KomandoKorndog

In the interest of fullness and clarity: The Warthog costs roughly twice as much as the X56 and you need rudder pedals (sorta). But the X56 not only doesn't provide half of the value of a Warthog, it's not adequate to the task at all, in my opinion, after wasting a week trying to get any use out of it. If you can afford an X56 and your T Flite is doing an OKish job for now, then continue to use the T Flight a little longer while you save the other half for the Warthog because buying an X56 is just a waste of your money and you'll have to start saving all over again. Again, this is based on recent experience (like within the last 2 weeks). The difference between the Warthog and X56 in terms of quality and performance of the physical units and the software and documentation is beyond vast. The Warthog is everything you hope it will be and worth the wait. The X56 is junk at any price.

I just went through the process of trying to get the X56 to work. I finally gave up and got a Warthog. Wish I had done that in the 1st place. Here's my review in the Saitek part of this forum. https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=229463 Bottom line on Saitek/Logitech X56: DON'T DO IT!!!

No, Crab, it really didn't have anything to do with the software in the end. I gave up on that quite a while before I finally gave up on the X56 altogether. While I don't foresee using the Thrustmaster software much (if at all) I can honestly say that's because I don't really foresee any need to use it. Aside from adjusting the output of a few of the buttons on the throttle and stick, there's nothing left to be done. The Warthog just works. The inconsistent function and operation of the X56 also wasn't a software issue. It was cheap hardware, poorly assembled. Push a hat this time (if you can reach it) and maybe it works. Push it next time....good luck, but probably not. The Warthog is more expensive. That's true. But my journey into sims would have been far less expensive if I hadn't wasted the 1st $229 on the X56 only to have to spend more to get something that actually worked. Now, I have 2 degrees in computer science and a pilot's license. Knowledge of hardware and sofware combined with a deep and abiding love of aviation kept me going through this ordeal. But I can honestly see how someone new to all of it would get so discouraged and turned off by something like this that they'd just give up and quit. The differences between the software are like night and day too. I haven't delved too deeply into the TM software (again, because there's no need), but I saw immediately a vast difference in quality and documentation. Whereas Logitech provides a 1 page flyer that assures you their software will do anything you can imagine, they provide absolutely nothing to describe either what it is actually capable of or how it does it. And they don't respond to requests for information. And there's nothing on their forum worth reading. TM actually comes pre-loaded with a profile that "makes the trip" right out of the box. Everything in the main editor has a tool tip and there are builtin tutorials for all the basic functions. It works. And if you really want to roll your own, an advanced script editor and excellent documentation are provided. The quality of the Warthog, software and documentation justifies the price, in my opinion. I was more than a little surprised at just how good it is. I can not say the same thing for the Logitech, which I consider junk.

I just watched a video where someone did something like this. Don't remember who it was. The stick and base was Warthog, but the short extension (really just a piece of threaded pipe) was made by Virpil. The base didn't move. The axes all remained the same. The only thing that changed was the angle of the grip to make it more comfortable in the hand.

I wouldn't be too concerned about that Master Caution during the start sequence. In fact, you may even consider it a confirmation of a properly functioning warning system you're not likely to hear any other time. When the AC Gen L&R switches are in the ON position, either generator will come on line as soon as the engine spools up enough. At that point, it will come online and trip the APU Gen offline. ( The electrical system is redundant, like everything else, so one generator is sufficient to power the entire aircraft.) When the APU Gen is tripped offline, the system senses that the switch is in the ON position, but the generator isn't supplying any power to the bus. This is the condition that generates the Master Caution. You can either silence the Master Caution and shut off the APU Gen switch later in your checklist, or shut it off now and silence the alarm at the same time. That's what I do. I've tried at least 10 different Cold Start procedures and eventually distilled all I learned into one that works for me, but isn't exactly like any of the ones it's derived from. In all that study, the best advice I got was that there is no single right way to do it because there are so many ways that it can be done that work just fine. Some groups of items have to come at somewhat certain points in the procedure in order to proceed. Others may have to be performed pretty much together, but it doesn't make much difference if you do them early or late. When it's all said and done, you have a set list of tasks to accomplish. If at the end of this list, you have both engines running properly, all systems up & ready, no warnings, you understand how and why it all got that way AND you can do it again any time you need to, then you have arrived at YOUR proper Cold Start Proceedure. Once I started looking at it that way it really made things easier. I hope it helps you.

If you're going to be doing very much of this kind of work, you might want to consider something like: http://www.dcskneeboardbuilder.com/ It makes short work of importing, grouping and placing pages in kneeboards for everything or for specific missions or aircraft. All I have to do is get the document that I want imported formatted to suit my purpose and this utility does the rest.

Final verdict on the X56 Rhino HOTAS. It's junk and I'll be the proud and happy owner of a brand new Warthog the day after tomorrow. I've spent 5 days trying to get it to work as advertised. The fact is I can fly a little as long as I don't need to be very precise. The stick is so sloppy and spongy feeling that I really can't use it. The controls (switches, knobs, buttons, etc...) are so poorly laid out that most of them are unusable. There are no latched switches. Only momentary. That could be remedied within the software if it weren't completely useless, but even if I got it to work, the physical devices are of such low quality and poor design and build that I can't count on them to work every time or even do the same thing twice in a row. The modes are useless too. It's possible to configure them in the software, but then the software doesn't make the trip to DCS. And even if it did all I'd have is 3 times as many cheap, useless buttons and switches. And the throttles are non functional until after you start the engines with the keyboard. I might be able to get my money back, but then there's a chance that someone else might wind up with this POS, so it's going in the trash. Bottom line. DON'T DO IT! Save your money until you can buy a Warthog or Virpil.

