Equipment help please

[DERK13]

so i had the siatek 290 pro for like ever till finally it gave way with a few missing buttons and sticky controls etc. So i got this cool new computer fast yadayada all the neat stuff for the computer. But i got a new joystick that was what i payed for.....45$ brand new which it sucks and im lookin to buy a new one. I have cash plenty of it, just not guna use all of it. Im lookin for somethin with a good quality at an average price. Nothin to fancy im no biggy on buttons or dual throttle etc. Things it has to have is all 3 control surfaces.(rudder, elevator, ailerons) of course throttle control aswell. Just somethin good no fancy set ups and junk. Also im curious on this headset thing where ever you look the screen looks. What it called and where can i find one at to look over and review. Thanks and salute      RedTail

[B-17]

probably oughta re-post this in the Hardware/Software forum.

[Ghosth]

the head thingy is called Track IR

As to the Joystick, I'd stay away from Logitech as a general rule.

Saitek Aviator has a few more buttons, dual throttles, etc at around 40$.

Or you could shop around on Ebay for a good second hand MS Sidewinder Prec 2 USB.

But from there sticks get a lot more expensive quickly.

[DERK13]

ok ill look those up and see what i can get

[icepac]

It seems many joystick models are only available for online purchase which makes trying them out impossible.

Some of the high end sticks are really accurate but fall short on feel while some cheap sticks have awesome feel but weak accuracy.

In the price range you listed, I ended up with the thrustmaster "top gun fox pro" which has evolved into the equally bizarre named "T.flightstickX".   

There are plenty of better sticks but I like the feel of this one best.

Sadly, I have only seen it online which means you won't be trying one out without buying it unless a friend has one........or the earlier thrustmaster "top gun" sticks since the moving parts are the same.

[GNucks]

I will second the Thrustmaster TFlight series. My first stick was the one with the slider throttle, not the HOTAS deal. The whole point of getting a HOTAS imo is to have more functions on your fingertips and less need for reaching for the keyboard, but the TFlight HOTAS has the exact same number of buttons as the standard model 

Your mileage may vary however, the HOTAS might be kinda' nice in that you should be able to have more accurate throttle control, and this would definitely be desirable if you fly in squad that likes to do formations. Otherwise, imo, you're just buying extra plastic to take up desk space.

But anyway, I can't give enough props to Thrustmaster for making a damn fine stick in $30 range. When I used it it was no inhabitance to my gunnery, ACM, or SA whatsoever.

[StokesAk]

I will second the Thrustmaster TFlight series. My first stick was the one with the slider throttle, not the HOTAS deal. The whole point of getting a HOTAS imo is to have more functions on your fingertips and less need for reaching for the keyboard, but the TFlight HOTAS has the exact same number of buttons as the standard model 

Your mileage may vary however, the HOTAS might be kinda' nice in that you should be able to have more accurate throttle control, and this would definitely be desirable if you fly in squad that likes to do formations. Otherwise, imo, you're just buying extra plastic to take up desk space.

But anyway, I can't give enough props to Thrustmaster for making a damn fine stick in $30 range. When I used it it was no inhabitance to my gunnery, ACM, or SA whatsoever.

Ill Third this, I have the T-16000M model, works great and has everything you asked for. I got it off amazon for aound $30

[icepac]

One thing I've noticed in windows XP is that the joystick is overly sensitive until it is used quite a bit after every fresh booting.

If you go to the joystick properties where you can see a representation of the different axis moving, you will find that the + used to show x and y axis moves to the ends of the box long before the stick has moved to it's physical limits.

I'm sure there are other fixes but I use the joystick properties box and move the stick through it's full motion very slowly a few times.............but this only gets you halfway there.

I've found that moving the stick to any of the limits and slowly backing off ever so slightly and working it a few times that way will cause the + to reach it's limit in the box at the same time your stick does.

This is also true for the twist and throttle.

This has happened to two different computers with two different sticks with winXP media center edition being the commonality.

If you have this issue, make sure you get it settled down before you do any calibration in aces high.