Central MS FFB2 topic - repair, settings and mods

[DD_crash]

Originally Posted by woodchuck

I'd love to see a little "how to" presentation on the XFFB52 mod.

How does the X52 handle solidly attach to the MSFFB, and how about the wiring?

This stick looks like the "killer app". Bravo.

Me too!

[Sully_pa]

Ok I'll try ...I don't have many pics of the mod but I'll see what I can do.

[Sully_pa]

OK heres what I did for my X52-MSFFB-Pro

I don't have any pics of the joystick top breakdowns but you should be able to figure them out. You take all of the screws out of the sides of the MMffb2 joystick handle and it will split in two. Disconnect the wires from handle to the main board in the MSFFB2 and you can pull that through and then you should just have the black stub from the base of the joystick Where the joystick handle used to be.


now in the next pic you'll what it looks like in the base of the x-52pro. It's a bit of a bitch to get the metal shaft and joystick handle away from the base. I broke a few pieces out to make it easier to remove. (I knew I wast going back to this joystick base.) You will see where the joystick handle and toggle switches unplugs from the main board do that and remove the stick. Now remove the main board and the connector board from the base.


In the next pic you can see where I mounted the main board and connector. Theres enough space there for both.The connector plug that plugs the X52 stick to the throttle is a PS2 type plug I drilled a hole in the side of the FFB2 so just the metal part of the plug went through. I then put a few slivers of double side tape on the edges of the main board and stuck it to the wall to hold it then put some hot glue on the corners to hold it in. I then pushed the plug through into the plug connector board and hot glued the top to hold the board in place and then ran a bead around the outside of the hole at the plug end and it holds nice and firm and you can pop the glue off later if you need to remove the boards


..you can see in this pic where the hole gets drilled and the bead of glue around it.


About attaching the handles

Depending on the height you want the handle you will have to cut both down a bit if you want in relatively low. The FFB2 is easy it's plastic. The X52 is metal and the wires are in there. For me it seemed like to much of a pain in the ass to take the stick all apart to pull the wires through so I stuck a screw driver in the shaft to protect the wires from the saw then cut one side of the shaft to the halfway mark then the other.
Joining the two can be done all kinds of way's ...the X52 shaft is a little thinner then the FFB2 so I took a drill and drilled out the center of the FFB2 shaft so the X52 shaft could fit in it or close. Well it didn't go as well as planned and the shaft of the FFB2 cracked when I was forcing the x52 in
It worked out though I put two small hose clamps on it and it's solid as a rock. Later I thought about maybe getting a copper or plastic slip coupler for 1/2 plumbing or what ever size is close to put over both shafts and after cutting some slits in so the ends would clamp, hose clamp it in place that way. Once you have it apart you'll see what I mean and I'm sure you'll think of something.

Let me know if anythings not clear...hope it helps someone S~

[woodchuck]

Thanks for the pics Scully.

I just disassembled my X52 and it was no picnic, I cut the wires near the plug in the base, which helped only a very little bit.

I'm taking my sweet time on this but my plan is to keep the X52 base with its buttons , plugs and circuit boards.
If I lengthen the handle wires about 2 feet with a plugin connection in the middle, I can mount the X52 base next to the HOTAS on the desk and keep the XFFB52 on my lap, which works best for me.

I'm looking at making a metal or plastic ferule to connect the shafts.

I know someone who manufactures industrial adhesives, but he would need to know the materials involved.

Does anyone know what type of plastic the FFB2 is made of?

[nearmiss]

I don't have the stick you mention, but I would think Rovell might be a place to start.

[rfxcasey]

Funny story. I was fumbling around and grabbed my headphones off the desk. When I did the cord pulled a whole cup of coffee off the desk and onto my MS FF2 while it was on (it was situated on my keyboard roll out tray). It immediately stopped working, the light went out and everything. I was like "OH SHNIZT!" Took it all apart and there was coffee all over the circuits board as well as had shorted out the main power connector. Cleaned it all out, washed the PCB down with alcohol, cleaned all the gears and the gimbals. Put it back together, crossed my fingers, and it's still working like new to this day. There is no finer consumer grade joystick on on the planet in my humble opinion.

[Sully_pa]

@woodchuck .....don't forget to post a pick when your done .

[Bearcat]

Some good stuff here... I have just retired my MSFFB2 stick thatI started using in 2002 when FB came out.. I just broke out my spare that has been sitting in it's box since 2004 .. My FFB stick used to do the same thing .. only it would go to one corner and just stay there... and it only did that on CFS3.. and it does it on FSX as well... which is one reason why I swear off of MS sims.. for me they just don't do it.

That stick is one of the best ever though..

Sully that is a nice little piece of work there.. I just modded my X-52.. but I still use the MSFFB as my flight stick.. the X-52 is a throttle and a button bay.

[Azimech]

Interesting mod by Flashman:

If you ever find the forces stop you have probably blown the power supply card. I had to but a cheap Laptop power supply and wire it up to the stick. Its actually made the forces a little bit stronger! I think I broke mine when I dropped it though, its not a known weakness!

[woodchuck]

I got a 1 foot piece of 3/4 ABS rod for $8.00 at:
Search there for "ABS rod"
http://www.smallparts.com/


Dissassembly of the X52 was a bitch. I drilled out the end of the captured acorn nut on the handle later to ease re-assembly.


I did a lot of whittleing and fileing on the shaft of the MSFFB to remove protuberances and key the X52 shaft into slots.


A friend in the adhesives manufacturing biz did the glueing for me, the best he could tell me about what he used was "MMA".


The wiring and soldering was a fussy job (clean your tip on a damp sponge OFTEN).
The rest of the assembly went pretty easy, and to my suprise everything worked. (*see below)



If I were doing it over:

I'd make the ferole out of Stainless steel not ABS.
I'd shop around for thinner wire than the bulky 22 gage multistrand that I had on hand.


*The lights on the X52 Hotas stoped working, except the power on light which works, as do all the other lights.

The x52 programing software doesn't like what it sees and is confused. (I don't use it anyway)

The 3 mode switch on the stick doesn't seem to do anything without the software.
I think I may be able to fix this by playing with the, now unused, hall sensors in the X52 base.
(try to fool the software into thinking nothing is amiss)

The X52 handle is much heavier and longer that the stock MSFFB handle, add to this the extra legnth of the ferole,
and the stick is a bit top heavy. The FFB motors seem more stressed and the effects somewhat reduced.
When the power switches off it tends to fall heavily to the side stops.
The increased legnth does seem to add a bit more precision though.

The MSFFB base is much heavier than the X52 base.
When you see how flimsy the connection between the X52 shaft and stick is, you won't casually lift the stick up by its handle anymore.

And thanks so much to Sully_pa for the inspiration to try this.

Solved the software problem by pluging in to a different (rear) usb port.
All is working nicely now.