Aces High Bulletin Board
Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: Bubbajj on February 11, 2009, 07:36:37 AM
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As you may or may not know, my X52 died a horrific and violent death. I decided to try out CH as I really had had it with saitek and there wasn't much else to choose from. I had a logitec and, after plugging it in in desperation the other night for a fix, can't for the life of me understand how I ever flew with that piece of junk. So I ordered the CH setup not understanding that when they said it had X, Y, and Z axisis (axes, axis', whatever) I thought it meant it was a twisty stick. Well, on of the axis was the throttle rotator. I haven't won any awards for excess intellect lately. CRUD. So now I'm waiting for my rudder peddals to arrive and have been banging around the DA just for fun without any rudder controls.
Well, this thing is as smooth as glass! It seems to be more precise and refined. Because of the long throw it seems to negate my hamfisted tendancies quite nicely. (I'm 6'4", 270 and have been called many things, but never "delicate".) The eight way hat is entirely in the wrong possition and needs to be where the four way hat is. This is apparently a case of total retardation on the part of the manufacturer and the only thing I can assume is that whoever put it there never really flight tested it. It makes using the hat with the pinky switch a real pain that's gonna take some getting used to. You have to float your hand up off the rest to reach the eight way which makes pulling the trigger a bit awkward as many of your fingers are doing other things leaving few fingers to perform the actual gripping of the stick. The buttons on the throttle aren't in the best location either and it needs a secondary slider like the saitek to control a twin engined bird. I don't fly 38s or 110s much so it's not that big a deal but still irritating.
I guess I'm gonna have to learn to fly all over again (assuming I had a clue what I was doing before) to learn how to use the rudder pedals. But if it shapes up the way I think it should, this is gonna be a killer setup.
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WOW! you must have little tiny girly hands !! :D which if you think about must look pretty funny on that frame of yours j/k
Homeboy does a lot of mods on the CH sticks, turns them into lefty sticks, and yes even shortens them a bit. Good luck with the new gear, you'll never look back !
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Bubba your take on the 8 way hat is spot on though in time you'll become used to it. Welcome to the wonderful world of CH bliss.
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Thanks for the post. I ordered a CH fighter stick and throttle last nite. I've been using the X52 for 3 years now and the JS is about shot. I think what I'll do is use the X52 throttle with the CH JS. :aok
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I think what I'll do is use the X52 throttle with the CH JS.
You'll be fine with that combo tho having used both Saitek and CH throttles, the former offers a slightly better configuration. What are you doing for peds?
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I've got the full CH setup and have never looked back. I had read that the CH Fighterstick is a reproduction of the sidestick in the F-16 Viper. In the Viper, it is a sidestick and as such was designed to be used just above leg-level on the right side of the cockpit. Since most people set their joysticks on top of their desk (myself included), the reach and angle is not how the designers indended the stick be used. So, people complain about the hat switch, etc. being "wrong". You'll get used to it. If you have the throttle, you might want to do what I did before Track IR...set your POV control to the 8-way hat on the throttle. It's much easier to use, especially since the throttle doesn't move much in the heat of battle like the joystick does.
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WOW! you must have little tiny girly hands !! :D which if you think about must look pretty funny on that frame of yours j/k
Homeboy does a lot of mods on the CH sticks, turns them into lefty sticks, and yes even shortens them a bit. Good luck with the new gear, you'll never look back !
:rofl When I read the OP I thought "maybe my hands aren't so small after all!" So, some 6'4" behemoth and me both have to leave the hand rest to use the hat switch?! Awesome! ;)
It actually has a lot more do with the length of your fingers than anything else. If you've got long, guitar-player fingers you won't have trouble even if your hands are small.
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i use the 8-way hat on my throttle for my views. it's much easier. combine that with the pinkyswitch on the stick, for the upward views. this actually doesn't interfere with anything else, as i use my left index finger for flaps up n down, middle for wep, left pinky for zoom. leaves my right hand free for firing, and controlling.
you'll love the ch stuff dude.
