Ultrastick 360 Problems - Any advice?

[jwwaldre]

First, yes I've sent an email to Andy. 

In case he can't figure out the issue, I wanted to see if any of you have had experience with this.  I'm all out of ideas here.    

Problem: ULTRAMAP will only recognize one Ultrastick 360 joystick at one time (despite both having different ID#).  Windows detects the joysticks fine as Ultrastick #1 and #2... all buttons work and joysticks work.  Oddly enough, I can move the crosshair in the little preview window in ULTRAMAP by moving the joystick, even though ULTRAMAP says it's "not detected."

Other Details:
1) Windows 7
2) I've tried restarting, unplugging all USB cables, reinstalling ULTRAMAP.  None of those work.
3) If only one joystick is plugged in, ULTRAMAP detects it fine as #1 or #2.  The instant you plug in #1... #2 goes grey and is "undetected."

Other Other Details:  Everything was working fine with both controllers until I let one of the USB cables get too taut.  It ruined the PCB board for joystick #1, so I had to replace it.  The new PCB board could not be detected, so I reinstalled ULTRAMAP... now it detects #1 fine... but it won't detect both joysticks at the same time.

Please help!  My head is about to explode! 

[Ginsu Victim]

Where are you plugging in the USB? There's a chance they might not be getting enough power with both plugged in. Try a powered USB hub or USB ports that are hardwired to the motherboard.

[jwwaldre]

Thanks for the advice.
Unfortunately, both joysticks are plugged directly in to the motherboard, so there's not much I can do to improve the situation. 

1) Based on your recommendation, I tried switching around the USB cables to see if a different port would help.  No luck so far.

2) I have a powered USB hub somewhere.  I'll dig it out and see if it will help.  Knowing my luck, it will probably break something else. 

[jwwaldre]

Update: Okay, tried the powered usb hub.  No change in behavior.  Second joystick is still "undetected" but can still move the crosshair in the preview window.  Weird. 

[lamprey]

I can't help you with your issue, but I recall reading that some people had to re-flash their sticks. You should contact Andy at Ultimarc and work with him to resolve your issue(s).

[jwwaldre]

For anyone following along - Andy responded today.

My joystick PCBs are apparently different versions (purchased about one year apart), which he thinks may be causing the issue.  Ordering a replacement board today to see if that will fix the issue.

It's going to be a looooong ten day wait.  Keeping my fingers crossed.