Hardware & Technical HOTAS advice please

Atrus5060

A
Hi all,

I considering upgrading from my steam controller to a HOTAS. What is the general opinion on the Thrustmaster T16000M and the Logitech X52 (normal or Pro)? What have your experiences been? I know the Logitech X52 has issues with a control spring.

Current living space cannot fit a desk so my PC is connected to my television and I have to sit on the sofa to play Elite. Are there any suggestions from my fellow sofa-dwellers on how to use a HOTAS from the sofa without causing wrist strain injuries?
 

Atrus5060

A
StarLightPL said:
Tried various combinations, ended up doing a makeshift small desk. You simply can't have the stability of a desk on the sofa.
Click to expand...

That's what I was afraid of. Might have to wait till I move into a bigger place in a month or so before I consider it so I can get a desk.
 

BurnyBurns

BurnyBurns
Concerning sofa + HOTAS: I also entertained the thought of a living room setup for quite a while, but finding a mounting option for your HOTAS is mandatory or you're better off playing with the gamepad in the first place. In my case, it would've probably involved something similar to this. But I'd have had to find a solution to put such a stand away while it's not being used and it would have to be set it up again everytime I wanted to use it. In the end I simply gave up on the idea and resolved to play Elite at the desk if I wanted to use a HOTAS.

Concerning the X52: You may be perfectly fine with it, but that depends how low your expectations for a HOTAS are or at what price you are able to get it. From my short experience with it, it plays fine, but imo it has all kinds of issues in terms of how it's designed and how convoluted the driver/configuration is. Stupid button configuration, unintuitive setup, lack of buttons (no ministick hurts especially), you name it. That's before you even consider Saitek's reputation for unreliable hardware, which might come into play after you've been using it for a year or two. X55/X56 seem to be in a similar spot in terms of reliability, bur are more expensive.

If you're not up for a full blown flight setup with the more expensive HOTAS options (CH Products/Warthog + pedals or similar), I'd say take a close look at the Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS. Price is more reasonable than the Saitek HOTAS and it comes with a mini stick, which is a godsend in Elite.
 
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Atrus5060

A
Sound advice. I'll wait on buying a HOTAS when I finally have space for a desk again. And thanks for the input on the HOTAS. I was leaning more towards the Thrustmaster because of price but wasn't sure about build quality.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
I have seen posts where people describe having a sort of lap-tray with keyboard on a piece of wood / board with the hotas either side and mouse either on the side or on surface on far side of the keyboard. The board / tray / whatever you call it, has a sort of cushion / bean-bag pad on the lower surface. Sort of like this only bigger and home-made:


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lap-Tray-bean-bag-cushion/dp/B001RL9PUC


P.S. The blonde is an optional extra. ;)

[alien]
 
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VR StarLightPL

VR StarLightPL
Atrus5060 said:
That's what I was afraid of. Might have to wait till I move into a bigger place in a month or so before I consider it so I can get a desk.
Click to expand...

That said, for most regular flying you can live with the instability TBH. I have many hours on a beanbag with a tflight hotas x. But it will feel way better when you use stable surface and can separate the throttle and stick.

also, this:
[video=youtube;DFlwIZZQCqg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFlwIZZQCqg[/video]
while only a suggestion there are many methods of mounting to office chair, including PCV pipes for example ;-)
 
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Crumley

Crumley
MalcYorks said:
I have seen posts where people describe having a sort of lap-tray with keyboard on a piece of wood / board with the hotas either side and mouse either on the side or on surface on far side of the keyboard. The board / tray / whatever you call it, has a sort of cushion / bean-bag pad on the lower surface. Sort of like this only bigger and home-made:


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lap-Tray-bean-bag-cushion/dp/B001RL9PUC


P.S. The blonde is an optional extra. ;)

[alien]
Click to expand...




Viewed to see blonde. *hangs head in shame*
 

VR StarLightPL

VR StarLightPL
Atrus5060 said:
So thanks for the feedback so far. What would you guys think of something like this as a lap table? Think it will be stable enough on a sofa? Or should I aim for what MalcYorks sugguested?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0725JY6VH?psc=1
Click to expand...

I tried using the crescent shaped pillow IKEA one which you put on your lap and found it too small and not stable enough for ED gear. TBH it was too small even for laptop + mouse IIRC.
Ended up building some sort of narrow stand from an old desk which I can move relatively easy. Not an elegant solution tbh, but works.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
Batail said:
I did this for my desk at home. You might be able to adapt it to a couch using IKEA laptop stands or just the base. Pretty affordable at around $65 and rock solid:
Click to expand...

You should be ashamed to post pictures with your desk in such a state. How can you possibly be a gamer with such a clear desk? Disgusting! ;)


(P.S. I take it the Vive is the reason since you can't see the awful tidyness. )
 

Batail

B
Hahaha! Yup! With the Vive I couldn't see stuff to grab it anyway. I still sometimes reach for the joystick where it appears in the VR cockpit instead of on the mount and fumble around for a second or two. Thankfully Voice Attack has freed up most of the need for the Keyboard and Mouse.

You might be able to use the arms on those mounts by coupling them with two of these. Might not even need to attach the table top:

LzWnZKVh.png


I think that would put it at about couch level.
 

BurnyBurns

BurnyBurns
Batail said:
You might be able to use the arms on those mounts by coupling them with two of these. Might not even need to attach the table top:

http://i.imgur.com/LzWnZKVh.png
Click to expand...

I have that particular laptop stand from Ikea and believe me, you don't want to attach the table top if you plan to use it as a HOTAS stand. It's a wobbly mess, just sufficient for resting a relatively light laptop on it or in my case: M+K for couch PC action.
 

Woodplane

W
I was looking for some gossip on Thrustmaster Hottas while wating on some zip ties to do the spring mod. Due to very bad back/muscular tension I am always laying down and mounted my monitor and keyboard above the sofa. I was worried that I might have to make someting complicated, but ended up with just a piece of wood 19x39x0.8 cm with 50mm tape around edge to avoide splinters and on the backside so it can slide easily under a folded watt carpet. I just put it under my butt and it becomes a sold surface for my 16000m. I admid it will probably not work for heavier Joysticks. If you are thin enough I would start with this.[yesnod]
 
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