Author Topic: Thumbstick stuck in upper left position, even when completely off. [Solved] (Read 9056 times)

Fortier · « **on:** March 19, 2011, 01:16:30 PM »

This is killing me bexause for a good while the only thing wrong qith this psp was the R trigger not working because of a new case, wich I fixed by openning it up and sanding a bit of the slot where the trigger is.

Now though as the title says my joystick is stuck in the upper left corner of the screen and keeps going there even when the thumbpad and the silicone strip are off.

The only threads I found so far about similar problems ended up with actually having to replace thier motherboard after having used the sony method to recalibrate the joystick (wich immediatly wears off) and worsening things with Joysens.

Anyone knows what could be going on and what I need to do about it?

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #1 on:** March 19, 2011, 02:36:55 PM »

Yes, check the fit of the analog to your new housing and the fit and placement of the clear plastic piece between the motherboard and analog stick. This happens often with aftermarket housings and faceplates as many of them are not of the highest quality an don't usually fit too well...

Fortier · « **Reply #2 on:** March 19, 2011, 03:05:49 PM »

Howcome though when take the joystick and the silicone strip off I can move the cursor down and right by touching my finger to the right node but it'll go back up and left on its own without anything to malfunction but the connectors or something in the motherboard itself?

Does it just do that when the system is launch with the thumbstick not in the right position?

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2011, 03:08:45 PM »

I remember back in the day of first gen PSX analog controllers, if you held the stick say, to the right when the system is turned on or when the controller was plugged in, it would zero out the axis to that point.

It's POSSIBLE that there's something similar happening, sure sounds like the same thing. I'm going to test it real quick and find out.

Update.
Lol, I dunno why I didn't test first, but oh well.

When the system is powered on, it doesn't zero the axis, but I still wouldn't rule it out. If your stick is forcing to the top left without a stick, try holding the stick to the bottom right and then apply it to the silicone pad. Also, try holding it down with no battery or power source then turn it on. It MIGHT help in zeroing it out. Heck - it might even be worth it to reinstall CFW, holding the stick to the bottom right the whole time - esp. through the reset. Btw, you mentioned JoySens didn't help, but what was your axis showing in JoySens? Was it -128 -128, or is it not that extreme?

Fortier · « **Reply #4 on:** March 19, 2011, 03:30:05 PM »

I havent tried Joysens yet actually because someone with a similar problem (sry about liking to another forum but its the only one Ive found http://endlessparadigm.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=12102&page=3) claims it only made things worst and that he ultmately had to replace his motherboard to fix the problem.

Im really hoping he was just not doing it right because Im not really looking to go that far over something that happened without any shock or new wireing that would justify something breaking.

Right now Im just waiting to see if anyone has had this happen to them before I install Joysens and see if it can do any good.

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #5 on:** March 19, 2011, 03:43:09 PM »

Install JoySens - if it doesn't work, remove it! It won't "make things worse", so get that out of your head.

Biggest thing about that will be seeing what your axis is zero'd out at.

You can always as well use JoySens to disable the stick and instead have it work the D-Pad, that might do it for a quick fix.

I would really clean your contacts below the silicone strip. A pencil eraser works great, just be sure to get the bits off the board afterwards.

Now, you can tell if it's your strip by just putting it in backwards (180) and see if it goes to the other side. I doubt it, but it's all about process of elimination.

With JoySens you can just zero out your stick, simple stuff. Also, keep in mind that the thread you're reading was posted 3 years ago - CFWs have changed and JoySens has been updated many times since that was posted.

Fortier · « **Reply #6 on:** March 19, 2011, 06:26:37 PM »

Well Ive installed JoySens and been trying to figure out if it can help me and pretty much what I can see right now is that the coordinates at the top (both of the sets idk wich stands for what) keep flickering between -119 to -128, each in its own fashion.

Also, pressing down on the case where the screw would be brings down both sets of coords to roughly 0,0....

Not sure what any of that means.

What really makes me worried here is that the coords dont need the joystick to move to go nuts, I dont think its just the stick needing to be centered....

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #7 on:** March 19, 2011, 08:00:52 PM »

This is straight from the readme

via JoySens 1.5 Read.Me

CENTER -
   To change the calibration either change it manually in the ini file (center) or try the following:
   - Move the analog stick to the top-left and hold it a few seconds, then release slowly until it's centered and don't
     touch it anymore. Press NOTE+SQUARE,
   - Move the analog stick to the bottom-right and hold a few seconds, release slowly until centered. Press NOTE+SQUARE.
   - Repeat these steps until the center point has been found correctly (optimally, this is the mean value of the axes
     minimal and maximal value when the stick isn't touched).
   Default value is <0,0>.

