Need help troubleshooting T50CM2 joystick

[Hammer1-1]

So my countermeasure switch (5 way position hat switch on the left side) is doing something strange. I can only press the direction buttons and get them to work if I depress the down button only. Ive never had this problem before and I didnt alter anything in my profile. The buttons function! The buttons arent damaged, I never disassembled this piece, and the buttons are in good working order. I have to physically hold the depress button (default button 7) and then move the hat switch in the direction of which button I want to function. Not sure what happened but Ive tried downgrading the firmware to an earlier time and that doesnt work for some reason.

[imacken]

What shows in Joytester when you press the directions on the switch?

[Hammer1-1]

Nothing. When I press down on the center button though, the buttons do work. I can cycle the hat switch and no buttons would be pressed until I hold down the center button. Im starting to think the contacts are bad but I dont know why that would be the case. The last thing I did with my base was replace the cable that connects the joystick to the base, and that was the last time this stick worked fine as I havent used it since then. My other joysticks work just fine though...

[imacken]

Replaced the cable and it started happening?  Sounds like a candidate for the cause.  I would raise a support case and see what Virpil suggest. 

Stating the obvious, but if the button presses are not showing in Joytester correctly, then it is some kind of hardware issue and not software related.

[Hammer1-1]

I raised a ticket almost a week ago and still havent heard from them yet. Starting to believe that its most likely a bad hat switch, but still at a loss because its a rarely used hat switch and I dont often fly with this stick either. Only really found out about it when I tried loading it up with the spitfire a few weeks ago and all the axises were wonky. Ill try to disassemble this thing tomorrow if its possible and see if I can repair it.

[LeCuvier]

My (rather recent) experience with VIRPIL support is that it's slow but good. After creating the ticket on their support site I received a message with a ticket number. After that, a number of mail exchanges took place. After each mail I sent, it took several days to get a new mail from VIRPIL. My problem was due to a failed sensor board so I had to pay for a new one which they shipped a few days after my payment. All in all it took one month after ticket creation to have the stick working again.

 

Did you receive a ticket number at all? I believe that's automatically generated.

[imacken]

Yep, I agree with that.

Support from Virpil is, as you say, best described as good but very slow.  Sometimes it is OK, but in general, there is a delay of a week to get a response, and sometimes that is simply asking a yes/no question. Then you have to wait another week or so to get the next question, and so it goes on.

I love Virpil products, and everyone I have dealt with has been helpful and friendly, but the speed of customer service is a side of their business that I feel needs to be improved significantly.

[Hammer1-1]

Last time I had support from Virpil I had to stay on them to get a replacement cable because it went on for almost 2 months before I finally got my replacement. I even tried making one myself because I was quite literally down and out, and prices for new joysticks were shooting through the roof at the time. This was a few months ago btw. Yeah I have a ticket open, but it hasnt been replied to as of yet. Its been 6 days now according to the date stamp.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Hammer1-1