Saitek X52 Pro Issues and Solutions

[bustr]

If any one with an X52 Pro FCS has experienced the following problems, this how I resolved them.

Problems I Experienced

1. While in the game your FCS stops responding. You leave the game and see that your Saitek system tray icon which showed a profile enabled before entering the game now shows no profile enabled.
2. Some times your USB mouse cursor starts moving erraticly up the screen by itself after exiting from Aces High and the only way to regain control is reboot the PC.
3. When you reboot the PC it stops at the Bios splash screen and won't go further. If you pull your FCS's USB connector and reboot again it boots completely. Then you can insert the FCS USB plug and use the X52 Pro.

My Solutions

A.) I found 1 and 2 were due to the USB type A male plug on the FCS was not to tollerance. Mine was slightly loose when plugged into any type A female recepticle. I tested it on a second PC. Even without drivers installed the lights on the throttle and Joystick will power up. I found very slight side to side or up and down motions of the plug would disconnect the power leads. During game play this would be equal to you pulling the USB plug and putting it back in.

Visual comparison with another type A plug end on showed the one from Saitek was a tiny bit larger translating into a looser connection. I tightened the tollerance by slipping a very thin shim between the back of the nonconductive tang and the outer metal sleeve. This tightened the connection. Saitek has it's products made in China. They do not practice the quality control required in the West of Western industry. You may have read BBS acounts of out of the box problems or have freinds experience them or yourself had one be flaky from the getgo. But then other players get good ones and swear by them.

B.) I thought possibly the problem with the reboot was voltage at the USB recepticles. I placed my FCS on an external powered HUB. The PC still stopped at the Bios splash screen. I rebooted after disconeccting the external HUB. The PC booted. Then I unplugged my USB mouse and adapted it as a PS2 mouse so the only devices on the USB bus were my TrakIR, HUB and FCS, the PC booted properly. It is possible on some mother boards that the USB thumb mouse on the Saitek throttle conflicts with the primary USB PC mouse. My mother board is an ASUS P5Q Pro.

[Serenity]

What about an UBER sensitive stick? Have you ever had that?

(What I mean by that is, regardless of my deadband/damping settings, the slightest pull on the stick is amplified by at least 2 or 3. I have tried calibrating multiple times, I have tried cranking deadband and damping all the way up and the only thing that does is make me have to pull the stick a little farther before it rockets off at 3x the force I put into it...)

[bustr]

X52 is a bit sensative. Some like it some don't. You might try to use the scalar feature for x and y in the advanced setup for controlers in the game. The sensativity weined me on yanking and cranking as a substitute for ACM.

[Serenity]

X52 is a bit sensative. Some like it some don't. You might try to use the scalar feature for x and y in the advanced setup for controlers in the game. The sensativity weined me on yanking and cranking as a substitute for ACM.

Done it all. No joy. Its MUCH MUCH worse on one computer than another.

[bustr]

Have you tryed using it through an external HUB?

[Serenity]

Have you tryed using it through an external HUB?

Thats what's been suggested. Im thinking of buying one online but shipping costs are gonna kill me.

[Ghosth]

Serenity, Stick should respond the same no matter which computer its plugged into.
If its not it has issues someplace. You don't have any kind of computer, media, office supply store nearby?
Call them, see what they have.

Make sure that you calibrate in Windows first, then in AH.

[Max]

Thats what's been suggested. Im thinking of buying one online but shipping costs are gonna kill me.

Be aware that not all powered USB hubs provide the constant 5 volts required. Belkin makes one which seems to consistently receive high marks.

[Serenity]

Serenity, Stick should respond the same no matter which computer its plugged into.
If its not it has issues someplace. You don't have any kind of computer, media, office supply store nearby?
Call them, see what they have.

Make sure that you calibrate in Windows first, then in AH.

We have BestBuy. Everything else went out of business in the last 6 months.

[Ghosth]

"Worst Buy" should work. I've also bought a lot of smaller items at office max, office depot, etc.

[Serenity]

"Worst Buy" should work. I've also bought a lot of smaller items at office max, office depot, etc.

Not when the $12 part online costs $120 in store it won't!

[Cajunn]

What about an UBER sensitive stick? Have you ever had that?

(What I mean by that is, regardless of my deadband/damping settings, the slightest pull on the stick is amplified by at least 2 or 3. I have tried calibrating multiple times, I have tried cranking deadband and damping all the way up and the only thing that does is make me have to pull the stick a little farther before it rockets off at 3x the force I put into it...)

it is a very sensitive stick by design......It takes a bit of getting use to, but in the end I have learned to love that aspect of it. I been using this stick for almost 2 years now and I don't even notice it anymore. I was thinking of going to the X52 pro because of the stiffer spring it supposedly has, but I might just wait till I wear this one out 

[Serenity]

it is a very sensitive stick by design......It takes a bit of getting use to, but in the end I have learned to love that aspect of it. I been using this stick for almost 2 years now and I don't even notice it anymore. I was thinking of going to the X52 pro because of the stiffer spring it supposedly has, but I might just wait till I wear this one out 

I have the Pro, and its not just a sensitive stick. There's something wrong, lol. This changes from computer to computer so it's also obviously not a stick characteristic.

[Cajunn]

I have the Pro, and its not just a sensitive stick. There's something wrong, lol. This changes from computer to computer so it's also obviously not a stick characteristic.

Are you using the profile software, if so I had to stop using it because of problems it was causing. If not then It might be a bug in the drivers maybe try updating that.

[Serenity]

Are you using the profile software, if so I had to stop using it because of problems it was causing. If not then It might be a bug in the drivers maybe try updating that.

Drivers are up to date, and I use the profile software on both computers. Again, one works perfectly, the other is more sensitive than a manic-depressive teenage girl on her period.