Looking for New HOTAS advice

michalfoc

M
CMDR Harada said:
Man, that's about the same as a VKB Gladiator K.. I'd go for the Gladiator.
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I'm waiting for Virpil Constellation alpha on WarBRD base, I ordered x56 to replace my thrustmaster throttle and stick, but then decided I want Virpil as well. I'm not too keen on Virpil's throttle design (personal preferance) so I will use x56 throttle with virpil stick :)
 

CMDR Harada

CMDR Harada
michalfoc said:
I'm waiting for Virpil Constellation alpha on WarBRD base, I ordered x56 to replace my thrustmaster throttle and stick, but then decided I want Virpil as well. I'm not too keen on Virpil's throttle design (personal preferance) so I will use x56 throttle with virpil stick :)
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You won't be disappointed in the Virpil.
 

zaikoji

zaikoji
dognosh said:
Just so you know, I talked about x55 and x56, but I started with the x52-pro, the one and only original made by saitek before madkatz ruined them all. It lasted 13 years !!!!!!
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Wonder if that’s the iteration I have.
I keep wondering why it’s not turning to dust in my hands..
 

Sir Ganksalot

Sir Ganksalot
michalfoc said:
I was wandering if our fantastic and knowledgable comunity would assist me on that 1. I was using a T1600m and throttle from thrustmaster for nearly 5 years now, super happy with it APPART of yaw axis on the stick which is a common issue with it. Every few days I have to dissasemble it otherwise I get ghost input from that axis.

So I am currently looking into few options and due to pandemic and all that stocks are very limited, so I have time to get some opinions.

Current options I am looking at are:

X52 pro for circa £150
X56 for £220
Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas for £350

Money is not an issue but don't like to overpay for garbage if lower priced options work same or better.

Any input is highly appreciated. Just to add, I have the game since 2015 i think and with 2 years brake(due to that stupid yaw issue with the stick) I am sitting at over 1000hrs and also playing flight sims from time to time so I am looking for something that will withstand some heavy dogfighting :)

o7

Edit: I read alot before posting and I am only looking for owners of those sticks opinions first hand so please if You are about to write something that I can find on google already, don't bother
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After dealing with the junk Thrustmasters for 3 years, I switched to the X52 pro and have been extremely happy with it. I've heard the X56 can be troublesome so I steered clear of it. X52 has been awesome though.
 

Danger Man

Danger Man
I just ordered an X-56 Grey this evening! I was looking at a VKB Kosmosima but having a separate throttle unit is a big thing for me and I figured it would be easier to buy a better stick than throttle in the future. Student discount made it like 30% off as well so it was a no brainer really

I’ve been using a T Flight X for 6 years and it’s been great but I recently started playing DCS so I’m excited for all the extra hats and buttons lol
 

badibeat

badibeat
Hooplah said:
Add in that analog tuumbstick on the joystick thumb fire button (there is another one on the throttle) I don't think that any other HOTAS currently has. I could be wrong with the European versions.
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There is no European version, all Logitech X-56 feature one thumb-stick each on the Stick and Throttle. I intuitively gained some control over lateral thrusters with them. Also the twist on the same stick helped me to gain better control over my ships.
In an earlier post Morbad explained that in E: D the thrusters work in a rectangular fashion (orthogonal). The thumb-sticks have round limits which do not allow to have full thrust in two axes simultaneously (in the corners, when applying diagonal thrust). Therefore I use DIView to adjust both the minimum and maximum of each thumb axis to be able to get both to +- 100%. This means that I loose some 30% of resolution (the thumb sticks have 8bit resolution). The thumb sticks have only 8bit resolution and center well, they need no dead zone in my case.
Edit: The dead-zone for the thumb sticks is built into the hardware (probably configured or calibrated), therefore there is no need to add one, but in DIView you can see that the raw data does not change around the center.
DIView does not have to run with the program but allows to effectively adjust centre and endpoints of all analog axes. Make sure to enable the raw display for the axes you plan to adjust.

Hooplah said:
The X-56 Grey was very solid and precise but after break-in even the yaw centering was still off. There was a reset calibration app that helped. This has been an issue with all three.
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I highly recommend using DIView for this task. It is both quick and easy to adjust the center and both ranges of all analog axes. For example to make sure the throttles are safely on 0 on one end and on 100% on the other with some margin. The only thing I adjust for analog axes within Elite: Dangerous are the dead-zones.

Paste from my ED Notes:
Recalibrating a HOTAS: The normal axes can be calibrated within E: D. The mini sticks or additional axes can be be calibrated in the Windows control panel joy.cpl or using DIView, a simple exe by logitech which they no longer distribute but works well:
https://www.reddit.com/r/hotas/comments/6vis91/calibration_of_minijoystick_x56/

My Additional comments on the X-56:
  • The scroll wheel on the throttle is excellent for flicking through sub-targets.
  • I currently have the lateral thrusters on the thumb stick of the throttle to free the thumb on the stick for other important tasks. As a result I had to bind boost to a different button so I can press it while my left thumb is on the thumb-stick.
  • The buttons on the thumb-sticks are super hard to press, don't use them for existential functions or keypress combos.
  • Make sure the X-56's Thottle does not loose power. This has been noted before, and I can confirm. I did some soldering to fix another issue, and after that is is only loose USB 2/3/C connections that trigger the dreaded "ghosting". Make sure to have the USB cables out of the reach of your feet or cat and that the connectors cannot wriggle. For me loosing power meant that if I was lucky I heard "cannot comply" (super/hyper cruise when mass locked, hard-points deployed etc), the lights turn on etc. in 50% of the cases however I got also silent running, rapidly overheating and getting my pants (shields) down. I presume this is a driver or firmware issue.
  • I'd recommend the X-56 all the same.

