That's great. Especially in VR the Keayboard is almost unusable.
Hardware & Technical Saitek X56 Rhino and product quality
- Thread starter B1rdy
- Start date
My X-55 throttle module broke due to well known inside cables issue - I swear I will never buy anything by those guys ever again. Shame too because when it worked the X-55 throttle was really good in ED and flight sims.
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I use one of these.
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4289418
Cheap and cheerful, but it's been a decent stick. Had it a couple of years now I think and never had any issues with it. You can set yaw on the joystick (twist) or you can use the rocker that sits on the throttle just under your fingertips (you can also lock the joystick so it can't be twisted). It also has a handy detent for dead centre throttle, meaning you can set that to zero. This means you can fly forward and in reverse seamlessly just by moving the throttle forward or backwards away from centre.
Probably not what you're looking for OP, given how much you spent on the Saitek, but for anybody looking for an affordable HOTAS setup suitable for ED it's hard to beat for the price.
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4289418
Cheap and cheerful, but it's been a decent stick. Had it a couple of years now I think and never had any issues with it. You can set yaw on the joystick (twist) or you can use the rocker that sits on the throttle just under your fingertips (you can also lock the joystick so it can't be twisted). It also has a handy detent for dead centre throttle, meaning you can set that to zero. This means you can fly forward and in reverse seamlessly just by moving the throttle forward or backwards away from centre.
Probably not what you're looking for OP, given how much you spent on the Saitek, but for anybody looking for an affordable HOTAS setup suitable for ED it's hard to beat for the price.
THIS, and yes, and ditto.
Check out https://www.reddit.com/r/hotas/ at some point, and notice all the complaints on Saitek. It's nothing new. Their quality has sucked for years. They look nice, that's about it. Customer service isn't loved, either.
It's sort of amazing that gamers keep buying X52/55/56 after one breaks. I guess they think they just had a rare lemon.
It's a pity CH is stuck in 1995 with their tech and design; they seem to make solid gear, but ... gear that looks like it belongs next to a Commodore 64.
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Can confirm. I have a Saitek ST90 as my left hand stick. My grandpa gave it to me when I mentioned I needed a second stick for the left hand. Before he moved away, my older siblings would play Lego Racers on it. This was at least sixteen years ago. Not only is it still in absolutely perfect shape, it's significantly more accurate than any of the three Logitech Extreme 3D Pro sticks I've used, and this thing automatically calibrates just by moving it to the max in each of the four directions. I have never once had to manually calibrate it, ever, but all my other sticks have needed a calibration every few weeks, or right after being plugged in since that screws them up.
Seriously, this stick may be older than me and is in better shape.
I'm not entirely sure that a nuclear bomb would destroy it; might just blow out the accumulated dust in the crevices.--IronDuke
I intend to get one of these and the new throttle from thrustmaster.
http://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=vkb-sim-gladiator
http://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=vkb-sim-gladiator
Oh that's really interesting, not heard of those before.
Looks like it could do with a few more buttons up top though.
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VKB makes some good stuff.
That being said... The stick you linked isn't going to satisfy you. The majority of the buttons require you to take your hand off of the stick, and that's fine for traditional flight sims.
It's an absolutely atrocious design for arcadey games like ED or Star Citizen. You can't take your hand off the stick. Buttons on the base of the stick are virtually useless.
My x52 Pro takes a beating and hasn't had any problems yet. I have a tactile transducer connected to the same side of my cockpit frame the stick mounts to, so it gets shaken around a lot (discovery scans are the worst).
My two complaints about the x52 would be the throttle detents, and that the driver occasionally fails to load my profile on a clean boot. Removing the detents was easy enough, but the driver I haven't found a solution for beyond restarting it.
My two complaints about the x52 would be the throttle detents, and that the driver occasionally fails to load my profile on a clean boot. Removing the detents was easy enough, but the driver I haven't found a solution for beyond restarting it.
The deal with CH is that their design is excellent and there's no need to change it. The CH Pro throttle is stupendously useful and that effectiveness is only compounded when paired with a CH Fighterstick. The only time I have to use my keyboard is when typing the name of a system on the galaxy map. Everything else is mapped. It's precise, full of options and built to last. The looks are irrelevant as you won't be looking at it when you play (at least that's how I feel about it).
I have the throttle. It may feel cheap and plasticky compared to my Warthog stick but functionality and reliability is unmatched.
Specifically bought it because I knew I'd never be playing anything in which I would find the dials and toggle switches on the Warthog throttle useful, and I am so glad I did. It's perfect for space sims.
