Joystick failure :'(

[SADT]

Sooooo.......

My flight-controller/ joystick packed up today due to a short in our houses electrical system , and when i plugged it back in and reset it, I discovered it had lost its brains :angryfir: . Christmas FS style was already going to be on a tight budget, but its now going to be even tighter . It was a Thrustmaster T.Flight stick X, and was perfect for my needs. I have had it for just under 2 years now. Is it normal for joysticks to fail this quickly? The saddest thing for me is not that i have to spend more this Christmas, but the fact that I cant fly until I get a new joystick :'( .

EDIT: Just as I type, the same fuse blew again!

[warchild]

SADT it's not normal for that to happen, but it can.. These new joysticks have some pretty intense electronics in them that gets effected easily.. and its not just the joystick.. My housemate is an electronics hobbyist and one night he was doing something that ws causing all my usb stiff to go nuts. he was also in the kitchen on a separate circuit from my computer, and it could have easily done to me what happened to you.. When things are less tight for you, i can only recommend purchasing an un-interuptable power supply. that should stop the surges from effecting your computer investment..

[SADT]

Thanks Pam

I have heard of "un-interuptable power supplies" but I never thought they would be important for an average home simmer like me .

Happy Hanukkah! (I'm not Jewish, just a nice greeting)

[srgalahad]

I have heard of "un-interuptable power supplies" but I never thought they would be important for an average home simmer like me .

A UPS has two functions:

1) Back-up power in the event of a power failure - which is nice in that it gives you time to shut down gently (they aren't big enough to give long-term battery power for most systems) and

2) power filtering and transient suppression. We all think of the LOSS of power as a problem but most of the damage comes from the surges when the power comes back up (even to equipment that is turned off - surges can blow right thru switches and power supplies) or spikes from outside sources like lightning and utility company work/mistakes. Even when things are working, residential power is actually prone to a lot of fluctuation that is smoothed by a good UPS.

We had a case here -in a major city- where crews replacing transformers blew a fuse/popped a gasket/generally screwed up and an entire highrise building was fried and 350 people left homeless for several days. Everything from computers and TVs to toasters was damaged in some suites. No elevators, no heating/cooling systems, no lights - big $$

I first invested in a UPS over 20 years ago when I lived in an arctic community with diesel power generators and haven't had a computer not connected though one since. Some of the best 'power bars' have filtering and suppression that's almost as good but most of the newer UPS' also have some form of auto-shutdown software that can take the worry out of being away.

Rob

[OleBoy]

AC power is a very dirty power source. Which is the reason for all the transformers out on the poles. While being fine for the average things plugged in, can be detrimental to electronics of all sorts. I've used the TriPPlite products for many years and have never lost any of my electronics.

As Rob states, UPS systems are the way to go for safe shut downs and cleaning up the spikes/fluctuation in the ac currents. I no longer use the UPS for any of my stuff and haven't had issues....yet.

Here's a product I have on all my PC's and stereo equipment. I call it cheap insurance.

http://tymaxbay.com/index.php?main_p...roducts_id=271

As far as UPS units go, A marine battery going through a power inverter is another option.