Joystick Recommendations…

Winston · 07-11-06, 06:01 PM

Hello there all. About six mounts ago I spent around £80 on a Saitek x52. For these six months it has served me well. Controlling my Su-25 as I drop unguided bombs on the heads of insurgence everywhere I find them. It’s got great functionality and very easy to program. I’m still working on a Steel Beasts Pro PE profile. In fact it was just as I was in the middle of learning this excellent simulation when I adjusted the handle to fit my brother’s hand so he could have a go at shooting some tanks. He was very good, better than me even with some practice.

Anyhow, after some time he left after expressing his enjoyment of the simulation and the joystick. Then after I re-adjusted the handle back to fit my hand I went back to playing determined to improve my gunnery skills. However I was very sad to find that one of the most useful switches had stopped working. This particular switch acted like a ‘shift key’ on your keyboard, allowing you to map two actions to one button. I.e. button No.4 activated my night site while button No.4 + the shift button at the same time changed the polarity of the night site…White/hot vs. Black/hot you know the drill. All in all I was building a very effective and efficient profile.

Next day I visit there website and ask if there is anything I can do to sort this stick out. The only answer I get is to take it back to the store. Crap, I thought. Only last week I got rid of the box in to a skip and as I got it from an on-line retailer there would be all this rigmarole of sending it back bla bla ect…I decided in the end the open the bugger up to see if I can fix the thing, being a dab hand with the iron I thought I’d have a chance to sort it out.

Anyway, getting in to the stick with out destroying it seems imposable, lucky for me the switch was located on the outside of the stick and I managed to un-screw these three tiny little screws even though I was unable present to screwdriver tip to the screw head perpendicularly due to the design of the handle. After much prodding, probing and twisting I managed to get them out. Looking in to the housing I find that sure enough one of the wires had come lose after the total of three adjustments to the handle (on which the switch is mounted) over the last six months. So now I take the tiny switch apart and in the possess an even smaller spring falls out, after looking for that bastard for 5 minuets on my floor I solder the tiny wire back together (Also very difficult despite my small, steady hands). I was thinking of taking a picture but the objects were just too small for my camera to focus on.

After putting it all back together the bugger worked, Send it back my arse! Anyway, it seems to me that this stick was never intended to be repaired if something died on it. Though I never investigated the option I guess after I had sent it back to the online retailer they would have had to have got a whole new stick just ‘cos on one tiny wire coming lose. Out in some dustbin with it, what a gip! What a waste.

Now I have decided that the stick is an unacceptable risk. What if the bastard goes down again in the middle of combat and not just training? My tank would be immobile until I got sent a replacement! It let me down and to be frank I’m not happy even though it’s back at 100%

So I’m in the market for a new joystick. First off, I buy very few personal items other than books, DVD’s and the odd simulation so I don’t mind spending a bit to get real quality. It has to be robust and easy to repair. It has to be a good joystick that will allow precise aiming so that I might be able to deliver death to my enemy’s efficiently. Spare parts should be readily available so that I might be able to get it back in the fight if it goes down. I don’t mind having to spend time to look after things, I own a few analogue synthesizers so I often have too get the old iron out at times, hell I even enjoy it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also sorry about all that back story, just frustrated about how things are made these days. Really gets me down.

SUBMAN1 · 07-11-06, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston

Hello there all. About six mounts ago I spent around £80 on a Saitek x52. For these six months it has served me well. Controlling my Su-25 as I drop unguided bombs on the heads of insurgence everywhere I find them. It’s got great functionality and very easy to program. I’m still working on a Steel Beasts Pro PE profile. In fact it was just as I was in the middle of learning this excellent simulation when I adjusted the handle to fit my brother’s hand so he could have a go at shooting some tanks. He was very good, better than me even with some practice.

Anyhow, after some time he left after expressing his enjoyment of the simulation and the joystick. Then after I re-adjusted the handle back to fit my hand I went back to playing determined to improve my gunnery skills. However I was very sad to find that one of the most useful switches had stopped working. This particular switch acted like a ‘shift key’ on your keyboard, allowing you to map two actions to one button. I.e. button No.4 activated my night site while button No.4 + the shift button at the same time changed the polarity of the night site…White/hot vs. Black/hot you know the drill. All in all I was building a very effective and efficient profile.

