Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Good on July 25, 2006, 10:50:10 PM
-
After a month and a half of AH, I am hooked. Unfortunately the creaky old Sidewinder joystick that I used back in 1997 for AW is not cutting it anymore. Luckily, I have birthday money. :aok
So here's where you all come in. If you had around $150 to blow on a stick or stick/throttle combo, what would you buy and why?
Thanks
Goodson
-
If all you have is $150. Then the Saiteck would seem the obvious choice
But if you can add some money to that I'd go CH.
In fact thats the direction Im going to go if I can ever get a month without a SURPRISE bill popping up.
Two months ago I needed my main sewer line snaked...All 75 feet of it
Last month is was a new Dryer.
this month it was a refrigerator.
Fortunately Im starting to run out of things that can breakdown LOL
-
Go CH
Save your change and get pedals in 3 months
then your set
-
Put the $150 in ur pocket nothing beats a sidewinder! hee hee :aok
-
if you do a search you will find that $150 will come close to picking up an USB Fighter Stick and USB Pro Throtle by CH products ( they run roughly $87.00 to $95.00 each )
at the various following online stores:
NewEgg
Provantage
SecureMart
may be a few other online stores I am unaware of too.......
-
i use a Saitek X52 and CH pedals. works great for me. although i wonder how Saitek's new pedals are.
-
Go CH throttle stick and pedals. Best to be had.
-
Unfortunately the creaky old Sidewinder joystick that I used back in 1997 for AW is not cutting
Just buy another sidewinder, heck buy 2 of them i did!
This person is selling them brand new in the box, they ship to you in about a week after pay pal confirmation goes through.If you bought a new computer back in the late 90's and you wanted the game package they sent you 5 games and a microsoft sidewinder stick.It even comes with the usb adapter and all.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MICROSOFT-SIDEWINDER-PRECISION-PRO-JOYSTICK-GAMES_W0QQitemZ230002645855QQihZ013QQcategoryZ3677QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
-
For complete CH setup, you'll need around $3-400 dollars.
I'd buy SAITEK X-52 and a pair of CH Pro pedals.
When you get some more money, buy the CH stick and throttle. :)
-
Okay, somebody who's used both please reply:
IGNORING the rudder action (pretend you've got rudder pedals) what would you say is better, the x52 or the x45? What are the main difference? From what I recall the major change was the inclusion of a twist-rudder motion.
-
CH is the only way to fly. It will be the best and last controll set you every buy.
-
Krusty...
I found the HUGE difference in spring action a major relief when I moved from the 45 to the 52. I was always frustrated with the 45, but immediately loved the 52.
For me, the 45's tighter springs meant jerky motions in close, even with tweaked software settings. In the center, all was well...but when i reached the edge of the spring action I'd have to increase the pressure to get the spring to move. As soon as I go the spring to move, it kicked a good distnace...so smooth control was very tough.
On the 52, the springs are silky smooth, dont affect movement at all.
The other differences ae minor. The trim wheels are tighter and the center detent is subtle on the 52, so its a bit harder to use them for manual trim. The LCD display isnt all that useful, although I didi program it to show time in London and Tokyo, just for kicks.
Not sure about durability on the 52, but I went through 2 X45s in 15months when the view hats lost a direction.
-
Maybe so for a throttle quadrant or a rudder set, but I honestly hate the layout of their sticks. I've never groped one or anything, but I've browsed their webpage and all their sticks are bare, with few buttons. Oh sure they give you about 4 8-way hats, but if you actually want to use them they come out to 4-way hats (too imprecise to hit the 1/8 angles in a hurry), and they look uncomfortable to reach up with your thumb to hit the hats.
They may last for a long time, but they COST more than 5 normal sticks, and they don't look like they're "all that" (practical function wise)
^-- repeat, I've never used one but that's what they LOOK LIKE by looking at them.
-
Simarl:
Thanks for the review. I can never afford anything like that (or I'd have it by now) but it's always nice to window shop and know exactly what version you'd get, if you could. Of the two the 52 sounds a little better.
Do they sell X52s without the throttles? Just the sticks?
I think it would be interesting to have the CH 4-throttle quadrant, the x52, and some pedals.
-
Wow, thanks for all the info so far.
At this point, I'm leaning towards CH. My last stick was an old 2-button CH and it was incredibly reliable. One question though. Do the CH fighterstick and combatstick have twisty rudders? I ask becasue buying pedals right now may be more than the wallet and the wife can stand.
Thanks
Goodson
-
Still running my 10 year CH Stick, Throttle and Pedals. Clean the pots once a year...hard to beat.
-
Ebay ------- theres a 568 on there for 60 bucks if your quick enough .
-
Originally posted by icemaw
CH is the only way to fly. It will be the best and last controll set you every buy.
