X axis sticking to the left

[spacetime]

Hi All!

I'd like to request some help with an issue I am experiencing with my GF base and MCG Pro stick combo. Some time ago, the X axis started to stick to the left. I first felt this happening while in DCS, where the plane would just go into a continuous left turn. This happened always after a stick movement, after a turn, for example, while re-centering it. It would just not 100% re-center.

So I decided to open it up and start tweaking it, and the first thing I did was to change the cams to the 30 ones, with centering, then doing the re-calibration steps. That seemed to have killed the issue at first, and since I actually preferred the centerless cams for this base, I changed them back, re-checking all parts and re-calibrating again, this time adding a 5% deadzone to counterbalance the fact that the cams do not have a hard center. The issue seemed gone but after a week or so it came back unfortunately.

So I changed the cams again to the centered ones, re-checked the internal parts, re-checked that the dry clutches were not tightened, re-calibrated and re-tested. Issue seemed like it was gone once more, so I dialed back the deadzone to 2%. I kept the same original springs in all cam changes.

But the issue is now back, and seems worse than ever. And it is somewhat random, happening sometimes after I move the stick to the right, sometimes when I move it to the left, and then recenter.

I also tried updating the firmware on the stick to v2_02_5 and that unfortunately killed my axis movements - for some reason they were simply not registering. So I reverted back to the version I was already using and the axis started working again.

Here's the additional information:

1 - Gunfighter base Mk2 + MCG Pro stick (no twist)
2 - v1_97_7 (tried v2_02_5 but it did not work on my stick/base)
3 - Original springs that came with the controller (think it is the 20 ones?) - one per cam
4 - Original, centerless cams, then 30, centered ones
5 - VKB Device Config v0.91.93, VKB JoyTester
6 - Screenshots follow
7 - Screenshots follow

Any help is appreciated. Is there anything else I can try? Note: this did not happen to the Y axis so far.

Thank you!

[fallout9]

There are 4 factors affecting the grip properly returning to the center:
- cams,
- springs,
- dry clutches,
- dead zones.

The #20 springs are too soft for the S cams - try adding up springs (either harder springs, or at least another #10 to pair with the existing one), increasing the deadzone or stick to H cams.

[spacetime]

Hey fallout9! Thanks for the tips!

Indeed, increasing the deadzone to 5% again seems to have mitigated the problem except for the most extreme circumstances, and even so if it happens, it is just for a split second.

Now, having said that, one thing I noticed on close inspection is that what actually seems to be happening is that, even after calibration (and I tried to perform it exactly as described in VKB's guides), it takes less movement for the X axis to start moving to the left than it takes for it to start moving to the right. Almost like if the sensor inside the base was off to the left by a tiny amount. Hence when the deadzone is smaller, it ends up registering some movement in that direction. I wanted to keep the deadzone around 2%, though, and I tried 3% and 4%, and both of those, though incrementally better, still presented part of the issue, with the 5% seeming to be the sweet spot for now.

I have just recalibrated the stick and will keep trying. And I hope to be able to update this thread with my findings after that.

Thank you once more!!

[spacetime]

Hey all!

Just to give some feedback, I think I finally got the joystick adjusted. I did have to change the springs to the 40 ones, then re-calibrate one more time using 5% as deadzone for both the X and Y axes (keeping the 30, centered cams). This finally seems to have eliminated the issue - at least I did not notice it anymore. With the 30 springs it would still happen from time to time.

This does have the side effect of having to use more force to move the stick, and I would prefer something lighter on the arm. Yet it is a small compromise to make to get it centered, given that the games I play (DCS, Elite Dangerous, MSFS, X Plane, etc.) generally work better with a centered stick.

One thing I noticed though is that one of my 30 cams is actually shaped the same as the 10, centerless ones. Maybe a small issue when marking/packaging it. So I put this one in the Y axis, which never had a centering problem, and pitching is actually quite better than rolling in these games given that the other 30 cam in the X axis clearly has a small bump to create that center feeling, which is a bit pronounced IMHO. But it is helping getting the axis centered, so that's good.

For now I think I am good. I am able to try AAR again in DCS, which was impossible with the random left movement

Thanks for the help!