Wore out my joystick!

[BriCro]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Hey i have Extreme 3d pro too. but i hate it because the accelerator thing on the base. Doesnt work for me when i try to use it when i fly a black hawk. like ill push it ... and 4 seconds later it will respond. do i have it all messed up? or is there a way to macro the joystick to the game like it finds other games? helP!

[Chris_Redfield]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Hey i have Extreme 3d pro too. but i hate it because the accelerator thing on the base. Doesnt work for me when i try to use it when i fly a black hawk. like ill push it ... and 4 seconds later it will respond. do i have it all messed up? or is there a way to macro the joystick to the game like it finds other games? helP!

My advice, dont use it. Or try to increase the sensitivity in your Logitech gaming Profiler if you use it. Also note that BHAWK isnt a Cobra, so you will get nowhere near the throttle response. And for jets, throttle response is ~3 seconds anyway.

Best bet is to use JS and KB. While A and D keys for rudder are optional, W and S keys for throttle are almost a must.

[XmetallicaXguitarstX]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

I flew the J10 one too many times and actually wore out my joystick. I'm going to try to send it back for a warranty. As a temp replacement I bought one of those cheapo joysticks from best buy and of course it sucked *** and returned it yesterday. Looks like I'm going to be grounded from BF2 indefinately...

good you pos J-10 whore.

DXTweak2, unbelievable how much Ive dragged my Attack 3, after its potentiometers were totally fvcked up. If a normal guy would have thrown the stick out, I extended the use of mine for 4 good months.

And that was my first stick, excessive use coupled with too much appled power made Attack 3 into unusable stick in just 3 months.

Anyway, thanks to good impressions from Metallica and PW, I grabbed myself a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, and its awesome. Placed a new soft spring, fixed the small gap in twist, tweaked with DXTweak2 to have faster response when pulling up (I have normal sensitivity on all, but when I pull up, its at max at 50%), and for dogfighting and F35B use I have profile created to set roll to max at 50%.

All in all, best bang for the buck is definitely Logitech Extreme 3D Pro.

Yeah im surprised more people don't put a soft spring in it.

[BliTzKrieG[WMD]]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

I have a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. I've had it for a few months & I haven't had any problems with it. It's made of plastic, but it's well constructed. It was relatively cheap, a mere $28 on Newegg.com.

[namezero]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Any tutorial of putting the soft spring into that Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick? In fact I've no clue which spring you're talking about. Thanks.

[Chris_Redfield]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Allright. Its fairly simple if you dont mess with the wires.

I had and old plastic airsoft gun (At your Walmart for a few bucks, the cheapest one), I took the spring out.

Man, I sure would like a camera at this point, LOL. Anyway, heres how it goes.

Open your joystick, by unscrewing the screws at the bottom. Once youve opened it (carefully to not to damage the wires), youll see that the stick itsself is attached to the bottom via a white "construction". Unscrew that construction (4 screws), and open the baby up. The spring is at the bottom, its on a small pole-kind-of-thingy. Its about 1.5-2 centimetres in diameter, and about 2-3 centimetres high.

Now take it out, and measure your softer spring, so its just a few millimetres (1-2) higher than the original one. Youll be surprised how awfully stiff the original spring is. Cut your new spring to match the original spring height (+ 1...2 millimetres).

Screw everything back together, and try it out. If its too loose for you, open it up and cut a new size spring, higher, keep on going until you get the stiffness you want.

Total operation time- about 10 minutes if less.

Hazards- I was worried about breaking the wires, but its simply paranoia. Changing the spring is an easy task, and your biggest problem is going to be finding a good suitable spring.

Metallica, if Im not mistaken used some gizmo from a quitar?

[namezero]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Thank you Chris_Redfield. Ran to some local hardware store and found a bunch of spring that I can choose from.

Yeah I no longer need to hold the base before swinging the joystick.

I wonder if changing the spring will improve the durability? Others keep saying that model breaks like 3 times a year depending how often you use it..

[Chris_Redfield]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Thank you Chris_Redfield. Ran to some local hardware store and found a bunch of spring that I can choose from.

Yeah I no longer need to hold the base before swinging the joystick.

I wonder if changing the spring will improve the durability? Others keep saying that model breaks like 3 times a year depending how often you use it..

Man you have no idea what I went through LOL.

Logitech Attack 3, my first, had such a stiff spring that I actually used two sided ducktape to tape the stick to the desk, and I flew like that for 2 months! It was my first stick and I know it had VERY rough and extensive treatment, so it was toast in just 3 months. If this is your first stick, expect it to break in less than 6 months. It has not much to do with the stick, but with the way you handle it. It just gets way too much stress. Your second stick will be just fine.

My second stick now, Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, is going perfect, I have no complaints and its working wonderfully. So dont loose hope, even if your potentiometres will wear out (joystick will behave erradically, its going to lose calibration 2 minutes into the game, its going to be very dull to the right and extrasensitive to the left and so on).

But since youre placing a softer spring in, I think your hands will adapt and you wont apply that much pressure on the stick so who knows, it can even hold on for a longer time. What I noticed, is that after marathon games (4-6 hour straight dogfighting games, happens when they get exciting :P), my hands dont hurt anymore. I fly choppers with a stick too and its VERY easy to make precision controls.

EDIT: Just so you know, My stick has had periods of excessive use since June 2006, so it is durable. I know people from this forum have had theirs for over a year.

[Bloodsport]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

I've got a LT 3D pro and it's gathering dust due to my inability to convert from mouse/keyboard. Literally gathering dust.

[Chris_Redfield]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

What a waste

You should at least decorate it, or put your wig/hat on it, it looks pretty as a decorative element.

Converting isnt hard. You just have to pass the "get used to" phaze, after which only you yourself set the limits to the skills. Well.. that and the J10.

[Bloodsport]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

I can take down the usual J10 whore easy enough now. It's all in the cannons and knowing when to fire the missiles and from what angle. I just can't get used to the J/S at all, I end up wanting to do a split S and I land the plane on the carrier perfectly. Well not quite, but you get my drift. Usually it's the sea or a ram packed friendly Black Hawk.

I use my Joystick as my headset holder, plus it looks cool sat on my desk when I have visitors round my house.

[Chris_Redfield]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Heh, I splashed and crashed when I started flying with JS too. Now I look back at the time and I think its worth it. And yeah, my headset is resting on my JS too. Looks like modern art!

[Bloodsport]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

I might give it another go tomorrow. Don't think it'll change though.

[ZekersSneakers]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

I might give it another go tomorrow. Don't think it'll change though.

I was an avid keyboard user for flying, when I got my joystick I couldn't fly for crap, couldn't aim and couldn't do what I used to be able to do. Now that I've adapted I can do things I couldn't imagine with my keyboard, and I can actually aim.

Anyone who is too stubborn to use their joystick, or thinks that M/K is just as good, will be a newbie forever :).

[Supermario]

Re: Wore out my joystick!

Man you have no idea what I went through LOL.
Logitech Attack 3, my first, had such a stiff spring that I actually used two sided ducktape to tape the stick to the desk, and I flew like that for 2 months!

ROFL!!!