I was really happy to get a shiny X52 for XMas. Now, you guys have got me wondering if I should just return it before something goes wrong. [where is it]
I really thought they must be decent quality because of the number of sims I've seen pre-configured for them and sim flight pilots saying how great they were. It looks like combat sim players feel differently about them.
I had a TM like the one earlier in the thread and the action went jerky so you couldn't even land a Zero with it in a slight crosswind, so that got given away and I went back to my Speedlink. It's 10 years old now and I was only upgrading to an X52 because, as others have pointed out, you need more buttons under your fingers - not on the base.
CH have always made good gear. I know several sim pilots that are using 15+ year old CH hardware.
Now, I have no idea what to do. Risk it and hope I got a decent one, or Return and buy something better. [uhh]
I really thought they must be decent quality because of the number of sims I've seen pre-configured for them and sim flight pilots saying how great they were. It looks like combat sim players feel differently about them.
I had a TM like the one earlier in the thread and the action went jerky so you couldn't even land a Zero with it in a slight crosswind, so that got given away and I went back to my Speedlink. It's 10 years old now and I was only upgrading to an X52 because, as others have pointed out, you need more buttons under your fingers - not on the base.
CH have always made good gear. I know several sim pilots that are using 15+ year old CH hardware.
Now, I have no idea what to do. Risk it and hope I got a decent one, or Return and buy something better. [uhh]
Thank whoever gave you the x52 profusely for such a great gift, and explain that you have to return it because of reasons they had no way of knowing before they bought it for you, then throw a few of your own clams on to the pile to buy an upgrade and you'll still be able to thank them every time you feel grateful for your new HOTAS.
I mean, chances are you could end up with a perfectly fine X52 that lasts for years, but is it worth the risk? You not only end up with a broken stick/throttle but then whoever gave you the gift feels bad because they bought you a lemon for christmas.
Exactly, I was seriously looking at a Warhog, but the lack of twist stopped me cold. Twist is absolutely critical in space sims.
I've had good luck (if you can call it that) with Saitek returns. My X-55 throttle suffered the "normal" broken wires on throttle switches, and I later removed them all to remove sporadic "twitches". After that (and about 5 weeks playtime of ED!) the yaw mechanism in the stick snapped and I did an RMA to Saitek. Got an X-56 totally free, but I sold it in favour of simply getting a used X-55 stick to replace the broken one.
Now that I know what wears/breaks, I'm being a little bit less aggressive with the twist, and even if the little plastic part snaps, I think I can make a replacement out of aluminum.
If you can live with the throttle unit with only the base switches and knobs (fine for me) and be fairly gentle with the stick, a used X-55 isn't a bad system, and they can be found in "parts" quite often (broken throttle/broken stick). It's hard to find a stick/throttle with as many usable buttons and hats in a reasonable price range. It's also cool that the X-55/X-56 throttle and stick are independent USB game controller devices, so either part can be used independently.
The X-52 is nice (have two used sets), but it lacks a really useful number/position of hats and controls on the stick, and the throttle base is also somewhat limited. Programmable "mode" switching is kind of pointless, way too complicated and too easy to accidentally engage at the wrong moment!
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Just have to modify your statement to "critical to you in space sims".
I absolutely despise twist sticks for anything ever.
go here C:\Program Files\SmartTechnology\Software in your software installation and make a shortcut to this ProfilerU.exe run it when driver is not on the taskbar
I have just had the broken wires problem with the x55 throttle. I opened it up and a couple had snapped, with most of the rest looking like they were ready to break as well. Poor design with very thin wires and almost no protection for them where they come through the throttle 
.
I spent an hour or two soldering extensions on the wires, reconnecting them and put some heat shrink around for protection. Throttle is working fine now, though I got a couple of the wires crossed as I needed to rebind a couple of controls.
It's not too difficult to do if you have a little experience with soldering, and you're HOTAS is out of warranty.
.I spent an hour or two soldering extensions on the wires, reconnecting them and put some heat shrink around for protection. Throttle is working fine now, though I got a couple of the wires crossed as I needed to rebind a couple of controls.
It's not too difficult to do if you have a little experience with soldering, and you're HOTAS is out of warranty.
Depends on what you use the bottom buttons for. With the Thrustmaster Throttle, I believe there will be enough to go around. The buttons on the bottom will be for certain functions that aren't needed in a fight.
Yes.... But I think you're underestimating how many functions you DO need in a fight and possibly not considering where they are going to go.
26 buttons on a Thrustmaster Warthog stick. Just the stick. I have 18 of them bound to a vital combat function and I am often using 2 or 3 simultaneously.
If in doubt, go review the ED options menu.