# Fishstick control



## MsQueen (Oct 6, 2003)

Anyone out there have a Fisher "fishstick" controller? I ordered the plow and had them add that into the deal.


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## LI landscaping (Dec 4, 2002)

Ya fish stick is pretty cool. Able to hold it comfortably in hand while shifting from drivr to reverse....drive to reverse.....drive to reverse...Neck is starting to tighten just thinking about the joys of plowing snow


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## BWinkel (Oct 23, 2003)

I have fishsticks in both of my plowtrucks. I love them. I have heard some people on this site complain that they can get hot, but I haven't noticed. I hold the stick and shift with my right hand and steer with my left. Once you get used to it you'll forget it 's even there.


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## gordyo (Feb 12, 2002)

Two trucks have the Fishstick, One has the little 2" x 2" square control box with the little joy stick mounted on the dash and the oldest truck has the steel bracket mounted under the dash with the long joystick lever.

I prefer the little 2" x2" box on the dash to the left of the steering wheel myself. Some of the other guys like the Fishstick.


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## myo (Dec 2, 2002)

I had a fishstick with my sonoma and I liked it but didn't do enough plowing with it to get used to it... Right now I prefer the 2"x2" square box


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## Big Nate's Plowing (Nov 26, 2000)

> _Originally posted by gordyo _
> *Two trucks have the Fishstick, One has the little 2" x 2" square control box with the little joy stick mounted on the dash and the oldest truck has the steel bracket mounted under the dash with the long joystick lever.
> 
> I prefer the little 2" x2" box on the dash to the left of the steering wheel myself. Some of the other guys like the Fishstick. *


the new fishstick is a handheld membrane switch, it is nolonger a joystick


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## gordyo (Feb 12, 2002)

Hi Big Nate,

That is what I have, two of those handheld fishsticks. One came with the MM2 V-Plow and the other with the MM1 8'.


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## Cobra1832 (Nov 20, 2004)

*Fish Stik Mount?*

Hi Guys,

Is the Fish Stik supposed to come with a mount for hanging on the dash? The groves on the tip look like they should slide into some kind of bracket but when I bought mine they did not provide me with one.

What are you guys doing?

Thanks,
Mike


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## Arc Burn (Oct 21, 2002)

Yes,It should hace come with a mount kit,I find it useless myself,i just lay it over the steering column.


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## IA Farmer (Nov 7, 2004)

I have that exact handheld for my Western and was wondering who had it first Fisher or Western and are they a joint company or something?


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## butters (Nov 16, 2004)

Fisher and Western are owned by the same parent company (Douglas Dynamics) so that might explain the similar control.


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## Bad Luck (Sep 30, 2004)

Got it, love it....(even though I haven't plowed with it yet!!)


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## Cobra1832 (Nov 20, 2004)

*Photo?*

If it's not too much trouble could someone post a picture of the mount?

Thanks.


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## RidgeCon (Jan 3, 2001)

Cobra, just do a search for fish stick mount, there a few threads with pics of them that guys have made or bought. Should help you out although you will probably find it just as easy to lay over the steering column when not using it and have it in your right hand when plowing. I love using ours and all the guys do once we got used to it (first storm).


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## George C (Aug 24, 2004)

I have the Fishstick.

I wish I'd have opted for the joy stick.
The thing that turns me off about the fishstick is that you have to hold the down button until the plow hits, or it will stop dropping. Also the swing is much more crisp with the joystick. The Fishstick swing is very sloppy IMHO.
With the joystick, all you need to do it tap the lever down and the plow drops all the way.


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## Yaz (Apr 13, 2005)

George C said:


> I have the Fishstick.
> 
> I wish I'd have opted for the joy stick.
> The thing that turns me off about the fishstick is that you have to hold the down button until the plow hits, or it will stop dropping. Also the swing is much more crisp with the joystick. The Fishstick swing is very sloppy IMHO.
> With the joystick, all you need to do it tap the lever down and the plow drops all the way.


I agree 100%. I called Fisher and asked if it could be modified they said no. Being the persistent ******* that I am I called again trying get and engineer to get me a electrical schematic with No luck. I still want to take it apart and see how I can modify it. What bugs me the most is that I want the blade to be strait when I park it in my garage so I can put it up against the wall, the F-ing thing walks back and forth with the fishstick. I got so fed up I plug in the old box and set it. That's just not right! ( Fisher are you listening??)