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I use the 8-way hat in the Fighterstick for views and the pinky switch for up-view modifier. Btw, the right and lower wheels are for calibration of x,y axes, not trim adjustment (just fyi). I use the left wheel to feather my prop.
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I use the eight way and castle for views. The castle is for my 4 main views = back, right , left and forward up. No CH throttle yet. I use my old logitech extreme 3d pro for throttle and additional buttons.
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Look for a post by Homeboy on how to mod the four-way hat into an eight-way hat. Then you wont have a problem.
Also like IamADot said the fighterstick is much more comfortable when used as a sidestick.
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You'll be fine with that combo tho having used both Saitek and CH throttles, the former offers a slightly better configuration. What are you doing for peds?
I have Saitek pedals,which one of the toe brakes don't work anymore I might add. CH pelas are next on my list. The only thing holding me back from using the CH throttle is the slider on the X52. I've been using it for my field of view zoom for quite sometime now, and it really helps with my dead level 6 shots. Once everything arrives in a few days, I'll see what I can come up with to configure the CH stuff to my liking.
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Look for a post by Homeboy on how to mod the four-way hat into an eight-way hat. Then you wont have a problem.
Also like IamADot said the fighterstick is much more comfortable when used as a sidestick.
http://snomhf.exofire.net/8-WayHat.html (http://snomhf.exofire.net/8-WayHat.html)
Hallelujah!!!! I did this in about 10 minutes, and I'm a total amateur at this kind of stuff. Wow!
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The only thing holding me back from using the CH throttle is the slider on the X52. I've been using it for my field of view zoom for quite sometime now, and it really helps with my dead level 6 shots.
I use the throttle's 4-way button on my index finger for the zoom toggle: up to toggle on/off, right to zoom in, left to zoom out (down is for WEP). Works great for situations (and GV's) where you need to zoom in for whatever reason.
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I have cut a piece of foam to put on the stick that raises your hand up a bit. It just so happens that it is 5/8 the same amount that homeboy cuts out of the stick. The foam is 5/8 in the back{where hand rest} and then tappers down so that you can still use the pinkie button. Kind of a wedge. The foam is one of those noodles that the kids float on in the pool. They never knew I cut a piece off till they saw it on my stick. You could also use modeling clay and form it to fit. You could then add or remove some as needed. Thought of that after the noodle idea.
For the 2 engine problem if you used the Control Manager you could make it work both motors. Yes there is a learning curve for the program but there is a good write up a book called Control Manager for Dummies. You can always go over to the forums at CH and ask there. Yes alot of people willing to help out. Homeboy is there too with his profile and his mods. I believe his name is smrof over there at the CH Hanger. I'm sure he is willing to point you in the right direction or someone will always answer you questions. Looks like some gave Homeboys address while I was typing.
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Thanks for the post. I ordered a CH fighter stick and throttle last nite. I've been using the X52 for 3 years now and the JS is about shot. I think what I'll do is use the X52 throttle with the CH JS. :aok
hope you ordered some type or rudder pedal, if you did not know, the CH sticks are not twisty sticks.
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Already have them :aok
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To correct, I am snomhf over at the ch hangar: http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/
Check out my web site: http://snomhf.exofire.net/
I am constantly adding articles, tips, project details, etc. there so hopefully you'll find something there that's helpful.
When you go to the CH Hangar, be sure to check out Ken King's very well done doc called Control Manager for Dummies http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2017
Good luck with that CH gear. The pots and gimbals in the stick I am using are almost 10 years old now and still going strong! I know I'm biased but NOTHING out there matches CH in overall value and performance.
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I cut a small piece of pipe insulation and taped it to the top of the lower lip on my CH stick. Raised my hand just enough to I can reach that pesky 8-way hat perfectly. I do however use both that and a hat on throttle for views.
Had a picture of it but can't find it now to post. Of course I taped it on with duct tape :)
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Does anyone else fly with the stick positioned down between your legs?
