Yoke Switches no Longer Work

[Rocky_53 1,591]

I'm hoping someone can offer some help with my dilemma. For some reason, that I have been unable to work out, all the buttons and switches on my yoke no longer work. The only one that works to some description is the push toggle switch on the right, but for some reason it no longer works as originally assigned, but has replaced another assignment to another button on the left which changes views! It's virtually unusable. At first I thought it may be software issue, so I have checked the functioning in the windows joystick panel only to show that the all axis work, but none of the buttons. This has been confirmed when doing a similar test on another computer too. I have removed the yoke handle and reconnected to confirm a good connection. I have tried another USB cable, only to get similar results. As someone who is not electronics savvy, I'm getting anxious as how to proceed, as it seems Fulcrumsim is no longer trading (?) I love the unit and am desparate to get it fixed. I need to add, that I have taken a close look inside the unit and the yoke shaft etc, to not see any loose wiring or similar. If someone could offer some advice I would be very grateful. Cheers.

Edited April 6 by Rocky_53

[orchestra_nl 953]

Did you receive an e-mail from Chris in December last year?
In it he writes that you can contact him by e-mail if you are in need of support.

[Bob Scott 7,743]

It sounds like the USB interface board in the yoke has gone south.  It might be something like a bad ground connection due to a loose wire or cold solder joint, so I'd check that with a multimeter.  But if the axes are working normally, I doubt that'd be it.

If the USB interface board is bad, you could add another small USB controller board like the Bodnar BU0836A and re-route the button wires to it, either internally or external to the yoke unit, and get your button controls via that.

[Rocky_53 1,591]

10 minutes ago, Bob Scott said:

It sounds like the USB interface board in the yoke has gone south.  It might be something like a bad ground connection due to a loose wire or cold solder joint, so I'd check that with a multimeter.  But if the axes are working normally, I doubt that'd be it.

If the USB interface board is bad, you could add another small USB controller board like the Bodnar BU0836A and re-route the button wires to it, either internally or external to the yoke unit, and get your button controls via that.

Cheers Bob. I have emailed Chris, so will wait to see what the outcome will be. 

30 minutes ago, orchestra_nl said:

Did you receive an e-mail from Chris in December last year?
In it he writes that you can contact him by e-mail if you are in need of support.

Hiya, no, not that I remember. I have sent him an email (enquiries@fulcrumsim.com) I hope that is the correct email? Thanks for the help.

[SergeyPe 95]

Based on the symptoms you've described, the issue might be related to one of the three items: the electronic "shift register" board in the yoke handle, the main controller board and the wiring between them (with a number of connectors involved). I'd vote for the last one- quoting one clever man, "electronics is the science about contacts"; and speaking about all these connectors, I'm not sure if you checked the one inside the yoke handle. To access it you need to remove the four screws and the cover at the front of the handle; you'll see a board with a number of wires coming from the handle buttons/ switches and also one connector/ 5- wire harness going from the board to a round connector at the back of the handle. Try re-seating this connector on the board, also checking that the board itself didn't get loose (it's fixed by a two-sided tape).

If it doesn't help, I'd agree with orchestra_nl's suggestion to try the support e-mail. If the problem is with a controller, then replacing it with something different would require quite some electronic DIY skills. For instance, Leo Bodnar's controllers will not work here, as they are not supporting the button connection via a shift register board. The best option would be a SparkFun Pro-Micro board (or it's clones available at Amazon or AliExpress) with a MMJoy2 firmware. Actually, Fulcrum is using a custom version of MMJoy2.

If the additional wiring check doesn't help and you won't get a response from Chris please inform- I'll try to give you some suggestions on further steps.

BR,

Sergey

Edited April 6 by SergeyPe

[Rocky_53 1,591]

18 minutes ago, SergeyPe said:

Based on the symptoms you've described, the issue might be related to one of the three items: the electronic "shift register" board in the yoke handle, the main controller board and the wiring between them (with a number of connectors involved). I'd vote for the last one- quoting one clever man, "electronics is the science about contacts"; and speaking about all these connectors, I'm not sure if you checked the one inside the yoke handle. To access it you need to remove the four screws and the cover at the front of the handle; you'll see a board with a number of wires coming from the handle buttons/ switches and also one connector/ 5- wire harness going from the board to a round connector at the back of the handle. Try re-seating this connector on the board, also checking that the board itself didn't get loose (it's fixed by a two-sided tape).

If it doesn't help, I'd agree with orchestra_nl's suggestion to try the support e-mail. If the problem is with a controller, then replacing it with something different would require quite some electronic DIY skills. For instance, Leo Bodnar's controllers will not work here, as they are not supporting the button connection via a shift register board. The best option would be a SparkFun Pro-Micro board (or it's clones available at Amazon or AliExpress) with a MMJoy2 firmware. Actually, Fulcrum is using a custom version of MMJoy2.

If the additional wiring check doesn't help and you won't get a response from Chris please inform- I'll try to give you some suggestions on further steps.

