Replacing the Jittery Potentiometers on my Thrustmaster Joystick

I need to source quality poti’s and any recommendations are welcome? That includes those that might be a little different in form as I can mod their plastic housings if needed.

Topic moved into #self-service:peripherals.

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Which joystick?

Their bottom of the range cheapo that I have I have already modded with a heat gun to use with my left hand

https://support.thrustmaster.com/en/product/usbjoystick-en/

Ok, I thought it’s about the T16000M.

I’m a great fan of modification and self build but the problem is that the cost of such projects can drift to the point that it’s cheaper to buy a new “thing” (insert thing here, whether it be flight sim kit or exotic pc cooling/modification etc)

If you are left handed then options do exist.
The T16000 is ambidextrous and has the parts to make it left/right handed.
It does have 1 potentiometer (and there is a hall effect sensor mod posted somewhere for that) but it’s X & Y axes are magnetic (hall effect) sensors.

The VKB Gladiator NXT is probably the “go to” left and right handed capable joystick right now.
Contactless sensors throughout.
Worth a look if you need a grip for your left hand.

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I’ve switched from my T16000M to the Gladiator NXT a few days ago.

It’s pretty amazing and since you have to assemble it, you can mount the grip turned to the left/right as the real stick grip, which greatly reduces the fatique in your forearm.

When asking for part sourcing it’s important to say where in the world you are located.

If you need potentiometers in the US, the best selection I’m aware of is a company called Digi-Key. They have thousands of pots from many manufacturers. Mouser has a smaller selection but some differences that might be important.

If you are looking at modifications, if voltages are standard in the joystick with 5V excitation for the pots, you can maybe substitute Hall sensors for pots. Some are designed as drop-in replacements. You can say goodbye to jitters with Hall sensors.

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There’s also a lot of knowledge (possibly including your TM stick) on the Reddit group r/hotas. I’ve seen quite a few references where people got answers to sourcing parts for their controller.

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I solved the jitters by spraying an abundant amount of WD40 on the component (this was on a T16000, the Z-Axis rotation thingy).

Nasty thing though to open and close without damaging it or losing tiny parts…

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Thanks for the tips guys, I’ll be going with the WD40 suggestion for the time being. The hall effect sensor poti’s are certainly interesting but at 18-20 euros a pop it just won’t be worth it however as they are 360° with no end stop I plan to use one for a self build trim wheel (if anyone a has a solution for the autopilot reset problem I am interested). Once again thanks for the tips, your advice is appreciated.

Instead of WD40, I really recommend DeOxIt Gold. It is a contact cleaner and lubricant engineered for electronics. With any cleaner/lubricant you always want to test for compatibility especially with plastics. A cleaner/lubricant may look like it doesn’t attack the plastic initially but come back later and it can be mush.

Places like Amazon have tiny tubes of it for just a few bucks but it works amazingly well. My Reverb G2 started losing audio out the left headphone and then the right also started acting up. Took the headphones off (easy - 1 small Phillips screw each) and used a Q-tip and DeOxit Gold to scrub the contact plates (fingerprints left during assembly) and put a dab of it on each pogo pin and the audio has been perfect ever since.

But glad you got it working!

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Best practice for pot’s and faders is a good blast or two with a non-lubricating contact cleaner followed by a spritz (or another blast) of a lubricating one.

WD40 would be best avoided for this sort of application.

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Yeah, standard package Hall sensors are significantly more expensive than pots but if you just buy the sensor chips and magnets they get really cheap. That kind of goes against drop-in replacements, though.

For joysticks, potentiometer glitches are annoying and may cost you a flight, but my experience with them started when building my motion sim and you really, really, want reliable sensing there if they are in a motion feedback loop. Lose signal and things get bent, break, and there can even be injuries depending on the failures induced from a bad pot.

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I appreciate the concerns about the WD-40, and it’s good advise no doubt, but the joystick has been working for months now, after its little shower, without problems. If it does melt at some point, it’s a good reason to buy a new one :slight_smile:

However, topic starter might want to pay attention and not use the stuff, if there’s better on the market.

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Funny enough I have both in my garage (along with multiple half empty WD40 cans) so I’ll take this on board.

Yes! Yes! Yes! as some bloke once said about a bottle of wine!
Although it was fiddly all three pots serviced by the double spray method making sure both got well worked into each component. No more jitters, my Joystick has never been this good even when new and I’ve just nailed my best landing in the latest challenge for it’s first test. Sensitivity settings with which I’ve been compensating now all back to a more normal range.

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I followed this fix on my Thrustmaster TCA Airbus. I’m not sure if this is the same model that you have. But if it follows the same design, the same fix probably works on yours too.

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I just thought I’d follow this up to report my stick is still going strong and that contact spray also works wonders on mouse wheels that don’t scroll properly.