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Recommended Hardware

Joysticks, pedals, monitors.

Recommended Hardware

Postby MIG29pilot » Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:27 pm

Hi All!
Sometime in the future, I would like to get some new controls (Stick, pedals, throttle quadrant). What I'd like to know is what brands and models are recommended.
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby massima » Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:20 pm

One day, when my TM hotas-X will be broken i'll buy a Saitek X55. The TM Warthog is too expensive, but both of them are ideal for a combat sim.
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby legoboyvdlp » Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:22 pm

Saitek X52 and Saitek pedals are the best all round I would say... if you like fighters go for a thrustmaster warthog stick if you like props go for their yoke if not go for the x52 and pedals...
Of course, you could make a home cockpit too
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby clrCoda » Tue Jul 21, 2015 10:54 pm

hehe something I can recommend NOT using is the Nascar Racing Wheel and Pedals I've been using for years. :)

Actually I use the keyboard but I use the Racing Wheel that last few minutes just before landing for better accuracy.

-- :)
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby MIG29pilot » Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:39 pm

O$OH $OOH OOH$ O$W OW$ $OW!!$$!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby legoboyvdlp » Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:48 pm

Basically, get something decent. Check ebay for a used Saitek X52. Whatever. Dont be fooled by the cheap price of the CH Products pedals (grey square plastic with two pedals) or a cheap $10 joystick. Plan to spend about $100 - $200. Of course, you can, but those cheap ones are cheap and feel cheap!
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby hamzaalloush » Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:19 pm

while the Warthog is tempting(hey i got one myself a year ago), it wouldn't be worthwhile for flying "just" FG and some low fidelity FDM's.

also the too stiff movement of the stick makes it much more suited to fighter jet control, as a matter of fact, you can't fly the c172-detailed straight with the thing without assigning some kind of axis for pitch trim(i did with A-10 speed brake slider), otherwise you get shoulder aches after a while, i would prefer a Saitek yoke and/or a CH Products one for airliners and propeller aircraft, or a CH Products Fighterstick for jets and general aircraft use if you want precision and quality within a budget.

my overall review impressions of joysticks/yokes i tried/bought(some belonging to me or my brothers):

1 - TM Flight Stick-X(Equivelant to "TM hotas-X" but comes with stick only): razor high precision, long-lasting and truly plug-and-play(on all platforms), and most of all cheap(but not on quality), only con is too short X-Y axis travel, and rudder twist is too (soft) for coordinate turns, i suggest disabling and using with rudder pedals.

2 - Saitek X-52 Pro with Throttle: fine throttle with an idle/reverse thrust and afterburner step with friction control, so many control knobs and back slider and comes with a mouse tip, but bad stick and lazzy unlinear axis control(that's cause of bad-engineered magnet placement to the hall-effect sensors). require hardware modification to function properly, see http://www.virtual-aerobatics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=155&p=677. overall not worth the price. in addition, bad drivers, at least with my motherboard, requires using legacy mode for USB and driver re-installation in Windows requiring messing with the registery(i didn't make this up, check with the website it's the official instructions), sometimes require replug cable to function after restart, and built-in throttle display is unusable in FSX for me, except for the stopwatch, which is a nice feature.

3 - TM Warthog: nothing more be said about it, modeled after the A-10 HOTAS, but too stiff for prop/heli fine control(since it cannot be moved swiftly around X/Y axis combined, require some force to move in either direction, needs fast short movement inputs), suited for high fidelity FDM jet aircraft with proper FCS system, works great with DCS:A10, USAF airforce stamped and personal ID for each joystick screams quality, feels like the real thing for combat, and completely made of steel material.

4 - Ch Products yoke: this belongs to my younger brother who is an FSX hardcore simmer/VA participator and does long hauls: this is the surprise of the century, plug-and-play and offers great feel for even manual approches down minimums, this is due to the compression feel of the inner spring for recentering, has three(IIRC) small axis control on the top(Throttle/Prop Pitch and Mixture), and three button at the bottom for assigning to toogle things like Gear/Flaps/Trim control, also a rotatable X-axis(pitch) recentering wheel. compared to the Saitek Yoke which feels completely loose and bad recentering characherstics that he had previously.

hope this helps.
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby legoboyvdlp » Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:25 pm

Whoa, that is amazing! I got the chance to use some CH pedals once (at a flight sim event) and they were not very good... I read online to avoid CH... never believe everything you read... enjoy!
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Re: Recommended Hardware

Postby hamzaalloush » Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:32 pm

most online reviews are advertisers would benefit from marketing their vendors. while i haven't tested the CH Pedals, i think the Saitek pedals are the defacto standard in the industry(at least off-shelf not one off pieces and i recommended it)

but the CH-Products yoke is something else, most of it's criticism is the because of the plasticy feel, since it's does not have the gloss-fine and finish and looks cheap, but it is good performer, judging by the words of my brother, when he flew the Saitek Yoke he said, "it doesn't feel like a Boeing in my hands", while the CH-Products is the opposite, as i said, manual approach down to minimums easily with any aircraft, and personally, i did the smoothest landing i done with c172 on FG with it awhen testing.
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