Looking for New HOTAS advice

[Sylow]

Thats about 3x longer than my T1600 lasted without issues, rudder axis became problematic just after a year of use.

The rudder axis became problematic after a year? Does the thing not use hall effect sensors?

Means, that's the one thing i never had a problem with on the X-56: the different axes. Hall effect sensors last forever, modern switches also last for a long time. According to many reports and actually my personal experience, it's most often the wires breaking on the X-56, along with some other mechanical breakdown once a while.

(Like one of my X-56 got replaced as the centering spring of the twist axis broke. On the positive, that one i didn't have to send back, support at that time just asked me to send a picture of my device with the cables cut off and that i would dispose if it myself. Which means, i now have a supply of spare parts. )

Edit: anyway, i am astonished. I don't know if your problem is frequent for the T1600. But just one year on an axis is either bad luck or very low quality.

 

[michalfoc]

It's using potentiometer, but it's not the problem itself, its poor design of the casing around it, it's too tight, You have to strip the stick down and file some of the plastic of in certain area to make it bearable and it's rather common. I assume for a casual play every now and then it would work for longer, but I can spend upwards of 4hrs/day in game. Still, thanks to that hotas I got so much more into elite than I would if I kept using the 360 controller. I would still recommend it as entry level for somebody to either get into the game before investing in likes of x56 or higher end gear, or call it collateral if the game does not hook the person enough.

 

[michalfoc]

So far I am pleased with my x56. can't wait for the virpil though. 4 weeks left

 

[Dragsham]

In essence an x56 with stronger twist and shorter length. That's what I'm after.
My x56 is perfect. I just want a smaller one hehe.
I've found that with small deadzones the sticks good with rails.

o7

 

[Rat Catcher]

In essence an x56 with stronger twist and shorter length. That's what I'm after.
My x56 is perfect. I just want a smaller one hehe.
I've found that with small deadzones the sticks good with rails.

o7

So you don't have hands like spades either!
Lovely stick, but only if you are a giant

 

[Dragsham]

Indeed. Mines a hodgepodge of logitech and saitek. Had the lot rewired as part of buying it off a German cmdr. Nice chap.
And tips my hat to the kind gent who sent the stick too which l broke.
If I had bundles virpal would be my next stop. Assuming it's got 5 hats.

 

[CMDR Harada]

The rudder axis became problematic after a year? Does the thing not use hall effect sensors?

Edit: anyway, i am astonished. I don't know if your problem is frequent for the T1600. But just one year on an axis is either bad luck or very low quality.

Rudder is the one axis that doesn't use hall effect... You have to read the fine print for that one. The other issue with the T16k is it starts to develop a centering issue after a while, depending on use.

But, it is a good entry level stick, and one I'd recommend for someone starting out. Cheap, easy to config, not too many buttons, integrated throttle.. It's a hard sell to suggest a $200+ option to go with a $50 game.

 

[Dragsham]

And have you seen, since covid 19 pandemic, the prices of HOTAS?
400+ pounds for a warthog.
The virpal sticks are ...nice & cheap!! Not!

 

[michalfoc]

And have you seen, since covid 19 pandemic, the prices of HOTAS?
400+ pounds for a warthog.
The virpal sticks are ...nice & cheap!! Not!

warthog is in that price region regardless. x56 on the other hand avaraging on ebay £390... now thats a rip off, I got mine off amazon for £195 brand new.

 

[Tarkus Venius]

The rudder axis became problematic after a year? Does the thing not use hall effect sensors?

Means, that's the one thing i never had a problem with on the X-56: the different axes. Hall effect sensors last forever, modern switches also last for a long time. According to many reports and actually my personal experience, it's most often the wires breaking on the X-56, along with some other mechanical breakdown once a while.

(Like one of my X-56 got replaced as the centering spring of the twist axis broke. On the positive, that one i didn't have to send back, support at that time just asked me to send a picture of my device with the cables cut off and that i would dispose if it myself. Which means, i now have a supply of spare parts. )

Edit: anyway, i am astonished. I don't know if your problem is frequent for the T1600. But just one year on an axis is either bad luck or very low quality.

Wires are a big problem with the thrustmaster and X56 sticks. The insides are a bloody mess of wires held in place with masking tape.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/707234433589313629/733146575139897424/IMG_20170129_091707.png

Meanwhile, the VKB kosmosima stick is one small wire harness and the rest are integrated circuit boards.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt-IZwGMoSk&t=1078s


Quality matters.

 

[Dragsham]

Ah yeah how much for a vkb?
And...does it have 5 hats? 2 analogue sticks & a throttle button array with 3 binds switch plus a 2 way hat sliders twist knobs x6 and finally a pinky trigger?
That's my x56 nothing like it.
To me.
It's what your used to and Budget. Mine cost 130 quid on eBay.

 

[Techmonkey]

The fancy ones are starting at about 300$ just the stick

 

[Dragsham]

My partner would freak, bad enough as it is having just bought a PC + a rift S.
But I'll coax her into buying me one for Christmas!! Yay

 

[Heavenly-Hammer]

I've been using a CH Products setup (Fighterstick, Throttle, and Pedals) for several years now. Works and feels as good as the day I bought them.

HOWEVER.