Next day I visit there website and ask if there is anything I can do to sort this stick out. The only answer I get is to take it back to the store. Crap, I thought. Only last week I got rid of the box in to a skip and as I got it from an on-line retailer there would be all this rigmarole of sending it back bla bla ect…I decided in the end the open the bugger up to see if I can fix the thing, being a dab hand with the iron I thought I’d have a chance to sort it out.

Anyway, getting in to the stick with out destroying it seems imposable, lucky for me the switch was located on the outside of the stick and I managed to un-screw these three tiny little screws even though I was unable present to screwdriver tip to the screw head perpendicularly due to the design of the handle. After much prodding, probing and twisting I managed to get them out. Looking in to the housing I find that sure enough one of the wires had come lose after the total of three adjustments to the handle (on which the switch is mounted) over the last six months. So now I take the tiny switch apart and in the possess an even smaller spring falls out, after looking for that bastard for 5 minuets on my floor I solder the tiny wire back together (Also very difficult despite my small, steady hands). I was thinking of taking a picture but the objects were just too small for my camera to focus on.

After putting it all back together the bugger worked, Send it back my arse! Anyway, it seems to me that this stick was never intended to be repaired if something died on it. Though I never investigated the option I guess after I had sent it back to the online retailer they would have had to have got a whole new stick just ‘cos on one tiny wire coming lose. Out in some dustbin with it, what a gip! What a waste.

Now I have decided that the stick is an unacceptable risk. What if the bastard goes down again in the middle of combat and not just training? My tank would be immobile until I got sent a replacement! It let me down and to be frank I’m not happy even though it’s back at 100%

So I’m in the market for a new joystick. First off, I buy very few personal items other than books, DVD’s and the odd simulation so I don’t mind spending a bit to get real quality. It has to be robust and easy to repair. It has to be a good joystick that will allow precise aiming so that I might be able to deliver death to my enemy’s efficiently. Spare parts should be readily available so that I might be able to get it back in the fight if it goes down. I don’t mind having to spend time to look after things, I own a few analogue synthesizers so I often have too get the old iron out at times, hell I even enjoy it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also sorry about all that back story, just frustrated about how things are made these days. Really gets me down.

There is only 1 answer - Thrustmaster Cougar. Has a mil rating, and its buttons and entire stick is metal (Weighs about 21 lbs for both throttle and stick together). You won't break it.

I swear by mine. Enough said.

http://www.thrustmaster.com/eng/d_prd.php?p=T65&fam=6

-S

Skybird · 07-11-06, 07:37 PM

CH Fighterstick and ProThrottle. No way you ever get me onto something different. Very good quality. Very flexible and rich programming capabilities, very easy programming tool (easy handling, you can still do a lot of very complex things with it, if you want). I'm using mine since 8 years, I think. Still wait for the first problems showing up.

http://www.chproducts.com/retail/index.html

I never swear. And I could say a lot more.

SUBMAN1 · 07-11-06, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

CH Fighterstick and ProThrottle. No way you ever get me onto something different. Very good quality. Very flexible and rich programming capabilities, very easy programming tool (easy handling, you can still do a lot of very complex things with it, if you want). I'm using mine since 8 years, I think. Still wait for the first problems showing up.

http://www.chproducts.com/retail/index.html

I never swear. And I could say a lot more.

Man! I thought you'd have something more high tech than that! I guess it works, but is rather limited. To fight someone with that online vs someone who has what i have is just plain not fair. I can program 100's of macros to automatically do things the way I want them. Ever seen what XP looks like in the joystick panel with 10 axis and 32 buttons? Its rather humorous!

We should start a pool and get you funding for a HOTAS Cougar!