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## Crash935 (Sep 3, 2003)

Yaz,

Heres the difference between controllers...

the joystick uses basic on/off switches with out any delay and thats why you get the crisp clean hard stops from the joystick.

the handheld has a micro processor with a millisecond delay built in. what this does is shuts off the motor but it doesnt close the valves for the requested function right away. Thats where you get the slight drift in the blade from. 

The handheld basically came from the fact that people were complaining that the joystick was to harsh and jerky which caused the truck to rock all over the place.


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## Yaz (Apr 13, 2005)

So we can't tweek that micro processor?  or can we? or somone?


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## twodan (Feb 6, 2005)

*fishstick & fuse*

i haven't used mine yet, but saw the warning about using the proper fuse. do these have a tendency to blow fuses?


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

Microcontrollers cannot be tweaked per say... A microcontroller is basically a computer with at program "burned" into it, so the only way to fix it would be to "burn" another program into. The delay is what Fisher and Western refer to as "soft" stop. It is not a bad think because it is less jerky, but it is a pain when trying to get the blade straight. I think they should have but a way to disable it, or they could have set it up so that the soft stop only work when you hold the button down(I.E. moving it a lot), and when you tap it it is disabled (I.E. precise positioning). 

Actually is probably would not be a hard change for a good engineer to fix, probably just a few additional lines of code... It's just convincing them to do so.

Anybody ever taken one apart?? Most microcontrollers you can read the program from if you have the proper equipment and time...


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## justme- (Dec 28, 2004)

Frozen001 said:


> Actually is probably would not be a hard change for a good engineer to fix, probably just a few additional lines of code... It's just convincing them to do so.
> 
> Anybody ever taken one apart?? Most microcontrollers you can read the program from if you have the proper equipment and time...


You can only reprogram Eproms- and Eproms are not commonly used in production because of the cost. The prom used in this is perminant programming. Some engineer COULD create a simple circuit that could be added somewhere along the line to intercept the controller's commands (since the controller is only closing and opening wires/switches just as the joystick does) and interpret them. I expect, really, all they did was add a 555 timer (or newer smaller package) to the solonoid circiut so when power is stopped (opening of the switch causing the movement to stop) the timer continues power to the soloniod for a cycle or two. (basic stuff- no microcontroller required) A new circuit would only have to moniter the commands of the controller (circuit states- on or off) and turn off the solonoid circuit (which is accessible through the float position) when power is disabled to the motor. It would need Digital Logic to function, but could be done with AND and NOT gates.


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## wfd44 (Jan 31, 2004)

Here is a picture of the Fishstick bracket mounted in my 1996 Chevy. For the record I like the Fishstick including the soft stop function on angle. And according to the manual (and the way mine functions coincides with it) you have to hold the down button for a specified time (like a half second) for the blade to go into "float". When you have held it that long the float light on the Fishstick will be lit. If you are pushing over a dropoff and don't want the blade to float just hit the up button momentarily to cancel the float function.


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

justme- said:


> You can only reprogram Eproms- and Eproms are not commonly used in production because of the cost. The prom used in this is perminant programming. Some engineer COULD create a simple circuit that could be added somewhere along the line to intercept the controller's commands (since the controller is only closing and opening wires/switches just as the joystick does) and interpret them. I expect, really, all they did was add a 555 timer (or newer smaller package) to the solonoid circiut so when power is stopped (opening of the switch causing the movement to stop) the timer continues power to the soloniod for a cycle or two. (basic stuff- no microcontroller required) A new circuit would only have to moniter the commands of the controller (circuit states- on or off) and turn off the solonoid circuit (which is accessible through the float position) when power is disabled to the motor. It would need Digital Logic to function, but could be done with AND and NOT gates.


Your answer would be correct many years ago, but inactuallity there are many many different types of programmable and reprogrammable microcontrollers(Flash-type, Eproms &EEProms(old school), FPGS, etc...). I highly doubt that fisher had a chip manufactured just for this application. It simply is not cost effective...(Si dies are NOT cheap especially at low quantites) I am sure they used some sort of in-circuit programming for a generic microcontroller...that way they could use the same circuit for the straight blades and Vee blades... I highly doubt a 555 timer was used, but I cannot say for sure since I have never seen one apart...


