Joystick mods

[julian265]

Originally Posted by jimbop

Thanks julian265, interesting stuff. How do you find the transition between axes? Is there resistance which favours a particular axis when you gently move diagonally from the centre? Difficult to explain what I mean...

I know exactly what you mean - I noticed it very much with my CH flightstick pro (although I quite liked it that way).

I see it as the static friction exceeding the dynamic friction in the bearings (as is normal), so an axis takes more effort to get moving than to keep moving, which makes the stick feel like it prefers to travel along one axis rather than at small diagonal angles.

I can feel this tendency in my uni-joint stick a bit, although I have my bearings adjusted fairly tight so that it can hold it's position (I never bothered with centering springs) and provide more resistance. See the attached image, taken from the JoyTest2 program. If the tendency was stronger, you'd see straighter lines more aligned with the axes.

If you want to avoid the axis-hugging tendency, adjust the bearing cups to get the desired (lack of) friction. Uni-joints use roller bearings, so you should be able to pretty much remove the tendency. Also, use thin or no oil in the bearings. You'll probably need something to keep the stick centered, such as springs if you do it this way.