October 20, 20205 yr All of a sudden, all of the buttons (mode switch, button 2, and buttons 5-8 ) on the right handle of my Saitek Pro Flight Yoke have stopped working. They don't even work using the generic Windows USB controller program. I've completely disassembled the yoke--both the handle and the main "box" and I don't see anything immediately wrong (like a disconnected or broken wire). Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Well, other than the obvious "time to buy a new one", that is.
October 21, 20205 yr Author Do I need to provide additional information in order to get any assistance?
October 22, 20205 yr 21 hours ago, Masterius said: Do I need to provide additional information in order to get any assistance? How did you test the TQ? Does Win10 see the 'bad' Yoke buttons if you go to Control Panel >Devices and Printers >Right click on Flight Yoke System > Right Click on Game Controller Settings > Saitek Pro Flight Yoke > Properties? Should look something like the below. Al Edited October 22, 20205 yr by ark
October 22, 20205 yr Author 13 minutes ago, ark said: How did you test the TQ? Does Win10 see the 'bad' Yoke buttons if you go to Control Panel >Devices and Printers >Right click on Flight Yoke System > Right Click on Game Controller Settings > Saitek Pro Flight Yoke > Properties? Should look something like the below. Al Yes, I tested it using Windows 10 USB Controller setup, and when I do only mode 2 illuminates, and stays illuminated even when switching the mode button back and forth. All the axis register movement, and all of the buttons illuminate when toggled or depressed, except for buttons 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
October 22, 20205 yr 53 minutes ago, Masterius said: Yes, I tested it using Windows 10 USB Controller setup, and when I do only mode 2 illuminates, and stays illuminated even when switching the mode button back and forth. All the axis register movement, and all of the buttons illuminate when toggled or depressed, except for buttons 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Can you think of anything that was changed at the point the buttons stopped working? Sounds to me like there is a good chance the circuitry in the yoke is defective, especially since all the non-working switches are located on the same yoke horn. If all those switches connect to a little PC board inside the right yoke horn I would look for a crack in the board, and try to trace the wires involved (by color perhaps) to where they connect to the PC board in the main yoke case and look for any problems there. You could also try plugging the yoke into a different USB port on the computer. That's a wild "shot in the dark" but easy enough to try. Al EDIT: There could be one wire, either a ground or +5 volt wire, the goes to the right yoke horn that is 'bad' and prevents all the switches from working correctly. I say this because activating any of the switches likely connects one of its pins to either +5v or ground. So this wire would impact the operation of all the switches. Edited October 22, 20205 yr by ark
October 22, 20205 yr Author 19 minutes ago, ark said: Can you think of anything that was changed at the point the buttons stopped working? Sounds to me like there is a good chance the circuitry in the yoke is defective, especially since all the non-working switches are located on the same yoke horn. If all those switches connect to a little PC board inside the right yoke horn I would look for a crack in the board, and try to trace the wires involved (by color perhaps) to where they connect to the PC board in the main yoke case and look for any problems there. You could also try plugging the yoke into a different USB port on the computer. That's a wild "shot in the dark" but easy enough to try. Al EDIT: There could be one wire, either a ground or +5 volt wire, the goes to the right yoke horn that is 'bad' and prevents all the switches from working correctly. I say this because activating any of the switches likely connects one of its pins to either +5v or ground. So a failure of this wire would impact all the switches. I was in the middle of programming my flight sim setup for the AccuSim P51D Mustang I'd just bought and installed when I'd noticed the buttons weren't responding. I can't see any reason for that to have caused the issue. I'd swapped USB ports already, but in the interest of science ::wry grin:: I did so again. No joy. ::sighs:: I've already dismantled the yoke handles and main body once. Nothing obvious had stuck out, but I'll do so again, paying close attention to the +5V and ground wires. I do remember something odd that had happened earlier that day: when I'd booted up the computer it had froze at the boot-up screen. The little green power buttons of quadrants two and three were a steady green, but the one for quadrant one (which is connected to the yoke) and the rudder pedals (also connected to the yoke) were rapid flashing. Repeated attempts to boot up repeated the same, and it wasn't until I unplugged the yoke from its USB port that the pc finally booted up. Once it had booted it, I'd plugged the yoke back in, and it worked fine. It wasn't until several hours later that the right yoke handle finally stopped working. I can't right this moment, but later tonight I'll take the yoke handle back apart, and check continuity and such, paying closer attention to the +5V and ground. Thanks! Al
