Think twice about getting a Warthog HOTAS

[Crank Larson]

At least they are back to a 2 year warranty, after they initially (until April 2017 - date of sale?) dropped it to 90 days.

They probably discovered that they can't do that in the EU, as there is a directive that states 2 years should be the minimum warranty. Legally, most products bought new in the EU are covered by a two year guarantee (by law).

 

[Aussiedroid]

Hello, could you tell me how you get the little analog axis/nipple on the throttle to work for thrusters?

Hey wrmiller,

Don't think there were any tricks to it. Just need to map the axes directly in ED for the analog thrusters. I have them setup on both the thumb mic hat switch on the throttle plus on the nipple. I mix and match using them depending on the need.

Cheers,
AD

 

[wrmiller]

Hey wrmiller,

Don't think there were any tricks to it. Just need to map the axes directly in ED for the analog thrusters. I have them setup on both the thumb mic hat switch on the throttle plus on the nipple. I mix and match using them depending on the need.

Cheers,
AD

Thanks. I figured it out about 10 minutes after I posted that.

I'm going to have to fashion a piece to fit on the end of that nipple that gives me better traction and control though. That nipple is a slippery little devil.

 

[Aussiedroid]

Thanks. I figured it out about 10 minutes after I posted that.

I'm going to have to fashion a piece to fit on the end of that nipple that gives me better traction and control though. That nipple is a slippery little devil.

cool

Hey, that is a good idea! Wonder how hard it might be to mod it and turn it into a mini stick or something.

I find its not too slippery, but I find its easier to breeze your finger past it rather than trying to hold it (perhaps more akin to a track pad than a stick). If holding it for a long time, I switch to digital.

 

[SMcA]

CHProducts here too - had Warthog, too big, bulky and heavy for non sim-pit. Warthog is built like a brick jobbiehouse.

LOL I've not heard that last word for decades.

As for bouncing switches. I have a Saitek's X52 Pro which has a couple of them. (Deploy hardpoints and Hyperjump) I've got a workaround for them using the software.
In ED bind the switch to a k/board key, only. Then in the s/ware create a macro for that switch which presses and holds the key for about half a second*. That will filter out the bounce if you press the HOTAS button firmly.

*You may have to adjust this a bit.

 

[Heater]

Stopped reading at mine was secondhand...

 

[Shiro Akai]

mine was secondhand but not that old.

This answers all of my questions.

About two weeks ago it stopped working. I tried all the online remedies but nothing worked. Thrustmaster take at lease 4 days to respond to any email finally after 2 weeks I know what happened. The first link is the broken wire. The second link is what it took ti find the wire, and then it continues on to show what steps will be taken to actually FIX the think. Its brutal, and I'll probably get grease over everything.

Looks like simple unscrew, re-solder and screw back. 30 min job tops, even if you take your time with every step.

I'm going to get a CH products HOTAS.

This is just my experience. Lots of people have had great actions with the WH. So take this as just one opinion!

A bit overreacted considering your gear was secondhand. And age has nothing to it. Once I wanted to buy a car. One had more mileage done after a year of exploitation than 10 yo one my dad owned (normal, everyday + typical vacations). Tho I can understand your reaction as it surely cost a bit and you expected it to last - especially when, in general, Warthog has a good rep.

 

[StiTch]

You gotta be the only person with durability complaints about any of the Thrustmaster Warthog stuff.

 

[Wrongway]

Oh how I wish the VKB stuff was readily available as it shows such promise. At the moment I am using a Warthog stick which incidentally had an almost identical fault to the OP. This was entirely my fault though as I stripped the whole thing down after watching a Youtube video on how to re-grease it and remove any slight stiction tendency. I trapped a wire putting it back together. I am using the Warthog alongside a Thrustmaster FCS throttle, but not sure I like it yet and the CH Pro Throttle might be back in the mix again instead of the FCS. Although CH gear is generally built very well, the Pro Throttle slide action is crude and the 8 bit analogue resolution is way outdated now. Roll on VKB.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

CH Products are made by a company whose primary revenue is from building industrial controllers for stuff like giant cranes.

The Warthog is similar in construction to the sidestick controller on the F-16A, built to stand up to 9 G pulls.

Bonus: I'm already fully trained, and have the materials, to fix one. No, you cant have my services.

 

[CMDR_Kabuir]

Interesting. My X52 pro just broke, I thought about getting a Warthog because I'm tired of flimsy Saitek, but I couldn't stomach the price. I bought another X52 because I just really love them when they work, but they just don't hold up and this is my third one. I wish I could go CH, but they just don't have enough hands-on buttons and controls.

how long have you had yours for? I got mine second hand and its going on its third year(in my possession). the only thing thats wrong with it at the moment, is ever now and then i get a small amount of stick drift.

 

[Marklar_]

how long have you had yours for? I got mine second hand and its going on its third year(in my possession). the only thing thats wrong with it at the moment, is ever now and then i get a small amount of stick drift.

About 2 years.

 

[hems303]

See my post #54 above re "yaw to Roll" for this.

[hotas]

To be fair, that is a compromise, it is just so much more intuitive, and "expected" to have twist to yaw on the joystick rather than a press to make button on the throttle. As per my comment above: For a reasonable outlay "IF" you want yaw then a second-hand Microsoft Force Feedback 2 joystick delivers! .... and partners the CH Pro throttle perfectly, including the looks.
(It's also so satisfying to resurrect an old piece of gear that then outshines it's current siblings!)

 

[b101uk]

I went old school. Microsoft Force Feedback 2. The life span on these is measured in decades. They just don`t make em like they used to.

next year my MS FFB2 will be 2 decades old

 

[Mohrgan]

I have combined a Logitech 3D Pro Stick, with a Thrustmaster TWCS Throttle for the large pool of buttons on the controls these items afford. I even have a button or two not mapped, and I still don;t have to lift my hands for anything but text. Before I got the Throttle, I used a Logitech G-13 keypad for the throttle controls. It worked very well, until I found that I couldn't adapt the G-13's keybinds to allow for 3 axis thruster use. I use the G-13 for other games, and I didn't want to relearn all of my games.

 

[Jethzk]

I wish I could go CH, but they just don't have enough hands-on buttons and controls.

I don't understand this. 9 Axis and 32 buttons isn't enough? Have you tried using the CH control manager to make some of them ctrl, shift, and alt modifiers? 3(32-3)= 87 potential combinations, more if you want to hold 2 modifiers at a time. I understand that 16 way hats can be hard to hit, so maybe a few of those aren't preferred, but it still gives a lot of options.

CH Control manager is old and takes a bit to learn, but it gives a lot of control. Custom macros, 3 profiles that can be swapped to on the fly and complete dead zone control to name a few.

 

[JulesWash]

Well everyone, even the snarky internet ones I have my Warthog Joystick working in %100 order! A guy was able to solder the wire and he put on a zip tie just below the DIN connector so now there's very little risk of the wires coming undone. He did say that the wires are not as flexible as he would like to see, but that is TM's choice.

 

[Connolly91]

I love the looks of the X56 Pro, especially the mini-analogue sticks but I've heard so many poor things about the build quality that it's putting me off dropping £200+ on a HOTAS.

I'm currently using a HOSAS set up consisting of two T1600m flight sticks and I don't know if I could go back to a traditional HOTAS after using this set up.