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Have you looked at the CH Throttle Quadrant? I waited a long time to get one because it just seemed a little goofy. I have changed my mind completely. I wrote a script that allows me to switch between my Pro Throttle and my TQ with just the touch of a button. That allows me to fly single engine planes with my PT and twins with my TQ. Beautiful!

Hmm, I thought one of the options was to get it with a hat that has the three reflectors sewed into it (i.e., you don't need the Martian headset :) ) I could be wrong about this. I chose the Falcon4-AF option rather than the hat option when I bought mine. I clipped my reflector thingy on the headband of my mic headset. Works great. Don't need a hat. Looks a little weird. Makes my wife just shake her head when she walks in the room. Sigh.

If you are a left hander, I'd appreciate your taking a little poll I put together. You can find it here: http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3326 Thanks -mark

Check this thread: http://forum.lockon.ru/showthread.php?t=14064 I had a problem very similar to what you describe and it turned out that Force Feedback was set to true (I don't have a FF stick) and it was causing problems with my trim. Check it out. Thanks to Cosmonaut for that tip.

Amraam, Your video (this one and the others I've seen) are amazingly professional. You do a great service to us all. Thank you

I know. I was just playing with you! :beer:

Just what are you trying to say there GGT? :D Yikes!! :)

This is cool! The price is right too! One thing. I suppose when you go this route that you are entirely at the mercy of the game itself for the programming of the stick, right? In other words, you go into the configuration section of the game and "teach" each command by pressing the buttons on your controller when prompted? I've always wondered how reasonable it would be to write a programming interface that gets burned into an eprom so you can truly control your devices the way CH does with their Command Manager program. I have gotten so spoiled by CM that it would be hard to live without that! Having a CM has been my primary motivation for wanting to put CH electronics in these sticks. That is certainly a very expensive way to go however.

I would want to do that so as to get the programming capability of the CH equipment along with the stability the USB devices provide. I admit it was a crazy idea especially once I realized what it was going to cost to do it. Actually, the whole thing started with my desire for a more realistic and split throttle.

ggg, What do you have in mind for these controllers? Since they are gameport devices, it would be a major challenge to really use them in any meaningful way. Am I missing something? My idea was to pull out all the electronics and replace them with CH electronics. I have a Talon and have started looking into this. The throttle would need both the Pro Throttle and the Throttle Quad electronics to reproduce what this throttle was designed to do. That's a pretty expensive proposition. I'm intrigued with the idea but it would probably cost close to $500 to obtain the electronics to do it. I would love to hear your ideas about using these controllers. I really love these things. I remember standing in a computer store ten years or so playing with these controllers impressed with how realistic they felt. I took the Talon apart to see how it was built. It's pretty strange. The four-way hat is actually built with four standard micro-switches and it uses four long push rods that rise up from these switches to the hat. Adapting the CH circuits to this arrangement would be a major mod. I'm about ready to give up on this myself mostly due to the cost. Please share your thoughts on all this. -mark

Four years USAF from 1972-1976. I was technician on a nuclear missile system called the Hound Dog (AGM-28B): http://www.aero-web.org/specs/northam/agm-28b.htm The Hound Dog was phased out in 1974 replaced with the AGM-69 SRAM I was crosstrained as a journalist my final two years. Quite a change in direction, huh?

It's a tension adjustment. You dial in the stiffness of the pedals with it. The pedals appear to be a little further apart than the CH Pro Pedals. That would be nice to have them a bit further apart. They should sell well.

Actually, the SFS split throttle mod is something I really want to do. I just need to get my hands on one of them first.

Yes, that's exactly what I have in mind. I just bought a Talon off ebay and when it comes, I'm going to pull the handles off it, modify it to fit on a FighterStick base, then make moulds of it for anyone who would want one. I've been looking for a SFS Throttle to do something similar for the Pro Throttle base using the electronics out of a CH Throttle Quad. I haven't thought much about "left-handing" these things yet but that is certainly possible down the road. Yeah, I had the chance on a SFS throttle last week and I got cheap and let it go to someone else. I'm kicking myself. Yes, I've seen that. Pretty cool. My idea is that since I am moulding left-handed versions of the FighterStick handle already, I figured I could pull the handle off the Suncom Talon and mould it too and make copies of it available to people who might want them. It's not sounding like there is very much interest in this so far though. Oh well, maybe I'll make a left-handed version for myself.

