Cleaning CH Product USB Pedals...

[Guest byoung]

Has anybody taken apart the CH Products Pedals and cleaned them?It seems like there are a million screws on the bottom...And advice would be appreciated.Thanks!Barry

[Guest]

I have done it before, after a roller inside ran over a wire and cut it. It really isn't that bad. But I remember there are alot of screws. Just take them all out. You'll be fine, just make sure you know how to put it back together.Tadd

[Guest byoung]

Thanks for the reply,What kind of roller ran over the wire and cut it? Barry

[Guest byoung]

Bump for more replies...Barry

[Guest]

Took mine apart about a year ago, not to clean but to fix. One of the toe brakes seemed never to disengage unless I really put pressure on it. Each toe brake has a reostat that can be adjusted easily, and I wasn't sure if the pedals were going to work properly when I reassembled but they did. Just be carefull and slow, the wires are thin and can probably tear off easily and need resoldered. Other than the reostats I think the springs are what made me think a little while reassembling.

[Guest Moghdad]

Where would I buy the pedals and yoke and what do they cost?

[Guest byoung]

Hey Moghdad,Here is the link of distributors and prices. Amazon.com seems to have the best prices. You can compare prices via these vendors:Where to BuyTake care!Barry

[Guest cw1011]

I would try the latest edition of FSUIPC before going through this process. In one of the tabs there is are switches for eliminating controller spikes. I'm guessing that this is a sampling application that "averages" out abnormally high or low readings from the pots. I am getting dead-on "O" ratings for the rudder at rest, looking at the FSUIPC Joystick tabs using this, where before, I had many instances of screwy outputs coming from the CH pedals.

[Guest byoung]

Hi cw1011,I have exausted all possible avenues including those via FSUIPC... I have tried setting the null zones etc.I had another thread going via this forum.Flight Dynamics LinkYou can read the comments there...I may try it one more time, just to be certain. Now when I first select any aircraft the Brake is now engaugeed without touching the pedals.That is why I think it needs to be cleaned.Here is a copy of Greg's reply:Hi byoung,Indeed, alot of folks having problems with the FM's in the sim might be wise to inspect their controller hardware before blaming Microsoft.Case in point... for most of FS2K and the first 7 months of FS2K2 I flew with the Saitek X-36. My aircraft constantly did the "hunt" routine... though Steve's .air files helped a great deal. Then the X-36 died, and I bought a Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar. It was better with regard to "stability" and smoothness of the FM, but I still thought there was room for improvement. I finally decided to build my own gimbals and centering system for the Cougar. The gimabls are precision machined and fully bearing supported. I also replaced the stock pots with Hall Effects Sensors (much higher resolution... and good to go for at least 1 million cycles). This complete rebuild wasn't cheap, but the flight controller I now fly with is incredibly smooth. Even the Lear is much easier to fly now (though, clearly the stock .air file needs some work). I also fly with a set of Thrustmaster Elite pedals. I've cleaned and treated the pot on these, and they're very smooth and precise.Your CH gear is top quality stuff, no doubt about that. But I would recommend that you insure all is working well with it. Once you've eliminated the hardware as a possible cause to your problems you can start looking at other factors.Many of the problems folks are experiencing can be attributed to bad or dirty pots. A pot, by its design, will start causing problems at some point in time. Like all devices, some are better than others. I use these two products in my rudder pedals and throttle pots. One is a cleaner, the other is a sealer. They are outstanding.http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.c...r=341-200&DID=7http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.c...r=341-200&DID=7Pots are things many of us don't give much thought to. But over time they get dirty. Typically, arcing begins between the wiper and carbon conductor face. This only gets worse with more use... the arcing creates even more residue and gunk, which creates even more (and usually worse) arcing. The biggest problem in all this is the device's inability to consistently return to the zero point. Your software may be showing that all is well, but mechanically the pot won't return to zero. Thus the aircraft attitude "hunting" comes into play, as well as off zero signals. The natural assumption is to increase the null zone... which is a short term fix. With more arcing you'll have no choice but to increase the null zones. And then there will be more and worse arcing... with even more null zone adjustment.The pots used in most controllers are not, shall we say, high end products. Which is why I favor the Hall Effects Sensors. They are maintenance free, no parts ever touch each other, and they'll work the same way for years. But they're not cheap... $50US each. Quality always costs!Hope this helps... good luck with getting it all sorted.GregTake care!Barry