Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: zack1234 on July 16, 2011, 08:51:40 AM
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This helps me reach the Hat Switch. :old:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/820/img0401mq.jpg/
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I have tried similar ideas but then you don't get access to the pinky.
There is no doubt in my mind that if CH swopped the castle 4 way position with the 8 way above it, the result would be much more user freindly. Alas that would be a change and I don't see it happening because that is one thing against CH, a reluctance to change!
I use the Prothrottle 8 way for views and the castle on the stick for the up / down view element. My eightway on the stick has just four keys set to it so I don't use the diagonals at all.
EDIT: Your post did prompt me to make the comment about swapping the castle and the eightway positions with CH Products. The more that do may get them to change sometime in the future.
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if you click on next two images it shows pinky switch is not obscured :old:
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if you click on next two images it shows pinky switch is not obscured :old:
My own attempt was very much similar and whilst I agree the pinky switch is not obscured, it was definately uncomfortable to use. In fact the other two hats on the top of the stick also become uncomfortable to use. - Probably just the way my hand fits the stick but in the end I just accepted the top 8 way was better suited to occasional 4 way use. (I have my trims assigned to it).
As long as what you do feels OK to you, then that is fine. I did notice that such mods seem to be more comfortable if the stick base can be resited lower down. Mine is on the desk top. People who fit mounting plates (lower) on the arms of their chairs for Throttle and Stick will probably be OK with the raised support on the grip.
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that sucks that you have to modify something to make it more usable. me i didnt change anything and I can reach all the buttons, sometimes I'll lose control because I only use 2 fingers to hold it while turn fighting and at the same time use the other buttons. not a big fan of ch sticks because 2 of them were crap, but that's how life is.
semp
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that sucks that you have to modify something to make it more usable.
Yeah, I gotta laugh at that. The top 8 way on the CH stick is at the tip of my thumb. To use it with the the ball of my thumb you either have to lower the stick or pack up the hand rest.
I know the stick is based upon the real thing so perhaps the real thing is lower down than desk jockies ;)!
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The real thing is meant to have two hand positions depending on what you are doing, upper and lower. I heard a rumour that real pilots actually turn their heads to look around, but I don't believe it :joystick:
Why CH chose the uppermost hat for the views I do not know.
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I heard a rumour that real pilots actually turn their heads to look around, but I don't believe it :joystick:
Not a rumour, they struggle to get to the POV hat and find it easier to look. :airplane:
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I just got this stick yesterday and I hate it. Mainly just because of the hat switch location. I may just mod it and hope it gets better.
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I just got this stick yesterday and I hate it. Mainly just because of the hat switch location. I may just mod it and hope it gets better.
I know a lot of people like to use a POV on the stick. The CH Throttle has a POV in the perfect position, so fortunately I don't need the POV on the stick. - It is the only real downside of CH so far as I am concerned. Why not let CH know as I have done. The more feedback they get the better the chance of a change in the future.
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I use a product found in craft shops called "Sculpy" Basically its a clay that you can get in different colors and is readily available in just about any craft shop like "Micheals". I mold it to the hand rest and shape it so that it slopes down toward the pinky button. that way not only can I reach both the pinky and hat at the same time. But it feels natural to may hand because I use my own hand to shape the slope. Once I do that then I very carefully peel it off so as to maintain its shape. Then lightly place it back on the stick to make sure I havent bent it too much and make any final adjustments without pressing it against the rest too hard so that its easy to remove.
Then I follow the instructions on how long to bake it. Once its baked and cooled. I double check the fit and either glue it in place or wrap it up in black electrical tape being careful not to wrap the tape over the pinky switch. I like the tape because it gives it an almost padded feel to it and I can take it off or adjust it whenever I like. the sculpy is super cheap. Like $2 a block and I could probably make 3 or 4 rests out of a single block. And the beauty of it is when your setting it up. you can set it up to Your own hand contours . works really well.
(http://www.claydoodle.com.sg/images/SculpeyPackaging.jpg)
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I know a lot of people like to use a POV on the stick. The CH Throttle has a POV in the perfect position, so fortunately I don't need the POV on the stick. - It is the only real downside of CH so far as I am concerned. Why not let CH know as I have done. The more feedback they get the better the chance of a change in the future.
that's another 100 bucks to use the pov.
semp
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I use my own throttle which doesn't have a hat switch on it. I hang my index finger off the top of the Fighterstick to use the 8-way hat for views, and have to pull the trigger with my middle finger. After a few hours my hand aches.
I think CH Products are an ergonomically challenged company. Their pedals are also too close together and squeeze your nuts.
I believe they don't want change anything because it cost too much money and the market is too small to justify it. They could easily rearrange the circuit to make the lowest switch the 8-way.
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That clay stuff looks interesting :salute
Like has been stated would be easier to have a hatswitch lower down.
