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MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals - First Impressions and Detailed Overview


Jackpot

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@CyberianK @Maverick

 

I know some of you are planning on using rudder pedals to play Star Citizen. If you are willing to spend 288 EUR (398 USD) plus shipping on enthusiast grade pedals, then the MFG Crosswind is definitely worthy of your consideration.

 

Click below for the full photo album.

Ym9gyqfl.jpg

 

The there is very little assembly involved in the initial set-up, and it only takes a few minutes. The completed kit is truly an elegant piece of engineering. It's immediately apparent that Milan put a lot of thought into every aspect of the Crosswind's construction. The overall build quality is excellent. All of the black composite pieces are quite sturdy and well crafted. The aluminium parts around the brake axis are well machined, and the joints are equipped with a total of seventeen bearings. All three axes employ magnetic sensors. The on-board electronics feature an input resolution of over four thousand positions per axis. The MFG Crosswind is smooth, precise and feature rich. I have no hesitation in recommending this set if you want some high quality pedals.

 

Edit: Milan Simundza, the Crosswind's creator, has given me feedback on certain parts of the following overview. I have included his comments as quotations within the relevant sections.

Rudder Control Mechanism

The fluidity of the rudder control mechanism is probably the Crosswind's crowning achievement. This mechanism consists of a pivoting inner frame, a concave cam plate which is fastened into the frame, a roller arm and an adjustable spring. The motion of the frame is tracked by a magnetoresistance sensor within the base of the central pivot joint below the cam.

 

This is the Crosswind at full deflection. The spring has been detached from the roller arm.

fiy2SqIl.jpg

 

The rudder axis spring is attached to the floor-plate with a long tension adjustment screw. Your range of customization for the rudder axis tension is immense. The minimum tension is just enough to keep the spring attached to the roller arm, and the maximum tension might require you to have a heavy or well secured chair. Maximum tension definitely feels like it would be more than I would ever need for SC, but it might be nice for simulating old prop planes and large airliners.

cCeRYPil.jpg

 

The roller arm transfers tension from the spring to the cam. The arm has two notches to adjust the spring tension profile. The outer notch will have a more intense tension progression as the rudder axis moves toward full deflection. The increased tension is most noticeable near the ends of the rudder axis.

LWcb4wFl.jpg

As the frame pivots toward the end of deflection, the cam forces the roller arm outward. The curvature of the cam determines how much force is required to overcome the rudder spring tension as the roller wheel runs along the edge. The geometrically asymmetrical cam achieves symmetrical tension because the roller wheel travels in a circular arc-shaped path around the arm's pivot point.

 

Edit: Milan wanted to further explain the asymmetrical the cam shapes and how they were developed.

"geometrically asymmetrical cam" ... asymetry is determined by what you call "roller arm" pivot joint position. For example, If I had mounted such pivot joint a bit left - right, up or down...then I'll have to recalculate whole CAM to get symetrical rudder tension. Actually I've done a lot of testing and moving of that pivot until I got the right position and shape of it to get a nice feel. You can see how early model looked like on my simhq development thread...at the start.

 

Roller arm hold the spring. In order to achieve symetrical tension spring must be streched at the same distance for both left and right motion.

CAM profile curvature is responsible for spring streching distance. That's why different cam = different spring streching = different feel.

CAM profile curvature is dependent on roller arm pivot joint position and that's why it's asymetrical.

Roller diameter itself determine CAM curvature...true...but mostly influencing center notch. For example...if you like to use bigger roller bearing on a roller arm than you'd feel center notch...or will have to change cam curvature to achieve centering. Various Roller bearing diameter were tested to get to the best feel around center.

Here is the cam and roller at full deflection.

eKANY1Il.jpg?1

When traversing the rudder control, your feet will move in slightly curved paths. As you move towards the end of deflection, both of your feet will curve inward. It will take a while to get a feel for this movement if you are used to linear motion on the rudder axis. Personally, I think the curved movement path on the Crosswind feels more natural than the fully linear motion. It's easier to reach full deflection from a comfortable sitting position because you don't have to stretch your legs as far away from your chair.

