Looking for a throttle

Eldoroth

E
I have been the happy owner of a Thrustmaster T16000m for over a year, and I have used it to play Elite Dangerous during all this time.

It is a great joystick, even better considering its price, but if there is one thing I dislike about it is the throttle slider. It is awkwardly placed in the middle of the base, and has a ridiculously short travel. I find it extremely hard to accurately match my desired speed, and I've been forced to use a button to switch between forward and backwards throttle because otherwise there's no way to make it work.

So... I'm trying to find a cheap throttle for my left hand. The CH Throttle would be ideal but it just a bit expensive. I'll keep the T16000m for the right hand so it has to be able to work as a standalone throttle.

If I could choose I'd like it to be a second hand x52 or x55 throttle that is not too smashed, from someone who's discarded the stick after it breaking or something like that.

All comments and suggestions are welcome.
 
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Siobhan

Siobhan
I saw a post the other day, but I can't remember if it was here, in Mobius or Facebook... I'll look round and link it if I can find it...
But effectively it was about using an arduino to add switches to your stick.

Now it's not something I could do, but my partner mixes and matches bits from everywhere and made a HUD so it can all be done.

My thought is that you could make a throttle yourself, customised for your hand, with whatever switches you like... if that's your gig of course.
 

MottiKhan

MottiKhan
I bought 3 X52 throttles for use as standalones. They're great! Enough buttons to be very effective and the reliability is super. I can't say the same for the sticks, but the throttles are excellent.

Just use the generic USB driver and you're golden. I've heard horror stories from people who tried using the Saitek drivers. I never installed Saitek on any of my machines. Also, don't let ED auto-select the Saitek configuration for you. It breaks itself right away. use the generic joystick settings.

I use the Logitech Extreme 3Ds for sticks. Yep, 3 of them too. They all pulled to the left a little until I recalibrated them. Now they're great too. :)
 
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Dinsy

Dinsy
I use the CH throttle with the T16000m, and I would honestly say it's worth it. Best combo if twist yaw is a must.

I opened my x55 up to see why it stopped working and it had ended up cutting through its own wires, sadly quite a common problem from what i've heard
 
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Gray Lensman

Gray Lensman
Yes the CH Throttle is pricey but it lasts forever and does wonderful things (mini analogue stick, 3 banks of all the controls etc). I use one everyday and bought an unused spare which makes me feel a bit sad when someone else is struggling to afford one. Try and get there, you'll not regret it.
 

Butter of Sorrow

B
Eldoroth said:
It is a great joystick, even better considering its price, but if there is one thing I dislike about it is the throttle slider. It is awkwardly placed in the middle of the base, and has a ridiculously short travel. I find it extremely hard to accurately match my desired speed, and I've been forced to use a button to switch between forward and backwards throttle because otherwise there's no way to make it work.
Click to expand...
The reason it's so awkward to use as a throttle slider is probably because it wasn't intended as a throttle slider. The manual says it's for the rudder, which is unfortunate since spaceships don't have rudders.

In case it wasn't obvious already I have the same stick and I like it a lot. The pov-hat is a bit awkward to use though, although I think the real issue is that my hand is too small.
 
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PGleesonuk

P
I use a Thrust Master T-Flight HOTAS, and only use the Throttle.
You may need to reset you binding to ensure the joystick functions are assigned to the T16000M

The joystick of the T-Flight HOTAS sits behind my monitor and is not used.

I like the rocker on the back of the throttle. I use it for forward / backward thrust. The POV hat for lateral and vertical thrust.

I also defined a couple of "shift" keys so you can get many more functions on the T16000M and T-Flight thorttle.

PM me if you want more info

Great budget combo IMHO
 
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Wasp0

Wasp0
CAREFULLY consider the X55. If you don't mind woefully cheap componants, Squeaky stick, grinding stick, failing buttons and switches, dreadful build quality and to cap it all WHEN it goes wrong the most dreadful Customer Support this side of the black stump!

Apart from the above, it's good!
 

Komemiute

Komemiute
Since the PCB of my warthog throttle broke I've been using a Microsoft Sidewinder Pro Feedback 2. While it doesn't ergonomically match exactly the hand (it's right handed and I'm using it with my left) it's still pretty good.

