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Contactless sensors - magnetic interferience?


Yardstick

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I have recently had to replace the X-axis springs in my U2:NXT modded Cougar. Having done this the Y-axis calibration is playing up. It calibrates OK, then quickly loses the centre and range of travel drifts over time. If I move the Y-axis up and down starting with a min of 0% and max of 100%, the min will first move to say 6% and a max of 100%. Then then the max will move to 94% and min 0% and so on. I immediately though that the sensor had come loose and was rotating independently. However, having stripped the base down, I can't find anything that needs tightening or any damaged wires. The build quality of Ian Johnson's gimbal is amazing BTW - still looks like new after c. 15 years of heavy use, no wear or play anywhere.

 

So I'm left scratching my head trying to work out why the Y-axis is playing up. Since the only thing that has changed is a new set of springs and these are adjacent to the Halls sensor. My only remaining theory is that the new springs are spring steel and Ian's originals were stainless steel. If the new spring was inadvertently magnetised could this be screwing with the sensor, even from 60mm away?

 

I understand stainless steel is difficult to magnetise (maybe one of the reasons Ian chose it in the first place). I have some stainless steel replacement springs on a slow boat from China, so should be able to test the theory in a few weeks but would be interested in others thoughts.

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Well with some experimentation, I answered my own question. Even after removing the new springs, the sensor is still behaving erratically. I've flashed the firmware (usually the go to solution for calibration issues), re-installed the drivers and tried it on another PC. However, I am now I'm having to conclude that it could be a bad sensor or maybe a damaged wire. If it is the later at least I have a chance of fixing it.

 

The Midori Halls Effect sensors are a drop in replacement and are still available but at c. $100 + shipping each and only available in pairs, not a realistic replacement.

 

one minute

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Hi Hall didn't moved when you changed the spring?

What is the center value in the CCP when you do a manual calibration? is it the same for X and Y?, about 320?

Have you try to reverse X and Y on the pcb for verify if it's effectively a sensor prob?

 

 

 

Best regards

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After some further investigation, I’ve established that the sensor is good and the issue appears to be mechanical. However, after stripping down the gimbal and insuring that all the bolts are secure, I’m at a loss to work out what is causing the drift. There is a little play in the main bearings (lateral twist of about 1mm) but I can’t induce any significant movement in the controller output by twisting the stick. Anyway I first noticed the play a number of years ago and up until a few days ago, everything was performing as it should. Now, over time I get seemingly random drift in the min / max for the Y-axis (up to 15%) with a corresponding drift in the centre.

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That’s what I also hoped was the issue but have checked and the bolt is tight. I even used a marker pen to draw a line on the arm to see if I could see any movement but can’t detect any. I’m going to try some loctite to see if that makes a difference.

 

 

Update:

 

I went down the Loctite route and tightened the screw as much as I dared. 3 days on, the centre point drift seems to have been largely eliminated. I've also switched to manual calibration, which seems to help with any extreme readings causing the calibration centre to drift.


Edited by Yardstick
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  • 3 months later...

OMG,,, I am dealing with a similar issue and I accidently found this thread. My issue is only with the "X" axis though (left-right).I always use manual calibration. The X axis only sticks to the left roll only, and it is NOT every time. Seems though if I gently push to the left it is more prone to NOT go back to center neutral. Any advice? Thanks,

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