Picked up a pair of these joysticks today for $70. Took them apart after finding they both had horribly jittery axis. The pots were filthy! So i cleaned them thouroughly and no more jitter or drift. I will be ordering these magnets and sensors and completing this upgrade soon. Thank you!!
You dont know? Its called planned obscolescence. A engineer planned which cheap part he had to use, so the stick breaks down exactly after warranty ending. Thats why. TM wants that. Its industry standard. Everything, especially electronics is made with cheap parts, so you buy new every 1-2 years. TVs, Smartphones (guess why you cant change battery anymore) etc. TM is a shadow of the quality it was in the 90s. All big companies do it that way. Bring good quality, grow, cut costs, please the shareholders with more value so you have to sell more and more and more. You want lifetime quality? Look at small companies like vkb, winwing, virpil or CH Products until they grew.
@@Gloomshimmer This is the only explanation. Honestly, it doesn't even make much sense, because the amount of products they need to RMS, i've returned my first T16000 after one month, only for it to be replaced with one that would start twitching again. It's godawful design.
@@DemonLordGamingAC0 yeah. If TM or Logitech would be interested in the product and the customer, they would Change the Design. TM would Route the cables new and use a better Poti or Magnets. Logitech would Change the Power demand and Led Screens of the x52 and x56. But they dont want. all of these Designs are old, the x52 about 20 years....but they never changed. Stop buying these craplords would help.
@@Gloomshimmer I agree for the most part, but if you're a leftie you're out of luck as far as I can tell. I can't find any other stick with a twist function for left handed people, if you know of any please let me know. I'm guessing smaller companies won't make them due to the extra production costs.
I made this my mission today. After not being able to use my Z axis for so long. THIS IS THE ONLY FIX!!! This step by step is 💯 well done sir 👏 👍 very easy tutorial to follow
THIS JOYSTICK is famous because the new version (not the green one but the orange one) has a DEFECTIVE Z axis. After some time the electric actuator breaks. BRAVISSIMO the author has really repaired a hero but we learn to leave the products on the shelf that are DEFECTIVE. I don't know if it is an intentional defect (controlled obosolescence) by the manufacturer or a design error, but we LEAVE the goods that don't work ON THE SHELVES. These joys are ALWAYS catching up. Very good you should work at TM in their place!
You cannot imagine how much I appreciate your video. My T16000 broke down within 2 years - z-axis went bananas. At first I thought the ASOBO programmers had added a kind of "wind effect" on the rudder (I use it for MSFS2020), but I soon found out that the z-axis had gone bananas. I ordered the parts as you did, and I succeeded in soldering (2.time) and sticking magnets to the inside. IT WORKS, I tested it. but now button 2,3,4 are just gone. I think I miss some small rings, which are supposed to be connected to the circuitry on the small green board, to keep the buttons on the plastic stick apart from the board, so they can be activated when pressed. I probably lost these 3 small rings/whatever, when I disassembled the stick (it was tiresome, as you warned us about). Now do you or anyone else have an idea how to fix button 2,3,4 on the T16000?
ima need to buy a few hall effect sensors and just... you know... upgrade the WHOLE hotas setup to hall effect. This vid is a godsend, thanks for making it
Just played elite dangerous for the first time in months after finally performing this fix. No more fighting with the erratic yaw for me! Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
I just did it yesterday after receiving all the parts from Ali express, it took me like 2/3 hours to do it gently/safely, and it worked so well im impressed ! Very smooth and precise, thank you so much for this tutorial brother, life changer :D I've just cleaned the TWCS potentiometer with contact cleaner too, now everything works perfectly fine ! By the way i was thinking about maybe replacing this potentiometer (twcs) to a hall effect sensor but i don't know how to do it. Cleaning it was easier haha. Thank you man!
You're a legend, my guy. I've been putting off doing this for months and not playing ED because of it. The only info I had on how to do this was like 5 reddit/Frontier tabs open each with an incomplete explanation of how to do this. Finally someone has instructions that make sense.
Topman for making this video, it fixed my rotational Z axis straight away. I used N42 8mm x 1mm magnets with a 95a Hall sensor as they were easy to obtain. Followed the guide step by step and it works flawlessly. I was a little unsure if they would be strong enough, perhaps I'd have to adjust the sensor distance from it, but it has worked with no problems. Only day two since installation, if any issues come up I will update this post.
Just finished this. I've been smiling ear to ear after trying them out. It works perfectly! The only change I made is routing all of the cables from the board, through the little black piece that the sensor sits on.
I bought the T16000m two stick combo way back when on sale and the rudder of the right-handed stick started acting up yesterday. I couldn't be arsed to fix this just yet, so I modded the less used left-handed stick to a right-handed stick following the disassembly part of this video. I'm a happy camper now. :) Thank you, you saved my day.👍
Just wanted to drop another thanks, reviewed this again because I had to do my second stick in my HOSAS setup. Eventually when I get some more expensive sticks (Virpl or VKB) I'll know these will still work to whoever I donate them to.
