MS Sidewinder Precision Pro & USB Adapter question

[Rekrul]

Hi. I just registered here as this seemed like the best place to ask this question.

I bought a used MS Sidewinder Precision Pro from Goodwill recently. It was the model that's compatible with the simple, four-wire USB adapter described in this forum. I built the adapter, and Windows perfectly recognized all the functions of the joystick, however there's one minor problem;

When moving the stick or even the throttle control, the Z-axis (the twist) flutters somewhat. I can understand some involuntary twisting while moving the stick, but even if I'm not touching the stick and just moving the throttle, the Z-axis flutters a little.

I opened the base thinking it would have a potentiometer that I could clean, but it appears to be all optical. Since the mechanics for the throttle are completely independent from the stick, I don't see why the throttle causes any movement at all on the Z-axis.

I've double and triple checked my adapter wiring and all seems correct according to the information in the forum.

Is there any way to correct this? I tried calibrating the stick, but it didn't help. Note that I haven't installed any extra drivers under XP, I just plugged in the stick and Windows recognized it.

Is this a common problem with this stick or did I just get a bad one?

[Krom]

It is a common flaw, I have like 5 Precision Pro USB sticks (the native USB ones) and they all had a twitchy rudder. That axis just isn't as precise as X/Y, which isn't a major issue for me since I only used it for rolling.

[Rekrul]

It is a common flaw, I have like 5 Precision Pro USB sticks (the native USB ones) and they all had a twitchy rudder. That axis just isn't as precise as X/Y, which isn't a major issue for me since I only used it for rolling.

Thanks for the reply. I assume it's because they have all the sensors in the same location that they somehow interfere with each other. It's a shame that they didn't correct this flaw as everything else works perfectly.