SideWinder Force Feedback Pro Joystick Design

To open the stick, I simply undid the obvious looking screws, however there are also plastic tabs/claws located on the front side (button side) that keep the two halves together. There is also the trigger button that occupies both halves, therefore be very careful to pry it open. The photographs in this article will give you a head start as they show where the claws are located. I simply used thin strips of plastic as a wedge at those locations.

Inside the Force Feedback Pro joystick grip, there is a strip of circuit board consisting of an infrared transmitter and receiver, which senses whether a hand is holding the joystick. When a hand is holding it, the IR beam is interrupted, and this information is used by the firmware on the microcontroller.

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