Have I bought a dud FFB2?

[doveman]

I just got a FFB2 I bought on e-bay.

 

The worst problem is that when I trim in the KA-50, it jerks into a completely different position. So if I move the stick left and trim, it jerks forward, if I move it right and trim, it jerks backwards, forward it jerks right and backwards it jerks left. The more I move in any direction before trimming, the more severe the jerk, so if I move it all the way left and trim, it will jerk too full forward. It does it whether I quickly click trim or press and hold, move the stick, then release trim.

 

I've calibrated it in Windows and tried with 1.2.7 with mods and 1.2.8 without any.

 

Apart from that, it's quite scrapy/dry moving it around without the FFB activated, which is even more noticeable when the FFB is activated, the motors emit a high-pitched whine in several positions (back left, back right, forward, backward) and button 8 doesn't work properly (takes about three hard presses for it to trigger).

 

Should I just return it or is it savagable? I can't really open it up to check anything as then the seller will say I broke it and not accept it back.

[sydost]

Check "swap axis" from DCS control options FF tune window for the MSFFB2. That should cure your first problem.

[doveman]

Check "swap axis" from DCS control options FF tune window for the MSFFB2. That should cure your first problem.

 

Ah thanks, that's fixed that weirdness :)

 

Unfortunately, it still jerks a bit when trimming, so that it doesn't trim to where I have the Shark flying, even if I hold her steady for a bit before clicking it, but jerks left or right a bit, making me turn when I'm trying to fly straight. Pretty much the same problem I had with my non-FFB stick and which I hoped this FFB one would cure.

 

Maybe the motors are just knackered and not doing what they should be when I click trim. Should there be any rumble/vibration effects from the stick, as I'm not getting any as far as I can tell?

[doveman]

Here's a photo showing the plastic ball at the base of the stick, with some markings at the rear which may be scratches, although the surface feels smooth

 

What I don't like is the feeling of 'steps' when the FFB is engaged, so it makes it stick and then jump as I move through these 'steps' and I don't have the fine control I want and need when flying helos. As it isn't sprung and stays where it's left even without the FFB, I might prefer it without the FFB active but that rather defeats the purpose of buying this stick and I could have probably spent the money on something else to do that.

 

With the FFB active, it seems to center itself too far forward, even after repeated calibrations, as shown here:

 

[Jazzerman]

I'm not sure about your offset problem, but it may be worth opening the stick and ensuring that everything is in the right place. It's not a complicated piece of equipment and very easy to piece back together.

 

There are no force feedback effects in the choppers as far as I know, other than the centre force.

 

The steps are apparent on my own FFB2, although I've extended the stick and it's now far less apparent. I was previously borrowing a FFB2 from a friend, which had much less noticeable step feeling, although internally the sticks looked the same with no signs of wear, I suppose it could be the motors or some slight revisions in the circuit.

 

My advice is to turn the force feedback down as this will significantly reduce the jerk when setting the trim.

[doveman]

I'm not sure about your offset problem, but it may be worth opening the stick and ensuring that everything is in the right place. It's not a complicated piece of equipment and very easy to piece back together.

 

There are no force feedback effects in the choppers as far as I know, other than the centre force.

 

The steps are apparent on my own FFB2, although I've extended the stick and it's now far less apparent. I was previously borrowing a FFB2 from a friend, which had much less noticeable step feeling, although internally the sticks looked the same with no signs of wear, I suppose it could be the motors or some slight revisions in the circuit.

 

My advice is to turn the force feedback down as this will significantly reduce the jerk when setting the trim.

 

Thanks, that helped a lot. With the Huey, it seems OK on 75 but that was still too much for the Shark, so I've set it to 50 for that and that's more or less eliminated the jerk when pressing Trim. Obviously it's simulating the AP releasing it's authority when it's pressed, so it's just a matter of tweaking it to produce realistic forces, for a weakling like me anyway ;)

 

I'm surprised the steps feeling is normal, as loads of people love this stick for helos and I understood that we need very fine, precise control in the cyclic for flying those. It must be largely coming from the motors or the components that connect them to the gimbal, as without the FFB activated it's a lot less noticeable although there's still a fair bit of 'sticktion' there, although probably not severe enough to make me need to push through it and then oversteer. I actually tried flying the Shark without the FFB and it was interesting but the stick's a bit too loose then and inertia isn't enough to stop it moving out of position by itself.

 

Strangely, the offset problem seems to have fixed itself today and it's centering more or less in the middle.

[doveman]

Is the hat switch very loose on anyone else's FFB2?

 

It's not so much the switch as the plastic top which is hanging down, so it has to be pushed up to be centered. Being so loose, it makes it quite hard to use but it's not a very good design anyway IMHO, as it's too smooth and my thumb tends to slip across it, which can make it difficult to move it where I want. I think the traditional hat switches are much better.

[Godzila]

I have 3 and they are all like that. If you open it you will see that it is very poorly designed. I think that FFB2 is good base for a joystick. Grip and (lack of) buttons in original form are not good enough for DCS or similar sims.

 

BTW, i see you have older version with grey buttons. Did you notice any humming noise in headphones? And without power cable noise comes and goes in same intervals as FFB led. Newer versions don`t have this problem and I wonder if the problem is only with my hardware.

[doveman]

I have 3 and they are all like that. If you open it you will see that it is very poorly designed. I think that FFB2 is good base for a joystick. Grip and (lack of) buttons in original form are not good enough for DCS or similar sims.

 

BTW, i see you have older version with grey buttons. Did you notice any humming noise in headphones? And without power cable noise comes and goes in same intervals as FFB led. Newer versions don`t have this problem and I wonder if the problem is only with my hardware.

 

Yeah, the grip itself is rather plastic and creaky. I might try and replace it with a X52 one, as someone else has done.

 

Can't say I've noticed any noise in my headphones (analog) or TV (HDMI) though.

 

The sticktion and stepping appears to be partly from the motors and partly just stuff being dry and rubbing against other stuff. Has anyone ever replaced the motors or any other parts to make it smoother as I hate how it feels when I move it at the moment, although I love the FFB itself (was playing Freespace 2 with it last night and that was fun with it).