October 22, 20205 yr 34 minutes ago, Masterius said: I do remember something odd that had happened earlier that day: when I'd booted up the computer it had froze at the boot-up screen. The little green power buttons of quadrants two and three were a steady green, but the one for quadrant one (which is connected to the yoke) and the rudder pedals (also connected to the yoke) were rapid flashing. Repeated attempts to boot up repeated the same, and it wasn't until I unplugged the yoke from its USB port that the pc finally booted up. Once it had booted it, I'd plugged the yoke back in, and it worked fine. It wasn't until several hours later that the right yoke handle finally stopped working. Strange, makes me think of a power issue of some kind. Do you have a lot of USB devices, and if so are you using a powered USB hub by any chance? If not, wonder if you need one? If you haven't tried it already, try hooking up the yoke to the computer without the TQ and rudder peddles connected to it and see what happens. I suppose there is some small chance that the TQ or rudder peddles might be causing the problem. Al Edited October 22, 20205 yr by ark
October 23, 20205 yr Author 2 hours ago, ark said: Strange, makes me think of a power issue of some kind. Do you have a lot of USB devices, and if so are you using a powered USB hub by any chance? If not, wonder if you need one? If you haven't tried it already, try hooking up the yoke to the computer without the TQ and rudder peddles connected to it and see what happens. I suppose there is some small chance that the TQ or rudder peddles might be causing the problem. Al Only USB devices I have are my flight sim equipment. The Yoke/quadrant direct plugs into the pc, with the rudder pedals and two additional quadrants plugged into the yoke. The radio panel and switch panel plug into a powered USB hub, which is plugged into the pc. I've already tried plugging just the yoke/quadrant without anything else plugged into it: the right yoke handle buttons still remain inactive and unrecognized. I'll try it again, with the main throttle quadrant also disconnected, and see what happens. (As an aside, I also use USBDeview to monitor and keep "clean" USB assignments) Edited October 23, 20205 yr by Masterius Just booted up with only the yoke attached; the right yoke handle buttons are still unresponsive.
October 23, 20205 yr Author After disassembly of the yoke handle and examination of the right-side circuit board, I suspect that --as you had surmised--a small crack is the culprit (see below). Well, off to look for a replacement, I suppose. Thanks for your help, advice, and encouragement! Al
October 24, 20205 yr 3 hours ago, Masterius said: After disassembly of the yoke handle and examination of the right-side circuit board, I suspect that --as you had surmised--a small crack is the culprit (see below). Well, off to look for a replacement, I suppose. Thanks for your help, advice, and encouragement! Al Well, from the pic I'm not sure that is really a crack. In any case, what is important are the traces (the dark green 'wires'). If you think one is cut, you can repair it by carefully using a drop of solder that bridges the cut, or by soldering a small piece of wire across the cut. You may have to gently clean some coating off the trace at the repair point so the solder adhears. I'm assuming that is a single sided printed circuit board (traces only on one side). If you still have the yoke handle apart I'd like to see some more pictures of the whole circuit board. Maybe I could suggest some things for you to try. Do you have a multimeter for measuring 5v DC and checking continuity? Al Edited October 24, 20205 yr by ark
October 25, 20205 yr Author On 10/23/2020 at 10:14 PM, ark said: If you still have the yoke handle apart I'd like to see some more pictures of the whole circuit board. Maybe I could suggest some things for you to try. Do you have a multimeter for measuring 5v DC and checking continuity? Al The yoke handle is currently reassembled, but I'll try and take it back apart sometime this week. I have several multimeters, so I can easily measure 5VDC and continuity. Al
October 29, 20205 yr Author Well, I swapped out the circuit board with a different one, and the right handle still is not recognized. Any idea what I might try next?
October 29, 20205 yr Hmmm... I assume you swapped out the circuit board in the yoke's right handle. So that leaves the wires from the board to the logic board in yoke body, and the 'main' circuit board in the yoke body unless there are some wire connections between the circuit board you replaced and the other circuit boards in the yoke handle (I'm guessing a board for the green display, and a board for the buttons on the left yoke horn?). It would make sense to run just one set of power (+5v) and ground wires from the yoke body down the yoke shaft to serve all three (I assume) circuit boards in the yoke handle as needed. So there may be interconnections between these three boards to distribute power and/or ground, and one of these connections (bad solder joint) or wires could be bad. So again, I wonder if the right handle circuit board is getting power and/or ground as needed since a 'closed' switch is likely sending either a ground or +5 volt signal back to the main circuit board to indicate the switch was activated. I'm looking for a problem that is common to all the switches on the non-working circuit board, and +5v and ground (wherever they are coming from) are possible candidates. How may wires connect to the non-working circuit board, and do any connect to the other boards? I've been assuming there are just switches on the non-working circuit board. Does there seem to be any logic chips (ICs) on the non-working circuit board? If so, switch action could be encoded and sent serially back to the board in the yoke body (which is what is done for the switches on the TQ that connects to the yoke). But still, power and ground would be needed for the non-working board. Since you apparently have two yokes, switching out the main circuit board in the yoke body is another possibility I suppose if it comes to that. Al Edited October 29, 20205 yr by ark
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