I've made a makeshift Fighterstick support out of some old pieces of flat wood that I nailed/epoxy'd together. Slide one end up under my butt on the seat and the other end sits on the floor and sticks up under the CH pedals - have the stick secured to the wood board by some trusty ol' scotch tape wrapped several times around.
Not the best looking setup but it makes for a very solid feel, and feels much more natural than having it sitting on a desk. I rest my right arm on my right leg - works very nicely, been flying this way for years.
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WOW! you must have little tiny girly hands !! :D which if you think about must look pretty funny on that frame of yours j/k
Homeboy does a lot of mods on the CH sticks, turns them into lefty sticks, and yes even shortens them a bit. Good luck with the new gear, you'll never look back !
Ditto
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Does anyone else fly with the stick positioned down between your legs?
I've made a makeshift Fighterstick support out of some old pieces of flat wood that I nailed/epoxy'd together. Slide one end up under my butt on the seat and the other end sits on the floor and sticks up under the CH pedals - have the stick secured to the wood board by some trusty ol' scotch tape wrapped several times around.
Not the best looking setup but it makes for a very solid feel, and feels much more natural than having it sitting on a desk. I rest my right arm on my right leg - works very nicely, been flying this way for years.
But what would happen if you needed a whizz? That kinda setup would make peeing in a bottle very awkward and could lead to perhaps peeing on your joystick and or electrocution and possibly death! You wouldn't want that on your gravestone! :rolleyes:
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I am on my second full CH rig. I love it . if my first CH rig would of worked with the PC I would still be using. after 10 years it still work like new on my Mac.
So... I can use the saitex x52 throttle with my Ch stuff? this could be useful for some stuff.
I said in another post that I have had almost all of major brand sticks and I went back to CH with out a second thought. I tried to save a buck on these brand X sticks and none of the really ever lived up to the CH.
Rabbit
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Anybody know where I can get those 100k pots a little cheaper than from CH I have a pot going bad. Seems to spike at the worst times. Gonna try some contact cleaner first though.
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So... I can use the saitex x52 throttle with my Ch stuff? this could be useful for some stuff.
AFAIK, you can use any combination of sticks, throttles and rudders. As long as they calibrate in Windows and AH2 shows them all, you only need to tell AH2 which controller does what.
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I was thinking about dual throttle controls. can we do this?
Rabbit
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I was thinking about dual throttle controls. can we do this?
Rabbit
yup
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Been using CH app. 3 yrs. My view setup is one I never seen used or discussed by anyone else. I use the stick hat for my 360 degree views. On the throttle I use the three buttons on the front side as 1 up, 2 dwn, and 3 home. As most of my planes I have seat paged up the home view works great for sbao run or to read some of the gauges. Also have all my trims set of on the throttle. Takes awhile to to develop finger memory but used to be musician so not a major problem. Be interested to know if anyone else has ever tried this configuration. Good Luck BLT280
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Got my peddals yesterday and had a bit of time to try em out. What really sucks is now I'm gonna have to learn a whole new set of muscle memories to make this work. Developing the delicate control is gonna be a challenge. Another problem I'm haveing is that my mind keeps thinking of the peddals as a steering wheel meaning that if I push my right foot forward i'm thinking left turn and I keep cross controling. It's easy enough to do when cruising but when it gets hectic my feet forget what they are supposed to be doing. Missing a lot of shots and stalling into the ground because of this. I'll assume at this point it will just take time to learn a new controller all over again. On the bright side, this settup is smooth and precise. Once I get the hang of it It's shaping up to be the best controll setup I've ever had.
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Using rudders...step on where you want to go. Want to turn left? Step on left foot. You're right, it sound counter-intuitive to driving an ATV with steering wheel, but doesn't take long to get that "muscle memory". Just remember to rarely step full rudder in either direction unless you're trying to skid the plane sideways to lose airspeed (like when coming in hot for a landing), or trying to snaproll during combat.
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you gonna love the toe brakes when taxiing also.
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CH also has a Throttle Quadrant.