The six joints on the frame, the swinging arm joint and the roller wheel are equipped with bearings. This makes every motion on the rudder control feel buttery smooth. There are no squeaks, rubs or wobbles.

Cam Profiles

Interchangeable cam profiles are a distinguishing feature on these pedals. Milan currently offers three cam profiles. Cam 4 and Cam 6 are included with every crosswind set. Cam 5 is an extra cost option. He's considering offering more cam profiles in the future.

 

bnhOKpCl.jpg?1

  • Cam 4 is apparently the user base's favourite general purpose cam. The tension progression is a nice balance between feedback and controllability. 
  • Don't worry about adding Cam 5 unless you want to simulate older aircraft rudders. It is similar to Cam 4, but it has a sharp tension bump at the ends to imitate the feel of cable controlled flight systems.
  • Cam 6 is for situations where controllability is more important than progressive tension feedback. You still have a noticeable increase in tension as you push towards full deflection, but it's not as progressive as Cam 4 or Cam 5.

...CAM6 also has more noticable center notch than others.

You can find more info on cam profiles here.

Flge4Inl.jpg

Brake Control Mechanism

The foot-plates are screwed onto an aluminium cylinder. This cylinder is slotted through a heavy spring and screwed tightly into a rotating aluminium collar. The foot-plate angle is fully adjustable from a range of twenty degrees to sixty-two degrees. Hall effect sensors track rotation as the brake axis turns to a maximum deflection of twenty degrees. If the footplate angle is set at twenty degrees, then the footplate will be parallel with the floor-plate (zero degrees) when it reaches full deflection. After adjusting the foot-plate angle you will have to recalibrate the brake axes. The foot-plates also allow for a slight outward swivel adjustment. After tightening the foot-plate swivel, I depressed the brake axes by applying pressure at several points along the inside and outside edges of the foot-plates. I was unable to find any points of increased friction along the axes.

 

In this picture you can see the foot-plate angle adjustment screws along the inner side of the frame. I've included men's size 11.5 (US) shoes for comparison.

 

y3UNmprl.jpg?1

The brake axes on both sides have four tension adjustment settings. These slots offer a good range of tension adjustment. The brake tension springs slot directly into the foot-plate angle adjustment clamps so that footplate angle adjustments do not affect the brake axis tension. For an extra cost, the width between the the foot-plates can be adjusted (see "Milan Flight Gear" section). You will probably need the width adjustment plates to fit these pedals in a pre-fab cockpit like the Obutto R3volution.

 

UNnVwvWl.jpg

 

Floor-plate

The floor-plate is surprisingly stable as long as you have both feet on the rig. Preventing it from sliding around is another matter. The pads on the bottom are anti-scuff as opposed to high friction. Thankfully, it comes with two adjustable wall spacers and four mounting holes. If you plan on using the wall spacers, then you might want to get some adhesive Velcro strips for added stability. Of course, the ideal solution is to bolt it down.

 

Edit: @flashbolts suggested 3M command strips. I think that's a great idea, but you may have to remove the anti-scuff pads if you plan to apply the strips directly to the floor-plate.

4DGdVoXl.jpg

Software

There are no drivers to install for the MFG Crosswind. I assume it uses the default Windows game controller driver. When I plug the Crosswind into a Windows 7 PC, Windows attempts to find drivers for it and fails. You can ignore the driver error because it connects to Windows and the MFG software without any trouble. It shows up in the Device Manager as "HID-compliant game controller." It also shows up in Devices and Printers as "MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals."

 

"Windows attempts to find drivers for it and fails"

It's just a few seconds bootloader mode driver. Later pedals switch to normal "game device" mode which, as you noticed, is recognised and working fine.

Bootloader don't need a driver, and it's made such for safety reasons. If you for some reason can't enter bootloader mode from software button...you can enter it any time when you plug in pedals...you only have to do so within first seconds. So it's a bulletproof electronics upgrade prodecude I'd say.

