rec.autos.simulators

If would like to fix it myself but it looks like a pretty complicated
procedure.  if anybody has one of these wheels and it performed similiar
surgery or has had similiar problems please talk to me!!  Is 18 months about
normal for the meter  to last on any type of  wheel?  Thanks in Advance.

-ROB

To clean the pots on Thrustmaster products, get some Tuner/Switch
Cleaner and Lubricant from an electronics supply store. Open up the
housing on the unit and spray the insides of the pot (short for
potentiometer). I usually direct the spray (via the tube extenstion for
the spray nozzle) into the openings of the pot where the solder lugs
are. Then move the wheel or pedal through its full range 4-6 times to
work the cleaner over all the contacts. If the unit was acting up quite
a bit, you may want to give it a second "cleaning" before sealing up the
unit and heading back out to the track.

[For the non-electronics or non-mechanical racers out there, the pot is
the "silver" cylinder that the is directly behind the wheel inside the
housing. It should have some wires connected to it and the wheel is
connected its plastic shaft. There should be a "shaft" coming out of one
end of the cylinder.]

% I have been a proud owner of the Digital Edge Steering wheel and pedal setup
% for about 18 months now.  A great wheel, I have never had any problems until
% now.
% When I am playing GPL the car twitches ever so slightly to the right on
% occasion.  You can see the wheel on the screen twitch just for a fraction of a
% second and at times it is enough to pull the car clean off the track.  It
% wasn't bad at first but now it is nearly undrivable.  I am assuming the problem
% is hardware and not the software.   I think I logged to many miles on those
% stupid ovals and ended up wearing out the meter inside.

% If would like to fix it myself but it looks like a pretty complicated
% procedure.  if anybody has one of these wheels and it performed similiar
% surgery or has had similiar problems please talk to me!!  Is 18 months about
% normal for the meter  to last on any type of  wheel?  Thanks in Advance.

% -ROB

--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
     Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./.  [-  < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

What kind of wheel did you have?  Was it the Digital Edge wheel?  I don't know
to many people with this wheel so i am interested in finding out other opinions
on the wheel.  I tried cleaning mine as best I could without dissasembling the
unit, but it did little good.

I had the Digital Edge F1 Sim, not the compact, well actually I had two.
The first one I had  the calibration used to get stuck to the right. To
clear it I had to pause the game and move the wheel full left and right
several times and that would fix it for a while. Eventually I returned
it and got a replacement thinking I had maybe just got a faulty one. I
got the same problem with the replacement though, I e-mailed tech
support and the told me to use a cable tie to tighten the *** sleeve
around the pot spindle. I did this and it fixed the calibration problem
but I still got the twitching in GPL.

I ended up returning it and getting an MS-FF wheel. I get no twitching
at all now and perfect control, which is great apart from the pedals
being a bit light so they can move very slightly, which is more of a
little niggle than a full blown problem. The only downside now is I
can't blame the wheel for my slow times any more ;-)
--
Sean Black

I am very curious about the MS-FF wheel.  Everybody seems to say it is a good
wheel.  If  I have any problems with the Digital Edge wheel I will return it
and try the MS-FF wheel.  Just curious,  how do you shift with the MS-FF wheel.
 Does it have paddle shifters like the DE?  And are the pedals as good as the
DE?
Thanks  -ROB

There are two buttons, not paddles as such, behind the wheel which I use
for changing gear. The pedals are a lot lighter and may move around
slightly but they have got a large base which helps to keep them in
place and they have a lot less resistance than the DE pedals. It has
also got six buttons on the front of the wheel rather than the two on
the DE, also all buttons (including the ones behind the wheel) are
programmable.
--
Sean Black

I have one of these and have had same prob
You need to change the pot in the steering unit
it is a 100k Conductive Plastic type, I get spare ones
from Farnell's in Leeds, RS would have them
don't think Maplins do that type (well they
didn't used to. Of course if you're stateside
then you'll have to ask around........

No Make on them , but they are blue and
made in mexico.....

I'm on me 3rd now, they will last a year with
low use, but I go thru them every few months.

If you can't get one from a supplier, then the
techie guy at the firm who make them is helpful
and may send you one.

Getting the unit to bits requires care as when the top pulls
off you may pull the wires out! Gettin it back together
is even more interesting........

Good Luck
Matt.