Thanks for this video. I made this modification today and it works beautifully. Used a double-sided adhesive tape to determine the optimal position and number of magnets, then I glued them in place. Used sixteen 8x0.8mm magnets. Recommend calibrating the joystick afterward. Extreme precision achieved.
Thanks for the super helpful tutorial. I managed to fix my sticks. The magnet placement gave me a hard time, but i realized that in bending the contacts on the sensor, I made it them too short and it was not travelling OVER the magnets but on a diagonal. The bent end of the contacts shouldn't be more than 2mm in order for the sensor to be properly positioned. Be prepared to reglue the magnets as adding & removing will cause them to get unglued.
Thank you so much for this detailed tutorial, got my T16000m working again! For the hall sensor, I can only get a submodel SS495A1 at my local store. 95A1 is slightly different in sensitivity compared to SS495A, but I can confirm that the submodel works perfectly well too.
This is amazing, I don't mind those joysticks for their apparent approachability but the pots are utter trash. I will likely be doing this to both of mine. Thank you so much.
I'm finally getting around to doing this mod after watching your video at least a year ago! Thank you so much for such a detailed and clear explanation. I've got experience with electronics, but your guide on this was invaluable. I haven't closed it up and tried it with a game yet, but I've just finished the 'magnet calibration' part and have a good working yaw action again. Just waiting for the hot glue to set properly this time :)
Thank you so much for this guide! I just followed it and my joystick is as good as (better than?) new. I made one modification - I used sticky tac to hold the magnets in place. I liked the adjustability it gave when calibrating. Time will tell how it holds up.
I spent an overall total of probably five hours watching this in small bits for reference while doing my own fix, having never even touched a soldering iron before. The only thing I did differently was insulating the leads with heat shrink and then securing the whole thing with a dab of glue. Oh... Speaking of dabs of glue, I *did* do one other thing different. A "little dab" wasn't remotely enough to secure the magnets, and they kept pulling out while reassembling. So I just went absolutely ham, and now that sucker ain't going anywhere. Thanks a million my guy. This saved me so much money and helped me learn some skills I'd always wanted to pick up.
Thank you sir! Much appreciated. In my opinion this ups the value of these sticks. I was hesitant buying these because of the reputation of the twist failing, but had a short sale for nearly half off, got them after seeing this video. Already ordered the sensor and magnets in advance of any issues.
I hope Star Citizen releases VR soon. I feel like I am missing out on an excellent adventure. The tutorial rocks! I only came here for the tear down and learned about the Hall sensor. Thanks.
This is amazing, after fixing the Z axis twice in a few months, I really need a perma fix like this. The stock Potentiometer actually cost more than the hall sensor lol. TM just so lazy to change their outdated design.
I really enjoyed your tutorial. My 16000m gave up the ghost in the twist stick part just yesterday. I ordered another new one but once that arrives I’m going to attempt to repair the broken one as you’ve shown here.
I’ve been using my sticks for six months after the fix and they are working well. I would suggest making sure the magnets are firmly glued in place inside the grip. More than a dab that I showed.
Thanks a million! back up and running with my stick after only about $5 and a couple hours replacing the sensor. I ended up needing a small deadzone in the center (3 degrees or so) because the springs are pretty bad at correctly centering the yaw, but otherwise this mod works great! Another thing to note if you're reading the comments for some additional guidance: I couldn't find the 8x1mm magnets in n52 spec anywhere, so I bought 20 6x1mm magnets instead and while I had to lay a bed of hot glue under them to raise them a couple mm for the sensor they work just fine. I only actually ended up with 10 or so magnets in the stick but I'd get at least 15 for redundancy. Frankly this should have been a hall sensor from the factory, but I'm pretty pleased with how easy the mod was so overall not that bothered.
@@Fishing_and_Leisure 8x2 probably works but I'd look for something 1mm thick instead, just because of how the mod is done it helps to have 1mm increments rather than 2. I did my mod with 6x1s and they worked fine.
Worked for me. I ended up using epoxy instead of glue-gun glue, and I also ended up re-routing all the non-sensor cables (through a cut-out in the black disc to which you attach the sensor), to ensure they didn’t foul the sensor itself.
After your fix, which ive actually not done myself, i think the t16000m's are very decent for the price. I have a Virpil throttle/TM F-16 stick, yet enjoy using the t16000m's duals. Virpil alpha's with bases cost about £900 with tax and import duty. Kudos
Thanks man. That original sensor issue was really stressful. I followed your tutorial and got it working. People like you who make our lives better. What game were you playing at the end of the video?