 

- yes pedals use standard HID joystick driver...for best compatibility. On top of it I've added additional communication layer to comunicate with my MFG Configurator :-)

 

1ak0KFCl.jpg

 

The MFG software package can be found here. It does not have an automated installer, but you may install it manually if you like. Alternatively, you can delete these files after calibrating and tuning the axes because these settings will be saved within the Crosswind's electronics.

 

- MFG Configurator tool can't be installed...no bloatware there. It's just exe file that you need to run from whatever folder you put it in. After you made adjustments such tool don't even have to exist on your pc in order for your pedals to work...that's the Idea.

Edit: Milan responded with the following when I asked him about using MFG Configurator to frequently customize the axes settings for different games and cams.

- There is no problem to put MFG configurator.exe wherever you like, and make shortcut out of. Only thing you need to keep in mind is that "mcHID.dll" must be within same folder as MFG Configurator...nothing else.

- Taking into account your approach to using MFG Configurator I have to say something which is not published yet, and truthfully it might influence maybe future improvement of the firmware...but I have to consult with firmware engineere about it. Here it goes :

- I thought to add a small dropdown list where "default" button is now. In dropdown there would be "default " user config1, userconfig2 , userconfig3.

In essence, I wanted to add a feature to save few personal configuration which you can activate "on click".

- MFG Configurator approach...as you'd agree is brilliant....has it's shortcoming. While all settings are saved within pedals it's done by using on chip eeprom of pedals electronics. It mean every time you click "save" you trigger procedure called " eeprom write" within pedals. That is a problem becouse of way EEPROM memory is designed. It's designed with insurance of " memory retention of 40 years" but " eeprom write cycles = 2000".

So...if you click "save" more than 2000 times...bye bye EEPROM memory...no further changes possible on that electronics.

To make a conclusion out of it...it's not my shortcoming...it's the way these microcontrollers are designed to work. MFG Configurator tool is designed as "set it and forget it" solution with few save clicks per year in mind ( recalibration, angle adjustment).

All the settings within the tool are created to give you opportunity of fine tuning to the liking for advanced users...which will depend on your angle adjustment, tightness of the main spring, quality of your PC's PSU... Default values are only "safe" settings for all situations by having older and less technical customers in mind !

( Sidenote : Big shot commercial companies sort these out by setting large deadzones without giving you possibility to adjust)

For your purpose...on the fly configuration changes for various games, etc.... as well as curvature of the output... I belive in game settings are more appropriate. For games that don't support it a special solution should be developed - VIRTUAL JOYSTICK. Big shot companies use it in their programming ecosystem...like CH and Thrustmaster...with one major design flaw for us simmers...they only support hardware they produce :-(

Alternative solution is started as software named "joystick curves" ( I have no contact with that software maker yet) ...and I will try to push the initiative for such software which will combine all necessary features and support for a wide variety of hardware. You see, development cost money and it's too much for myself...specialy when intention is to support wide variety of gaming devices.

 

After you extract the download, you will see these files. Run the MFG Configurator to calibrate your pedals. Calibration should be performed when you plug the Crosswind into a different computer to account for the voltage difference between the two power supplies. You will also need to recalibrate the brake axis after adjusting the foot-plate angle.

 

y6dZkx5l.jpg

This is what the MFG Configurator looks like with the Crosswind connected, calibrated, and set to defaults. Besides calibration you can also change deadzone, saturation and noise filtering. You have the option to use the brake axes as digital buttons with a configurable threshold, and you can output all data from the Crosswind to a virtual joystick which allows you to merge the inputs from multiple controllers. Some people might want to see some of the macro tools like you find in Thrustmater's T.A.R.G.E.T. software. Then again, if you're going to get that deep, you might as well be using a programmable input emulator.

 

33EqrSkl.jpg

DIView gives you the rest of what you need for axis customization. It allows you to fine tune the deadzone and saturation on all of your axes. Edit: DIView is included for testing purposes. With DIView, users can view the input data that Windows sees and compare it to the raw input data. MFG Configurator allows for finer control of deadzone settings.

- DIVIEW usage.

It's here just to test axis, as well as if you want to tweak your other controllers.

