Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: -ammo- on April 29, 2013, 06:14:42 AM
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Hey folks,
After flying a bit I have come to realize that not only am I rusty (just plain suck), I am at a severe disadvantage with my $25 logitik joystick.
So I am in the market for a gear upgrade. Any recommendations are appreciated.
My PC is running Windows 7 64 bit.
- Radeon 6950
- Asrock Extreme MB
- I-7 OC'ed to 4.3 Ghz
- USB 3.0
Thanks in advance.
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On the budget side the current must have among AH'ers: Thrustmaster T-16000m (http://www.thrustmaster.com/products/t16000m). Smooth, highly accurate, inexpensive ($50 or so).
Read down this forum to find opinions about this and other sticks/Hotas systems, plenty of threads during the last few months alone.
I don't quite understand why you gave the specs of your puter, but a) it is and will be a high end rig concerning AH for many years from now and b) any current USB joystick or other gaming device is fully compatible with it.
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Thx Biz.
The reason I gave the pertinent specs I honestly am not sure if its applicable - better to give it now if it helps.
I used CH analog devices when I was previously active in AH. Also, an old squaddie have me a CH fighter stick (USB) and I couldn't get it to work. Could be me or the stick/computer; not sure.
I'm not terribly worried about money, but I do want value. I want a combo that works well with AH with a minimum of tweeking or fuss. I want rudder pedals and a quality stick at a minimum. Plenty of POV hats and enough buttons for quick trimming in flight.
I have seen some TM and Saitek HOTAS over $400 and have to wonder if its worth it for a WWII sim.
Lastly, thanks for replying and invite others to share their experiences with equipment as well. I'll quit being lazy and do some searching.
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I have all USB CH products, fighter stick, pro throttle, and pro pedals. I've had them for years with almost zero issues (had one direction hat switch go, replaced it from my old analog set). The only think I'd like to see is a Hall Sensor kit for it. From what I've read hall sensors are much more accurate with less chance of the inputs jumping around.
$400 for a setup is worth it for some people for a WWII sim/game. All you have to decide is if your one of those people :devil
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I have the X-52 and saitek pedals. Used them with a powered usb hub from day one with no problems. Now 4 years old. No problems with hardware and works flawlessly in AH. Lots of buttons and hat switches with 3 modes on the stick that can give each button different functions. There are rotary buttons that can be assigned to trim. My set up - non pro version - was about $100 less than a full ch setup when I bought it. Still happy with it. I have nothing against ch. Just a satisfied saitek user. You pay your money and take your choice.
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I have full CH USB, the TM Warthog, and Saitek Combat peds. I think the Saitek Combat pedals are the best bang for the buck, I find them more comfortable than the CH pedals, as they are wider apart, and have a sturdier construction by a small margin. As for sticks and throttles, I've tried my bro in laws Saitek X52Pro, and it's decent enough, better than my old X45, but I still think that the CH Fighter or Combat stick more precise and smooth, and the best choice for WW2/AH2 where aim is critical.
For other sims like Jet sims from DCS, I use the Warthog, as being spot on with gunnery isn't nearly as important.
I would avoid the Saitek X65 for WW2 sims myself. I know some noted sticks in the game like S-Hawk have figured out how to make them work, but they are counter intuitive for precise aiming IMO and take a lot of effort and time to get used to, as it's a stick that works like the real life F16 and F22, by sensing pressure and not moving more than a couple milometers if at all. Plus it's very expensive and prone to problems from the tech support boards I've read. Every manufacturer you can read horror stories about, I know that the TM Warthog has a bad rep for certain parts failing too. That said, CH seems to have the best overall rep for longetivity and sturdiness. I've had 2 full sets of CH USB gear in the last 11 or 12 years, and one set came as a review freebie back when I did some reviews for a website on hardware, and all three units still work great on a friends system all these years later.
So, since you said $ isn't an issue, but value is, going with the CH stuff IMO is the best route to take. You can even get by with just picking up each part of the stick/rudder/throttle a unit at a time if you can't afford the 300+ it'll cost, but if that isn't an big deal to you, I'd just get the CH stick and throttle, and buy the Saitek Combat pedals to go with them.
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Gman - et al,
Thanks for the replies.
I dropped a considerable amount of coin on CH equipment today. Pro pedals, fighterstick, and pro throttle. Should be here NLT 4 May.. to say the least, I am a bit excited!
ammo
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Gman - et al,
Thanks for the replies.
I dropped a considerable amount of coin on CH equipment today. Pro pedals, fighterstick, and pro throttle. Should be here NLT 4 May.. to say the least, I am a bit excited!
ammo
Coolio! Good to see ya back! :salute
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Coolio! Good to see ya back! :salute
Danke Sehr! See ya in the arena.
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I have all USB CH products, fighter stick, pro throttle, and pro pedals. I've had them for years with almost zero issues (had one direction hat switch go, replaced it from my old analog set). The only think I'd like to see is a Hall Sensor kit for it. From what I've read hall sensors are much more accurate with less chance of the inputs jumping around.
$400 for a setup is worth it for some people for a WWII sim/game. All you have to decide is if your one of those people :devil
Is the CH fighterstick compatible with Windows 7?
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If it's USB, it should be. If it's a gameport model, a gameport to USB converter cable might work, or then again not.
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Gman - et al,
Thanks for the replies.
I dropped a considerable amount of coin on CH equipment today. Pro pedals, fighterstick, and pro throttle. Should be here NLT 4 May.. to say the least, I am a bit excited!
ammo
You've made the right choice by selecting Ch. My pedals and throttle are over ten years old. In that span I did have to replace my Ch fighterstick 7 years ago.
All are USB...and some advice.....use a powered USB Hub. Less wear and tear on the PC.
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Is the CH fighterstick compatible with Windows 7?
absolutely :aok
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CH stuff :aok
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I use a Logitech G940. It has some issues, and logitech has abandoned it, but the force feedback is invaluable. I've been flying nearly 3 years with it no problems.
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I use a Logitech G940. It has some issues, and logitech has abandoned it, but the force feedback is invaluable. I've been flying nearly 3 years with it no problems.
Same here. Lovely idea mixed with bad engineering. I am having hard time imagining myself without force feedback now.
Please don't break any further G940. :pray
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Not even bad engineering, just version 1.0. 80% of the issue was the drivers, 20% could have been solved with hall effect sensors on the throttle and pedals and another half-inch of wire in the throttle wires, and hall sensors on all axis would have made it perfect. However they were slow to fix the initial driver problem, took a lot of flack on it, and dropped the product rather than deal.
There's a great market opportunity out there for an FFB startup.
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Not even bad engineering, just version 1.0. 80% of the issue was the drivers, 20% could have been solved with hall effect sensors on the throttle and pedals and another half-inch of wire in the throttle wires, and hall sensors on all axis would have made it perfect. However they were slow to fix the initial driver problem, took a lot of flack on it, and dropped the product rather than deal.
There's a great market opportunity out there for an FFB startup.
I modded my G940 by rewiring all of the axes on the throttle and pedals to a separate "Bodnar" controller board. It made things amazingly better - even with reusing the factory pots.
The problem with the stick (aside from the cheap wiring in the throttle) is all about the programming in the firmware.
A couple links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZlUWwOJUN0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZlUWwOJUN0)
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3323724/G940_MOD_Warning_large_picture.html (http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3323724/G940_MOD_Warning_large_picture.html)
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@ LCAMerciful - Thanks for the links, I've seen the simhq thread before - the issue is just time to do the mods.
Back when the stick was new I told logitech I'd rewrite their code free (I've got a lot of background in signal processing), but that got the predictable lack of response. Le sigh...