Saitek x56 rhino problems

[Dragsham]

Oh I hope I'm doing something wrong. I've spent 3 days binding then rebinding getting it right. I'm assuming it's each to their own.
I bought this recon hotas from a German chap on ebay claims he reconditioned it!

But since almost completing it and stress testing solo in a high cz in my railing fdl I've had problems.
The frameshift drive will suddenly engage even though all the drives are on the switches on the base! So l can't have accidentally hit it!
The throttle suddenly goes nuts..flicking up and down then just locks out. Full pelt needs a relog!! In a cz!
Not the best place to do this but I'm not a novice.
I think I fixed the throttle thing by removing thrust binds on mini stick on the joystick. But I need to rebind thrusters just don't know If I should put em on the throttles mini stick... anyways I'm posting cos I wanna rule out the hotas itself? Is it just my stupid binds conflicting or??
Help!
I'm left handed so default won't apply

 

[CNC drill press]

I think u'd better put tgis ropic tovtechnical questions subforum or something.

The throttle suddenly goes nuts..flicking up and down then just locks out.

This one sounds like if u assigned analog axis to button. If u have 2 analog sliders, assign one to throttle and second to "100% throttle" and "0% throttle" (1 analog can be assigned to both). The if u move 2nd slider enough to activate button action then it will override 1st analog input.

 

[zebcarter]

It's called ghosting and is always related to power problems on your USB connection. Don't use hubs or at least active one, connect to USB 3.0 ports etc. Fixed it for me after a lot of experimentation. Google will also help

 

[Arvel Yael]

It's called ghosting and is always related to power problems on your USB connection. Don't use hubs or at least active one, connect to USB 3.0 ports etc. Fixed it for me after a lot of experimentation. Google will also help

I agree with the ghosting explanation, but not the fix. In my case, connecting the X56 to a powered USB 3 hub was the only thing that fixed it.

 

[Sammerkand]

I also had the same issues, the powered USB 3 hub was the only thing that sorted the issues out for me as the LED back lighting draws a proportionally insane amout of power from a motherboard powered USB port.

 

[VR SenseiMatty]

Oh I hope I'm doing something wrong. I've spent 3 days binding then rebinding getting it right. I'm assuming it's each to their own.
I bought this recon hotas from a German chap on ebay claims he reconditioned it!

But since almost completing it and stress testing solo in a high cz in my railing fdl I've had problems.
The frameshift drive will suddenly engage even though all the drives are on the switches on the base! So l can't have accidentally hit it!
The throttle suddenly goes nuts..flicking up and down then just locks out. Full pelt needs a relog!! In a cz!
Not the best place to do this but I'm not a novice.
I think I fixed the throttle thing by removing thrust binds on mini stick on the joystick. But I need to rebind thrusters just don't know If I should put em on the throttles mini stick... anyways I'm posting cos I wanna rule out the hotas itself? Is it just my stupid binds conflicting or??
Help!
I'm left handed so default won't apply

Oh oh..
X56 is famous for ghosting problems. The wiring inside is a complete mess. I had issues for a long time then I finally decided to open it and look inside.. A nightmare...
Cables broken, shieldings gone, broken cables making contact with other broken ones while moving the throttle... I actually was surprised it was still working somehow at all!
I would not be surprised if they finally remove it from the market. It's a shame that one of the most expensive HOTAS is at the same time one of the worst manufactured.

 

[Crank Larson]

I bought this recon hotas from a German chap on ebay claims he reconditioned it!

Hmmm... I'd send it back if that is an option. The early models of X-56 and the later X-52 were built badly (basically, the Saitek versions). Unless the refurbishment included replacing all the internal wiring and the switches, it won't last. I suspect the refurbishment was simply repairing the internal wiring that snaps.

You want to avoid any genuine Saitek HOTAS - they were all built cheaply. The new ones made by Logitech (who took over from Saitek) are now much better.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

What color is the printing on the top? Is it blue? That's one of the dodgy saitek ones. If its grey, that's one of the nice logitech ones.

Yeah powered well helps. The joystick in my experience is fine, its the throttle that's thirsty. On mine you can tell because the backlight leds on the bottom switches aren't the same color as the rest when the power isn't happy... though my machine is very old now so could be anything.

 

[zebcarter]

I also had the same issues, the powered USB 3 hub was the only thing that sorted the issues out for me as the LED back lighting draws a proportionally insane amout of power from a motherboard powered USB port.

