X52 Pro Rotaries

[Joni]

Hi guys, I just bought a brand new X52 Pro and so far it is a great hotas.

 

Im seeing that the rotaries flicker in some points making it impossible to program them in directional axis. Is this a common issue with this hotas or is it just mine? Im asking because if its only mine I'll change it.

 

 

Thanks!

[PiedDroit]

I had a X-52 (not pro) a while ago and I had the same kind of issue too. It happened after a year or two, the thumb rotary was flickering a bit.

Should not happen on a brand new one I suppose.

[txmtb]

Mine pretty much did it from the get go. Bought some potentiometer cleaner from a local electronics store and it helped a lot. Well, with everything but the slider, nothing seemed to help it much FWIW.

[cichlidfan]

Though the severity of the problem can vary, and some may seem OK initially, all X-52's seem to have issues in this regard. I returned a Saitek throttle quadrant because the problem was so bad, out of the box, that it wasn't worth the trouble to try and use.

[1.JaVA_Platypus]

Yup, some do that at first. I was able to clean out the POT. But since your one is brand new, you should get a new one if the warranty is still valid.

[Joni]

too bad... i love the saiteks in terms of design, programing capabilities, mfd, etc... but the quality is always an issue... the bad thing is that in my country (Argentina) it is the only hotas brand, there is no ch products, no thrustmaster, no nothing... so saitek is my only choice

 

im gonna replace it tomorrow morning at the store... hope the new one comes better, somehow i doubt it

 

 

thanks everyone

[sungsam]

Sometimes there is coil dirt inside potentiometers by production line or your pots were immobile for so long inbox (X52s are not brand new models, there are stocked). You just have to use spray cleaner without alcohol for potentiometers. No just any other cleaner spray.

 

Mine is 5-7 years old and pots are becoming almost unusable every 2 years. I keep them precise like day one, by cleaning them. Follow video procedures bellow how to open X52 throttle without risking any bad moves.

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2384701&postcount=8

 

On the other hand you may return it if convenient but no reinsurance the same matter will not exist. Eventually every pot develop dirt from use or immobility.

Edited May 16, 2015 by sungsam

[Joni]

i just changed it, same issues of course... there is no way in this world i will do whats shown in the video!!! lol

 

i'll just have to use the rotaries as two different buttons with bands... that way if the rotaries flicker they will not input any keystroke as they are resting after the release advanced command :(

[King_Hrothgar]

It's a common problem with pots in general. My old X-52 Pro had that on both rotaries and the slider. My much newer X-55 has it as well, though not as bad. The solution to the little 1-2% jittering comes in the form of deadzones, curves and sensitivity settings if possible. Most games have a sensitivity setting which will average out inputs over time, that's terrible for a main control axis but fine for things like zoom and radiators. Adjusting sensitivity is the ideal solution. My X-55 has this option in its own software but I haven't tested it yet. I think the X-52 Pro has the same ability.

 

If that doesn't work, the other option is dead zones and curves. I'm currently using this for stabilizing zoom in DCS. I created a 10% deadzone in the middle and a steep curve. This gives me no jittering at normal and a little zoom as well as fully zoomed in. In between it's jittery, but I don't use that area much. If you're using those axis for things like prop pitch and radiators, then the jittering doesn't actually hurt anything in my experience so long as it is only 1-2%.

[sungsam]

i just changed it, same issues of course... there is no way in this world i will do whats shown in the video!!! lol

 

i'll just have to use the rotaries as two different buttons with bands... that way if the rotaries flicker they will not input any keystroke as they are resting after the release advanced command :(

 

Indeed there is a possibility, from experience, your rotaries to tremble because :

 

- you are connected to a self powered hub instead of direct motherboard usb port

- if you are connected to a motherboard usb port then disable power management for that port on device manager.

- completely uninstall drivers and do the reinstall procedure exactly as described on post http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2384085&postcount=4

 

then do clean your pots using the right spray clenner (pain free not included) :D !

