Thrustmaster Afterberner FF has Problems

[AvidMC]

Hi Folks,

      Haven't posted here in a while as my AH time has become almost nill due to real life. But I had an interesting experience this week when purchasing an Afterburner Force Feed Back stick and throttle.

The first one I brought home wouldn't center and I was getting very little FF from it. It was strange, the stick just fell over to the right. I figured it was defective and took it back to CompUSA. The exchanged it with no problems and I brought home a second new one.

This one centered right up when I plugged it in and I figured I was ready to go. Then, after installing the drivers, every time I touched the throttle I got an error pop up about a USB device not connected. After inspecting the thing I discovered that there was a short in the cable that connected the throttle to the joystick. Every time I touched it the I would get the same error.

To make a long story short I think Thrustmaster has a real problem with QC on at least this product line. In the end I bought a Saitek X45 and it has worked fine so far. No force feedback but at least it works.

So, if your thinking about purchasing the Afterburner FF make sure you get it from a place that will let you return it. Going 2 for 2 when it comes to failing right out of the box does not bode well for this product.

Avid

[FOGOLD]

I was having an argument with my Hotas Cougar and used a non FF Afterburner for a while. I think it is a fantastic budget HOTAS stick BUT I also had trouble with a loose connection. Also after about 6 months the x axis started spiking real bad. I'm back to the cougar now, but it's a pity because I actually preferred the Afterburner! It is a really comfortable and simple stick. It was about £25 new and the market is crying out for a more robust stick like it. I tried an X45 in a shop but it was so light!

The cougar is handy with all its buttons, but it is overpriced and overblown.

[Boat]

I had an Afterburner non-FF and in about a year of AH it was unuseable due to nose bounce. I did like it while it lasted. Finally bit the bullet and bought a CH fighterstick.