VKB-SIM

I purchased a Gladiator MKII back in May but wasn't able to use it until a couple weeks ago due to an injury. After maybe 5-6 times using it the joystick thumb button (buttons 18-21) jammed/stopped working. It doesn't click at all. I've read about people saying it can happen and that it is fixable, but I can't seem to find any good directions on how to fix it. Does anyone know of any tips or know of any guides on this?

Thanks.

It is not clear which grip is. Show screenshots from the tab configurator Global-Common, Global-External, Profile-Buttons.

Is the top button of Gladiator KG-12A grip, press buttons (18-19 in Mode1, 20-21 in Mode2).

If button plastic cap are moving down/up, maybe the cooper membrane of the tactile micro-switch inside are broken.

Open the grip and test the micro-switch without cap.

That's my plan. Found some videos of people taking apart that stick for various reasons and will use those to help figure out the best way to get to it.

Thanks.

Ron61 wrote:It is not clear which grip is. Show screenshots from the tab configurator Global-Common, Global-External, Profile-Buttons.

Sorry, I didn't realize alternative grips were possible with the gladiator mk2. Attached are the screenshots you requested.

Sokol1 wrote:If button plastic cap are moving down/up, maybe the cooper membrane of the tactile micro-switch inside are broken.

Oh. Meant to mention that no, the plastic cap doesn't move anymore. It basically is just sitting there. It seems to be stuck in the up position, as you can't really life it at all. Hard to tell 100% without something to compare it to though.

Thanks.

And just to clarify, the jammed button is the one at the very top of the joystick. The button next to the hat switch, behind the trigger.

After viewing a few of the videos, I went ahead took it apart and found the problem. The switch had shifted and was unaligned with the button. I pushed it back into place and it worked. I then used a small piece of electrical tape to help hold it in place (it was pretty tight, I think it might have been knocked loose in shipping or something). All back together now and everything works. Re-calibrated it to be sure and am back to my game.

Thanks a ton to everyone!

I've had 2 sticks do this
The 1st one failed after a few months or so and I had the stick replaced under warrantee (and they didn't want the old stick back which was a nice surprise ), the 2nd one failed after a couple of weeks though!
At which point I couldn't be bothered to contact support (even if it was still under warrantee).

eikenb
Was their any one video which was particularly helpful?
If not, could you list the ones you watched?

I think I was directed to the upgrade one as it showed how to take it apart.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/x_LXh5LTJL4

It was pretty easy though. Just undo all the screws and carefully pull things apart. The top trigger slid slightly to the side and was easy to push back. I cut a small piece of foam (the spongy stuff used to insulate pipes) to fit in the handle to hold it in place. It has worked pretty well so far (had to fix it again after about a year.. I used a slightly harder foam). If it comes apart again I'll probably try a hot glue gun.

I finally got around to fixing 1 of my sticks, as eikenb said the switch had moved.
Basically there's nothing to stop the top switch moving to the right a few mm or so (2nd photo), that gap (see 1st photo) is a bizarre design decision and makes me wonder if they had intended to glue the switch in place? Maybe the right hand 1/2 of the grip was used with a different version of the stick which had a larger switch??
Anyway I put a few layers of insulation tape around the edge of the right hand side of the inside of the grip (3rd photo) to (hopefully) stop the switch creeping to the right too far, but I'm not entirely sure that the tape will be hard enough for that though. If you try this repair, make sure you don't put too many layers on or it'll will stop the back edge of the button moving down enough to work the switch, and don't tape over the slots, or you won't get the cover/grip top back on.

If the tape doesn't work in the long run, I'll ask a friend of mine who has a 3D printer to see if he can make a little plastic sleeve to go over that edge.

This is where the switch should be.


This is where the switch ends up moving to (for whatever reason, for me it was simply using it), only when it gets right over to the other 1/2 of the grip does the button stop working.


This photo shows the tape I've put in place (which won't stop it moving completely, but hopefully it'll be enough. I didn't tape put around the edge of the switch as it didn't look like there was enough surface for the tape to grip on properly), with the switch back to where it should be.