Joystick woes

[cianpars 1,182]

My Airbus joystick has been producing spurious inputs for some time now and has been getting quite annoying.  It's also been getting more and more over sensitive to the point where I've had to turn the X and Y axis down to minus 95%.  So has  anyone stripped one of these down to repair and is it worth the effort?

Alternatively with black friday deals and Christmas on the way, mybe I could get a new stick, but then, it's a case of which stick is going to be reliable at a reasonable price and have the features I need such as a twist ridder, hat switch and a few programmable buttons.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated and if anyone has spotted some good deals, please chime in.

Thanks

[wim123 765]

this one is pretty good VelocityOne FlightStick.

 

[cianpars 1,182]

1 hour ago, wim123 said:

this one is pretty good VelocityOne FlightStick.

 

Thanks Wim, Looks like an interesting choice at a reasonable price.  I read a few reviews suggesting it was a bit fiddly to set up, but I can live with that as once it's done, it's done, I suppose.  I'm assuming it has a twist rudder as I can't find clear confirmation of this in the specs.

Any other thoughts and comments would be appreciated, both relating to whether the Airbus one might be fixable along with other suggestions for a new stick.

I do like the look of the Turtlebeach VelocityOne and the specs look pretty decent.

[cianpars 1,182]

Hi again Guys.  What joysticks do you all use and what do you find good/bad about them?  Do any of you have opinions on the VelocityOne Flightstick?

Thanks

[Ricardo41 5,959]

The Thrustmaster Airbus joystick is garbage. It's "unique selling proposition" is that it sort of looks like the real thing. Other than that, it's junk. 

[DD_Arthur 1,092]

I use a MSFFB2. It’s approaching twenty-five years old and appears to be indestructible.

If it’s not, I have another two in reserve….

[Bob Scott 7,753]

Try recalibrating the Airbus TCA stick using the hardware calibration procedure as follows:
 

Analog Axis Calibration
1.Plug the A320 joystick to USB while pressing simultaneously on button 7 and 13

2.Move all the axis and reach all the maximum and minimum mechanical travel Move the handle to the upper
direction and touch the housing without exercising too much force. Re-produce the same operation for the
down, left and right direction.  Twist the handle and reach the left and right mechanical stopper without
exercising too much force. Move the throttle to the upper direction and touch the housing without exercising
too much force. Re-produce the same operation for the down direction.

3. To save the calibration inside the MCU chipset, while simultaneously pressing button 8 & 14, unplug the USB

 If you are using a USB hub, it's also highly recommended to use an independently-powered hub.

The X & Y axes on the Thrustmaster sticks use Hall Effect sensors, so it's unlikely it's an issue with those--more likely something went wonky in your firmware calibration.

The twist (Z) axis is different...if you're having trouble with spiking on that axis, there's a simple mod that involves re-routing a few wires inside the stick handle, and possibly the need to sand down a small plastic nub, also in the stick handle.  There are several YouTube videos that show how that's done.  I've done that mod on all three of my TCA sticks, and my twist-axis spiking has been history ever since.

[cianpars 1,182]

13 minutes ago, Bob Scott said:

Try recalibrating the Airbus TCA stick using the hardware calibration procedure as follows:
 

Analog Axis Calibration
1.Plug the A320 joystick to USB while pressing simultaneously on button 7 and 13

2.Move all the axis and reach all the maximum and minimum mechanical travel Move the handle to the upper
direction and touch the housing without exercising too much force. Re-produce the same operation for the
down, left and right direction.  Twist the handle and reach the left and right mechanical stopper without
exercising too much force. Move the throttle to the upper direction and touch the housing without exercising
too much force. Re-produce the same operation for the down direction.

3. To save the calibration inside the MCU chipset, while simultaneously pressing button 8 & 14, unplug the USB

 If you are using a USB hub, it's also highly recommended to use an independently-powered hub.

The X & Y axes on the Thrustmaster sticks use Hall Effect sensors, so it's unlikely it's an issue with those--more likely something went wonky in your firmware calibration.

The twist (Z) axis is different...if you're having trouble with spiking on that axis, there's a simple mod that involves re-routing a few wires inside the stick handle, and possibly the need to sand down a small plastic nub, also in the stick handle.  There are several YouTube videos that show how that's done.  I've done that mod on all three of my TCA sticks, and my twist-axis spiking has been history ever since.

Excellent info Bob. Does the stick come apart easily without falling to pieces?

It is the rudder axis that seems to be a problem and if I can fix that, it will save me the cost of a new stick as the airbus one is not very old.

Many thanks

[Alvega 2,126]

1 hour ago, Bob Scott said:

The twist (Z) axis is different...if you're having trouble with spiking on that axis, there's a simple mod that involves re-routing a few wires inside the stick handle, and possibly the need to sand down a small plastic nub, also in the stick handle.  There are several YouTube videos that show how that's done.  I've done that mod on all three of my TCA sticks, and my twist-axis spiking has been history ever since.

I did this mod too on my T.16000M a couple years ago and never had a problem with Z axis since.

[Bob Scott 7,753]

3 hours ago, cianpars said:

Excellent info Bob. Does the stick come apart easily without falling to pieces?

It is the rudder axis that seems to be a problem and if I can fix that, it will save me the cost of a new stick as the airbus one is not very old.

It's a pretty easy disassembly--just a few (3?) screws on the side of the stick.  You might also need to take the bottom cover off to untape the slack wire loop and feed a bit more through.

If you're watching a video on the T16000M, it's mostly the same except for the top of the stick where the buttons and the trigger are.  There's no trigger pin removal needed on the TCA stick.

If the pot is damaged, a like-kind replacement is available, part number 251B12T104A2NB at Mouser Electronics...runs about $2.50, but would require some minor soldering to R&R it.

[cianpars 1,182]

Thanks Bob, I will open it up, clean the potentiometer and try taping up (or losening) the wires.  I've not seen anyhing about sanding down a part, though will see what it looks like.  Most of the videos are on the T16000M as you say, but I've found a couple specific to the Airbus stick.

Edited November 20, 2023 by cianpars

[Alvega 2,126]

6 hours ago, cianpars said:

Thanks Bob, I will open it up, clean the potentiometer and try taping up (or losening) the wires.  I've not seen anyhing about sanding down a part, though will see what it looks like.  Most of the videos are on the T16000M as you say, but I've found a couple specific to the Airbus stick.

Check this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hotas/comments/9h5va3/t16000_yaw_fixed/

It's the T16000M but it shows the part to cut. Dunno if the Airbus stick has it though.

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Alvega

[cianpars 1,182]

1 hour ago, Alvega said:

Check this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hotas/comments/9h5va3/t16000_yaw_fixed/

It's the T16000M but it shows the part to cut. Dunno if the Airbus stick has it though.

 

Thanks Alvega.  I will take a look when it's apart, but that is most helpful thank you.

[Alvega 2,126]

6 minutes ago, cianpars said:

Thanks Alvega.  I will take a look when it's apart, but that is most helpful thank you.

This fixed my Z axis though, I never had a problem with X and Y axis.

[SierraDelta 1,355]

41 minutes ago, Alvega said:

This fixed my Z axis though, I never had a problem with X and Y axis.

Same here - although it looks like I'll have to redo it soon ...