Would cutting off top layer of hat switch and glueing a larger size plastic disc or washer do the job, there is not that much movement to obscure anything :joystick:
To be honest its a problem but doing mods to things can be fun :)
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I use this....
(http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii253/maddogjoe_photos/hand.jpg)
of course now I can't find any gloves that fit! :D
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Where can obtain one of those big hands and how much do they cost?
Does one of those big hands come with a beanstalk :banana:
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I had the same issue with my new warthog stick,fortunately the hand perch is rather large so I was able to use several pieces of pipe insulation to make a similar raised hand perch.This allows me to reach the upper hatswitch with ease.The insulation is a closed foam type that happens to be black,I rolled the first piece and taped it then wrapped 2 more pieces around that and taped the whole thing to my stick with black electrical tape and it almost disappears!
It was cheap,easy to work with and can be made to fit anyones hands with a pair of scissors!
:salute
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pipe insulation foam is good :old:
X52 hand rest is a good design :joystick:
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Here's the secret to the CH Fightersticks:
It's all in how you put your hand on the stick.
The stick is molded from the real size and dimensions of an F-16 side control stick. However, in an F-16 it's at a low angle and based on the ergonomics of it you have no problems reaching all the buttons readily.
Here's the trick: Mount the stick on a platform level with your elbow. Make is so that your arm goes down from the shoulder, bends at the elbow, and is mostly parallel to the ground when you reach the handle (that means mounting the base lower to get the handle to that angle).
Now here's the hard part for most joystick users. Most of you are so used to grasping the stick very firmly with your palm flat along the surface. This is not how to use the Fighterstick line. You place your trigger finger on the trigger, you hug the body with your middle finger and partially with your ring finger. The palm does not hug the stick, rather you get the area right around your thumb (the webbing) and your middle/ring finger to keep the stick in play. There is air between the palm and the back of the stick.
From this angle your hand reaches the stick in such a way that your thumb easily manipulates the hat, and with a stress-free movement of the pinky you get your extra button.
Of course the only way to get this is by mounting the stick at a lower angle. Putting foam cuffs or rest pads won't help you any if your stick is still "above" the elbow point, necessitating your wrist to meet the stick at the wrong angle.
There you have it. I like mine, but I don't think I would if I couldn't have mounted it at elbow level. It makes all the difference.
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i do have a flight chair with positions in middle,left and right :old:
Stick is at waist height :old:
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But are you still angling your wrist "up" to the stick? If your hand comes at the stick from almost horizontal with NO upward angle, your wrist won't have to rest on the stick. You hold it lightly, like teachers try to teach you how to use a pencil in grade school, or like when you're on a bicycle -- you want to move it, but not grip it and tense up. When you do that you can reach the hat OK.
I do wish they would have done it differently, but as-is if you get the right angle you can use it pretty well.
EDIT: Have I described it well? Or is it still confusing? Should I attempt some photos of how I rest my hand on the stick?
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This is who they used for the ergonomic study.
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3620911616/tt0106834
shamus
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I used the grand-kids foam noddle from the pool they never missed the 2 inches I cut of it. I then made a wedge leaving the front the pinky button open. I didn't use the whole 2 inches I just keep cutting till it was right for me. Not that I have small hands but had a accident that left my hand half useable. This helps me to reach with my thumb that doesn't straighten out along with 50% feeling.
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Why CH chose the uppermost hat for the views I do not know.
Because the CH line of fighter sticks (fighter stick, combat stick) were all designed to fit the hand of one person and that's the only hand that will find the stick "ergonomic". Who was that person? Well, the person who's hand was used to design the stick and that person was none other than Chuck Hayes (founder of CH). So if you had a hand the size of Rhode Island like he did, reaching the coolie hat wasn't hard at all nor was he going to change the design, that's why CH introduce the ill-fated and poorly designed Gamestick 14 for those "dainty handed" gamers.
ack-ack
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Because the CH line of fighter sticks (fighter stick, combat stick) were all designed to fit the hand of one person and that's the only hand that will find the stick "ergonomic". Who was that person? Well, the person who's hand was used to design the stick and that person was none other than Chuck Hayes (founder of CH). So if you had a hand the size of Rhode Island like he did, reaching the coolie hat wasn't hard at all nor was he going to change the design, that's why CH introduce the ill-fated and poorly designed Gamestick 14 for those "dainty handed" gamers.
ack-ack
'Dainty handed gamers'? :rofl That's a disturbing concept on so many levels.
Well if that's true Ack-Ack then it wasn't a very intelligent design choice. There are ergonomic models available for average sized persons. What's even more daft is that CH doesn't respond to the customer's issues and restructure the circuit to move the 8-way (which would let them avoid an expensive new mold). I've heard this complaint constantly about the CH sticks. Do they not care to listen?
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I use this....
(http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii253/maddogjoe_photos/hand.jpg)
of course now I can't find any gloves that fit! :D
Is that a HB fighter runt?