Need help with TM Warhog extension

[Maulkin]

Some time ago I bought the TM Warthog extension from here:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=121242

 

And I would recommend this to anyone looking for an extension. Absolutely wonderful. I have been using this extension for just over 8 months without any problems until recently.

 

Suddenly I noticed that if I moved my stick around it would also cause the stick to indicate that all buttons were being pressed? Keep in mind that up to this point the stick was working perfectly. I removed the extension and plugged the stick directly into the base expecting that the problem would persist but much to my surprise this fixed the issue.

 

I contacted wasyl00 to see if he had heard of this happening before and he was very kind in sending me a new cable to see if this would fix the issue. Unfortunately swapping out the old cable with the new one did not fix the issue. :(

 

I am now at a loss. I know that the problem is not the extension but I don't understand why the problem would disappear when I plugged the stick directly into the base.

 

Has anyone else had this problem and/or has any suggestion on what else I could try?

 

Here is a video illustrating the issue I am having:

 

Thanks,

--Maulkin

[hansangb]

Maulkin,

This can happen if one of the cable gets disconnected. I would check for that first. I had the similar problem.

[Maulkin]

This can happen if one of the cable gets disconnected. I would check for that first. I had the similar problem.

 

I thought that as well which is why I asked wasyl00 to send a new one but the new one did not help.

 

By the video, looks the PS2 connector in Warthog base is defective, the the wires that goes from this connector to main PCB broken internally.

 

Then why does the stick work normally if I remove the extension cable and plug the stick into the base directly? You would think if it was a defective base this problem would persist regardless of how the stick was connected?

 

I am going to go to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up some wires and connectors so I can try connecting the leads individually such that I can use a multimeter to measure what is going on but to be honest I dont think it will help. I am very afraid I am going to have to open up the base to see if something is going on in there.

 

EDIT: BTW guys thanks so much for replying so fast. It helps just to know you guys are trying to help me. I feel so lost with this malfunctioning the way it is. :(

[hansangb]

I take it you don't have a multimeter to check for continuity? I missed the part about it working if you take the extension cable out of the equation. It's possible you got two bad ones in a row.

[Maulkin]

So funny you mention that. I literally just pulled out my multimeter right now! The only problem that might invalidate my test is that I'll have to push a wire into the female port and if the problem is during to a loose connection I will get a false positive. But hey at least I'll know there is something. :)

[Maulkin]

hansangb, I just tried what you suggested and found one thing interesting. There are five pins but one of the pins does not appear to be connected to anything at all. This may be by design because it was the same pin on both of the cables. It will be difficult to determine without getting a specification on the pinouts of the stick.

 

The specific pin that appears to be connected to nothing is pin #6 (the one with the wire sticking out of it) on the female side and pin #1 on the male side. I have attached a picture.

[Sokol1_br]

Then why does the stick work normally if I remove the extension cable and plug the stick into the base directly? You would think if it was a defective base this problem would persist regardless of how the stick was connected?:(

 

Can happen that without extension this nut maintain the PS connectors aligned, without this the weigh of the cable move the connector sufficient to bad connection.

 

This indicate that the female connector (the one in base) is defective.

 

The Shift Register (CD4021) inside the grip need 5 wires connected for the Serial Protocol:

 

Data

PSC/latch

Clock

+5v

Gnd

[Maulkin]

If it needs all 5 wires then I already know the problem is in the cable since I determined there is a loss of continuity with one of the five (see post and picture above)

[Sokol1_br]

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/cui-inc/MD-60SN/CP-2560-ND/143017

[Maulkin]

that is a 6 position connector. The TM Warthog uses the 5 pin connector:

Female:

http://cablesandconnectors.com/PIX/phiema3.jpg

Male:

http://cablesandconnectors.com/PIX/phiemamini.jpg

 

There is something funny about the Warthog's connector however. The guide-post in the middle is slightly larger so I will have to modify the female connector.

[Sokol1_br]

...that is a 6 position connector.

 

And that extension cable in your picture is a 6 pin PS2 connector - with one pin and central guide removed. ;)

 

Or, is just matter to adapt.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Sokol1_br

[Johnny Dioxin]

hansangb, I just tried what you suggested and found one thing interesting. There are five pins but one of the pins does not appear to be connected to anything at all. This may be by design because it was the same pin on both of the cables. It will be difficult to determine without getting a specification on the pinouts of the stick.

 

The specific pin that appears to be connected to nothing is pin #6 (the one with the wire sticking out of it) on the female side and pin #1 on the male side. I have attached a picture.

 

Looking at the picture, I think you are getting maybe the wrong idea.

 

The ground is not always connected to a pin - it can also be just the shroud - especially considering this is an internal connection on the original stick.

 

You are looking at the holes and seeing one is not connected on your multimeter - but if you look at the male end, one pin is missing. I will bet that this is the 'hole' you are not getting a connection from.

 

I just checked mine (I have the same kit) and it also has one pin missing (it's broken off) - so that would mean one of the pin holes in the socket will have nothing going through it.

 

 

As someone else said, I would wager either the weight of the stick, or the strength of the connection is making it work without the extension.

 

Meaning, the extension does not provide as solid a pressure on the connection as the direct stick attachment, if you see what I mean?

 

Could be completely wrong, though...

Edited September 24, 2016 by Brixmis

[Maulkin]

And that extension cable in your picture is a 6 pin PS2 connector - with one pin and central guide removed. ;)

 

Or, is just matter to adapt.

 

Yeah that is the cable I was provided with the extension. Basically he modifies a PS/2 connector which is a 6-pin mini DIN.

 

I have ordered some 5-pin ones to try out.

[Maulkin]

Looking at the picture, I think you are getting maybe the wrong idea.

 

The ground is not always connected to a pin - it can also be just the shroud - especially considering this is an internal connection on the original stick.

 

You are looking at the holes and seeing one is not connected on your multimeter - but if you look at the male end, one pin is missing. I will bet that this is the 'hole' you are not getting a connection from.

 

I just checked mine (I have the same kit) and it also has one pin missing (it's broken off) - so that would mean one of the pin holes in the socket will have nothing going through it.

 

 

As someone else said, I would wager either the weight of the stick, or the strength of the connection is making it work without the extension.

 

Meaning, the extension does not provide as solid a pressure on the connection as the direct stick attachment, if you see what I mean?

 

Could be completely wrong, though...

 

I believe the shroud is in fact the ground.

 

I am not counting the pin that has been removed. I am referring only to pins that are still there. :)

One of the pins (that is not removed) is not connected on the female side. This means only 4 of the five pins can get a signal through the cable.

 

In the video I have reproduced the problem with the stick (and extension) removed, but it still persists with the extension. I didn't show that in the video because that would have made the video longer and it was not really relevant.

 

I agree that it could be the weight of the stick bearing down on the connector, but if you look at the base of the unmodified stick you will see that it has a cross-shaped fitting that actually bears the weight of the stick.

 

I find it particularly odd that this setup was working fine for months and now will not work at all. I am very concerned that the stick has a threshold defect. :(

 

An interesting new development is that now when I use the extension cable the stick will not even be detected at all. Nothing. This is occurring 100% of the time now with both cables. But once again, if I mount the stick in the default configuration it works perfectly. So odd.

[Sokol1_br]

In the video I have reproduced the problem with the stick (and extension) removed, but it still persists with the extension.

 

Can try, attach the cable, put the extension tube, now insert some soft material, eg. foam to hold the cable in the middle of tube, without space for lateral movement, then attach the grip and test.