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U360 Spring Options and Observations

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SammyWI:


--- Quote from: kagaden on May 14, 2010, 03:34:54 am ---
1. There are some obvious bugs in the software: For example, if you use stickies on your joystick map and the position of the stick is within a sticky, it will not register any button presses as it holds the joystick direction. Wonderful.


--- End quote ---

Have you contacted Andy at Ultimarc about this?  I just tried it myself with a test map I made up and sure enough - no buttons register when the joystick is on a 'sticky' cell.  Can probably work around this by making all my maps with no sticky cells, but it would be nice if the bug was fixed.

I've also experienced the sticking issue with the U360.  Lube helps but it's still a problem. I do notice that when the stick is set to 'no restrictor' in the software, the dead zone seems much better.  That is, even with a bit of sticking and the stick not fully returning to center, the software still registers the center position in a basic 4 way or 8 way map.

It's setup right now with the stiffer spring and the circular restrictor.  I'm thinking I may try it for a while stock to see if that works well enough and maybe has less sticking issues.  Still trying to figure out how to improve the sticking issue.  I'm thinking of maybe polishing the ball joint with a felt bob and some polishing compound on a dremel.

I really like the flexibility of the U360 and I don't play fighters, so the speed issue is less important to me.  I'm hoping I can get it working well enough that I can use it in my CP. 



kagaden:


--- Quote from: SammyWI on May 15, 2010, 08:51:13 pm ---
Have you contacted Andy at Ultimarc about this?  I just tried it myself with a test map I made up and sure enough - no buttons register when the joystick is on a 'sticky' cell.  Can probably work around this by making all my maps with no sticky cells, but it would be nice if the bug was fixed.


--- End quote ---

I actually figured it was working as designed, so I haven't contacted him about it yet. Though I should now that you mention it, if anyone could fix it he could. It wasn't how I'd like sticky zones to work personally, but I can see how this wouldn't be a problem if you didn't use the button harness and used an ipac or something similar instead, which I think is the most common configuration use for them.

I realize my post above may have come off a bit more negative than I intended. I don't want to dissuade anyone from the U360's for the most part they're fantastic and ingenious sticks and well suited for casual home use. Just don't let 400 stressed out young adult co-workers get their hands on em 24/7. ;P


Update: I've sent Andy an email and linked this thread to make him aware of the issue. Maybe he has some advice for us on the maintenance of these sticks too when he's got some time.

AndyWarne:

Some comments:

The deadzone button problem, now that I am aware of this I will fix it of course. Should not take too long.

No the sticks/restrictor plates are not meant to be repeatedly disassembled. It does state this on the website info page.

We have made a change to the design of the U360 around a month ago. It no longer has any silicone grease used at all in assembly. Instead, the cup bearing on the handle is chrome plated to eliminate friction without the need for grease.

There is one aspect of the U360 which I am looking to improve further, namely the amount of free play in the handle in the center of travel. This requires a precision machined bush to be made and we are working on this. Its likely I will be able to offer the new bush and chromed cup bearing as a kit eventually.

Andy

AndyWarne:

Kagaden,

I have tested and so far unable to reproduce the button issue you mention. So maybe we can correspond via email about this and find how I can see the problem.

Also need to get to the bottom of any "slowness" you have found as this is not something that has been reported and there is certainly no lag in the stick itself.

You mention other software issues, so would like any information on these issues as I will look at any problems.

Andy

SammyWI:

Andy,

Thanks for responding so quickly.  The bushing for the cup joint sounds promising - looking forward to it.

I was able to replicate the sticky cell - button issue with a custom map that was mostly sticky cells with just a few direction cells around the edges.  I watched in the windows gamepad properties window to see if the buttons registered with the stick in various positions.  In most maps it's probably hard to notice the issue since there are very few sticky cells.  I've only tried this on a Windows 7 box, btw.

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