I tried to repair the first one … thinking it must be OK … they cannot be putting out stuff that does not survive …
Actually, they can put out LOTS of stuff that doesn't survive. People will continue to buy it, and rebuy it, because it's cheap. A lot of gamers can't 'afford' a good stick.. but somehow CAN afford several cheap ones. This thread is a good example.
A VKB is more expensive than a T16k.. sure. But if you're like me, after I bought the third T16k in two years, I got a bit annoyed. How much was I spending on these things ? Not to mention downtime between orders, aggravation from trying to cope with yaw/centering issues... The list went on and on. Eventually, I found I couldn't purchase another cheap stick because it was getting too expensive.
Sure, we'd all love a VKB gunfighter, plus a Virpil throttle.. but that's a little extreme at over $900 for the pair.. BUT... A VKB NXT is around $150. That puts it solidly in line with what an average person can reasonably afford. More expensive in one chunk, sure, but not when you account for the 3 T16ks.. Other CMDRs have commented on their "Joystick Graveyard ".. I'd have one too if I kept the junk around. We all went the cheap route at the start. It's like the free Anaconda at Hutton..
To the OP :
Buy the T16K.. but buy it KNOWING that it will bite the dust inside a year. You WILL get the centering issue. You WILL get the yaw issue. Start saving NOW.. $5/10 a month, and in a year when the T16k bites it, you'll have an additional $100 to add to the price of another T16k so you can buy something good. Avoid the trap of cheap peripherals.