Funny, i've had 3 sets of CH sticks. And 2 Logitech's, and a Sidewinder Pro, and now on an X-52 which surprisingly has outlasted each and every previous stick setup i've had. I've got a spare X-52 which was brandnew just incase this 1 folds, but that hasn't happened yet - which is good given my track record of going through sticks faster then a redneck going downhill stuffed inside of a Goodyear.
Wolf
-
Oh yeah, Wolf? Beat this: 7 X45s dead in 6 months. Thank you, BestBuy! :D
-
"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me 7 times, shame on me!" - OOZ's motto
Hey, OOZ, stop buying from Best Buy!!!!!!! Order online, mate!
-
Why? I got 6 free X45's at their expense. What's better than that? :huh ($450 man... :p)
-
LMAO, yes, but the down time and the back and forth time aren't worth the effort. Buy one GOOD stick and you won't NEED 5 free sticks! :)
They must have a defective warehouse or something. They're unloading all their rejected items.
-
Well, there never was any downtime, just...retarded time. :D It was that issue where something slowly dies in the throttle so the stick starts intermittently losing input. I was flying like a weed on crack in a high wind, but I was still flying.
-
That's almost sig material. Almost.
Not quite. :lol
-
Originally posted by Krusty
Simarl:
Thanks for the review. I can never afford anything like that (or I'd have it by now) but it's always nice to window shop and know exactly what version you'd get, if you could. Of the two the 52 sounds a little better.
Do they sell X52s without the throttles? Just the sticks?
I think it would be interesting to have the CH 4-throttle quadrant, the x52, and some pedals.
I think they always come together. I would not get a X45, primarily because of the durability issue -- better than Logitech, but not good by any means (at least for the intense use we AH'ers put in).
I would strongly recommend the BestBuy warranty...thats how I wen through 3 sticks in about 20 months, with a total cost of about $110.
The throttles have never let me down. In fact, when this Saitek goes I might think about the CH stick, but I'm in no hurry to get another throttle.
-
Originally posted by OOZ662
Oh yeah, Wolf? Beat this: 7 X45s dead in 6 months. Thank you, BestBuy! :D
Something is tempting me to hire you to get our **** to MILSPEC just by u abusing it.
-
:rofl
-
When i download this game so long ago the first thing i did was go get me a microsoft stick and been usin it since.Bought me 2 for back ups and i store them at 2 locations just in case.
-
568 Combat Stick Throttle , and Pedals .
CH is good gear , will last you far longer than cheaper stuff .
Yes MS Sidewinder is my next choice , I really is a good stick for the price , you'll have to buy one off Ebay most likly .
You could get CH throttle , pedals , and toss in the MS Sidewinder stick to help you fit your tight budget , that would last you a hell of a long time , far longer than a Saitek product .
cheers
Spro
-
you can go wrong with the Ms sidewinder. i bought several from this ebay site. so i have several on standby in case i need one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MICROSOFT-S...1QQcmdZViewItem
-
Thanks again for all the advice. It was close, but I finally decided on the x-52. I went to Best Buy so I could get the extended warranty (and also instant gratification). A few Best Buy half spent gift cards lying around helped swing the decision.
I figure I can add CH pedals down the line if I get the urge and maybe upgrade to everything CH in the future if I don't like it.
Now all I have to do is to figure out what to map where. Geeze there are a lot of buttons on this thing!
-
A lot of buttons and burn-out-your-retina LEDs unless you turn them down on the controller properties... :D
-
The light . . . so bright . . . .
Whew! You weren't kidding. I think I felt my power bill go up.
Seriously though, I really am at a loss as to what I should assign to all these things.
Anybody care to share their x-52 setups?
-
http://www.shelteringwings.com/saitekx52flightcontroller.jsm
:aok (It's an Aces High setting file; I don't use the SST)
-
Originally posted by Good
The light . . . so bright . . . .
Whew! You weren't kidding. I think I felt my power bill go up.
Seriously though, I really am at a loss as to what I should assign to all these things.
Anybody care to share their x-52 setups?
Map the basics you NEED. Look up, Fire Buttons, Mic, Flaps, (combat trim), WEP - get used to those. Then add functions and assignments as you need them... thats how I did it with my X45... worked like a charm.
-
Im gonna jump in here with out adding a new topic. I have an X45... well kinda. Its the stick (Namco Flight Stick 2) that was sold for the PS2's Ace Combat 5. Drivers = nightmare, but I got it to work in the end.
Moving on.. I love the X45's, but hate the spring.
I understand that the x52 does not have the rudder on the throtle. This is the only problem that I see for me. I have a Top Gun somthing or other thats a twisty. When I flew with the twisty I noticed that I was mixing unwanted rudder inputs in flight. I love using the rudder when needed, but dog tailing because of a heavy hand kinda blows. Do you guys have this problem with the 52? I know I could get ped's, but I dont see that in the near future. Comments on the twisty please. I added a pic of the Namco for the curious.