BR,

Sergey

Ah, I really appreciate your help Sergey, thanks. I did check the connector inside the handle, but I couldn't see anything untoward. I'll take another look. Cheers.

Edited April 6 by Rocky_53

[SergeyPe 95]

In addition to what I suggested already- if you can check the wire continuity with a multimeter, it's worth doing it for the wires running between the board in the handle and the controller board. The measurement should be done with all the connectors seated; you'll need to detach the board in the handle from the double-sided tape for an easy access to the connector pins. Check the continuity between the five pins on the board in the handle and the ones on the controller board one by one. I've marked these pins in red on the pictures attached. Be careful- the numbering of the pins on the two boards doesn't match; you should select the pin pairs to be measured by their names printed on the boards.

If all the five lines are measured OK, then the issue is for sure with one of the boards.

BR,

Sergey

[Rocky_53 1,591]

1 hour ago, SergeyPe said:

In addition to what I suggested already- if you can check the wire continuity with a multimeter, it's worth doing it for the wires running between the board in the handle and the controller board. The measurement should be done with all the connectors seated; you'll need to detach the board in the handle from the double-sided tape for an easy access to the connector pins. Check the continuity between the five pins on the board in the handle and the ones on the controller board one by one. I've marked these pins in red on the pictures attached. Be careful- the numbering of the pins on the two boards doesn't match; you should select the pin pairs to be measured by their names printed on the boards.

If all the five lines are measured OK, then the issue is for sure with one of the boards.

BR,

Sergey

Thanks Sergey. I will have to get a mate who is electronics savvy to help  Will follow your suggestion, cheers.

[Rocky_53 1,591]

20 hours ago, orchestra_nl said:

Did you receive an e-mail from Chris in December last year?
In it he writes that you can contact him by e-mail if you are in need of support.

Hiya, I've just checked and can confirm that no, I didn't receive an email from Chris. Is it still: enquiries@fulcrumsim.com ?

[orchestra_nl 953]

19 minutes ago, Rocky_53 said:

Hiya, I've just checked and can confirm that no, I didn't receive an email from Chris. Is it still: enquiries@fulcrumsim.com ?

I've sent you a pm.

[Rocky_53 1,591]

On 4/7/2024 at 8:50 AM, SergeyPe said:

In addition to what I suggested already- if you can check the wire continuity with a multimeter, it's worth doing it for the wires running between the board in the handle and the controller board. The measurement should be done with all the connectors seated; you'll need to detach the board in the handle from the double-sided tape for an easy access to the connector pins. Check the continuity between the five pins on the board in the handle and the ones on the controller board one by one. I've marked these pins in red on the pictures attached. Be careful- the numbering of the pins on the two boards doesn't match; you should select the pin pairs to be measured by their names printed on the boards.

If all the five lines are measured OK, then the issue is for sure with one of the boards.

BR,

Sergey

Hi Sergey, today I visited a friend who followed your suggestion and we tested the wire continuity throughout the yoke handle and shaft down to the main board, which was fine, but sadly the buttons still don't work. It would seem to be one of the boards, as suggested. I'm at a loss to know where to go now with this. Chris has not replied to my two emails that I sent since Friday. If I could find the two replacement boards, I could fit them myself. Sadly I have zero knowledge of electronics. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

[SergeyPe 95]

On 4/9/2024 at 12:51 PM, Rocky_53 said:

Hi Sergey, today I visited a friend who followed your suggestion and we tested the wire continuity throughout the yoke handle and shaft down to the main board, which was fine, but sadly the buttons still don't work. It would seem to be one of the boards, as suggested. I'm at a loss to know where to go now with this. Chris has not replied to my two emails that I sent since Friday. If I could find the two replacement boards, I could fit them myself. Sadly I have zero knowledge of electronics. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Hi. No reply from Chris is a pity; I guess you've tried [removed] right? It's the one that Chris suggested in his December letter to the customers; unfortunately I don't have an idea on what's happening now.

Now back to your issue. The next thing to try is replacing the shift register board in the yoke handle. Unfortunately there's no 1:1 replacement option; however, there is a shift register board sold on eBay and Aliexpress that I'm 99% sure is fit for the purpose. The risk value is 20USD, but, honestly speaking, I don't see any other way to proceed further if the original boards are not available from Chris. I've suggested this solution to one of the colleagues with a similar issue here, but he didn't report the outcome yet.

Edited April 21 by Ray Proudfoot
Support email address removed at request of Fulcrum

[Ray Proudfoot 9,032]

10 hours ago, Rocky_53 said:

Chris has not replied to my two emails that I sent since Friday.

I let him know on Sunday and he replied to you same day. Check your spam folder.

I’ve also sent you private posts but felt the need to tell the wider community.

[Rocky_53 1,591]

On 4/9/2024 at 11:17 PM, Ray Proudfoot said:

I let him know on Sunday and he replied to you same day. Check your spam folder.

I’ve also sent you private posts but felt the need to tell the wider community.

Hi Ray, FYI, Chris has reached out and I am returning my yoke to him for repair. Thumbs up for Chris and FulcrumSim!