Thank you! This works, now the rudder is predictable and I'm able to do cross wind landings as they should be done. Plus, bonus! The resolution seems higher.
Replaced mine with a Mouser Electronics 251B12T104A2NB potentiometer. Direct replacement for the original and still working after 18 months. I'm sure the hall sensor works fine, but there's no need to add the complexity. It's a simple direct replacement to unsolder the three wires and re-solder to the new part. Job done.
I fixed it by just tying a twistie-tie around the cables running up the joystick and using the now stable set of cables as an additional "arm" to hold the sensor firmly in place as the joystick gets rotated. Been years since I did that, no issues since. I just got a new issue though, where the slider doesn't translate its full range of motion into a full range of input.
What an awesome video after 5 months mine is acting wonky. I just ordered my stuff, fingers crossed. Flying my 600i into a small hanger is not good on the shields👍🤣 cheers man see ya in the verse
@@SurgeOfD hi their ,is their a way too do the same for aileron and elevator,i have a speedlink black widow n the sensitivity is not good, like you would want it to be for fsx thanks....would be really helpful....
if you were too upgrade too a new flight stick which one would buy,soo many different reviews on good n bad ,i dont know which way too jump,soo i thought i would have a go at better sensitvity for my black widow /thanks....
@@trevorbarber7172 I’m afraid I can’t offer much help with upgrading your stick. I’m not familiar with it. Personally I play dual stick and I will buy the VKB Gladiator NXT sticks next, when I have the chance. However these modified t16000s are working very well so I’m not in a rush.
I have similar joystick to this witch have almost similar potentiometers like shown in this video. I used ss49e and wanted to replace all th pots of my joystick. But it only worked for the throtle, rudder elevator and ailerons did't give any reponse. I don't know it can be. Do you guys have any idea why it could be?
Big thank for this simplistic video! I already had an iron and basic tools, so this was super cheap solution for me. instead of getting really expensive joysticks . worked a charm ( if not better!)and much more reliable. will be doing my second stick tomorrow, then its all day playing star citizen :P
I had the Thrustmaster T Flight Stick X - same problem with potentiometer. I got the t1600m for a few months now and i aspect same problems. been looking for a permanent fix and found this. Thx you.
Nice! Well done! Not the best camera angles and soldering and such, but who cares? You got it done, it works and your tutorial is easy to follow! Just recently got dual t16000m, so i won't do the mod until the pots start giving out, but will definitely do this mod later down the line! See you in the Verse!
Buy the parts now and bookmark this tutorial. You will be needing to do the repairs. This stick is notorious for failure. I have a dual stick setup and now repairing the second stick.
I really want to thank you for the terrific video. my god this works great. By the by, i didn't use a knife or anything on the wires. Just fingernails. works great. TIP: hot glue dries faster with an upside down can of compressed air. i used about 15 of the magnets on each stick.
Thank you very much for the contribution, I have managed to fix it and it is going great, I was looking for a solution for a long time and can finally solve it, again thank you very much, very good job
Awesome, I'll be using this for sure, I just had my left stick apart last night to clean the pot, and it worked great for like 2 minutes then was drifting to the left axis, I was able to calibrate it out in windows but I'd like a more elegant fix. I got the set of controllers and the throttle for $100 used so can't complain. I had expected them to feel cheaper but they really aren't bad compared to sticks I have used in the past. Anyway see you in the 'verse :)
Many people asked in the comments about using magnets of a different size, or a different sensor, like the 49e. I've managed to do this with 1×4 mm magnets and a 49e sensor, (those were the only ones I had available in my country). The 49e sensor works like the 95a from the video, so no problem. (If in doubt, ask ChatGPT). I can tell you that IT WORKS PERFECTLY… BUT, you will have to get your magnets much closer to the sensor for it to work properly. I glued a small plastic cap to function as a “base” or stand for the magnets so that they are much closer to the sensor (this is specially important if your magnets are smaller, and consequently, weaker). My sensor is almost touching the magnets. You will have to spend some time, however, calibrating the position of the magnets, and adding and removing magnets. (There is no set number, it depends on how close they are to the sensor, and the positioning), but I think I used around 9 or 10 (bought 15 for safety). Try removing some from the left side/right side, until the axis movement is equal on both sides (use gamepad-tester.com/ for this). I applied, removed, and reapplied the hot glue that held the magnets in place many times in this step. Good luck, people, this is an excellent fix that will last for many years, and THANK YOU, @TheKlaxon !!!
Direct Potentiometer replacement Mouser Electronics #251B12T104A2NB about $2.50 I also put a drop of 3 in 1 oil in my old one to fix it.. so no more spikes.