I just bought an X56 Rhino on Amazon. I had some reservations because it wasn't a Prime item and the price was about $20 less than every other one I saw. It's new, but I guess it's an older (blue) model. Can't say I'm terribly impressed. I never am with any Logitech product. The software is useless for DCS and the physical units look and feel cheap. Lots of slop in the stick, the buttons and hats are very poorly placed and I'm only able to use 1 of the 3 modes. I didn't have $450 (plus pedals) for a Warthog or I would have bought it instead. In researching HOTAS I discovered that both Amazon and WalMart offer the Warthog stick and throttle as separate units for about $15 or $20 less than if you buy them together. Prime doesn't add anything for standard shipping and WalMart lets you pick them up at the store with no shipping charge. Not a huge saving, but every little bit counts. I guess I'm going to have to stick with this X56 for a little while to try to get my money's worth out of it, but as soon as I can afford it I'm either going to get the Warthog or a Virpil. I think I'd rather have a Virpil even though they cost a little more, but right now you can't get 1 anyway. Seriously considering adding my name to the wait list.

In TrackIR, look at the profile you're using and you'll see where the CENTER, PAUSE, etc... commands are listed in a drop down box (above and to the left side of the graph window). Next to it is a button labeled with the key that triggers that command. Click the button and press whatever key you want to use. A lot of people use 5 on the Num Pad. Then you can also assign a switch on your HOTAS (or other controller) to do the same thing in the DCS config utility. Here's a link to a REALLY good video that helped me a lot.

I've been having no problem getting the engines up and running. If you're rolling on startup, maybe need to make sure throttle lever is in idle position. It doesn't take much to get this bird moving. That master caution is normal. The way I handle it is by adjusting my checklist so that the AC Gen switches are in the ON position prior to engine start. Then when the L Eng gets up to speed, the L Gen will will take over and set the APU Gen offline. (That's what generates a Master Caution because the system knows that the switch is still in the ON position.) At this point I just switch the APU Gen to OFF. That takes care of one item on my checklist and silences the Master Caution at the same time.

Ok, crab. I have 3 questions. 1. When I look at the programming options for some of the controls, I see "Latched" at the top of the list. What does this mean? 2. How exactly do I get DCS to see and read the profiles created with the Logitech software? 3. If I go to the trouble to set everything up with the Logitech software, will I be able to finally use all 3 modes? * Of those 3 questions, #2 is probably most important. Nothing I've done so far in Logitech has made any difference in DCS. Thanks for any help.

I'm starting with the A-10C, but I can see how a lot of the more basic functions would apply to almost any bird. I've got a few things figured out, like flight controls, trim, flaps, gear, speedbrakes, wheel brakes... Still got some tweaking to do to get it all nice and smooth, but it's usable. I managed to complete the takeoff and basic flight maneuvers mission. Not very good, but good enough for now. I'll watch the WAGS video and see if I can learn something new. As far as the Saitek software is concerned, I gave it the old college try, but it's pretty much useless for DCS. Nothing I did in Saitek translated to any change in DCS. In fact, loading a custom profile seemed to have an adverse effect in DCS. So I restored everything in Saitek to original default values, deleted the custom profile I created and loaded a blank default profile before I went into the DCS configuration utility. Now everything is working fine. I just have to keep working with DCS and develop my settings as I go. The modes would be nice to have, and maybe someday I'll find a way to make use of them, but for now, even with only one mode, there are far more switches, buttons, rotaries and sliders than I know what to do with anyway. Figuring out what's available, what's necessary and where I want it will probably take quite a while and evolve, as you mentioned, but hey, it's an adventure. Right? ;)

Yeah, I kinda think I have an idea of what the Logitech software is supposed to do, but they really didn't document it very well. I'd like to be able to get set up so I can use the modes. Maybe 1 for ground stuff like startup and taxi. Another for general flight and nav. And the last one for weapons and combat. Just a general idea floating around in my head at this point, but I'll get it sorted out a little at a time. I'm really surprised that there isn't some sort of basic template profile for DCS somewhere. Everything in my Logitech and DCS is blank for both the stick and throttle. I won't be able to actually fly until I go through the whole thing.

:helpsmilie: Ok. So I'm very new to DCS. I just got my X56 HOTAS and I'm trying to understand what I need to do to get all set up. Logitech provides some programming software and a profiles pack. The documentation about exactly how to use it is lacking in detail, to be very kind. There is no base profile for DCS, but there is a profile named Lock_On_X5x. I have no idea what's in it. Then DCS has its own set of configuration settings. My confusion has to do with whether or not I need to load/create and configure/adjust a profile within the Logitech software specific to DCS, but general in nature and then make further adjustments within DCS that are specific to each aircraft? I hope that makes sense. I don't want to make this more complex than it needs to be, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel every time I fly a different plane either. So is this how I should go about it? Is this a good strategy? Use a Logitech profile general to DCS and a DCS profile (Is that what it is in DCS? A Profile?) specific to an aircraft? Thanks for any help. I'm really looking forward to getting through all this so I can finally get to my 1st flight.

I've only had DCS for a little over a week. I bought the A-10C and the training modules while they were on sale, but I didn't have TrackIR until yesterday and didn't have a joy stick until today, so I've been working on reading the manual and trying to get the cold start procedures down pat. What I discovered is that to use the radio(s) you have to select the one you want on the intercom panel. I had the same problem as the OP when I tried to contact ATC to request start up. Everything greyed out and no response. I reached over and clicked on the button for the AM radio (labeled VHF) and voila! I did have to make sure and turn on the radios and set the right frequencies for the mission, but that really wasn't such a big deal. Hope that helps!