Yeah well for me only a direct connect worked, not the powered hub. It differs between models and PCs.

 

[Zerocz]

X55 owner here. I've had this problem several times. Ghost inputs, mostly from the switches on the throttle base. Seems to be caused by insufficient power.

Lots of devices get their power over USB, but hardly any of them use much power. Those that need power, usually have their own power cord. Like printers. Result? A lot of manufacturers skimp on the design and you get USB systems that can't actually supply the power called for in the spec.

Here, the recommended solution is to plug the throttle into a powered USB hub. But the hubs can have the same problem with cheap manufacturing. If you check the math, a lot of them can't fully power each individual port. Hence the advice to plug only the throttle into the hub. Be aware, some hubs cannot fully power even one port.

Another thing to be aware of is that power supplies do age, and they aren't able to supply as much power after a few years. I ran my X55 stick, throttle, and keyboard off a 7 port hub for years. Then I could only run the throttle. Eventually I just had to replace the hub.

The X55 / X56 throttles really should have had their own power supply. Or maybe one of those y-cables to split the load across two ports.

 

[Dragsham]

Well I didn't know about the 3 yellow lights thing. I've since plugged the throttle into usb 3.0 powered port and the lights went blue. So all good then l hope
Also this crazy German chap who seemed real kosher installed each device with a power switch. Not sure why..but now that all is well I'm glad he did.

 

[Crank Larson]

Also this crazy German chap who seemed real kosher installed each device with a power switch.

In which case you may be lucky and he's done a proper repair job on it. Hopefully your issue was only power.

 

[Sylow]

I can confirm what others already said: the described problem of ghost button presses -usually- is a power problem which can be fixed by using a powered USB hub.

Why I say usually: I went through a number of X-55/X-56 over the years. To my luck, they always broke before the warranty ran out, so I was able to get a replacement for free. My current one, Logitech built, now runs for several years already without breaking down.

But when I upgraded my computer and moved to a MSI B450 carbon pro motherboard, I also had problems with ghost presses. I was using the same powered USB hub which formerly protected me from the problems, all drivers and firmware were up to date, but the ghost presses persisted. Even borrowing my wifes powered hub and having both devices on a separate powered HUB did not fix the issue.

Then I bought a rather cheap USB3. Using that one instead of the onboard USB of my motherboard solved the problem. So out of my experience I can say that while the powered USB HUB is the most frequently given answer and usually fixes the problem, there also are some USB chipsets around which have another compatibility problem. In that case you might be lucky by switching between the USB2 and USB3 ports on your mainboard, but it might also be necessary to add another USB card.

Hmmm... I'd send it back if that is an option. The early models of X-56 and the later X-52 were built badly (basically, the Saitek versions). Unless the refurbishment included replacing all the internal wiring and the switches, it won't last. I suspect the refurbishment was simply repairing the internal wiring that snaps.

You want to avoid any genuine Saitek HOTAS - they were all built cheaply. The new ones made by Logitech (who took over from Saitek) are now much better.

Aye, very much my experience. The Saitek built ones (and also the first batch after Logitech took them over) was quite a mess. They kept breaking down regularily for me. As long as I was on Saitek equipment, I returned it to get a replacement every 18 months, and some of the replacements even came broken out of the box. (Luckily Amazon always updated the replacement as "last time I bought it" on the customer file, so I always was able to point on the date and they replaced it right away. )

Logitech later reworked the X-56 into the version with the grey print. That one by now lasts much longer than any before. (One button by now, since a few months, has a slight issue. But considering that this coincides with an incident involving my wife, a thrown plush pet and a spilt soda bottle, I guess I can't really blame Logitech for that. )

 

[Fish172]

I have seen this once and I could only put it down to two things..usb as stated or possible you still have alternative key binding in the controls..I found this problematic. Just blank the alternative box.
As a point of interest I have X56 (new though) and it has been faultless from the start.

 

[Dragsham]

I'll look at alternative binds along side em I don't recall I'll post if I find any. Can't get to the game till later on..

 

[Werewolf13]

It's called ghosting and is always related to power problems on your USB connection. Don't use hubs or at least active one, connect to USB 3.0 ports etc. Fixed it for me after a lot of experimentation. Google will also help

FWIW - my X-56 is connected to a USB 3.0 HUB. Never have any problems with it. That said if you're gonna use a hub make sure the hub has its own external source of power and doesn't use the PC USB port as the power source for devices plugged in to it.