Edited May 18, 2015 by sungsam

[Joni]

ill try that... i do have it plugged into a powered hub since i read a lot of posts about it being a must for this hotas... like if its not on a powered hub it will give you troubles... i am so dissapointed :(

 

it is a great hotas with a very poor quality out of the box

[sungsam]

Powered USB Hubs usually have bad quality transformers with voltage instabilities making pots tremble. USB Hubs share bus and generally is a problem for X52 drivers. You will have already noticed that even changing usb port triggers driver reinstallation witch is something to be avoided. On the permanently choosen MB usb port for X52, Check out for how to enable 5 Volts feed (far more voltage stable than cheap usb hubs power transformers). It's on BIOS or on Pins on motherboard. There is also a setting on Win8/7 power scheme options not to allow to sleep or wake up usb devices when not used causing resets on X52 (X52 suddenly Blinks). Disable that.

 

Don't worry, I faced all problems above and even more as Saiteks noobie client some 5-7 years ago. I spit blood but finally overcome all of them. Once you master all of its traps, you will not willing to abandon it for years.

 

It is also one of the most moddable sticks that really enhance handling precision and feeling, something that will start concern you in future time.

Edited May 19, 2015 by sungsam

[Joni]

Powered USB Hubs usually have bad quality transformers with voltage instabilities making pots tremble. USB Hubs share bus and generally is a problem for X52 drivers. You will have already noticed that even changing usb port triggers driver reinstallation witch is something to be avoided. On the permanently choosen MB usb port for X52, Check out for how to enable 5 Volts feed (far more voltage stable than cheap usb hubs power transformers). It's on BIOS or on Pins on motherboard. There is also a setting on Win8/7 power scheme options not to allow to sleep or wake up usb devices when not used causing resets on X52 (X52 suddenly Blinks). Disable that.

 

Don't worry, I faced all problems above and even more as Saiteks noobie client some 5-7 years ago. I spit blood but finally overcome all of them. Once you master all of its traps, you will not willing to abandon it for years.

 

It is also one of the most moddable sticks that really enhance handling precision and feeling, something that will start concern you in future time.

 

sorry, but i have no idea how to do all of that and certainly dont feel comfortable doing such. im more a plug and play guy, thats why i paid a fortune this hotas.

[Joni]

funny, i cant even access the temp folder to follow the uninstall steps you gave me... funny cause i am the owner and admin

[sungsam]

Try booting with full admin rights and redoing the procedure you've already done (adding your user account in permissions).

 

1) Control Panel > User accounts > Change UAC settings - drop the slider to the bottom

2) Type 'Local Security Policy' in start screen/menu search and press enter

3) Go to Local Policies > Security Options, scroll to the bottom and set 'User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode' to Disabled

4) Restart PC when prompted

5) If needed, Re-add your user account to Temp permissions and re-enable the option from step 3

[Raven_Morpheus]

I also have the X-52 and generally find the two rotaries to be utter rubbish unless I want a narrow band axis. And I also experience the "twitching" when the pot is in it's middle position. I've got my X-52 plugged into my motherboard, and all power management options for my USB ports are disabled so I'd say that being on a powered hub is a red herring.

 

I found the rotaries on my old (2nd hand by the time I got it) X-45 to be much better, never experienced any "twitching" with those and they seemed more accurate and easier to make fine adjustments on, so I think it's down to the quality of the pots, the knobs on the pots and the general design of how it's put together - my X-52 rotaries seem far too stiff and they aren't really knobs like the X-45 ones are.

 

Personally I prefer the throttle of the X-45 over the X-52, the throttle of the X-52 may have more buttons but it seems stiffer (even with 0 tension on the screw), less smooth, the slider is anything but precision, and the rotaries as has been said are rubbish, and the X-45 throttle has that really handy rudder axis rocker on it. The X-52 stick is better than the X-45 though (as far as the sticktion/spring tension is concerned), if I could I'd combine the X-45 throttle with the X-52 stick - sadly Saitek made both HOTAS so you can't mix and match unless you want to plug in both HOTAS at the same time!

 

To eliminate the "twitching" you can set a deadzone on the middle of the axis via the control panel options. That's where I find the rotaries exhibit that behaviour - it seems there's a point where it's not quite in the exact middle (despite you feeling it "slot" into place) and then it starts "twitching".

Edited May 21, 2015 by Raven_Morpheus

[Joni]

To eliminate the "twitching" you can set a deadzone on the middle of the axis via the control panel options. That's where I find the rotaries exhibit that behaviour - it seems there's a point where it's not quite in the exact middle (despite you feeling it "slot" into place) and then it starts "twitching".

 

Thats not my case, all axis in the throttle quadrant tremble at random spots along the axis.