-S

Skybird · 07-12-06, 03:35 AM

Windows Joystick Panel? Little do you know! The hardware comes with it's own programming software, like Couhgar, but more easy to use, for my taste. Press the button you want to program (or click it in the tool panel) and eneter the key or strings. Afterwards you can define keypress durations, functionality on pressingand/or releasing the key, and so forth. You can easily program 100s of macros to it. you can also define axis-ranges to be associated with functions instead of axis, and callbrate everything from this software. Windows OPanel has nothing to do with it. In fact it is heavily recommended NOT to use it on CH templates - it could mess up callibration.

You could attach a maximum of 144 different functions to all the knobs. If you define a shift-key, and set up the keyboard commands within the game accordingly, you can increase the number of available functions even more, almost double them (never needed that, could not even imagine to need it - and somehow I also need to store all that somehwere inside my brain...) Each function could be a single command, or a macro. It is done in three levels per knob. I usually use one level for flight and air-fight-operation, one level for takeoff and landing, and one level for ground attcks. In Steel Beasts it is one level for regular tank and combat operation, and one level for all formation management.

I have tried the Cougar on someone else's system. The metal feel is solid and nice, yes. but that was all there is for me.

The CH HOTAS I also find more flexible to use for different things than flightsims. I use the Throttle's keys for racing sims and for FPS, too.

Skybird · 07-12-06, 09:09 AM

review: http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds/main/review/hotas.htm

SUBMAN1 · 07-12-06, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

Windows Joystick Panel? Little do you know! The hardware comes with it's own programming software, like Couhgar, but more easy to use, for my taste. Press the button you want to program (or click it in the tool panel) and eneter the key or strings. Afterwards you can define keypress durations, functionality on pressingand/or releasing the key, and so forth. You can easily program 100s of macros to it. you can also define axis-ranges to be associated with functions instead of axis, and callbrate everything from this software. Windows OPanel has nothing to do with it. In fact it is heavily recommended NOT to use it on CH templates - it could mess up callibration.

You could attach a maximum of 144 different functions to all the knobs. If you define a shift-key, and set up the keyboard commands within the game accordingly, you can increase the number of available functions even more, almost double them (never needed that, could not even imagine to need it - and somehow I also need to store all that somehwere inside my brain...) Each function could be a single command, or a macro. It is done in three levels per knob. I usually use one level for flight and air-fight-operation, one level for takeoff and landing, and one level for ground attcks. In Steel Beasts it is one level for regular tank and combat operation, and one level for all formation management.

I have tried the Cougar on someone else's system. The metal feel is solid and nice, yes. but that was all there is for me.

The CH HOTAS I also find more flexible to use for different things than flightsims. I use the Throttle's keys for racing sims and for FPS, too.

The felxibility of the Cougar is miles beyond simple macro key strings and I think you know that. Programming it with Foxy's is about a 2 second process too if you want it to be 2 seconds. But if you want it to be complex, you can do that too.

And another thing! Who uses a flightstick for racing games???!!!! Oh no! You need help! :p Don't you own a wheel and that? My wheel even has a 7 speed gear shifter (That can be modified for the correct # of gears for the sim you are player) + reverse and is Force Feedback.

Who knows, maybe I am the one who's nuts??

