Any FFB2 users about?
 

Recently got myself a force feedback 2 joystick, and i've got a problem with it.

The force will randomly cut out (after using it a bit) and the joystick will go loose/wont centre. It happens in and out of game.

Is there a way round this, or do i have a buggered stick?

Update:

Seems a bit worse with it happily staying limp until i start moving it about, also moving the stick in different directions will give different levels of resistance. Also i'm using this with xp.

Have two of them with WIN XP or WIN7 64 as plug&play W/O issues.
Very known problem is loosing force when pressing Alt+Tab while ingame.

gprr

After testing it some more i'm pretty sure its just broken, either a dodgy component or connection, the red light flickers/dims once the power cable is connected so perhaps the motors are getting an intermittent supply.

Yep, sounds like something internal has gone. :(
I´ve used mine since its release and never had any loss of force when alt+tab.
The power connector can be a bit twitchy and rock loose sometimes but thats all.

One hell of a stick though. ;)

MSFF2 has an sensor which activates FF when you hold the stick. It is located just forward, below the trigger. Make sure that nothing is blocking it.

Usually when the light switches on the joystick it happens when it isn't plugged in the socket. Double check the power cable as well.

If the above fails, then there is something wrong internally.


PS: Loosing FF on alt-tab is a known 'bug' with MSFF2. There is nothing you can do about it except hitting re-fly when online / starting a new mission - this will reactivate the FF. Or just don't alt-tab out of the game. ;)

I think it is indeed the sensor, i had no idea there was one, you saved me some hassle there. I wasn't holding it properly while testing it out. Thanks.

Yes there's a laser sensor,

You have to make sure the holes don't get clogged with dust.

There are 2 holes, one at the top and the bottom of the front grip area.

You can make the stick move without touching it if you gently put your fingers around the front of it as the beam is broken the FFB kicks in and the stick moves.

Well there ya go, learn something every day

I'd check the power cable. Wiggle the wire about at the plug end into the wall and at the connector into the base and see if you can get the red light to flicker on and off. I would suspect that as the culprit. FFB2 sticks are built like tanks!

The other thing to watch is the USB power load.

Its not a good idea to stick a FFB2 on an unpowered hub with other high power demand devices such as trackIR and optical mice.

Now that i know what the problem is, i'm going to move on to asking

Is there any way to adjust the amount of force?

Only under WinXP and older Win. No way in Win7 unless you use some custom built drivers or the game has this option.

You can edited the FF files for the game (there's a FF folder within the IL2 folders) - you need to download an editor. Or, just search and download some pre-edit files that others use.

EDIT - I see Thor has posted while I was writing, I hadn't tried this since win XP

I use XP, but i never saw any option to do so, unless the file editing is the method that works under xp.

double post

Install the drivers for the stick, they should be on the CD that come with it. IIRC the latest version can be found in the web. ;)

i dont have the disc, and cant find the sidewinder software anywhere, searching for drivers just leads me to forum posts telling everyone to just use the default drivers windows loads

if someone could upload them to mediafire or something it would be helpful

There you go:

MSFF2 DRIVERS

- this is the latest version I have on my PC
- there is a problem with one of the windows when installed on win XP (it closes the program), but everything else works just fine
- you can set different profiles, edit/test different FF forces/centering strength and set the deadzone

This link might be of use to you.

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...5/m/8531046888

Thanks.

Software works fine.

I'll check out that other program once i get win7 running again.


Update:

the profile spoftware doesn't seem like it wants to work properly

Change the force or centring to low for example, it will briefly work as it is set, then the joystick will return to full force. I haven't restarted windows yet, but i doubt it will change anything.

Not intending to hijack the thread, but while it's on the subject of faulty FFB2 sticks...mine just upped and died a few months ago and instead of trying to fix it I just replaced it with a Logitech G940, mainly for the separate throttle and pedals.

I'm thinking now about trying to fix the FFB2 though, or at least finding out what went wrong with it.

IIRC the power plug came out of the unit while I was using it, and when I plugged it back in the whole stick was dead, no red light, no ffb, nothing. It was plugged into it's own USB port and was working fine and had shown no signs of cutting out beforehand.

Just wondering if anyone knows what might have happened to it internally, or where I might start looking if I open it up to check it out.

There's a fuse on the internal PSU board.

You can solder an after market one across the old ones pins.

The rating values are written on the fuse, and depending if the FFB2 has a green light or red, can have different fuse type too.

If I can dig up some old info I will post it here.

You can use Fedit to change the "spring" file tension in the force feed back folder in the IL2 directory, make a back up of it first be fore attempting to make changes.

EG: Spring adjustment

Open fedit>effect>insert>spring>right click spring2d1>properties

See the thread here >> http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...5/m/8531046888

Thanks for that, I'll open it up and have a look, can't say when though.

Edit - Don't worry about the fuse info Alpha. I was about to open the stick up when I thought I'd better plug it in and try it one more time, and the bloody thing was working as normal. I've quadruple checked it on several different occasions and it was a no go, to the point where I replaced it and left it sitting in a wardrobe for months (maybe it just needed a rest lol). If it keeps working, I'll have to decide now whether I use it or the G940. I find the FFB2 much easier and effective to use, but the separate rudder and pedals on the G940 are more immersive. Thanks for your help anyway, I'll keep it in mind if the stick stops working again in the future.

I have a collection of MSFFB's for parts now :)

The G940 is a nice option but my new oak floor wouldn't like having the screws run into them for the pedals (wifey request), my CH ones had to be retired due to them slipping all over the floor.

You've probably already tried it, but the Logitech pedals have the selectable carpet-grabbers on the bottom. Maybe using those on a heavy, sticky, rubberized mat or piece of carpet would be an option. I have my pedals set to their least resistance and at a distance where I don't really have to kick against the end point of the pedal's travel, and haven't noticed them slipping around with the carpet-grabbers.

The sensor in the stick is an infrared gate, and the only thing it does when not blocked is power down the forces of the stick. Always funny to show to friends when the stick hangs in a corner and I use a finger to "magically" let it climb to center. On some occasions a stick that's not centered causes strange phenomena if software uses joystick input by default when newly installed.

I bought mine in 2002 due to IL2, but it took me years to have the insight the standard IL2 profile was totally wrong for this stick, disregarding the FF effects. Later some parts broke but it still worked, so I got myself a free, broken one with a different defect and built myself a "new" one out of the two.

The G40 is an nice toy but I'm building myself a pedal set out of a diesel timing belt and two camshaft sprockets, and the optical sensor of an USB steering wheel.

Brilliant :)