GF II / MCG pro en X-axis lag

[Ugly Eric]

Hey!
I have had my GF II for about 5 years. Bought it second hand. It started slowly generating problems:
- Need of re-calibration quite often
- Spikes on X-axis near full bank to right
- Lag on X-axis left side

Now it developed to state unbearable and unplayable. What I have done:
- tried on different computer
- Tried several USB ports and a separate powered USB hub
- Opened the unit to see if any bad connections are visible
- Tried to look for bad solders etc.

Is the unit RIP, or is there something to be done?

[fallout9]

Clean up the contacts on grip and base and check if there are any damages, like deep grooves on the pads or stuck pins.
Check the wires inside the base for damage; unplug and plug back firmly all connectors.
And get the latest VKBDevCfg, the one you're using is old.

[Ugly Eric]

Hi

Thank you for the extremely fast response! Excellent customer service!

I am unable to find anything wrong with the wiring inside. I disconnected and connected everything just before posting the original post.

However, there are grooves on the contacts between base and extension & extension and grip. Pictures attached. Can I just solder the grooves shut, so there are no more grooves?

[Ron61]

It is possible, carefully, without overheating the site.
I advise you to reconnect the connectors in the base itself, that's all.

[Ugly Eric]

Now my English fails me and I do not understand, what you mean by connecting the connectors to base itself?

[Ron61]

To eliminate pits from contacts, you can tin the pads and cover them with solder. But only carefully, without overheating them. This is exactly what I meant.

[Ugly Eric]

It seems, that some kind of contact issue somewhere is the fault here. I soldered a small amount of tin to the scratches. For a moment the joystick seemed to work like a charm, until the contact broke entirely. Now I start to search for the actual place of bad contact.

[Ugly Eric]

After soldering the both contact surfaces, taking the unit down to bare minimums (removed springs, and grip), connected the unit to pc, there was no or almost no errors in the external errorlog. However, the lag remained and was now also present in Y axis. I installed the grip back, and tried again, same result. However, I had a really hard time to get the grip to connect in the first place. I needed to apply really hard pressure to the grip, for the connection to secure. This would indicate that the problem is in the connectors, but why is the lag on the axis present even without grip?

Can the base connector be broken somehow? Can it be opened? Can it be repaired?

[Ron61]

Judging by the boot, you have one of the first versions of the controller in the base. Previously, there were electronics upgrades in which the X-axis board was already combined with the output board, and this was minus one cable and a solution to the problem. Try reconnecting the cables in the base, that's it. The contact pads from the rod and grip are easy to remove; they are secured only with a rubber ring.You just need to push the board out.

[Ugly Eric]

Hi

I took the unit to parts and reconnected every wire. I even took it further apart to check for any possible physical damage. I could not see there would have been anything wrong anywhere. Yet the problem persist. Pictures attached.

I also noticed, the the Y-axis bearings are shot. Are they just press fitted to the aluminum frame, or are there any reasonable way to replace them?

[fallout9]

The issue is in the wires or the plugs. Try connecting the opened base, run an axes tester on the screen and jiggle at the wires slowly.
You can replace the bearings if you have a bearing press kit. But I'd try to revive them first with some fine lubricant. In any case, this is what you need if it comes with replacing them: