Saitek Yoke - Sloppy Precision (Fixes)

[NeoMorph]

Is it me or is the Saitek Yoke sloppy when it comes to precision. Is there a trick to get more precision out of it.

I tested it out in FSUIPIC and found when it goes to center there is a huge amount of variation in neutral which means you have to have a large null zone. Part of me wants to rip out the guts and put in some better pots or something.

[jackpilot]

Hi Neo

There is a lot of info on this site.
A search on Saitek would tell you that these  products have  been questionned.

http://www.cockpitbuilders.com/community/index.php?topic=892.msg6946#msg6946

[NeoMorph]

Weird... when I searched I got no hits... Was half asleep when I posted lol

Well I read about how you mentioned the pots were inexpensive but when I opened up the thing I got a shock... My 360 joypad had better pots that these junk pots are. Get a £10 joystick and you will probably find the same pots inside.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS.

It shouldn't be too hard to actually disconnect the old pots and wire in new ones and then connect them to the Leo Bodnar 12bit board. What is even better is there is plenty of space to fit the LB board inside the yoke body. I will use the existing Pitch/Yaw pots for the throttle quadrant (after replacing the trim pots which is essentially what they are). I know I wrecked my warranty but tbh it will make the Yoke 500% better than what it was and the yoke is only a stopgap until I get my ATR 72 up and running.

I'll try and record the progress of what I have done and then post it on here when I have finished and report how good it is.

[NeoMorph]

Just found the idea Potentiometer for the Yoke...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ALPS-Potentiometer-RK50112-10K-50K-100K-250K-RK50-pot-/350338636424?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5191cf5a88

[NeoMorph]

After messing about with the Saitek Yoke's innards I have come to the following conclusions:-

• The springs used for the pitch return to zero are a little strong.
  
  FIX: Replacing the springs with weaker ones still returns the shaft to zero but  does allow for increased pitch accuracy as small adjustments are now easier to input.
  
  
• The main shaft of the Yoke appears to stick.
  
  CAUSE: The designers didn't take into account enthusiastic assemblers overtightening screws. This means that the screws holding down the C clamps for the  metal shaft are too tight which is causing the shaft to stick.
  
  FIX: Loosened the screws slightly and add a dollop of hot glue to stop the screws undoing further. Also adding some Vaseline to the shaft helped reduced the sticking too.
  
  


• The accuracy of pitch and yaw is not too impressive! Trying to make small pitch and yaw movements is  hit and miss.
  
  Cause: The pots used in the Saitek Yoke are cheap ones which means that they often wear out fast (reports say they last a year or so) and are also terrible for small adjustments to pitch and yaw.
  
  Proposed Fix: Replacing the pots with High Precision ones and linking them to a Leo Bodnar BU0836X Universal Joystick Controller should improve accuracy a lot. The good news is the BU0836X will fit neatly inside the Yoke case. As I have already said "ByeBye" to my warranty I will also add sockets for the external switches, rotary encoders and links to the Rudder/Toe brakes.
  
  

I'll probably be putting together an order for some parts this weekend as I also need some parts for another project.

[mas55]

Hi john,

Have you done the mods you mentioned here?

Thanks.

Marco