Just trying to get a idea about interest on a potential project. If you own a CH FighterStick, would you be interested in purchasing an F-15 replica handle? Would you feel confident to do the replacement yourself following a detailed set of instructions? How about if it involved some wire cutting and soldering? How much would you be willing to pay for this? If weak-knee'd, how much additional would you pay to ship it for the conversion? BTW, if you have an old Suncom SFS throttle laying around, would you be willing to donate or sell cheap for a CH TQ transformation project? This is nowhere near a reality, just asking some questions. Thanks -mark

LOTAS huh? I'll have to use that if the project ever gets that far. I'm on my second "back to the drawing board" with the mould making. This time I'm having to spend money which is painful but maybe necessary. Thanks for the encouragement.

Absolutely. You want to design your commands and how the are deployed with a great deal of forethought. I design the "hold" commands carefully for exactly the reason(s) you cite. There are perfect fits for those commands however, e.g. dropping your landing gear (it just seems natural to hold the key down for that), changing radar modes. Basically, anything that seems natural to "hold the key" is a natural fit. Keep in mind that it really isn't that long; in most of the cases it's 1/2 second. I only use 1 second in just one or two cases. My "eject" button is set to 2 seconds as an extreme example. Dumping stores is set at 1 second as well so I don't accidentally "click it." Carefully designed, this method (IMHO) is MUCH better than switching modes. When I first read about it from Ziggy's profile, I didn't like the idea. After trying it, I was amazed how natural it felt and now I'll never go back to modes again.

I have gone to an entirely new way of programming my HOTAS. Here's a post about it: http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3123 I have abandoned the "mode" concept (one mode for NAV, one for A2A, one for A2G) and do everything now with "shifts" and "holds." I find it way more logical. Of course I'm using the very powerful CH scripting language which may be beyond what you can do with other brands.

I bought my first CH HOTAS in 1995 (FS, PT, PP) gameport version. I made my left-handed fiberglass handles in 1996 after I got tired of trying to fly right handed. I bought my USB set (same pieces) in 2000 and moved my handles to the new stuff. I have never had the first problem with any of it. I have never needed to used dead zone, never had a switch stick, go bad, anything. CH stuff is absolutely rock solid. Honestly, I know there is this love affair with Cougar but I don't see it. All the mods and extra pots and all that. I really don't understand what all the excitement is over TM. I'm pretty handy with modding and have considered getting a used Cougar and stripping the guts and installing CH FS and TQ parts in it so as to get something reliable but I just don't see any reason. Oh well. Glad you guys like that stuff. Maybe some day I'll understand.

I'm impressed! Especially for a first movie. I could never do this. All the tips your getting can only make a good piece of work even better. I certainly wouldn't call it "average." I've seen average, this ain't average! Keep it up. I'm anxious to see what you come up with next.

You could get a set of my left-handed handles. Then you could have a stick for each hand! :D

CH is the only choice IMO. I do a lot of repair for friends. I always tell them "You should have bought a CH and you wouldn't be having this problem." What are friends for huh?

I have completed the project and the tutorial. Come check it out if you're interested: http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3152

I have quite a few pictures posted following my progress so far. Check it out: http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3152

Here's something to think about. I fly a Cessna 172 sometimes. I don't have a pilots license or anything (it just cost too much and I'm pretty cheap :) ). A friend of mine owns the plane and he lets me fly it some. GA planes really are "left handed" if you think about it. You hold the yoke with your left hand (the "flight stick") while managing the throttle, radios, trim wheel, etc with your right because you're in the left seat. If you look at the photo of my left-handed rig, that's the way it is in the Cessna (as well as Cirrus and every other small craft). Granted, military craft truly are right-handed just like the CH gear is designed but let's be realistic, do you think an old 53 year old geiser like me is ever going to fly a real F-16? I don't think that day is going to come for me nor 99% of the rest of youse! [sorry, reality check] So, my "mod" is really not all that out of line with what you might truly experience if you started flying. Besides, it's just a game. The word "fun" has got to creep into the vocabulary here somewhere and personally I'd rather spend it with the flight stick in my left hand rather than my right since that's the hand I eat with! :) BTW, be sure to check out the thread I started: http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3152 I'm getting ready to put some pictures of what I've done so far and plan to follow the whole process with pictures. So if you're interested in how I'm doing this, you can track it in pictures. Left-handed regards, -mark