Hi all. Last night I gutted a Gravis Destroyer USB Joystick to use the axes for additional controls. I've onlu implemented one so far, and I have a problem. I set the sticks "Throttle" control to the elevator trim. It controls it OK, but it's very jittery. Movement seems to be nice and smooth - but when I leave the control alone, the indicator on the panel dances up and down visibly. I've tried messing with the sensitivity settings, but no joy. Any suggestions how to calm this down ?Richard

>Hi all.>> Last night I gutted a Gravis Destroyer USB Joystick to use>the axes for additional controls. I've onlu implemented one so>far, and I have a problem. I set the sticks "Throttle" control>to the elevator trim. It controls it OK, but it's very>jittery. Movement seems to be nice and smooth - but when I>leave the control alone, the indicator on the panel dances up>and down visibly. I've tried messing with the sensitivity>settings, but no joy.>> Any suggestions how to calm this down ?>>RichardIf you extended the cable yourself, you need to use shielded wire. You know those that have the woven metal "web" over the inner wire. Connect the "web" shield to ground somewhere in the joystick PCB and leave the other end free, just connect the signal wire. That should help quite a bit.Tuomas

no, didn't extend the cable - still using the original cable and connections - gutting was purely mechanical

Hmmm, are you still using the same pots? Are you using the same amount of rotation on them? I would suspect that you've reduced the amount of the pot rotation and this could be the source of jitter perhaps.-Leo

Same pots. Same amount of rotation - I haven't physically connected the pot to the panel yet - I was just testing it. Even with no rotation at all the trim indicator jitters up and down.Richard

I think Gravis put in a micro switch in their device that once you crack open the case, wham...jitter switch gets activated! ;)Weird. This might sound stupid, but I would try it....Reassemble it!!!! Maybe some kind of grounding or shielding wire / plate / screw / whatever has been disconnected and was tied in with the case somehow. I dunno...Its what I'd try at this point. Logic dictates that something MUST have happened (or snapped) when you opened it.Forgot to ask...do you have all the pots connected to it just like when it was assembled?-Leo

Yes, I didn't disconnect anything - just pulled the electronics out of the housing. I never tried it in FS before doing so though - just used the Windows Control Panel to make sure it at least enumerated and the axis worked, so maybe it was bad before I started.Richard

Oh ok. In that case it is most likely the design and there's not much you can do to fix that. You could try relacing the pots for new ones as long as they are of the same value (100k Ohm?) and see if that helps reduce the jitter.-Leo

Hi Richard,your problem sounds like your circuitry picks up some hum and noise. It could well be that the original housing of the stick had some kind of shielding (graphite layer on inner side of the plastic).Also hum and noise could easily come from the Monitor, the PC itself or nearby electric device.To find out whether insufficient shielding is the cause just put a plastic bag for insulation around your joystick electronics and wrap that all in aluminum foil. Make sue you connect the aluminum to the chassis (ground) of your computer.Now the jitter should be gone if the shielding caused the trouble.BE CAREFUL TO NOT SHORT CIRCUIT THE ELECTRONICS BY THE ALUMINUM WRAPPING.Hope this helps.rgdsPeter

>BE CAREFUL TO NOT SHORT CIRCUIT THE ELECTRONICS BY THE>ALUMINUM WRAPPING.And while it might sound clever to use those anti-static bags that you get with harddisks and motherboards etc, DO NOT USE THEM as shielding - they can conduct electricity as well, they just protect the stuff from static, but one shouldnt power up electronics inside them.Tuomas

OK, guys, I'll try that once I get home.Incidentally, I'm sitting in an A320 at LGB as I write, online through the airports wireless network (Free!!) and looking in through the open cockpit door. I see the pilot is online on his laptop too...... Wonder if FSUIPC will connect into the flightdeck computers ??Rick

>Wonder if FSUIPC will connect into the>flightdeck computers ??I'd say hopefully not :)They use laptops to do the performance calculations and ref speed stuff though.If you are interested in flight planning stuff and flying with real-life procedures etc, you might want to check out www.pmfp.com btw. A free sim-only flight planning site that gives you a real looking preflight printout for your route, metars, notams etc. Looks nifty and it's free to use - not for me though since I am mostly a VFR guy for now :) But it might be interesting. Although then you are entering the hardcore sim freakery and probably need to order router charts from Jeppesen next etc .. :)Also if you dont know VATSIM yet, check that out (www.vatsim.net) - once your cockpit is "flyable" that's the place to fly in with real people as controllers etc.. You probably knew it already though, but maybe it is new and useful information for someone..Cheers,Tuomas