X 52 owners please read

[markus54]

HI,
If you want to post about your Warthog, T.16000, X56, or any other stick, I am not interested. Just the X52 owners.
I have some questions.
First, How long have you had your stick?
Second, Have you had any problems with your stick?
Third, Did you know that Saitek no longer exists? Logitech bought them out a few years ago.
Fourth, My experience with Logitech has been bad. I have in the past purchased keyboards and mice and they have all broke.

Not related to the theme of this thread but very important to me. Cargo missions. I did one. I clicked the + 6 times. Then I clicked on complete. The space between the + and -. Then I went to my nav panel/transactions. It said that I had nothing. What am I missing? I would really like to do some of these jobs but end up getting aggravated when I travel to a system to drop off the cargo and there is nothing.

 

[VR micmacmoc]

Had my x52pro for about two years, took forever to set up, terrible instructions and no support. On this forum there’s a wealth of help. Now love it. Only other criticism is the lead between the throttle and stick comes undone easily. Leading to me looking a fool at CQC!
cant help with your mission problem, sounds like you did the right things.

 

[markus54]

Had my x52pro for about two years, took forever to set up, terrible instructions and no support. On this forum there’s a wealth of help. Now love it. Only other criticism is the lead between the throttle and stick comes undone easily. Leading to me looking a fool at CQC!
cant help with your mission problem, sounds like you did the right things.

Thanks for responding. I don't do CQC. I forgot to put this in, I am not looking at the X52 Pro. My guess is that there are some differences. What is the lead between the throttle and stick, I am not getting what you mean.

 

[metatheurgist]

1) First one about 2 years, second one about the same
2) First one was good until it died, second one had to be replaced 3 times
3) Yes
4) What was the question?

 

[Fish172]

Used X52 for 2 years..only fault I had was the throttle stop at 90% I think it was. Took the thing apart and simply removed it..bobs yer auntie! Eventually it got "sloppy" so moved on, but otherwise it still works perfectly ok.

 

[metatheurgist]

Yeah, eventually the throttle detent will get loose and jam, but for me the throttle works better without it anyway.

 

[SMcA]

HI,
If you want to post about your Warthog, T.16000, X56, or any other stick, I am not interested. Just the X52 owners.
I have some questions.
First, How long have you had your stick?

Between 4 and 5 years, I bought it for ED. It was from Mad Katz but still badged as Saitek.

Second, Have you had any problems with your stick?

Oh yes. There was a time under Mad Katz when the quality went way down. I seemed to have bought one that was not one of the very unlucky one. Mine does has problems with double bounce on a lot of the buttons and there is jitter on a few of the analogue controls.

Third, Did you know that Saitek no longer exists? Logitech bought them out a few years ago.

No, Saitek as a company still exists.

https://www.saitek.com/

Fourth, My experience with Logitech has been bad. I have in the past purchased keyboards and mice and they have all broke.

My experience has been not bad. Logitech’s X52 software is good enough for me to be able correct the hardware problems mentioned above. The products I’ve bought from Logitech have been good quality. I still use the wireless mouse I bought 8 years ago

 

[SMcA]

Yeah, eventually the throttle detent will get loose and jam, but for me the throttle works better without it anyway.

Me too.

 

[znôrt]

Yeah, eventually the throttle detent will get loose and jam, but for me the throttle works better without it anyway.

first thing i did with the x52pro was to remove the detent, it's a simple and reversible procedure.

@op, x52 and x52pro is basically the same thing quality wise. don't expect top quality with these hotas anyway, they will wear off and show issues after heavy use, but they're good enough for what they cost. saitek seemed to be a bit hit&miss depending on the batch (and i guess also on who reports, user habits vary wildly), logitech might be better (no idea) but still is what it is: plastic, but works. mine took quite some heavy beating with only minor issues, i gave it away to a friend and he replaced it after a few months because some more issues appeared and he would rather have a new one than deal with them (he went for x56 i think), but i would bet the thing was still usable.

i know that you don't want to hear that but if you want a good quality joystick go virpil, vkb or such, which also cost considerably more. if you are not that serious about this, any of these you mention are reasonable choices, don't overthink it.

 

[BDelacroix]

First, How long have you had your stick?

I don't know exactly but its been over 10 years.

Second, Have you had any problems with your stick?