As far as adjustments go DIVIEW is obsolete for MFG Crosswind rudder pedals !!! It's becouse of all tweaks can be done in MFG Configurator with a big difference !!!... Deadzone center in DIVEW is 1% minium ...turn it in positions and you get 41 position of deadzone center !!!...In my configurator you can set it up by position. Default is 8 POSITIONS !!!...far less than 1 %...

Deadzone start and end can be also adjusted in % but you can set it up on on decimal....like 0,8% that is set for rudder axis.

And beside that there are two more important differences between DIVIEW and MFG Configurator tweaks :

- In diview tweaks are saved on PC...influencing DX output. If you move pedals to another PC, or reinstal windows...tweaks are gone and you have to readjust

- In MFG Configurator...when you click "save"...tweaks are stored within pedals itself. You can reinstal your PC, move pedals to another PC...and tweaks will remain inside pedals

- In DIVIEW by adjusting deadzones and saturation you are slightly decreasing resolution of pedals...less points that will be recognised by game. By doing tweaks in MFG Configurator you adjust sensor "viewing angle" ( let's call it like that) ...so resolution will not be decreased becouse of deadzones !

 

DIView will also configure a wide range of other input devices including mice and joysticks. For more information, watch the DIView video which is linked in the "Milan Flight Gear" section.

 

YySiBDpl.jpg

 

Comparison with Saitek Pro Flight Combat Rudder Pedals

I've had the Saitek pedals for about a year. When I bought them, I didn't know if I would even like using rudder pedals. While I feel Pro Flight pedals are worth the price tag, I quickly learned that I wanted something with a smoother, more precise rudder mechanism.

 

The MFG crosswind pedals are about five cementers wider than the Pro Flight pedals. However, the width of the Crosswind can be adjusted with an optional extra (see "Milan Flight Gear" section).

 

G3E2jMhl.jpg?1

With the Saitek set open, we can see the comparatively unimpressive rudder mechanism of the Pro Flight. Dust and debris had collected in the roller track which added to the lack of precision. The tension adjustment capabilities on the Crosswind are vastly superior to the Pro Flight. I also much prefer the MFG Configurator to the Saitek software.

 

ZMi2HHvl.jpg

Milan Flight Gear

Reviews by Other People

Edited by Jackpot
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Nice review thanks, now it seems safe to get it.

 

Only issue of mine:

I have my PC currently on the side of my big dining table which is away from walls so I can't use the wall spacer. And I have ceramic floor tiles in that area so I can't bolt it down either. I will try it with a rubber mat. If that does not stay fixed enough I'll probably bolt it on some bigger wood plate and do the rubber mat below the plate. That should work, hopefuilly...

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Nice review thanks, now it seems safe to get it.

 

Only issue of mine:

I have my PC currently on the side of my big dining table which is away from walls so I can't use the wall spacer. And I have ceramic floor tiles in that area so I can't bolt it down either. I will try it with a rubber mat. If that does not stay fixed enough I'll probably bolt it on some bigger wood plate and do the rubber mat below the plate. That should work, hopefuilly...

 

Just use some Command strips.  You can replace them if they wear out or easily remove them if they don't work.

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Those pedals are a serious piece of engineering, not sure if I could justify the expense though.

 

They really do make the saitek pedals look cheap and nasty but then again, my personal opinion of Saitek kit is that it all looks cheap and nasty.

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The Crosswind's creator, Milan Simundza, found my overview via an interested third party and contacted me with some feedback. After a pleasant email exchange, I have decided to add his comments to the overview.

 

If you've already read the overview, you can find his comments below.

Milan wanted to further explain the asymmetrical the cam shapes and how they were developed.

"geometrically asymmetrical cam" ... asymetry is determined by what you call "roller arm" pivot joint position. For example, If I had mounted such pivot joint a bit left - right, up or down...then I'll have to recalculate whole CAM to get symetrical rudder tension. Actually I've done a lot of testing and moving of that pivot until I got the right position and shape of it to get a nice feel. You can see how early model looked like on my simhq development thread...at the start.

 

Roller arm hold the spring. In order to achieve symetrical tension spring must be streched at the same distance for both left and right motion.