UPDATE:

Woops, hit post too quickly >_<

Anyways - that's your problem - "Where the screw might be" - that's the screw that tightens down the analog stick to the silicone piece, so do you have that screw? If you do - put it in, if you don't, borrow the one from the top right on the back of the PSP until you can get a new one. That screw is CRUCIAL stuff my man - screw it in tight, and be sure to tighten the analog stick down to the faceplate ALL the way as well.

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #8 on:** March 19, 2011, 08:30:02 PM »

0,0 is centered. this is why i said check the fit and placement of your case. this is and always has been a common problem with aftermarket housings and faceplates. it happens when there is an improper amount of pressure placed on either the faceplate, the analog stick or the silicone contact strip. there is nothing wrong with the motherboard.

the little silicone strip is what makes the connection between the analog stick's circuit board and the motherboard. if there is an improper amount of pressure on that area then you will run into problems like this.

Fortier · « **Reply #9 on:** March 19, 2011, 08:54:00 PM »

Well there's that but its not just off center, it gets constant input to go up and left.

When its assembled tight, loosely or completely taken appart. Unless I can find a way to stop it from doing that this psp is completely trashed.

Would re-installing the cfw make any sence at all at this point? I feel like it cant be hardware, nothing happened, I just opened the thing to fix the shoulderpad and now this.

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #10 on:** March 19, 2011, 09:06:47 PM »

Hmm. Center the stick while holding it down and right? That should force down and right input to compensate.

As well, have you disassembled and reassembled the stick?

Sorry, but with your motherboard seeming to be the culprit but also being an expensive replacement part, you definitely want to rule everything else out entirely, 100%.

Fortier · « **Reply #11 on:** March 19, 2011, 09:38:48 PM »

I have tried to recenter the joystick using JoySens not holding it down and right but Im pretty sure it would just jump back up after a tick of being moved down and I have taken the stick down and put it back up a couple of times now.

So if it is the motherboard it really needs to be replaced and what could have caused this so I can avoid doing it to the next one? :\

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #12 on:** March 19, 2011, 09:40:31 PM »

Quote from: Fortier on March 19, 2011, 08:54:00 PM

Well there's that but its not just off center, it gets constant input to go up and left.

yes that's what happens with aftermarket cases, it has to do with the amount of pressure applied to the analog assembly and silicone strip, and the contact it makes with the motherboard. its not the CFW, it's not a broken motherboard. I've dealt with this many times before and I'm telling you that playing around with CFW and JoySens or whatever is a waste of time and is not what is affecting your analog sticks performance.

You said you put in a new case and the RT wasn't working properly because of the new case, so you opened it up to fix the RT and now the analog isn't working properly either. so the culprit is your new case and faceplate and the amount of pressure that the faceplate and case are applying to the analog stick, silicone strip and mobo. IT"S NOT CFW, YOUR MOTHERBOARD ISN'T BROKEN and JoySens isn't going to fix it. this is a common problem with case swaps and faceplate changes.

edit: think about it if you apply pressure to the area around the analog stick and the problem goes away then how is that a software problem? it's not. it's a problem with the amount of pressure being applied to that region!

Fortier · « **Reply #13 on:** March 19, 2011, 09:47:24 PM »

I took the whole thing out of this case and put the battery in with everything I needed to test it and its still doing it.
Is there like a hardware reset I should try?

Quote

if you apply pressure to the area around the analog stick and the problem goes away

Joysens first set of coords went back to 0,0 more or less when I pushed on the case but the cursor wouldnt move so I kinda gave up on that, should have mentioned it.

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #14 on:** March 19, 2011, 09:53:37 PM »

ok look if you have it all assembled and apply pressure to that area and you get a reading of 0,0 and with pressure still applied move the analog does it work properly?

toadzilla · « **Reply #15 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:00:08 PM »

what jrfh is saying is abscily right on i remember when doing a case swap that the analog got stuck a certain way and i had to loosen the screws to fix it

Fortier · « **Reply #16 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:00:14 PM »

I cant try it right now but last time, joysens indicated 0,0 but the mouse pointer on the web browser didnt move, unfortunately.