Nice video but I really wanted to say how absolutely ridiculous it is customers have to fix the flaws in the T16000M both the joystick Z-axis and the Throttlebar which sticks and people use their own bearing to fix it. This product is mass production garbage. Thrustmaster is the market leader in joysticks. Sick joke of a company.
I fixed my throttle, super smooth now, plus I added a 50percent magnetic detent. On throttle slide. Glad 3d printer guys made this fix, and upgrade option. The whole flight pack is inexpensive and well worth it. My brother just picked up the stick, throttle and pedals for 160 on Amazon, which is less than an Xbox elite controller
You get what you pay for, its a good starter setup (for 50-100) before you decide to spend 400 on vkb or 600-900 on Virpil stuff. Be thankful you have cheap options to start with and even more thankful people share fixes that prolong the need to upgrade lol
@@CockadoodleLou Be thankful for trash products ? now I've heard it all lmao. They build trash, we pay good money for it and then we get blamed for consumerism and pollution. Maybe we should all stop buying these stupid products everyone knows won't last anyway. And don't buy the Vipril either, they're made in Belarus, those people should not be funded. The bringers of war to Europe.
I wish I would've had this video when I attempted this on my 1st gen t16000m. I couldn't figure out the magnets and eventually gave up. Lucily back in 2010 the stick only cost me a little over $26 new. If you get the VKB Gladiator NXT, I'd like to see you do a review. That's the stick I've been dreaming about for a while now. For now I use a SidewinderFFB2.
I have read in other comments that the magnets should be diametrically (not axially) magnetized. Did you check the magnetization of the magnets you used? I'm asking because the axially magnetized type seems to be far more common, and often the information on the magnetization is missing. Thanks a lot for putting all this effort into the video, for the Thrustmaster T.16000M stick this is really the best I could find.👍
You can use both type, a diametrically magnetized ring is preferable, because you fit the sensor inside the ring. But can use two axially magnetized disk, placing one at each side do the sensor, one magnet attracting the another, but since they need be at the same distance of the sensor, their placement is more tricky. Seem in SimHQ forum the "BIC Hall sensor".
Im looking around how to repair hotas controllers to see which i want to buy. The easier it is to repair the more i wanna buy it. Additonally may i want to build my own with a 3d printer
HI, I got the same hall sensor and magnets and apply them to my control, it is working and I had no trouble to center the neutral position, the problem I have is sensitivity, with just 50% of the physical movement to turn left or right, the system says It has got 100% of possible movement, what should I try? to change the ammount of magnets? or change the distance of hall sensor to magnets... thanks in advance
Sorry for the late reply. I can only suggest getting the sensor slightly farther away from the magnets. Or increasing the amount of magnets so it’s a longer column.
Strange that Thrustmaster/Guillemot didn't come up with this? Not really, since this would change the price tag. I do not agree that this is bad joystick, for it's price tag it's actually better than say Logitech/Saitek's range. BUT.. If you really want a good stick, good quality you have to pay for it! VKB and VIRPIL are some of the hottest brands today, if you are looking for a worthy competitor.
Hall sensor now days is much cheaper than it used to be, the stock potentiometer actually cost a bit more than the hall sensor. But I guess TM wants to keep using their old plastic mold design, so they don't have to spend on r&d, which is a shame.
It wouldn't really change much if they did this, thing is they really want you to get their pedals als bruh we're not asking for premium quality, just that our 150€ hotas has an expected longevity beyond a couple months. Though yeah I got to agree, vkb gladiator stick plus t16000m throttle is probably the best budget hotas that can completely replicate a modern jet's controls, probably going to swap my t16000 stick for one of those when it breaks
Really great video! I have the Logitech X-56 set and my Z axis just recently started acting up. Try to decide what to do next. I’m considering continuing to use the Rhino throttle which works great, and get a TM Airbus TCA stick and do this mod to it. I love the idea of magnet/sensors replacing potentiometers. Thanks much! I’m assuming it’s still working well for you?
Well done! I have managed to replace to original pot by a hall sensor + magnets, however, in my setup I am not able to reach full range... I will fix it by software, there are several virtual joystick softwares to remap the sensitivity curves and most modern games also have this feature inside the game controls.
Very good friend, your demonstration regarding the use of the joystich pro 3d, I would like to ask if in your city you find for sale the sensors that I have been after for some time, sensors of the X and Y axis as well as the one on the top where the handle is . can you inform? appreciate .
@@speedvenomss Thanks, I didn't found the Magnet specs, I have 1x1mm, but there are EXTREMELY hard to find the right spot, I think they are too small and doesn't have the force needed (I only could make detect if I place 5 touching all) and the movement is circular, so doesn't work.
Because 2 separate magnets will each have both a + and - pole, confusing the sensor. Whereas a line of connected magnets will only have one + pole at one end and one - pole at the other end.
