I'm an avid PC combat sim pilot, and I wear out Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joysticks at an alarming rate. The pots in the X and Y axis (more so the Y axis) tend to get dirty and wear out over time and lose centering and become jittery. This causes a loss of accuracy and erratic behavior.
I prefer this particular joystick for a number of reasons. It's cheap. Usually can be purchased for $25-$35 depending on the vendor. The handle fits my hand perfectly and is very comfortable, and the thumb buttons and trigger are very robust. It's the perfect joystick for the money, if only the pots didn't fail so often.
Temporary relief can be had using Deoxit D5 contact cleaner. This stuff works wonders, but it's expensive ($17 for a 5 oz. spray can), and once the pots start acting up, they need to be sprayed repeatedly. Deoxit is the best contact cleaner I've ever used, and it will last a while, but it's a pain having to dismantle the joystick to use. Eventually even the pots degrade even beyond the help of the Deoxit.
I've also owned the Thrustmaster T16000M joystick which uses Hall Sensors rather than pots. The accuracy of this stick is amazing! Absolutely no jitter. But, the stick is more expensive, and it's ball and socket mechanical design wears and gets loose. The buttons are flimsy. The stick handle itself doesn't have that ergonomic feel of the Logitech stick.
I ran across this post in a forum by a guy that claims he replaced the X and Y axis pots with hall sensors, and put cylinder magnets in the axis. He claimed it works, but he didn't give any details about what sensors or magnets he used, or if he had to add other components to the circuit. There's a picture of his mod. Another poster in that thread was also attempting to mod his stick, and he claimed to know that the other guy used SS496A sensors. I can't tell from the picture if that's correct, so I'm not sure how he knew (perhaps the two were collaborating in PM).
http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/85431-Successful-repair-of-Logitech-Extreme-3D-PRO/page3
I decided to take a chance that this would work and purchased two SS496A sensors, and two diametrically poled cylinder magnets. I soldered up a wire harness and tested one out, and it didn't work
On the datasheet for the SS496A, it says it requires a min. supply voltage of 4.5V. I measured 4.2 - 4.4V across the V+ and V- terminals of the pots in place, and the output varies from 0 - 4.2V as the pot is rotated through it's entire range. Is the min. voltage for these sensors that critical? Maybe they're not working because it's just not getting enough power? Is there a sensor that would work better?
I prefer this particular joystick for a number of reasons. It's cheap. Usually can be purchased for $25-$35 depending on the vendor. The handle fits my hand perfectly and is very comfortable, and the thumb buttons and trigger are very robust. It's the perfect joystick for the money, if only the pots didn't fail so often.
Temporary relief can be had using Deoxit D5 contact cleaner. This stuff works wonders, but it's expensive ($17 for a 5 oz. spray can), and once the pots start acting up, they need to be sprayed repeatedly. Deoxit is the best contact cleaner I've ever used, and it will last a while, but it's a pain having to dismantle the joystick to use. Eventually even the pots degrade even beyond the help of the Deoxit.
I've also owned the Thrustmaster T16000M joystick which uses Hall Sensors rather than pots. The accuracy of this stick is amazing! Absolutely no jitter. But, the stick is more expensive, and it's ball and socket mechanical design wears and gets loose. The buttons are flimsy. The stick handle itself doesn't have that ergonomic feel of the Logitech stick.
I ran across this post in a forum by a guy that claims he replaced the X and Y axis pots with hall sensors, and put cylinder magnets in the axis. He claimed it works, but he didn't give any details about what sensors or magnets he used, or if he had to add other components to the circuit. There's a picture of his mod. Another poster in that thread was also attempting to mod his stick, and he claimed to know that the other guy used SS496A sensors. I can't tell from the picture if that's correct, so I'm not sure how he knew (perhaps the two were collaborating in PM).
http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/85431-Successful-repair-of-Logitech-Extreme-3D-PRO/page3
I decided to take a chance that this would work and purchased two SS496A sensors, and two diametrically poled cylinder magnets. I soldered up a wire harness and tested one out, and it didn't work
On the datasheet for the SS496A, it says it requires a min. supply voltage of 4.5V. I measured 4.2 - 4.4V across the V+ and V- terminals of the pots in place, and the output varies from 0 - 4.2V as the pot is rotated through it's entire range. Is the min. voltage for these sensors that critical? Maybe they're not working because it's just not getting enough power? Is there a sensor that would work better?