn't be good enough for it to just have some wires coming to some external circuit. This thing needs to be a self-contained USB throttle!

Adafruit makes a tiny Arduino board I have used on a few projects, and their new Trinket M0 should allow this to become a stand-alone device.


 


I also re-designed almost every aspect of the device.
I added a 3D printed base which will house the PCB, as well as the potentiometer and a sheet of steel to add weight. The plan is to order the ballast and baseplate in stainless steel from sendcutsend.com. Both cause real materials are better, and this things needs the weight.

Screw on rubber feet will prevent it from moving around too much. I have simulated the center of mass, and it shouldn't over tip on it's own. It can still be screwed down if needed. I did look at using lead shot, but it actually didn't change the center of mass by more than 1/8".





For the detent, I decided to laser-cut a ring which will go on the opposite side from the gear. By laser cutting it I can tweak the detent depth to get just the right feel. I could also even add things like small bumps that make the lever feel like it is ratcheting up/down.

I'll mock up this design in the next week, and I don't have to order any more expensive shipping items from McMaster to build it.