Modding My Joystick

[ZK-Brock]

Hi guys. I want to my my joystick. Here it is:






Its a Saitek Cyborg evo. What I want to do is make the stick tougher to pull on - create more resistance so its more like a real aeroplane. It's got a spring thing for self-centering.

Basicallymy idea is somehow to add more spring to it so the nspring is more compressed and exerts more force on the stick when it's moved out of the central position. Any ideas?

Brock

[Jimmy]

hmm Mike advised I remove my spring, I did so and its certainly alot better, my fps may not be smooth but at least the stick is smooth lol

Having no spring makes it easier to hold a pitch or something with out having to trim.....

I dont know how you would make it harder to move thow..

[ZK-MAT]

Hi Brock

First off try and get a longer spring and wind that on, winding the old one off. Or maybe insert a sleeve above the spring. Get a piece of PVC pipe and cut off a piece of say 8 - 10mm with a slot that you can open it up enough to slip over the shaft above the spring. That would be easier than taking it apart to do the same thing.

James: Some people tie up their Saitek springs with cable-ties to make them easier to move, I tried it and it was hopeless, sloppy all over the place. I noticed that the X45 and 52 springs are tighter than the Evos so maybe tying them up gives a better result. I like the subtle resistance I get on my Evo..

[ZK-Brock]

I like the subtle resistance I get on my Evo..

Yeah, but does that subtle resistance feel nearly the same as the Cessna you fly Matt?

Thanks for the tips though.

[ZK-MAT]

My heart was too high up my windpipe to make comparisons with a joystick and a Cessna yoke at the time ...

Seriously though, I guess the MS Force Feedback sticks had the right idea (although I've never tried them). It would be good to get something to simulate the counter-push you feel when moving the yoke, depending on speed and turbulence.

Let us know how you get on!

[Kelburn]

This may seem a bit off topic, but I have the same joystick and have noticed that after a whil it starts to get harder to pull and eventualy, if I pull up quickly and then try to recentre it, th bit at the bottom that the spring's attatched to stays up. What I'm asking is: How do you clean this area between the stick and the base?

[SUBS17]

Speaking of modding joysticks you can get some good mods for the Thrustmaster Cougar. I was checking out the throttle arm mod which looks as though it gives the pilot much larger range in throttle movement. Pretty good for Formation flying, another mod you can get is the modification of the stick to make it rely on pressure like the real F-16 instead of being a typical joystick with movement.