DISCLAIMER: I'm not trying to start a flame war about the quality of Saitek products, nor am I a Saitek fanboy. I happen to like my X56, but to be truthful, I have only had it for 2 weeks.
DISCLAIMER SECUNDAS: This WILL void your warranty!!! You have been warned!!!
OK, now that that is out of the way...
After watching and reading various reviews of the X56 HOTAS, the consensus seems to be split down the middle. I'm on the like side of the argument, but there was one thing I read that I did not like and decided to fix.
The wiring in the throttle is unprotected, and thus had (in the X55 and X52 stick) the tendancy to break after some time. I wanted to mitigate that, so i came up with this mod.
Start by spending 8 bucks on this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UHJCFI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the mesh sheathing that you see on higher-end power supply wires. I figured this would be the best way to protect the wiring in the throttle.
15 screws later, this is what I see:
(Click here for larger)
So, I unplugged the headers for the two wires coming from the circuit board. Following them back, you have to pull off this yellowish glop of adhesive that covers some wire clips. After that it was just a matter of feeding the sheathing over the header and wires, then taping the end by the header with some self-fusing silicone tape (Don't use electrical tape, it can cause issues!) About 10 minutes later, this is what I had:
A little hot glue to replace the yellowish globs on the wire clips:
(Click here for larger)
And now the wires should be protected from breaking! Make sure you leave enough slack under the throttle for full travel. Just move the throttle back and forth to check that the wires aren't being stretched. I can tell you, after tearing apart my X52 stick several times to fix broken wires, the wiring in the X56 feels MUCH more robust as well as a higher quality and gauge. Hope this helps some X56 owners out there scared about the reviews!!!
DISCLAIMER SECUNDAS: This WILL void your warranty!!! You have been warned!!!
OK, now that that is out of the way...
After watching and reading various reviews of the X56 HOTAS, the consensus seems to be split down the middle. I'm on the like side of the argument, but there was one thing I read that I did not like and decided to fix.
The wiring in the throttle is unprotected, and thus had (in the X55 and X52 stick) the tendancy to break after some time. I wanted to mitigate that, so i came up with this mod.
Start by spending 8 bucks on this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UHJCFI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the mesh sheathing that you see on higher-end power supply wires. I figured this would be the best way to protect the wiring in the throttle.
15 screws later, this is what I see:
(Click here for larger)
So, I unplugged the headers for the two wires coming from the circuit board. Following them back, you have to pull off this yellowish glop of adhesive that covers some wire clips. After that it was just a matter of feeding the sheathing over the header and wires, then taping the end by the header with some self-fusing silicone tape (Don't use electrical tape, it can cause issues!) About 10 minutes later, this is what I had:
A little hot glue to replace the yellowish globs on the wire clips:
(Click here for larger)
And now the wires should be protected from breaking! Make sure you leave enough slack under the throttle for full travel. Just move the throttle back and forth to check that the wires aren't being stretched. I can tell you, after tearing apart my X52 stick several times to fix broken wires, the wiring in the X56 feels MUCH more robust as well as a higher quality and gauge. Hope this helps some X56 owners out there scared about the reviews!!!
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