Nothing until last year. I needed to clean the trigger switch.

Third, Did you know that Saitek no longer exists? Logitech bought them out a few years ago.

Yes.

Fourth, My experience with Logitech has been bad. I have in the past purchased keyboards and mice and they have all broke.

Ok. My experience has been the opposite.
I have a wireless ergo keyboard. Wireless trackman +. G13 keypad. The stick I bought before they were acquired by Logitech.

 

[markus54]

Between 4 and 5 years, I bought it for ED. It was from Mad Katz but still badged as Saitek.



Oh yes. There was a time under Mad Katz when the quality went way down. I seemed to have bought one that was not one of the very unlucky one. Mine does has problems with double bounce on a lot of the buttons and there is jitter on a few of the analogue controls.



No, Saitek as a company still exists.

https://www.saitek.com/
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That is a web address. Logitech left it running and sevices the site.
You also mention that you use the Logitech software. It is an updated version Logitech put out to fix the problems that you mention



My experience has been not bad. Logitech’s X52 software is good enough for me to be able correct the hardware problems mentioned above. The products I’ve bought from Logitech have been good quality. I still use the wireless mouse I bought 8 years ago
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I was talking about keyboard and mice. I no nothing about more expensive items like hotas.

 

[markus54]

first thing i did with the x52pro was to remove the detent, it's a simple and reversible procedure.

@op, x52 and x52pro is basically the same thing quality wise. don't expect top quality with these hotas anyway, they will wear off and show issues after heavy use, but they're good enough for what they cost. saitek seemed to be a bit hit&miss depending on the batch (and i guess also on who reports, user habits vary wildly), logitech might be better (no idea) but still is what it is: plastic, but works. mine took quite some heavy beating with only minor issues, i gave it away to a friend and he replaced it after a few months because some more issues appeared and he would rather have a new one than deal with them (he went for x56 i think), but i would bet the thing was still usable.

i know that you don't want to hear that but if you want a good quality joystick go virpil, vkb or such, which also cost considerably more. if you are not that serious about this, any of these you mention are reasonable choices, don't overthink it.

Thanks for your response. I am trying to avoid the more expensive hotas because I have memory problems. They are improving but still a pain. I have a T.16000. I don't use it. Way to confusing to use, the symbols in controls are difficult to get what part of the stick or throttle buttons to hit when you wqant to do something. I had a Thrustmaster Hotas X. It was great, I reprogrammed the buttons and off I went. Unfortunately the thing kept turning left. When you are travelling more than 10kLS it becomes a real pain. I played the game for only a few months before it started doing that. I have been seeing a little bit more positive reviews with Logitech.

 

[znôrt]

Thanks for your response. I am trying to avoid the more expensive hotas because I have memory problems. They are improving but still a pain. I have a T.16000. I don't use it. Way to confusing to use, the symbols in controls are difficult to get what part of the stick or throttle buttons to hit when you wqant to do something. I had a Thrustmaster Hotas X. It was great, I reprogrammed the buttons and off I went. Unfortunately the thing kept turning left. When you are travelling more than 10kLS it becomes a real pain. I played the game for only a few months before it started doing that. I have been seeing a little bit more positive reviews with Logitech.

sad to hear about your issues. a few more bits come to mind:

if your thrustmaster hotas is still in warranty you might be able to get a replacement?

failing that, and if the throttle can work standalone (i don't know, you'll have to research) since you're already familiar with it maybe you could just replace the stick with a better quality one that suits your needs?

anyway, if you're looking at x52 i guess you already find its button layout convenient. mine never decentered, it got a bit sloppier with time but it was minimal, no issue. (all these sticks are sloppy form the get go, that's one of the main differences with a really good one), a trigger got stuck needed some servicing once and my buddy complained that a button stopped working (and that might even have been an user error). again, dunno about the new current logitech manufacturing process. if you ask me, most 'gamer' labelled stuff sold nowadays is expensive crap, but i've always seen logitech as one of the more serious and traditional companies in that regard. ymmv.

the x52pro has a feature that might interest you particularly (i guess the x52 has it too, but confirm first): most buttons light up and the color is user configurable. so you can use different colors for different groups of tasks. e.g. red for anything combat related (firegroups, chaff, etc), green for navigation (boost, jumps, flight assist), yellow for target selection and ... don't remember what i used blue for. i'm not fond of the kiddy rgb stuff nowadays but in this case it helped to get familiar with the controls at first, until muscle memory took over. it might assist you too.