The software is no longer being maintained and whether it will continue to work with future updates to Windows 10 remains a huge question mark. It already has some quirks that make me worry about the future. I cannot recommend any CH Products kit for anyone who is on or plans to move up to Windows 10. If they were still updating and making sure their software maintained good compatibility, I would feel completely different.

Having over 100 custom buttons that work every time I press them has been beautiful for ED over the years so I very much thank CH Products for bringing me that kind of customization and power for so many years. But anyone buying in today rightly for hundreds of dollars expects something that they can be confident will have software that will still be working for them when 2030 rolls around. CH Control Manager (the software used to customize buttons on CH controllers) is EOL so if it's broken in some future version of Windows, CH Products is unlikely to fix it for us. This means players may be completely dependent on the community to create their own version of software. It's just not a position I can recommend anyone put themselves in.

The options from VKB and VIRPIL seem really, really nice. But they are also 2x-3x the cost of a full CH Products triple setup and 3x-4x the cost of a Saitek setup. So those are really for an entirely different audience. I might end up going for a VIRPIL triple setup. But at $900 for the full kit USD, I'm going to need to see what the future of space flight/combat sim games looks like. ED is fading for me due to a questionable future for VR and natural fatigue. Star Citizen is probably never coming out and even their community is starting to slowly realize that. MS Flight Simulator isn't really the kind of game I want to play. That just leaves EA's Star Wars Squadrons (which looks to be right up my alley in that classic X-Wing and Tie Fighter PC game way) and whatever happens with the future of ED.

I'm not sure ED -- which is closing in on its EOL in the next few years if we're all being realistic -- and Star Wars Squadrons is enough to justify a $900 expenditure on flight sticks. Maybe if a couple of other big space combat sims were on the horizon. But right now? Just very hard to justify. But I am considering it.

$0.02 on where I am and my experiences.

 

[Ian Skippy]

The rudder axis became problematic after a year? Does the thing not use hall effect sensors?

Means, that's the one thing i never had a problem with on the X-56: the different axes. Hall effect sensors last forever, modern switches also last for a long time. According to many reports and actually my personal experience, it's most often the wires breaking on the X-56, along with some other mechanical breakdown once a while.

(Like one of my X-56 got replaced as the centering spring of the twist axis broke. On the positive, that one i didn't have to send back, support at that time just asked me to send a picture of my device with the cables cut off and that i would dispose if it myself. Which means, i now have a supply of spare parts. )

Edit: anyway, i am astonished. I don't know if your problem is frequent for the T1600. But just one year on an axis is either bad luck or very low quality.

I went with an x56 after having three t16000s crap out on yaw axes, each in 3-9 months. Hall sensors on the other two are fine, but yaw doesn't use hall. Still have the last broken one here, will rtm for a new one and put it on eBay.

A shame, when it works the stick is fine. Throttle is miles better on the x56 though.

 

[Tarkus Venius]

I went with an x56 after having three t16000s crap out on yaw axes, each in 3-9 months. Hall sensors on the other two are fine, but yaw doesn't use hall. Still have the last broken one here, will rtm for a new one and put it on eBay.

A shame, when it works the stick is fine. Throttle is miles better on the x56 though.

You are absolutely correct, I still use the X56 throttle with the VKB.

 

[PiLhEaD]

I've always been very happy with the price/quality of Thrustmaster equipment - I went from a T-Flight X to T.16000M FCS flight stick and TWCS throttle. Both were very good, albeit neither perfect.

Four other add-ons that have made as much difference have been:

1. EdTracker (via OpenTrack) mounted on ...​

2. ...a comfy pair of noise cancelling headphones.​

3. VoiceAttack.​

4. Roccat PowerGrid.​

 

[Vasea Azure]

I went through multiple Saitek's and Logitecs but all were more or less short term investments. My recommendation (if money is not a big issue) is Thrustmaster Warthog.
Its sturdy as hell, feels great as its heavy and made of steel, even the buttons don't feel plasticy. I had no issues with it and I use it almost daily with multiple titles.
And imo - dont experiment with Virpil, I bought stick from them to use it with my Thrustmaster base and it was pretty poorly made, felt cheep in comparison and it broke almost instantly. Dont experiment, invest in long term setup from trusty manufacturer.

 

[ubermick]

After using my X52 Pro for 5 years now, the stick was starting to get a bit sloppy, so recently bought a Warthog throttle and a VKB Gladiator K. Honestly, I just wanted the X56 but couldn’t justify the ludicrous price gouging going on right now - the new setup cost about the same as the inflated prices for the Logitech stuff. (Paid $400 give or take a few quid for a new VKB and a used throttle). They arrived and honestly am intimidated by the things! The throttle is like the proverbial brick sh*thouse, and the stick takes CONSIDERABLE more grunt to use than the X52 which was light as a feather. I actually ended up going back to the X52 since it was plug and play versus having to configure everything from scratch.

But last week, found an X56 throttle on the oul’ ebay. Closer to the X52 I was so used to, so thought it would be worth a lash at just $90. (Just... hah, don’t tell the wife!) Still dealing with the setting up, having to do the configuration from a blank slate, and the button placement is like relearning how to fly - muscle memory is an odd thing.

 

[Fuego Estelar]

I am using as stick the Gladiator from KB sim products, and in left hand the throttle from t16000.

I am very happy whit this, I was using an x52 pro, it was too big for me and the hat in the throttle lever broke in 3 months