30 March 2007

Sidewinder force feedback pro joystick - it's a copper thing

As expected, there's a problem in the power plug/socket connection. I opened the joystick base removing all screws in sight and two more hidden under rubber pads (lift them carefully and remove only if you see a hole underneath). The bottom cover pops out very easily.
The power socket has large soldered pads, I plugged the AC adapter and measured voltage with a VOM: nothing. Fine, two options:
  1. solder the AC adapter cable directly into the base -OR-
  2. solder a red/black wire at the socket pads and use a different male/female connector outside the joystick
I am not going to look for exact replacement for existing parts!