Please check also this post:
badibeat said:
Still, I think there are two things FDev could do to help us HOTAS users:
Click to expand...
 
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Morbad

Morbad
Droogie said:
I use a CH setup. CH pro throttle, pro pedals, and fighterstick. You can't beat the build quality of them.
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Maybe at one time, but I think APEM has been slacking off on their CH line for a while now. I've had issues with all but one of the four Pro Throttles I've purchased in the last six years, in particular, and have had to open up to repair both of my Fightersticks and one set of my Pro Pedals.

I have a feeling the 2014-2015 surge in demand for space/slightsim controls caught them off guard and they started cutting corners with QA.

Unfortunately, they are still the best option until you hit much more expensive VKB or Virpil stuff, and no one except Logitech or CH seem to have throttles with mini-sticks under the thumb.
 

Eli Jack

Eli Jack
Ok I'm late to the party and decisions have been made so what I write is pretty immaterial here but for anyone else...

I've been playing Elite since the public beta (August 2015?) So far in Elite I have used;

Logitech 3D Pro
Thrustmaster X-Hotas
Saitek X52
Xbox 360 Pad
Logitech x56
Virpil WarBrd stick
CH Pro Throttle

My opinion is... none of them are worth the money (especially Virpil). Absolutely none of them.

Use a kb/mouse and forget about how supposedly 'immersive' a Hotas/Hosas is. I'm using KB/M now and I won't return to a crappy Hotas any time soon.

In the interest of fairness the x52 lasted the longest by two years over all the other set-ups. Depends on your threshold for tolerating squeaking plastic and creaking springs.
 

wrmiller

W
Morbad said:
I'm using a HOTAS because I like having independent analog control over all rotational and translation axes simultaneously, as well as enough buttons (mostly in the form of hat switches) that I can have everything bound with minimal need to use modifier keys or move my hands from my controls.
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Agreed! :)
 

Stressfest

Stressfest
CH Throttle
CH Combat Stick
CH Rudder Pedals

Had these for the past few years and hasn't missed a beat. Prior to that, destroyed a Thrustmaster, an X52 and a few other logitch offerings.
 

MishaTX

MishaTX
I'd second the x52s. My trusty old Pro just died after I don't even remember how many years of service (something in the wiring got worn enough that functions would sometimes not work and the rotaries were wonky unless at certain throttle settings), and I was having the damndest time replacing it, Pros being rarer than hens' teeth apparently.

So I finally caved and got the x52 (standard edition), which I COULD find online, and I love it. I actually like the "looseness" of the stick compared to the Pro that some complain about, it makes maneuvering much more pleasurable and quick. Only complaint I have is that the throttle is stiff as all git and the force adjustment screw does absolutely zilch (but then it didn't do much on the Pro either). I suspect the stiffness is due to it still being very new, though.

More importantly, I don't have the issue of the verticals suddenly not firing when trying to land on a high G world.
 

dognosh

dognosh
Eli Jack said:
Ok I'm late to the party and decisions have been made so what I write is pretty immaterial here but for anyone else...

I've been playing Elite since the public beta (August 2015?) So far in Elite I have used;

Logitech 3D Pro
Thrustmaster X-Hotas
Saitek X52
Xbox 360 Pad
Logitech x56
Virpil WarBrd stick
CH Pro Throttle

My opinion is... none of them are worth the money (especially Virpil). Absolutely none of them.

Use a kb/mouse and forget about how supposedly 'immersive' a Hotas/Hosas is. I'm using KB/M now and I won't return to a crappy Hotas any time soon.

In the interest of fairness the x52 lasted the longest by two years over all the other set-ups. Depends on your threshold for tolerating squeaking plastic and creaking springs.
Click to expand...
I love the HOTAS functionality...but you have a point !
(my original x52-pro lasted 13 years!!!)
No one seems to make a decent HOTAS(throttle+stick I mean) for less than £400.
( never thought of trying the Warthog? I didn't only because of no yaw, but when next I have to choose I might go for it)
p.s. Check my Stream Deck setup in my sig, love that device for ED and other games :)
 

Dragsham

Dragsham
I guess with hindsight I was very lucky.
On a whim I paid 130 quid for a "reconditioned" saitek x56 rhino. Blue print ie the original stick.
Went to from there onwards.
2 weeks later now the hotas works perfectly. It's comfortable an I'm used to the setup.
1) bindings were complex. All the pitch yaw axis required a deadzone. The mini sticks bound to vector thrusters needed particular attention so they didn't ghost over the main throttle and stick.
2) yes it was fully rewired. And he even added power switches to each unit.
3) a powered usb 3.0 hub is required as exclusive use for the power hungry throttle. Also turn lights down to draw less wattage.
So that's how l got lucky.
This stick is over 10 years old and is flawless.
My thanks to forum posters for info and the guy I bought it from who is obviously a genius.
 
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Susanna

Susanna
My T16000M is dying 😢 but couldn't buy a Rhino X56 as a replacement 😭
So I've had to reorder another T16000M... Damned supply issues!
 

badibeat

badibeat
Morbad said:
Unfortunately, they are still the best option until you hit much more expensive VKB or Virpil stuff, and no one except Logitech or CH seem to have throttles with mini-sticks under the thumb.
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I use the thumb stick on my throttle a lot for laterals. As written in my post just above yours it also requires no dead-zone and is therefore fast.
Edit: The dead-zone for the thumb sticks is built into the hardware (probably configured or calibrated), therefore there is no need to add one, but in DIView you can see that the raw data does not change around the center.

However for the main axes roll, pitch and yaw I use dead-zones. Do you as well?

Could you maybe have a look at this post and comment, the dead-zone point? :
badibeat said:
Still, I think there are two things FDev could do to help us HOTAS users:
Click to expand...
 
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