CombatStick Hat wearing out

[Fridge]

Good Morning folks!

My Combatstick has been one of the best purchases I have even made for my flight-simming hobby (next to the throttle and pro pedls :-) ) but after a year of almost constant use the main hat on the combatstick is starting to wear out. It is becomming increasingly difficult to get the hat to 'look right'.

Incidentally this is the position most favoured in the BF-109E/F in World War II Online as it offers the best look at an opponent lining up on your six. Needless to say I have had my share of enemy pilots in ths position and how I am payint the price :-)

In essence, the 'look right' switch is starting to fail and not accept input. I find myself 30% of the time having to 'try it again' to get the view to move.

I notice on the CH Products page that they sell the mini switches I presume I would need to get replaced. I am wondering how big of an operation this is. I am fairly experienced with soldering and such, so I am not worried there.

I am wondering if anyone else has done this and achieved acceptable results.

[Bob Church]

If you've only had it for a year it should still be under warranty, but then you'd need to live without it while it was repaired. I don't know if the individual switches can be replaced, it's a question for Michael but I think he's off at E3 today. Maybe he'll be online this evening or over the weekend and you can ask him.

- Bob

The StickWorks
http://www.stickworks.com

[Debby]

Our turnaround time for repairs is VERY quick (provided you are in the States). Give Michael a holler and he'll give you an RMA number to send it back.

If you are outside the U.S., send me an email instead and I'll hook you up with a distributor in your area who can assist.

And yes, Michael is in Los Angeles at the moment... getting into trouble, no doubt! ;) He sounded like an excited kid in a candy store on the phone earlier! :w00t:

[Revvin]

I hope you never gave him a company credit card Debby :D

[Fridge]

Actually I'm in Canada and it was a little hard for me to find a place to but the stick in the first place. If know of a distributer in Canada I would really appreciate it!

If not then I feel comfortable 'fixing it myself' if it comes down to it. You never know - if I muck it up I guess I'd just have to break down and get a Fighter stick 'upgrade' :-)

[MichaelCHProd]

If it is the micro switch in the POV Hat then it is not so much soldering but taking the HAT off the PCB it is mounted to in the grip and then taking the POV Hat apart to replace the micro switch.

If you just order a new POV then the swap out is not that bad if you can handle a soldering iron. Just be careful when you take it apart so you don't loose anything or forget how it goes together.

Best bet though is to let me give you a RMA and then send it to us for a detailed inspection/repair. It lets you keep your warranty and it guarantees that if anything else is "marginal" from use then it gets done (and done right) by us.

[Fridge]

Thanks for the replies guys. It's stuff like this that has be recommending CH Products .. ahh products .. to my fellow flying squad mates in WW II Online.

Where can I order the POV replacement? I did not see it on the CH Products parts page (only the microswitches).

[MichaelCHProd]

Go direct through Debby. Send her an E-mail and tell her what you are looking for and I will get one on Monday to make sure we are all on the same page.

[GeorgeBoles]

If it is the micro switch in the POV Hat then it is not so much soldering but taking the HAT off the PCB it is mounted to in the grip and then taking the POV Hat apart to replace the micro switch.

Dear CH Chaps,

Looking at some ancient CH stuff I have with a slightly sick microswitch in some of the hats - as the first chap in this thread has. Could Michael or someone expand a bit on how to get the mechanical parts of the hats apart so I can replace the micro switches please? Do you have to de-solder the whole assembly first? Or does the top of the "cage" clip off in some way (after the you remove the hat spindle first)?

With thanks,
George