Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: trax1 on March 03, 2008, 02:56:29 PM
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Anyone else have trouble with there Saitek joysticks? I have a Cyborg Evo FF stick and with mine I'm constantly having to re-calibrate, and now it just cuts out mind play & I have to unplug then plug it back in. Some games I play once it cuts out I have to restart, thankfully AH isn't one of them.
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I have the same problems with my Saiteks (X52, X52 Pro). To make mine recalibrate when it starts to drift I just give it a rapid jink (smack!) on the axis it loses and it goes back to center.
I've lost the stick in the game a couple times, but windows still recognises it. I have to restart the game when that happens, usually after a 20 minute climb/chase to catch a Rooktronaut buff group.
Man I miss my Sidewinder FF.
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Yeah mine does that too, windows still recognizes it, but the game wont, It seems to be happening more & more lately, like when I play IL2 I'm lucky if I get in about 3-4 flights before it will happen, then I have to restart. My next stick will not be a Saitek, nothing but problems.
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Never had any trouble... from the X35/X36 combo to the X52. Go figure.
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I use the ST-290 $19.99 at Walmart cheapie. Works great.
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I had nothing but problems with Saitek sticks. I always had to calibrate as soon as I got in game. Sticks spiking was also a constant issue, even with brand new sticks. Durability was an issue as well, I think I had one Saitek stick last 6 months. Most had something go bad around 3 - 4 months. I repeatedly had to take brand new sticks back that were bad out of the box.
I used to use MS sticks until MS in there infinite wisdom (:rolleyes: ) stopped making sticks. I now use a CH Combat Stick and CH Pro Throttle, hope to have the rudder pedals soon because I sure do miss having a rudder control. (Mapping the rudder control to a hat on the throttle is cumbersome and marginally effective.)
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Calibration loss and unstable axis position can often be fixed with powered USB hubs.
In my experience Saitek sticks have good ergonomics and functionality, but the build quality is cheap. They never last longer than about 6 months on average. The longest I got out of one of them was about a year, the shortest 3 weeks.
IMO if you are in the flight sim addiction for the long run, it's worth it to gut a good quality stick such as a cougar or CH, and build your own mechanics and ergonomics around it, even if they're pretty much the same.. It would make it easier to dismantle for cleaning and fixing any failures.
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My X45 is still going strong after maybe 4 or 5 years. The main view hat is a little loose though.
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Originally posted by lasersailor184
My X45 is still going strong after maybe 4 or 5 years. The main view hat is a little loose though.
My 1st X45 had both hat switches die within a year. I pulled the 2nd hat switch down to the 1st position, after the 1st one died.
However, I bought a used X45 and it's lasted 18 months already w/ no problems. Quality control probs? I dunno. But I'm stuck on the X45 so I hope to buy a couple more used ones when I move (and have space to store them out of the wife's sight! :D)
I hate twisty sticks and I'm too uncoordinated to use rudder pedals.
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Originally posted by ROX
I use the ST-290 $19.99 at Walmart cheapie. Works great.
I use the same stick and never had a problem with it, before this I had the Evo and had the same problems of having to recal all the time.
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ST290 pro did that to me (lost calibration mid play) little lite on top flickered found a bend in the cord..must have severd the wire inside. Replaced usb cord with old one laying around that had bad buttons problem solved....for now:noid
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I really hope Skuzzy does'nt move this to a hardware forum. The OC get's much more traffic and we can get a better view of Saitek's performance overall.
My main problems I have had with mine all revolve around the dust cover/ cool looking aluminum foil that surrounds the main shaft of the stick.
It never fails if I make a severe, full motion jink the foil will move past the edge of the opening and catch on the way back. The foil crumples, the stick jams and the center opening surrounding the shaft gets ripped. From then on it's nothing but problems as the wrinkles grab and catch during flight.
If Saitek used a thicker metal or a larger piece that could not possibly be overextended that problem would cease to exist.
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Originally posted by trax1
Anyone else have trouble with there Saitek joysticks? I have a Cyborg Evo FF stick and with mine I'm constantly having to re-calibrate, and now it just cuts out mind play & I have to unplug then plug it back in. Some games I play once it cuts out I have to restart, thankfully AH isn't one of them.
I have the same problems...with my AV8R and ST290...I re-installed the USB stacks 3 times and they work fine now.
My X52...is...kind of...err...not working on my laptop ATM.
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About two years old now and have'nt had a single problem with it. The software stinks but the stick has been great.
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We have 3 X52s in my house and haven't had any problems with them...
except my dads, he cant hit a darn thing thing...
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Originally posted by rpm
I really hope Skuzzy does'nt move this to a hardware forum. The OC get's much more traffic and we can get a better view of Saitek's performance overall.
Yeah I hope not too, the reason I didn't put it there was no one would see it, plus it say for problems in conjunction with AH, which this isn't.
I just wish I had seen something about there problems before I bought it, I'm gonna have to buy a new one now.
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Originally posted by Barnes828
We have 3 X52s in my house and haven't had any problems with them...
I think most of the issues Saitek has is with there lower priced sticks, like the Evo, which is too bad because it's a good stick, comfortable and plenty of buttons.
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ST290 pro here. Works fine but a little lightly built. I've had it for over a year, used it heavily for a few months of that.
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I have an X52 and X52 Pro. Neither are low end sticks from Saitek. It's an overall design problem.
