New MCGU - “Loosen the factory dampers” vs “readjust damper to your liking”?

[arizonamoonshine]

Hi I just got my new MCGU. The manual in the box directed me to YouTube. From watching previous videos I was familiar with changeing cams and springs so I dove right in. I followed along the video, took off the #20 springs, swapped cams to Space - S, added 1x #40 and 1x #20 to each axis per my liking, and adjusted the dampers to what felt good and centered with what looks like a “good” oscillation per the videos. Everything worked great, bearings centered, properly facing springs etc...

Then I went to the FAQ to start going over the proper order to install software/firmware, calibration etc.. In doing that I came across a “Note” in smaller text saying:

“In case of the Gunfighter, you’d also need to loosen the factory-tightened dampers to have the stick return to center freely. Refer to the Gunfighter Quick Guide for details.”

When I go to the Quick Guide, it tells me to “adjust the damper force per axis (tight or loose)” and “re-adjust the damper to your liking”.

So my question is, prior to calibration am I supposed to get it feeling correct for the springs I installed? Or am I supposed to loosen the dampers so there’s no damping, calibrate it based on that, then go back and adjust the dampers to my liking? And if the latter, do I need to start over from scratch now with the original springs?

The joystick shipped with single #20’s on each axis. And it was quite loose/not centering. After I installed the heavier springs it seemed to center great (visually since I haven’t calibrated yet). But I’m unsure of what’s required via the calibration process or if I should ignore the “loosen dampers” note since I went with heavy springs.

Thanks for reading and for any help

[Ron61]

During calibration, you simply show the controller the limits of the grip movement.
And it then stretches this range to numbers from 0 to 65535. You can move the knob a few centimeters along the X and Y axes from the center during calibration, but after the controller reboots at the end, the range in the test will still be from 0 to 65535.
Damper it regulates only the loading, the "viscosity" of the movement.
And therefore, for calibration, it makes absolutely no difference at what speed you reach the extreme points of the range.

[Drano]

The dampers are made to be pretty tight at the factory for shipping. So they'd be set tighter than you'd probably want, which is why they advise you to loosen them once you get them. After that you can re-tighten them to your liking. Between the springs, cams, extensions and dampers you can truely tweak the feel of this stick like no other.

[arizonamoonshine]

Awesome, thanks for the breakdown!

I was being overly cautious and thinking about it wrong, like it was a one time chance to get it right from the factory lol. I went through the setup and calibration and my stick was actually centering spot on from my previous adjustments with the heavier springs. Might go back and loosen them all the way then re-tighten just to be sure but they seem to work well right now.

For future reference when installing new springs should I get in the habit of loosening the dampers 100% first? or is it okay to leave them tight when adding/removing spring weight and make small adjustments?

[Drano]

No need to do that just because you're swapping out springs. Just leave them as they are unless you don't like how it feels after the spring change. The good news for you is you have a newer GF where you can adjust the dampers from the top. Super easy. Mine is the original model and they adjust from the bottom. Not so easy! That would usually involve removing the bottom plate to get at them. I made a custom plate with holes drilled in it so I could adjust them without dealing with all that.

[Drano]

Oh and in case something is lost in translation, when they say to loosen them they don't mean loosen completely! Just enough so they aren't almost locked in place as they are for shipping so the gimbal moves. Adjust as you like from there. After that there's no reason to loosen them again unless you want to. I'd actually removed mine for a time until I added an extension.

[arizonamoonshine]

Appreciate all the detailed responses thank you so much. The stick feels great right now and is centering perfect. Thanks again!