Gunfighter 4 dampener screws

[mysticfm]

I tried to adjust the dampeners on my new Gunfighter 4 base to be a little looser yesterday, but it seems like turning those dampener screws any further counter-clockwise was going to make them fall completely out of their holes, and afterwards the dampeners are still very tight. But today I’m wondering if possibly turning the screws clockwise to tighten them actually relaxes the dampers? It is impossible to determine which way is which from the tutorial video because every time the dampener screws are adjusted, the video fast forwards through that action and I can’t tell which way the screws are being turned. Before I go through the struggle of taking the stick apart again with my aging and shaky hands, can someone let me know which direction those screws are supposed to be turned to loosen the dampening action?

[fallout9]

Counter-clockwise would release the dampeners' screws. When the screws are becoming really wiggly don't go any further.

[mysticfm]

Okay, thank you for verifying that. But if that’s the case, should I be concerned that the stick return to center (in both axes) seems very tight even with those screws completely loose? Is it possible that a brand new Gunfighter IV gimbal might already need to be greased?

[fallout9]

Well, 'tight' is relative, depending on end user; for someone who comes from a TM style joystick, with that large spring pushing the grip from all sides, it might appear tight.

[mysticfm]

That’s what I’ve been hoping … but from the VKB videos I see the sticks on the Gunfighter base oscillating back and forth across the center point when the dampers are released in the process of setting them, and mine does nothing like that … in fact the slow return to the center position doesn’t even get quite all the way to a centered position, even with those dampener screws entirely loosened.

I’ll have to experiment with it some more, I guess. Maybe the default springs aren’t strong enough? I figured they’d be fine for an SCG with no extension, so I didn’t change them.

[fallout9]

The single #20 spring per cam, which is the default setup, is certainly pretty weak and it's more like a holder rather than a recommended setup. I suggest trying a double #30 springs setup on each cam. This is the guide you'd need. I suggest not to swap the cams, only springs for now. Of course, if you'll have any further questions please post them here.

[mysticfm]

Many thanks to you for your help! I’m far from a wizard with hardware, so it wasn’t exactly intuitive to me that heavier springs would move the behavior closer to what I’d expected. But today I was successful in changing my springs, which is a testament to how user-serviceable these VKB devices are.

I decided to just change to a single #40 spring on each cam, out of concern that #60 might be a bit much when I don’t have the stick securely mounted (I just have it sitting on my desktop with the base plate installed). But that change was enough for me to be able to start seeing the kind of return to a center position that I had expected, and to be able to begin engaging the dampers to tweak it. It’s all back together now and working flawlessly, so I didn’t break anything either. I was quite happy with the GF4 base before, but now I’m downright thrilled with it. Time to fly!