Odd CJA issue

[steves1977uk]

Hi all,

A few months ago I upgraded my daily E&J to a 120A R-Net PM with my Compact Joystick Advanced and everything was fine.

About a week ago I was out shopping with Melissa and her youngest daughter when suddenly I felt a cracking sound from the CJA. My chair is still drivable but it will stop responding intermittently and the CJA throws an error.

The error is 1404 CJA Joystick Output. If I hover over that text it says... "Joystick signal Out of Range". I'm thinking the Joystick itself has come away from the PCB slightly and needs re-soldering. I do have a spare CJA to swap it out with thankfully. Has anyone else had a similar issue with the CJA?

Steve

[Burgerman]

I dont think they are strong enough to use via feet really. I am surprised you havent had more issues than just this. But as long as you and your brother can solder, or replace etc and you have a spare then all good!

Once you varify its good, after fixing, you COULD possible pot the whole thing in epoxy internally. So that all the forces when you hit a bump or whatever are not loading up the circuit board or solder joints. But then its also impossible to repair in the future...

[steves1977uk]

Thanks BM for your reply. Yes I'm aware that the CJA isn't made for people like me who use their feet to drive a chair, but that was the only option without an Omni2 screen stuck on my chair which is a PITA to use personally.

The older Pilot+ chin control was perfect for me but Curtiss-Wright don't make a R-net equivalent sadly. Plus Melissa takes me over some very bumpy grounds which probably doesn't help! I will see if Melissa's Husband can reinforce the PCB somehow and make it more sturdy.

Steve

[Burgerman]

There is a HD joystick that can be retro fitted into the CJSM monochrome and colour joysticks, fits the CJSM2 as well I think. It will require you to sell a kidney though.

[Burgerman]

The joystick that is fitted to 4 on this screenshot can be bought seperately I think.
And swapped in to an existing pod.

[steves1977uk]

Thanks BM for your help. I'm sure I've read somewhere in the CJA manual that it uses this joystick... https://www.cw-industrial.com/en-gb/pro ... controller

Maybe I could replace the joystick itself if that's the actual problem causing the fault. But will get someone to help me take this CJA apart and see if we can spot anything obvious first.

Steve

[Burgerman]

I think that the HD one used in the no 4 joystick will replace the JC2000 one directly. It would be great for your purposes.
Not 100% sure abou the fit. Maybe PG will tell you. Explain the situation.

[steves1977uk]

Problem fixed! My Brother has now swapped CJAs over and no issue, but the actual problem with the "faulty" CJA was one of the metal screws had come completely out and was rolling around shorting the PCB. Another two were half way out, so he put them all back in tightly and no issue. The PCB was perfect, and the actual joystick product code is D50800 which is used in the VR2 also.

So problem solved!

Steve

[tettralytic]

Hi Steve, it's good to see you have the problem sorted. But as a chin control (and occasionally head control) user I'm curious to know why you couldn't interface your favourite pilot+ chin control set up with r-net.
David

[steves1977uk]

Hi David,

The older Pilot+ system uses a serial communication protocol whereas R-Net uses CANBUS. I don't know if there is a way to make these interchangeable?

Steve

[tettralytic]

Hi Steve, I see, so the pilot+ chin control unit is digital.
It's just that I haven't seen that before.
David

[ex-Gooserider]

Glad you got the problem sorted, but did you do any sort of effort to make sure the screws stay in so it doesn't repeat? One technique I've used is to put a glob of one of the many different "Goop" adhesives into the screw hole before putting the screw in it. This gives enough extra grip that the screw won't come out by itself, but can still be removed easily w/ a screwdriver and a bit of extra effort...

Also in regards to the Pilot+ joystick vs. R-net, from what I've seen the actual joysticks are analog, and the signal from them gets turned into the proprietary digital data by the rest of the electronics... It MIGHT be possible to remove the actual joystick from the Pilot+ unit and use it to replace the one currently in the R-net box.... (or alternatively, swap the other electronics boards to turn the pilot box into an R-net box...) I remember WoodyGB's RC box addition of swapping a set of digipots for the joystick, so seems like it should be possible though might not be easy....

ex-Gooserider

[steves1977uk]

Thanks for the advice ex-G, I will see how this second CJA holds up. If the same thing happens in a few months then I shall take your ideas onboard.

Although the R-net to Pilot+ mod has been tried before but without a working battery gauge or working power/mode buttons by Smart Wheelchairs IIRC. A bit more of an effort is required to have a fully functioning Pilot+ chin control with R-net internals.

Steve