And yeah right now its out of the case and still stuck like that.

crazy-modder · « **Reply #17 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:00:21 PM »

Im not too good with psps but i found this video. Maybe this will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS8IK9ZTEp4

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #18 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:04:02 PM »

0,0 is stationary, it's not supposed to move at 0,0.

X is horizontal, Y is vertical. -X is below Y=0, -Y is left of X=0 so on so forth for positive X and Y.

0,0 is x=0,y=0

@jrfhoutx - Why would it default to the top left without the stick even there?

@Fortier

Lets say your coords are like this.

-25,25

This is constant input moving your cursor CONTINUALLY to the top left. If your PSP says 0,0 and it still moves to the top left (for the sake of argument at the rate input of -25,25) then compensate by manually inputting 25,-25 in the INI.

Even IF it IS the case, if your case is steady at a certain pull to one side you can compensate, but it's going to suck. But, seeing as how he says that with the front panel off it still pulls, I want him to actually set it to compensate for it, instead of putting it to 0,0.

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #19 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:07:25 PM »

it is the way that the circuit is built. with no connection it sends both values to their default extremes (due to the way the circuit is built), which is up left.

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #20 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:13:14 PM »

Ok does the analog give any input at all when you move it?

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #21 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:13:46 PM »

Oh, well in that case, this is a pretty easy fix!

Use the case you have and either shim it and use washers to get more pressure, or solder your connections with wire (leaving as much slack as possible).

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #22 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:19:17 PM »

If it gives no input at all then you have the ailicone strip installed incorrectly. Otherwise shave a bit off the faceplate screw mount in the area of the analog stick to allow more pressure to be applied to the silicone strip. Shimming it will apply less pressure to the area.

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #23 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:28:37 PM »

Shim the stick (faceplate side) brings the stick closer to the silicone pad.

Fortier · « **Reply #24 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:30:08 PM »

OK let me get this straight, if the problem was that there was a constant input rate of roughly -128,128 I could go in the .ini and set the default value to 128,-128 and it would just settle back to normal?

As I said I cant try it now but that would be great, although there might be a problem, the y was a constant 128 the x just flickers between -119 to -128.

Or just moar pressure?

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #25 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:41:53 PM »

Well, if it's not making contact, the stick won't move! It'll just default to center.

If you want a quick quick nondefaulting stick, you can disable the stick (joysens) until you can figure out how to mod your case to work the stick.

There are 4 spots for the stick, up down left and right. Without SOLID contact on all 4 positions, you may as well disable it until you figure out how to mod the case.

Honestly - I didn't know it defaulted to -128,128. So, JoySens is out.

Basically you have 2 options.

Mod the case (shave or shim) or hardwire the stick.

Fortier · « **Reply #26 on:** March 19, 2011, 10:52:57 PM »

It default to -128,128 outside the case though. Curveball.

DuctTapedGoat · « **Reply #27 on:** March 19, 2011, 11:43:32 PM »

Yes, but that was before this came into the situation.

Quote from: jrfhoutx on March 19, 2011, 10:07:25 PM

it is the way that the circuit is built. with no connection it sends both values to their default extremes (due to the way the circuit is built), which is up left.

So, what you're looking at in the end is this.

You don't have a full circuit between the board, the silicone and your control stick. This causes it to default to up left. What you need to do now is this - either bring the control stick closer to the silicone connector by putting a shim between the faceplate and the analog stick, or soldering the 4 contacts together with 4 wires.

I honestly don't remember it defaulting like that on me, but I also had JoySens at the time, and if it was ran without the stick, I set it to disable analog first, so it's not a shock I didn't run into it defaulting to the up left position.

Fortier · « **Reply #28 on:** March 20, 2011, 10:17:32 AM »

Quote

it is the way that the circuit is built. with no connection it sends both values to their default extremes (due to the way the circuit is built), which is up left.

I would have never found that since I make a point of making sure everything works before I assemble it back up but thats excatly what was going on.

Joysens still displays -20,0 but it works perfectly now.

Really glad I came here for this, I didnt expect to get this over with within a day.

jrfhoutx · « **Reply #29 on:** March 20, 2011, 10:15:31 PM »

-20,0 is acceptable, and that can be recalibrated with JoySens.

Glad you got it working properly finally. what was the problem in the end? was the silicone strip not oriented properly?

News:

Author Topic: Thumbstick stuck in upper left position, even when completely off. [Solved] (Read 9056 times)