PFC Rudder Pedals (Replace POT)

[AngeloC]

Hey guys, I have been a long time reader of the the forums. Reading all the threads here inspired me to tackle the issue on my rudders that have been bothering me for ages.

Below is a pic of my setup. I have a PFC Saab Column Yoke, with Jetliner Rudder Pedals. This equipment has lasted me a very long time so far around 6 years of use.





The brake axis's are VERY noisy, I had to combat this with FSUIPC and map both brakes to one pedal to get me by, I know how sad is that?

I spoke with PFC and it seems their growth is getting to their heads a bit. As I have said I have owned these two items for 6+ years. I live in Socal and they are in NorCal. I have RMA'd my items before for refurb and maint and so on. Price was reasonable and always received itemized list for work done and cost.

Now they have switched to flat rate fees. For a simple POT replacement from their email today from Ivan, "Hello! The service will replace all the potentiometer, check wiring and replace as necessary, tighten all bolts, nuts and screws. This service will be a flat rate of the $350.00 plus shipping."

I believe this is a bit excessive if you ask me, but I am just a small end user.

My question is, I would like to purchase two Pots for each brake and replace them myself. The pedals are no longer in warranty, nothing to lose here. What is your guys' feedback? Can you suggest what parts and the process?


Second Question on another note. http://www.my737ng.com/hardware/simujabs/simujabs-rudder-pedals/

This was a great read and I am thinking about getting those pedals down the road, the owner spoke fairly highly about them minus a slight binding issue. What do you guys think?

Lastly,
http://www.my737ng.com/what-the-yoke/

Another excellent thread! This prompted me to contact Agronn, they have been EXCELLENT in answering my MANY questions. Sent videos, answered specific questions overall the vibe I get is very good.

I want to swap the PFC yoke since theirs (Agronn) has so many more accuracies that PFC simply doesn't.

What do you guys think? Sorry to ramble a bit, but when I saw that PFC email reply, it lit a fire and now I want to get the ball rolling... On my own.

Cheers! 

Angelo Cosma

Edit: Sorry all, the embedded images display larger on other forums. I don't know why they are so small here and redirect to imageshack. I apologize.

[Trevor Hale]

Hi Angelo,

First of you should be able to click on the image for a larger version of it.  We do this to keep the forum looking clean, as well to prevent people huge pics from screwing up everyones screen resolutions.

Secondly about your issue..  It is not hard to replace the pots in your peddles.  You just have to be able to pull things apart and see how they are put together and then be able to fit your new pots.  Bob Reed is also in the same boat you are, we were just talking about this on the phone the other night. 

His problem is that his peddles connect to the yoke and they are a serial connection to something else.  One doesn't work without the other kind of thing.

What I suggested is the same suggestion I would put to you.  Separate the Peddles from the yoke so that you can upgrade each at your own pace.  You can buy a leo bodnar card or similar joystick card even on ebay for cheap. (Rip apart an Ebay USB Joystick even).

Inside your peddles you will have 1 pot for the rudder movement and 1 pot for each brake.  3 axis.

pots have 3 wires on them, and depending on the joystick card you may only have to connect 2 of the wires. (One side is just reverse of the other side) In any case, this is a great home project for you to start with.

buy yourself an old joystick or usb joystick card and a couple pots and wire them on your bench and try it out.  Once you get it working the way you want, you just transfer the stuff into your peddles.

Seriously, this project is very basic and we can help you out as you go, just post lots of pictures.  The first challenge you have is believing you can do it.  Getting over the fright "WHAT IF I BREAK IT" feeling.

you do not have to buy the same pots (Any 10K Pots "Common") attached to any Joystick card should work.  Program them in FSUIPC and you are good to go.

You just have to jump off the bridge.  I just recommend you do a small project like the rudder peddles because it should be easy.  You can do it and we can help.

Trev

[AngeloC]

Both Yoke and Rudder are USB, they were new enough at time of purchase that the serials were obsolete.

[Trevor Hale]

Then "Give-ER" You can do this, its easy, just be careful of the springs when you take the stuff apart.  they tend to be very springy lol

[KyleH]

Just pull the pots out and look for a part number on them. Should be able to find a replacement, then put the new ones in. Don't need to mess around with interface cards in your case.

[AngeloC]

Well I kind of don't want to replace them 1:1. Read this response from PFC,

"Our new pedals uses wire wound potentiometer which is better than the old potentiometers that we were using. "

Does this have merit or is he blowing smoke. If not where can I obtain pots like these?

Angelo

[FredK]

I have bought replacement parts from PFC in the past....so you might want to get a quote on what a replacement pot would be.

Fred K

[KyleH]

Well I kind of don't want to replace them 1:1. Read this response from PFC,

"Our new pedals uses wire wound potentiometer which is better than the old potentiometers that we were using. "

Does this have merit or is he blowing smoke. If not where can I obtain pots like these?

Angelo

No, he's not blowing smoke if they were using graphite pots before.

You'll need to pull the pot first, then determine the dimensions and the value to use. From that you can probably find a wire wound version.

[Bob Reed]

My gear is not serial it is just that the rudder peddles plug into the yoke and then the yoke is USB and yes PFC does not do it this way anymore. As for switching out the pots, my yoke is trash (and I know several more) that are the same. Bad pots. I have opened my yoke up and there is not much to replacing thm. Just need some that will mount. So ya, get them out and get some with the same size. This job is not hard and with a little help you too can do it. I would recommend doing a little practice soldering on something else first as well.

[RayS]

Wire-Wound? If they want precision, why didn't they go with hall-effect pots? Wire-wound is a significant step back in technology. I've used all 3... WW, Graphite, and Hall.

Hall-effect is by far the most stable and accurate.