CAM profile curvature is responsible for spring streching distance. That's why different cam = different spring streching = different feel.

CAM profile curvature is dependent on roller arm pivot joint position and that's why it's asymetrical.

Roller diameter itself determine CAM curvature...true...but mostly influencing center notch. For example...if you like to use bigger roller bearing on a roller arm than you'd feel center notch...or will have to change cam curvature to achieve centering. Various Roller bearing diameter were tested to get to the best feel around center.

 

...CAM6 also has more noticable center notch than others.

 

"Windows attempts to find drivers for it and fails"

It's just a few seconds bootloader mode driver. Later pedals switch to normal "game device" mode which, as you noticed, is recognised and working fine.

Bootloader don't need a driver, and it's made such for safety reasons. If you for some reason can't enter bootloader mode from software button...you can enter it any time when you plug in pedals...you only have to do so within first seconds. So it's a bulletproof electronics upgrade prodecude I'd say.

 

- yes pedals use standard HID joystick driver...for best compatibility. On top of it I've added additional communication layer to comunicate with my MFG Configurator :-)

 

- MFG Configurator tool can't be installed...no bloatware there. It's just exe file that you need to run from whatever folder you put it in. After you made adjustments such tool don't even have to exist on your pc in order for your pedals to work...that's the Idea.

Milan responded with the following when I asked him about using MFG Configurator to frequently customize the axes settings for different games and cams.

- There is no problem to put MFG configurator.exe wherever you like, and make shortcut out of. Only thing you need to keep in mind is that "mcHID.dll" must be within same folder as MFG Configurator...nothing else.

- Taking into account your approach to using MFG Configurator I have to say something which is not published yet, and truthfully it might influence maybe future improvement of the firmware...but I have to consult with firmware engineere about it. Here it goes :

- I thought to add a small dropdown list where "default" button is now. In dropdown there would be "default " user config1, userconfig2 , userconfig3.

In essence, I wanted to add a feature to save few personal configuration which you can activate "on click".

- MFG Configurator approach...as you'd agree is brilliant....has it's shortcoming. While all settings are saved within pedals it's done by using on chip eeprom of pedals electronics. It mean every time you click "save" you trigger procedure called " eeprom write" within pedals. That is a problem becouse of way EEPROM memory is designed. It's designed with insurance of " memory retention of 40 years" but " eeprom write cycles = 2000".

So...if you click "save" more than 2000 times...bye bye EEPROM memory...no further changes possible on that electronics.

To make a conclusion out of it...it's not my shortcoming...it's the way these microcontrollers are designed to work. MFG Configurator tool is designed as "set it and forget it" solution with few save clicks per year in mind ( recalibration, angle adjustment).

All the settings within the tool are created to give you opportunity of fine tuning to the liking for advanced users...which will depend on your angle adjustment, tightness of the main spring, quality of your PC's PSU... Default values are only "safe" settings for all situations by having older and less technical customers in mind !

( Sidenote : Big shot commercial companies sort these out by setting large deadzones without giving you possibility to adjust)

For your purpose...on the fly configuration changes for various games, etc.... as well as curvature of the output... I belive in game settings are more appropriate. For games that don't support it a special solution should be developed - VIRTUAL JOYSTICK. Big shot companies use it in their programming ecosystem...like CH and Thrustmaster...with one major design flaw for us simmers...they only support hardware they produce :-(

Alternative solution is started as software named "joystick curves" ( I have no contact with that software maker yet) ...and I will try to push the initiative for such software which will combine all necessary features and support for a wide variety of hardware. You see, development cost money and it's too much for myself...specialy when intention is to support wide variety of gaming devices.

 

- DIVIEW usage.

It's here just to test axis, as well as if you want to tweak your other controllers.

As far as adjustments go DIVIEW is obsolete for MFG Crosswind rudder pedals !!! It's becouse of all tweaks can be done in MFG Configurator with a big difference !!!... Deadzone center in DIVEW is 1% minium ...turn it in positions and you get 41 position of deadzone center !!!...In my configurator you can set it up by position. Default is 8 POSITIONS !!!...far less than 1 %...