Also the stick twist can be efficiently used for vertical thrust- given its ample range and self centering allows for pretty precise control!
Not too many buttons on the stick itself, but since I'm also using Voice attack I can easily call out what I can't push! ;)

Mainly what I'm trying to say you can use any numbers of cheap flight sticks as throttles.

Hope this helps.
Cheers!
 

Iain L

Iain L
I've been having similar thoughts, because I'm a lefty and currently use the T16000M in my left hand and a 360 pad in my right with forward/back thrust mapped to right trigger/bumper, right stick for lateral/vertical thrust and the face buttons for assorted targeting options.

The price of a suitable throttle is pretty painful, though. So I may either stick with what I've got or buy a second T16000M. Mind you, it doesn't work too badly now - I can leave the slidey throttle in the blue zone in combat and then the buttons override it for manual control, but when I need to be more gentle (e.g. docking) take my hand off the pad and use my thumb on the slider and fingers on the base buttons of the stick, where I have the forward/back toggle, FA toggle, landing gear and FSD under my fingers. It also means I don't need to hold a button down for 20 minutes to maintain full speed in supercruise.
 

[DOOK] Droogie

[DOOK] Droogie
I run a full CH setup, and I can't praise the throttle enough. The mini stick alone makes it worth the price. The build quality is amazing, and it has tons of buttons.
 

Dinsy

Dinsy
Thought I'd sing specific praise for the CH throttle, in case anyone else is considering the same as OP:

I have used a Madcatz cyborg fly5 and a Seitek x55 previously, before researching online and switching to a Thrustmaster TM16000.m and CH Pro Throttle combo (frequently considered best twist-yaw stick-throttle combo available)

Positives:

- Actual joy stick that can be mapped to thrusters. Once you've tried this you can never really go back to standard four buttons. It just offers so much fine tune control over the ship.

- Buttons and hat switches feel like they will never wear out.

- Enough hats for pretty much everything you could ever need in elite, and all positioned very ergonomically (I have fairly small hands).

- Started off as a negative, but no resistance to the slide of the throttle and there isn't any arc (the throttle is a flat slider). When I removed my throttle from the box I was instantly disappointed and it felt unnatural. However, within literally a couple of minutes I realised I didn't notice it any more and I actually quite liked the low resistance. I felt as if it gave more control over fine adjustments to velocity, again I don't think I could use a x55 throttle any more after using the CH.

- Finally the build quality is insane! Stories of these things having lasted upwards of 15 years actually make this a better value proposition than the Seitek products, where my experience and multiple accounts online state only 12 months to maybe 24 months use before critical failure. This doesn't include the fact multiple buttons on my X55 started failing after only a few months, and heavily used micro-switches started to lose their tactile feedback, making controls feel very flimsy and cheap. I can not over state how cheap the X55 feels in comparison. I would make a Fisherprice comparison, but I genuinely feel Fisherprice build quaility is higher than Seitek.


It does have some downsides, such as lack of switches on the base of the throttle. Compared to the x55 I really miss being able to map things such as galaxy map or landing gear to a toggle switch on the base of the throttle. People may consider this a positive though as all buttons are always within reach without having to move your hand on the CH throttle.
 
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Eldoroth

E
Dinsy said:
Thought I'd sing specific praise for the CH throttle, in case anyone else is considering the same as OP...
Click to expand...

I can't thank you enough for your comment because you've used the x55 for comparison which is (was) the other option I was considering. I am now convinced and I may have found a CH Throttle for about 80€, which is a much lower price than other websites.
 

Eldoroth

E
I finally ordered the CH Pro Throttle for 65€ plus shipping (total 82€). Assuming it gets home during the week, I'll try to review it here. To anyone interested, got it here.
 

WreckWren

W
Another one for the CH Throttle, nothing really compares, especially for ED. The analogue stick is perfect for vert/lat thrusters.

DIY is a great option but it is a commitment - you need to engineer the thing right if it's actually going to do its job efficiently, and it rarely works out as cheap as it seems. DIY rudder pedals, though...



hookandsling said:
Looked great up until the 'left handed' bit.

Any throttle advice for a left handed Thrustmaster user please?
Click to expand...

Left handed CH Pro Throttle.
 
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hookandsling

hookandsling
Sorry if I wasn't clear - I want the throttle in my right hand.

So far Googling has only come up with some fairly homebrew looking reverse kits.. :(
 
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