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Originally posted by trax1
I think most of the issues Saitek has is with there lower priced sticks, like the Evo, which is too bad because it's a good stick, comfortable and plenty of buttons.
The only Saitek sticks I used were X-45 and X-52.
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I've had saitek sticks and pro ch peds since the game port version X36.
Used to get around the QA issues by buying the $10 12 month service plan which with about once a year I'd get a brand new one for the cost of another service contract ($10). Got at least 7 or 8 X45's that way.
My last X52 non-pro has lasted the longest. Then again I do not fly the hours I once did.
A powered usb hub usually fixes most of the calibration/squirrely issues with the stick as it must draw a bunch with all the leds and throttle display imo.
Can't beat it for the $$
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Originally posted by ROX
I use the ST-290 $19.99 at Walmart cheapie. Works great.
That's what I use. Go through one about every year and a half, with no problems. After my Sidewinder died (RIP Sidewinder :cry ) I went with an Evo, nothing but problems.......died on me within 3 -4 months, big disappointment.
Got the CH peds and throd, not really sold on the CH stick (not sure why :) )
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Originally posted by ROX
I use the ST-290 $19.99 at Walmart cheapie. Works great.
The sidewinder give up the ghost?
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After recent BIOS update I had to reinstall a few drivers, which of one was the saitek's drivers for X45. That was a royal in in the ass! Apparently their newest drivers are not so good.
The main problem was that calibration screwed up royally - it would always stick to the upper left corner no matter what I did. After digging the forums I found a post that suggested deleting a registry key and I finally got the thing to calibrate correctly. However two buttons were swapped over in the profile editor, but it's not that big of a problem that I'd waste my time to find a soluation for it.
The biggest problem was to get RID of the old driver/program stuff so that the SST programming proggy would install. It simply didn't install. Fortunately Vista had saved an another installation package into it's driver cache (I was installing drivers for XP) and those did the trick.
I will not buy an another Saitek!
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If microsoft decided to make their sticks again, I'd buy 10 of them.
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I'm gonna be buying a new one, anyone have any suggestions on a good one around $60, and it has to work left handed.
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X-52 Pro rocks, especially with the Saitek rudder pedals.
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X52 stick and throttle, almost 2 years old now. Plug, set and forget. I've never had to look at them again, I haven't even had to recalibrate and they have been rock solid.
Pedals are only a few months old now. I haven't even had a hint of an issue with them yet.
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I've had two EVOs (wired and wireless), 7 X45s, and one and a half X52s.
The EVOs never had a problem.
I believe my computer's USB voltages killed the X45s. None lasted more than a month, always the same problem. BestBuy caught the bill.
The X52 has never had a problem other than its rudder. The stick only has one potentiometer, and it's there. The other axes have hall effect sensors that make control a hell of a lot more precise and there is no spiking.
Rule of thumb though, with modern joysticks (especially on old heaps and Dells), USE AN EXTERNALLY POWERED USB HUB.
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I have a cyborg evo stick that needed to be re- calibrated every time I flew. It also spiked quite a bit. I plugged it into a powered usb hub and the problems went away. It's just like new again. My .02 cents.
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Originally posted by MajWoody
I have a cyborg evo stick that needed to be re- calibrated every time I flew. It also spiked quite a bit. I plugged it into a powered usb hub and the problems went away. It's just like new again. My .02 cents.
Hmm, I'll give it a try and buy one before I spring for a new stick then.
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X52 for about 18 months. Occasionally I have to recalibrate the thumb slider, but not often.
The rudder pedals sometimes jam at full deflection and require a lot of force to release.
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<--- Using a MS Sidewinder FF since 1.999. No problems at all :) .
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CH fighterstick CH Pro pedals.Spent 200 bucks around 6 or 7 years ago and have never had problems.Best investment I ever made.
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I switched to CH from a Saitek X52 about a year ago, hoping to have a better quality setup, and while the X52 never gave me any problems at all, I didn't care for the "feel" of it.
I don't know about others experiences, but I was very disappointed in the CH stick, it was so sloppy that I couldn't even calibrate it. I finally had to take it apart, and found the fit between the pot's shaft and the gimble was very loose. Some teflon plumber's tape wrapped around the shaft for a tight fit fixed it right up.
But to have to do that for what is supposed to be a top-level stick is just a no-go with me. CH used to be top of the line, but from what I have been reading on other boards, they are really slipping of late, and my problem is common enough that they have a step by step instruction post on their forum for reworking/repairing it. I also contacted their tech support, and never heard back at all.
From what I have seen while calibrating my rudder pedals (CH pro USB) and throttle quadrant, I am going to have to take them apart and do the same thing.
I recently bought a Cougar, and am going to upgrade it as I can afford to. I know this isn't going to be a solution for others, as it isn't cheap, but in my view if I am going to have to do a total rebuild of a stick, I might as well end up with a Cougar X2. And with the Cougar at least I know going in that I am going to be doing the rebuild, though it has worked for me just fine right out of the box.
From my experience, I would say to be very careful buying anything from CH, and plan on reworking it if you do.
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If microsoft decided to make their sticks again, I'd buy 10 of them.
They would have to put the *shift* button back, 8 buttons just isn't enough for a flight sim. The last stick they made, I forget which one it was, they removed the shift button. Maroons.....