Deadzone start and end can be also adjusted in % but you can set it up on on decimal....like 0,8% that is set for rudder axis.

And beside that there are two more important differences between DIVIEW and MFG Configurator tweaks :

- In diview tweaks are saved on PC...influencing DX output. If you move pedals to another PC, or reinstal windows...tweaks are gone and you have to readjust

- In MFG Configurator...when you click "save"...tweaks are stored within pedals itself. You can reinstal your PC, move pedals to another PC...and tweaks will remain inside pedals

- In DIVIEW by adjusting deadzones and saturation you are slightly decreasing resolution of pedals...less points that will be recognised by game. By doing tweaks in MFG Configurator you adjust sensor "viewing angle" ( let's call it like that) ...so resolution will not be decreased becouse of deadzones !

 

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  • 3 months later...

@Jackpot Thanks for posting this. I was asking members in the Hardware section about these pedals and the posted youyr post on them. Since you have them for a while now I would like to ask how are they holding up, do you think it's good idea to order the Cam 5, and do you think $400 is worth the price for what you received?

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Ok don't shoot me here... But what is the direct purpose of rudder pedals? There is no rudder in space and all modern aircraft have yaw dampening systems negating the need for rudders except in landing with crosswinds. Are they being used to control directional thrusters?

Thanks for your insight as to how you use your rudders in this game. Much appreciated.

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Ok don't shoot me here... But what is the direct purpose of rudder pedals? There is no rudder in space and all modern aircraft have yaw dampening systems negating the need for rudders except in landing with crosswinds. Are they being used to control directional thrusters?

Thanks for your insight as to how you use your rudders in this game. Much appreciated.

You could use the rudder pedal to spin the ship like a rudder on a aircraft in atmo. Except they will control thrusters. I might pick up a pair of those , but they are a little steep.

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Ok don't shoot me here... But what is the direct purpose of rudder pedals? There is no rudder in space and all modern aircraft have yaw dampening systems negating the need for rudders except in landing with crosswinds. Are they being used to control directional thrusters?

Thanks for your insight as to how you use your rudders in this game. Much appreciated.

 

Nobody's gonna shoot you for a question here. ;)

 

It's an example from atmospheric combat, but it's the same in space. Imagine you fly straight forward and detect an enemy very late, that's coming from above and on your left side. A maneuvre like this would enable you to keep on target the whole time:

 

SU-35%2520jet%2520doing%2520acrobatic%25

 

The threee axes of movement don't change in space, there's just no drag.

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Ok now that's impressive... So the rudder pedals would I guess control thrusters to allow the aircraft to rotate and maintain a lock. I think I'll try to manage that with rotation of my flight stick or something as most of my gaming is done while I travel for work so it's a gaming laptop for me and a portable flight stick option. Rudder pedals will be just something I drool over.

Thanks.

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  • 1 year later...
1 hour ago, GeraldEvans said:

I may get some of these.  Apparently he may be making more contemporary pedal replacements as well, which I think I would like.

I just ordered a pair last night.  I think Pagan and Belial ordered a pair in the last week too.  

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4 hours ago, Turo said:

Not trying to be the wet blanket here, but why would I spend $400 on those versus, say, $100 for my CH Pro Pedals that work flawlessly after 15 years of use?

 

They have a wider spacing.  CH pedals just feel too close together for me.  They have more adjustment options and different centering profiles. 

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I honestly haven't been impressed with my CH Pedals. I've had them a year and a half and had to take them apart twice already. I love the rest of my CH gear but I'm seriously considering a different set of pedals.

The CH ones are also very difficult to clean.. you have to take them apart to clean the roller tracks. And they're a bitch to take apart.

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The spacing doesn't bother me either. I have to clean mine a lot because I have two parrots that like to sit on my shoulder when I game and preen themselves of down feathers, which conveniently fall under my desk and into my pedals :/

The issue I've had with mine is bad contact on the swivel POT, which causes drift and centering delay issues. I hope the last fix I did finally solved it, if not I'm probably going to end up soldering the connections.

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