-S

07-11-06, 06:01 PM	#1
Winston Wild Night in Bangkok Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wales Posts: 179 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Joystick Recommendations… Hello there all. About six mounts ago I spent around £80 on a Saitek x52. For these six months it has served me well. Controlling my Su-25 as I drop unguided bombs on the heads of insurgence everywhere I find them. It’s got great functionality and very easy to program. I’m still working on a Steel Beasts Pro PE profile. In fact it was just as I was in the middle of learning this excellent simulation when I adjusted the handle to fit my brother’s hand so he could have a go at shooting some tanks. He was very good, better than me even with some practice. Anyhow, after some time he left after expressing his enjoyment of the simulation and the joystick. Then after I re-adjusted the handle back to fit my hand I went back to playing determined to improve my gunnery skills. However I was very sad to find that one of the most useful switches had stopped working. This particular switch acted like a ‘shift key’ on your keyboard, allowing you to map two actions to one button. I.e. button No.4 activated my night site while button No.4 + the shift button at the same time changed the polarity of the night site…White/hot vs. Black/hot you know the drill. All in all I was building a very effective and efficient profile. Next day I visit there website and ask if there is anything I can do to sort this stick out. The only answer I get is to take it back to the store. Crap, I thought. Only last week I got rid of the box in to a skip and as I got it from an on-line retailer there would be all this rigmarole of sending it back bla bla ect…I decided in the end the open the bugger up to see if I can fix the thing, being a dab hand with the iron I thought I’d have a chance to sort it out. Anyway, getting in to the stick with out destroying it seems imposable, lucky for me the switch was located on the outside of the stick and I managed to un-screw these three tiny little screws even though I was unable present to screwdriver tip to the screw head perpendicularly due to the design of the handle. After much prodding, probing and twisting I managed to get them out. Looking in to the housing I find that sure enough one of the wires had come lose after the total of three adjustments to the handle (on which the switch is mounted) over the last six months. So now I take the tiny switch apart and in the possess an even smaller spring falls out, after looking for that bastard for 5 minuets on my floor I solder the tiny wire back together (Also very difficult despite my small, steady hands). I was thinking of taking a picture but the objects were just too small for my camera to focus on. After putting it all back together the bugger worked, Send it back my arse! Anyway, it seems to me that this stick was never intended to be repaired if something died on it. Though I never investigated the option I guess after I had sent it back to the online retailer they would have had to have got a whole new stick just ‘cos on one tiny wire coming lose. Out in some dustbin with it, what a gip! What a waste. Now I have decided that the stick is an unacceptable risk. What if the bastard goes down again in the middle of combat and not just training? My tank would be immobile until I got sent a replacement! It let me down and to be frank I’m not happy even though it’s back at 100% So I’m in the market for a new joystick. First off, I buy very few personal items other than books, DVD’s and the odd simulation so I don’t mind spending a bit to get real quality. It has to be robust and easy to repair. It has to be a good joystick that will allow precise aiming so that I might be able to deliver death to my enemy’s efficiently. Spare parts should be readily available so that I might be able to get it back in the fight if it goes down. I don’t mind having to spend time to look after things, I own a few analogue synthesizers so I often have too get the old iron out at times, hell I even enjoy it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also sorry about all that back story, just frustrated about how things are made these days. Really gets me down. __________________ "Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash"

07-11-06, 07:37 PM	#3
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,663 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	CH Fighterstick and ProThrottle. No way you ever get me onto something different. Very good quality. Very flexible and rich programming capabilities, very easy programming tool (easy handling, you can still do a lot of very complex things with it, if you want). I'm using mine since 8 years, I think. Still wait for the first problems showing up. http://www.chproducts.com/retail/index.html I never swear. And I could say a lot more. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 07-11-06 at 07:42 PM.

07-12-06, 03:35 AM	#5
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,663 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Windows Joystick Panel? Little do you know! The hardware comes with it's own programming software, like Couhgar, but more easy to use, for my taste. Press the button you want to program (or click it in the tool panel) and eneter the key or strings. Afterwards you can define keypress durations, functionality on pressingand/or releasing the key, and so forth. You can easily program 100s of macros to it. you can also define axis-ranges to be associated with functions instead of axis, and callbrate everything from this software. Windows OPanel has nothing to do with it. In fact it is heavily recommended NOT to use it on CH templates - it could mess up callibration. You could attach a maximum of 144 different functions to all the knobs. If you define a shift-key, and set up the keyboard commands within the game accordingly, you can increase the number of available functions even more, almost double them (never needed that, could not even imagine to need it - and somehow I also need to store all that somehwere inside my brain...) Each function could be a single command, or a macro. It is done in three levels per knob. I usually use one level for flight and air-fight-operation, one level for takeoff and landing, and one level for ground attcks. In Steel Beasts it is one level for regular tank and combat operation, and one level for all formation management. I have tried the Cougar on someone else's system. The metal feel is solid and nice, yes. but that was all there is for me. The CH HOTAS I also find more flexible to use for different things than flightsims. I use the Throttle's keys for racing sims and for FPS, too. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 07-12-06 at 03:43 AM.

07-12-06, 09:09 AM	#6
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,663 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	review: http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds/main/review/hotas.htm __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.