Puckit
(http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/rdonlyres/E7906248-A711-400D-AB66-203DC2B130C5/5179/horistick.jpg)
-
Originally posted by PuckIt
I understand that the x52 does not have the rudder on the throtle. This is the only problem that I see for me. I have a Top Gun somthing or other thats a twisty. When I flew with the twisty I noticed that I was mixing unwanted rudder inputs in flight. I love using the rudder when needed, but dog tailing because of a heavy hand kinda blows. Do you guys have this problem with the 52? I know I could get ped's, but I dont see that in the near future. Comments on the twisty please.
The X52 does have a twitsty rudder, and I do notice very small inputs every now and then in the heat of battle, but not to the point of ruining it. Also, if you do get pedals in the future (check out the Saitek pedals...supposedly cheaper. I haven't even looked) there's a small tab you can pull out to lock the twisty rudder from moving.
-
Thanks OOZ662 the disable twisty brings up my last question. Does anyone know if the x45 throtle will work with the 52. Probably not is my quess. I would assume driver issues if it even pluged in.
PuckIt
-
Hrm... the tab just keeps the stick from twisting, if it's anything like several other sticks that have "twist locks". That doesn't disable the actual axis itself, nor does it stop spiking (had a wingman, even when LOCKED it was a POS, would get rudder spikes -- I had to deadband the entire band to get rid of it) on certain sticks.
I'm guessing you would run into a conflict, if the rudder axis shows up twice on the hardware.
I'm speculating, mind you. I dont' know. If the axis on the stick is present and the axis on the throttle is too, you could have 1 of 4 things
1) The stick blows up
2) Neither rudder axis works
3) The stick axis takes precedence over the throttle
4) The throttle axis takes precedence over the stick
That is, of course, assuming the plug even fits
-
When I flew with the twisty I noticed that I was mixing unwanted rudder inputs in flight. I love using the rudder when needed, but dog tailing because of a heavy hand kinda blows.
Turn your joystick to a 45 deg angle to yourself and when you finally get a good fit like that , take a pencil and mark around it so that you can put it back JUST LIKE THAT every time you fly . This helps alot . Also to shoot a little better , having a elbow rest is important .
If the hats would last longer , Saitek would be a good buy but they don't for me and many others . Gets to be a pita to warr. them out , better CH they LAST :)
cheers
-
I agree Krusty. Its to questionable at this point. I dont think I will go near this one unless its been proven to work.
I may just need to train my hand to a twisty. (no need for any humor here Ive already thought of all possible replys). :rofl
I do fly at the 45 your talking about and it does help.
PuckIt
-
The X45 uses a serial-like connector to connect to the two units; the X52 uses a P/S-2 type connector between the two. So no, they won't connect.
-
Since begining of my AH 'career' I have been flying with Saitek X36. First with gameport version, which was horrible and the major of time with usb version, which was great.
Now with CH fighter stick, Saitek X35T throttle and Logitech pedals(brake/gas).
-
Puck it, there's some problems with cheap sticks.
My wingman, for example, would spike all 4 axis if any 1 axis moved. it also had an unsteady center. If I moved left, it would spike rudder and throttle, for example. that was a TRUE POS.
However, having been flying on a MS stick for a while, I can say that twisty stick, while without the superb control of rudder pedals, can more than ge the job done. As with any new interface you may have to train yourself to get used to it, but you won't even think about it in time. You have to scale the axis how you like, though. I have mine in an geometric curve, where for the first 30% you get very little movement with the control (this allows for fine tuning) and then medium around the middle, and max deflection at the edges. It's not perfect. It doesn't help in all situations, but I've found it works for me.
Same applies to everybody and every stick. Just find what works, and once it works, stop fiddlin' with it :aok
-
Krusty, Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking just what you said about tuning in the rudder so my heavy hand would have to move more than just a little to get any real movement. Like you said is so many words "Just get used to it". You are right if I make the switch I may like it once I get it down. Anyway thanks for the input.
PuckIt
-
X-52
http://saitekusa.stores.yahoo.net/x52flcosyre.html
only 69.95 regular 129.95
-
http://www.provantage.com/pro-throttle-usb~22062154.htm
http://www.provantage.com/fighterstick-usb~22031986.htm
http://www.provantage.com/pro-pedals-usb~22043985.htm
Silat was kind enough to send these links my way. It cost about 300.00 for these three ch products, if I remember correctly. I don't use the stick. I still prefer the mouse, but that's a whole nother topic, isn't it. So I say get the pedals and the throttle, forget the stick :D oh yeah, dont tell Silat I am still using a mouse :aok
-
The throttle on that NAMCO looks identical to the X45 throttle.
I noticed it plugs into the X45 stick with what looks like an old gameport plug.. has anyone ever tried plugging the X45 directly into the gameport socket in the computer?
-
Tigger29, Good point. I will try this in the next couple days and see if it works, or if I can make it work. If this turns out good it may solve most of my problems. Good catch Tigger. I will let you know how it turns out.
PuckIt