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## justme- (Dec 28, 2004)

Frozen001 said:


> Your answer would be correct many years ago, but inactuallity there are many many different types of programmable and reprogrammable microcontrollers(Flash-type, Eproms &EEProms(old school), FPGS, etc...). I highly doubt that fisher had a chip manufactured just for this application. It simply is not cost effective...(Si dies are NOT cheap especially at low quantites)


True, and I stand corrected, but that is kind of my point too. reprogramable proms/controlers are generally more expensive than a hard burned prom. I doubt they had a chip designed from the ground up (as in creating SI dies), but the most cost effective design often is a generic MC burned with a custom program. Generic chips are always used in prototyping (ease of availability to proof the design), but costs can be lower with custom programmed IC's.
It's not likly we can find out without someone at Fisher/Western confirming which route they went. It's possible they used stock IC's with the manufacturer's information on them, but many times companies wishing to protect their designs and circuits have the IC's ordered with custom numbers on them (ordering in the volume DD can there's no cost difference) and I also suspect the circiut is SMT which makes it tougher to ID componants (as I am sure you know).

I have not expanded my electrical engineering knowledge in a few years- SMT made it tough to repair too many items to bother with it as a hobby but my father is a retired (sort of) EE- learned alot as a kid no-one else would be interested in.

RE to WFD44. I'm not so sure that "float" is the issue at hand. The complaint is the "Soft Stop" feature where it allows the blade to coast to a stop when angling as opposed to the rigid stopping with stick control- not so much the float position (up/down). Does the "Float" setting on the control have effect on the angle? (never used a Fishstick). 
My mention of "float" was more technical in operation than the function of floating the blade over the ground.


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

justme- said:


> True, and I stand corrected, but that is kind of my point too. reprogramable proms/controlers are generally more expensive than a hard burned prom. I doubt they had a chip designed from the ground up (as in creating SI dies), but the most cost effective design often is a generic MC burned with a custom program. Generic chips are always used in prototyping (ease of availability to proof the design), but costs can be lower with custom programmed IC's.
> It's not likly we can find out without someone at Fisher/Western confirming which route they went. It's possible they used stock IC's with the manufacturer's information on them, but many times companies wishing to protect their designs and circuits have the IC's ordered with custom numbers on them (ordering in the volume DD can there's no cost difference) and I also suspect the circiut is SMT which makes it tougher to ID componants (as I am sure you know).
> 
> I have not expanded my electrical engineering knowledge in a few years- SMT made it tough to repair too many items to bother with it as a hobby but my father is a retired (sort of) EE- learned alot as a kid no-one else would be interested in.


I would bet that if someone took apart the controller you would find some generic microcontroller mounter inside....

If anyone has a broken one they are willing to send me I can take it apart and see whats inside...

Actually it would be even better if someone knew exactly what each pin on the controller when to... I do not remember it being explicitly stated in my manuals...

If I could find those know I could make a controller with a little time and some $$


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## Crash935 (Sep 3, 2003)

The controller is easy to take apart without damaging the unit, just remove the 2 screws in the side of the handle and pry the 2 halves apart. the baosrd sits in a slot in the controller handle halves.

If i remember right from past conversations with western techs, they dont build the controllers but sub them out to someone else who builds them to western/fisher specs.


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## Grn Mtn (Sep 21, 2004)

*Fishstick gone bad...*



MsQueen said:


> Anyone out there have a Fisher "fishstick" controller? I ordered the plow and had them add that into the deal.


I've use the Fishstick for two years now and have no operational complaints per say, it is prone to failure however. By mid to late season I've had to have the circuit board replaced because the plow would no longer function properly. I.E. you tell it to angle right and it jerks left. So far other than some near garage door misses and the inconvenience of driving to my dealership to have it repaired under warranty, it has cost me nothing. Being that my 8' MM2 is now out of warranty, if this happens this year it will cost around $200 to fix 

The delay in stopping the blade is just something you get used too. If you want to center the blade its all about timing, press the angle button until just before center than release. By the time the unit stops, with practice, it will be in the center.

You should get the mount it was supposed to come with if for the only reason to prevent the wire from breaking... I used to shove the Fishstick between the crack in between the drivers and middle section seat of my Ram. This was a convenient place but it ended up breaking the rubber seal on the neck of the wire going into the 'stick' itself, potentially leading to a failure of signal.

Here is a picture of mine mounted...


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