Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: crazierthanu on July 21, 2008, 09:11:36 AM
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Anyone else have the original?
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I've got a Sidewinder 3D Pro but I'm not using it as I don't have a gameport on my new rig. It's the original Sidewinder.
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I've got the original gameport first version, which had the round dome throttle (before the rotating lever throttle on the second version).
I've used it for years. Only problem really is a bit of rudder and throttle spike. Not really SPIKE, per se, as much as they don't allow the fine-tuning you might want. However I use rudder pedals so the twist action goes unused, and I have a CH throttle set so I don't worry about the stick throttle anymore.
Hat's getting a bit sticky with age, but overall a pretty great low-end stick.
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I wore out my original 3dpro, still have it. I then proceeded to go to work on a Prec Pro, but didn't like the button layout as well. So when I discovered the Sidewinder Prec 2 usb I fell in love.
Of those I've worn out one, had pinched cords or other total malfunction on 2, broke the shaft on one, had right rudder go out on one.
Most of those were bought on ebay for 25-30$ with shipping.
I've picked up any number of Prec Pro's at the second hand shop for peanuts. I have at least 2 or 3 of those around yet. And have shipped others out to interested people. Have at least 2 that work as backups.
I'm currently flying with a prec 2 usb thats a year old, and have one waiting in the wings if need be.
By the time all those are worn out maybe I'll try something new. By then surely someone will have reinvented the 3dpro. :)
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I'll add that I used mine from June of 1996 until March of this year without issue. It is getting a little loose and has a rare but very minor spike that I can adjust out with the deadband in-game.
When I got my new rig I first got a Saitek ST290 Pro that crapped out in 3 months. Now I've got a Saitek AV8R and, as long as it keeps running, is a perfect replacement for the MS 3D Pro. It's got the exact same feel.
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I'll add that I used mine from June of 1996 until March of this year without issue. It is getting a little loose and has a rare but very minor spike that I can adjust out with the deadband in-game.
When I got my new rig I first got a Saitek ST290 Pro that crapped out in 3 months. Now I've got a Saitek AV8R and, as long as it keeps running, is a perfect replacement for the MS 3D Pro. It's got the exact same feel.
CH Products my son! I bought an x45 and it went dead in about 1 year, then an x52 dead in less than a year, then an x52 pro, dead in about 6 months. Now I have a CH stick, throttle, and rudder pedals. So far so good. However it has only been about 3 months. I have heard tales of them lasting for years.
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CH is fine if you can afford it, many of us can't.
Getback with all due respect sir, what did that total CH stick/throttle/rudder package cost?
And if you want to talk lasting, well 3 months is hardly broke in yet. However I realise that you are a new convert, and like all new converts you want to share the joy. :)
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Anyone else have the original?
Yes and it still works great. I mostly fly with a mouse though.
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I have 3 x Sidewinder Precision Pro sticks. Just a few week ago I got my new one from Ebay. :) It is used (maybe just few times) but in excellent condition, like a new. Came from australia. :rock
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i still have the original game port version, the MS sidewinder 3D. worked fine from 1997 to the release of ah2. new computer mean usb only and i suffered saitek's cyborg for 3 years untill a friend sorted me a sidewinder 2. love it.
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Used nothing but 1 sidewinder for 7 years, only just moved to a Saitek Aviator last few months.
<S>...-Gixer
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I've used nothing but my MS Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 since almost when they came out. I've repaired it about 4 times (replacing failed switches, it's easy).
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My old game port Sidewinder 3dPro is still in good shape. Since that one I've had 3 Sidewinder2 FFB:s. I've always worn out the hat switches. Gotta start replacing them if it is as easy as said above...
I've also taken one of the SW2 FFB:s handle apart and It is in process of getting replaced with a KG13 replica :)
(http://koti.welho.com/skukkone/kuvia/kgms_003.jpg)
Yup, I know it is ugly... joining the old robust with new futuristic shapes.
Dunno yet how it will turn out in the end :cool:
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I've been using my Sidewinder precision pro (gameport version) for about 10 years, it's great and still working good (it was perfect till I spilled some beer on its pad buttons for a mistake while fying a B17... :rolleyes:).
It's going to be retired when I get a new computer cause new ones don't have gameport anymore and many M$ joysticks (the older ones) don't support gameport-usb converters and M$ will not do anything about this ..of course.. But I know there is a guy that is building many home-made gameport-usb converters but this is another Topic...
<S> :salute
100Chewi
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You can get Gameport -> USB adapaters.
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For upwards of $45 USD... sure!
That's only... hrm.... 2.5x the price I actually paid for the stick itself (including shipping!) and 1.5x the cost of getting a new Saitek USB-ready stick.
Not worth the price of buying the converter.
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You can get Gameport -> USB adapaters.
The problem is that they are designed for analog joysticks. The MS Sidewinders were digital and the standard adapters don't work with the Sidewinders. Even those adapters advertised as working with MS Sidewinders often don't.
Microsoft did manufacture and include gameport to usb adapters with some of the later versions of the Sidewinder sticks and these work with some of the Sidewinders (not the earliest versions like my 3D Pro) but are difficult to find.
There are people out there building custom gameport to usb adapters for MS sticks on a small scale but they are custom order and relatively expensive with long wait times (due to the need to wait for enough interested parties to get the required circuit boards manufactured).
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Those little adapter plugs that come with the sticks are NOT to be used on "just any" stick.
The joystick itself has to be built from the circuits upwards to support USB adapters. If you put this plug on a stick that is pure analog (no USB support at all on the inside) you can damage the stick, damage the computer, and it just plain won't work.
The reason you have to pay $45+ is because the adapter has a circuitboard in it that changes analog signals into USB clock signals. It's not just a plug, there's guts inside it.
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So I can make a pretty penny on my original Microsoft Gameport -> USB adapter?
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So I can make a pretty penny on my original Microsoft Gameport -> USB adapter?
IIRC they sell on e-bay for ~ $10 but are specific to certain model sticks. I know I looked all over for something that would work with my 3D Pro when I built my new machine and the only option for me was the custom order stuff.
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My first-generation Sidewinder doesn't work with the simple plug adapter. I tried it a long long time ago. Got the plug off an older Logitech 3D stick. It's just before USB was common so it doesn't even support it.
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I have two of these, both bought in 2002. Although I have used both, one still remains in the original packaging. USB.
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/ralphmunnich/95988-microsoft-sidewinder.jpg)
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Used nothing but 1 sidewinder for 7 years, only just moved to a Saitek Aviator last few months.
<S>...-Gixer
Saitek Av8tor is a great great stick. Very very rugged. I've had mine for over a year now, still works almost as good as the day I bought it.