 

[Captain Willard]

I've had my x52 pro for maybe 8 yrs? longer? one toggle switch on the joy stick has failed.
I still use madcat software and it works fine.
Every machine has it's software quirks. Same as any hardware.

 

[MrE.]

x52 and x52 Pro are pretty similar - Pro has something which might help with remembering the commands etc - the MFD (little screen) can display the command you are currently pressing. There is a binds file which does all this (with instructions) at https://github.com/X52EliteSetup/X52-Pro - he also has one for non-pro version, and both include an A3 with all of the mapping listed - used that for months.

If you desk mount them (so they don't move around) the cable issue more or less goes away.

I kept the detent and use it full range (so reverse is 0% and stop is 50%). The forward detent marks the throttle point for supercruising into stations etc on the 7 second mark.

Have used it for 4 years, love it, upgrading to Virpil this month so my daughter can have my x52 setup

HTH

 

[ethelred]

Just to add a +1 for an x52. I got mine specifically for elite and have had it since the beta. So that's like 5-6 years?

Had no issues with it, occasionally it starts off-centred but a quick unplug/plug in usually sorts it.

I fly with a combo of this and voice attack which helps greatly with the lesser used commands.

For your mission, check your cargo hold - if the cargo is showing there then you need to deliver it, the missions tab won't update until you complete the delivery. If I understand what you mean.

 

[Matt Penfold]

Had mine 10 years I think. I've had no problems other than the hat button on throttle has stopped working, which is a niggle but does not really warrant replacing the HOTAS.

 

[d8veh]

I bought an X52 about 5 years ago and used it for about and 2500 hrs. The detent in the throttle broke very early, but most people take it out anyway. After 1500 hrs, the twist spring broke. I contacted Saitek, and after a bit of messing about, they sent me a replacement X52 Pro. I continued using the old X52 without the twist spring for about another 1000 hrs, then I decided to use the new one. Again the throttle detent broke nearly straight away, so I removed it. It now has about 500 hrs use. In total, I've had around 3000 hrs use for around £100, so I'm pretty happy with it. I only use it now when I'm away from home because I can't be bothered to unclamp the twin Virpil MongoosT-50s that I use now.

I think the X52 is a good mid-price HOTAS for ED because it has a nice button arrangement. If you have the money, Virpil is definitely what you should aim for. The only problem is that the demand outstrips the supply. Their last restock of throttles sold out in minutes.

 

[avow555]

I'm over 12 years on my x52pro.
Throttle detent broke year 1 and I removed it, apart from that no issues.
My x52 is even older although barely gets used.
A few button LED's have died and it needs the yaw potentiometer cleaned once in a while but it works fine too!
Early builds were pretty good quality.

 

[markus54]

sad to hear about your issues. a few more bits come to mind:

if your thrustmaster hotas is still in warranty you might be able to get a replacement?

failing that, and if the throttle can work standalone (i don't know, you'll have to research) since you're already familiar with it maybe you could just replace the stick with a better quality one that suits your needs?

anyway, if you're looking at x52 i guess you already find its button layout convenient. mine never decentered, it got a bit sloppier with time but it was minimal, no issue. (all these sticks are sloppy form the get go, that's one of the main differences with a really good one), a trigger got stuck needed some servicing once and my buddy complained that a button stopped working (and that might even have been an user error). again, dunno about the new current logitech manufacturing process. if you ask me, most 'gamer' labelled stuff sold nowadays is expensive crap, but i've always seen logitech as one of the more serious and traditional companies in that regard. ymmv.

the x52pro has a feature that might interest you particularly (i guess the x52 has it too, but confirm first): most buttons light up and the color is user configurable. so you can use different colors for different groups of tasks. e.g. red for anything combat related (firegroups, chaff, etc), green for navigation (boost, jumps, flight assist), yellow for target selection and ... don't remember what i used blue for. i'm not fond of the kiddy rgb stuff nowadays but in this case it helped to get familiar with the controls at first, until muscle memory took over. it might assist you too.

All good stuff thanks. I am looking at the X52 not the pro. What I find interesting in my research is the the Pro has less button functionality that the X52. Right now though at $150 I have to think of how I am going to pay for it.