I purchased a CH Fighterstick in March of 2013, and have only used it for about 9-10 months since then, and am already having problems with it.
I am wondering if anyone has one of these (http://www.amazon.com/CH-Products-200-571-Fighterstick-USB/dp/B00006B84X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403033639&sr=8-1&keywords=ch+products+fighterstick) and if they have opened it up and worked on it before?
I'm not seeing any spiking in the advanced tab, just a large amount of "wobble" when the stick is released (hands off), especially in the X axis. The X and Y axis both now require deadband, with the X requiring as much as 10-15% deadband to stay centered (most of the time). Even with that I'm still having issues with the X axis moving when the stick is centered. I can no longer effectively tank (as I can't aim precisely with that much deadband and the turret sometimes doesn't stop moving, even with the deadband set). I am also frequently getting kicked out of autopilot. The stick is really irritating me, and I'm ready to trash it, but I really don't like the idea of throwing out a $100 stick just to buy another one after 12 months. I could go back to Logitech if I wanted to do that.
I purchased this stick because I had heard good things about CH and it had good reviews. My understanding is that CH products are also easy to work on (?). However, before endeavoring to do so, I thought I'd ask for some advice here.
Has anyone worked on one of these before?
<S>
Ryno
One of the good things about CH sticks is it's rather straight forward to work on them and quite simple. But before you open the stick, make sure that it's not software related.
The first step you want to do is to download and install the latest version of the CH Control Manager (if you don't have it installed already). If you don't use CM, don't worry, you're just installing it so you can calibrate the stick in Windows.
After you've installed CM, run CM and select the calibration option and follow the instructions to calibrate your stick in Windows. After calibration, ideally the numbers for center should be 128 for both axis and not move unless you move the stick. If you notice any movement, make sure the trim dials are set to neutral and calibrate again. Once calibrated in Windows, it's time to calibrate in AH.
Start AH and in the advanced section of the joystick setup, there should be an option to calibrate the axis on your controllers. This calibration actually calibrates the axis of your controllers and is different than the regular controller calibration you do in AH. After you've calibrated the axis, run the regular calibration routine in AH and then see if the problem still exists.
If the problem still exists, there is a chance that if you're not already using one, using a powered USB hub has fixed similar issues for others. CH gear likes power, if the USB ports aren't providing enough power it can cause your CH sticks to become unstable. If you decide to use a USB power hub, make sure to redo the calibration.
If you've done all of the above and you're still having the problem, you can either send it back to CH (if it's under warranty or I believe you can still pay a small charge for repair if out of warranty) or open the stick up yourself.
To open the stick, remove the rubber feet from the bottom of the base and unscrew the screws using a Philips screwdriver. IIRC, the Fighterstick has 8 screws on the bottom, four under the rubber feet and four on the base holding the circuit board in place. Remove the bottom of the base and you'll see the guts of your stick. Find the potentiometer that controls the axis that is giving you troubles and make sure the pot's contacts are clean and the connectors are firmly connected to contacts. Also, make sure that there is no pinching of the wires.
If you don't use the throttle on your Fighterstick, you can always use the Fighterstick's throttle potentiometer to replace the one that is giving you trouble.
ack-ack
