Using a Joystick on an EWC

[iuki]

Will be ordering a Falcon Reclining Electric Wheelchair next week. I’ve only used an ECV and could park it in a very small place with no problems. However, from what I have read in these forums, the joystick is more difficult to maneuver than driving an ECV. I’ve watched videos to get an idea, but it’s difficult to see how the joystick is being used. For those experienced with an EWC, would you be able to help me?

If the EWC is facing North, and I want to park it with the front facing East, would I move the joystick from the center position and move it to the 7 o’clock position in order to back it up to my left? Would I then move the joystick back to the center to straighten out the front wheels?

Do you just move the joystick in the direction you want to go, or do you have to push down on the joystick before you move the joystick in the desired direction?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Judy

 

[SueM in MN]

Power wheelchairs can turn in a full circle without going forward or backward more than a few inches. Turning going forward is tight and easier than backing because you can see just where you are going.
The drive wheels on that wheelchair are the back wheels and don’t turn. The front wheels are casters that move freely (swivel) in all directions. They go wherever they are pushed.
Each of the drive wheels has a separate motor. The joystick actually doesn’t turn the wheelchair - the position of the joystick sends a message to a computer control that determines how much power to send each wheel. When you push the joystick straight ahead of you, power is sent equally to each wheel going forward. When you pull the joystick straight towards yourself, power is sent equally to each wheel going backwards. If you push it sideways, it will turn that way and if you keep pushing it sideways at the same angle, it will eventually make a complete circle. How big the circle ends up being depends on the the angle - the closer you stay to straight forward, the bigger the circle.
My daughter goes forward whenever possible and avoid backing whenever she can (me too, if I’m the one driving her wheelchair from the side)

If I was facing North and wanted to end up facing East, I would push the joystick to the side 90° from the center to make a close to 90° forward turn. So you would push it toward 3 o’clock.
It’s late and I’ll have to check out tomorrow what I would do if I needed to back it because my brain is not in a mode to figure that out this late.

 

[SueM in MN]

Do you just move the joystick in the direction you want to go, or do you have to push down on the joystick before you move the joystick in the desired direction?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Judy

You just move the joystick in the direction you want to go. You don’t need to push down on anything.
It’s VERY important to turn the power wheelchair off when you don’t want to go.
If the power is on, knocking or bumping into the joystick will make it move in that direction.

 

[mamabunny]

I'm going to post here, because I think it highlights 2 things:

- First of all, Sue (and all the others here who cautioned me thusly) was right when she told me a long time ago that there is a definite learning curve when switching from an ECV to a power chair. It's not a joke; it takes time to learn how to use that rear-wheel drive system with accuracy. If you need a vehicular comparision, it's like the difference between a Ford Pinto and a Ferrari; they both go from point A to point B, but the driving *experience* is VERY different between the Pinto and Ferrari!

- Secondly, because I had zero hours of time driving a power chair, (and therefore nothing to compare what I was experiencing) I did not find out until it was too late, and the warranty had expired, that my very expensive chair was not behaving properly until I went to a local mobility device dealer, and (with their permission) drove a different power chair there, and discovered to my surprise, delight and chagrin that I could actually drive a properly-behaving power chair "properly". (That whole story is a whole 'nother topic for a whole different day...)

What I am trying to tell the OP is this: You don't know what you don't know, and sometimes you don't know how much you don't know, until it's (almost) too late.

If I were in your shoes, before I ordered such an expensive chair, I would go *somewhere* and at least try driving a power chair with a standard joystick setup to see how it works for you. That could be a mobility expo, or even just your nearest mobility device dealer - the point is to get some "seat time" in a power chair with a joystick, to make sure that you are going to be comfortable with it, and understand how it works.

 

[Groot]

Will be ordering a Falcon Reclining Electric Wheelchair next week. I’ve only used an ECV and could park it in a very small place with no problems. However, from what I have read in these forums, the joystick is more difficult to maneuver than driving an ECV. I’ve watched videos to get an idea, but it’s difficult to see how the joystick is being used. For those experienced with an EWC, would you be able to help me?

If the EWC is facing North, and I want to park it with the front facing East, would I move the joystick from the center position and move it to the 7 o’clock position in order to back it up to my left? Would I then move the joystick back to the center to straighten out the front wheels?

Do you just move the joystick in the direction you want to go, or do you have to push down on the joystick before you move the joystick in the desired direction?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Judy

Looks like your soon-to-be chair and my soon-to-be UPGRADED chair has the same joystick. this video pretty much explains how to turn your powerchair.

 

[iuki]

Living on the Big Island of Hawaii, those suggestions are not an option here. Likewise, traveling off island is by plane, and a 174-lb mobility scooter is getting too difficult for my husband to handle with only one arm. Therefore, a foldable, lightweight electric wheelchair is really the only sensible way to travel off island. I just need to learn to deal with the joystick issue.

And to Groot - Enjoy your Fold and Go.

 

[Groot]

Living on the Big Island of Hawaii, those suggestions are not an option here. Likewise, traveling off island is by plane, and a 174-lb mobility scooter is getting too difficult for my husband to handle with only one arm. Therefore, a foldable, lightweight electric wheelchair is really the only sensible way to travel off island. I just need to learn to deal with the joystick issue.

Joysticks are really simple to drive with once you get the hang of em. Plus, Joysticks ain’t the ONLY WAY to drive a powerchair. A lot of the higher end powerchair manufacturers (Quickie, Quantum, Permie) have an option where you can move the chair via a straw or even by moving your head. (Although these are for pe who can’t really use a joystick and these options are VERY EXPENSIVE.)

I learned how to drive using a joystick just by watching Marc’s Mobility (aka Scooter Guy) on YouTube.

And to Groot - Enjoy your Fold and Go.

Thanks, I will. (Next month can’t get here fast enough!

 

[iuki]

I did see the Fold and Go being ridden in the store by Michelle. The one video I found most helpful is when I Googled electric wheelchair on a bus. That’s exactly what I was looking for - how to park the EWC on a Disney bus.

 

[cobright]

First thing, it’s important to understand how the chair direction and speed are controlled at the equipment level.

Your chair uses what is called, differential drive steering. You have two driven wheels. Drive them both forward to go forward, back to go back.

Steering happens by mixing the power sent to those wheels. Drive the left wheel at 100% but the right at only 90% and you’ll make a very wide right turn while traveling forward.

The most common comparison is that it steers much like a tank does. The important things here is this concept of ‘mixing’ the power sent to each motor and that the ‘diferential’ between those powers is what results in the speed and direction you travel.

Now that joystick is the lever you use to mix the power sent to each motor. Like one of those faucets with just a single lever, push it forward to determine the rate of water flow and side to side to mix how much hot or cold is sent to the faucet.

In the case of your chair you can add the function of reversing the direction of one or both motors but the method of control is the same. Push the stick forward to go forward and whatever degree to the right or left will determine the proportion of the power sent to each wheel and as such, your turning radius.

All that’s fine to say or read, but the reality is that it’s a very intuitive form of direction control that most people pick up on very easily.

 

[iuki]

I like and understand your analogy of the single lever water faucet. Got it!