Force Feedback users opinions

[sondo214]

Hi there, I am asking the fellows that use force feedback sticks for their opinion of how happy are they with them. Has anyone used more than one so that he can compare and tell which is better? I use G940 but I am not quite happy because it has a dead motor zone near the center of the stick (or the 'set' center with trimmer), which if you take your hand off makes the heli move due to this 1cm (aproximately) dead motor zone that the stick moves due to gravity till the motor kick and stopp it...

 

Are there other sticks that do not move at all and virtually stay where you trim them?

 

Have read that the MS FF 2 was a legend. Does anyone use it?

 

Thanks a lot

[Abburo]

I own both G940 and MSFF2. By far MSFF2 precision is superior to G940 even both are 10 bit precision. Mechanics of MSFF2 is one of the best engineered. Overall MSFF2 is in my humble opinion the best joystick in the market. But...

There is a but! Ergonomy of G940 is better, buttons quality on G940 is better, grip is also better.

 

If you can, best combination would be to use a G940 stick with all mechanics and controller from MSFFB2.

 

Personally, I have donated the MSFFB2 to my 8 years old son. He is enjoying it to that extent that any new device I have offered him in exchange he just refuses me. And BTW, the grip of MSFFB2 is better for youngsters. So, now I am primarly using the G940. I am now used to it, after I made several important changes like joystick length extension, new controller for rudder and throttle, hall sensors in rudders.... and so on.

 

If stock, then MSFFB2 is the winner by all means.

 

One important thing... I just heard that Black Fat Mamba have a plan for a force feedback variant for next year. That will be for sure the supreme joystick... at least I hope.

[sondo214]

Have you tried ff2 with huye? Is it that good and where you leave it really stays?

[Abburo]

Not tried with Huey, but with a lot of other planes. And YES it stays where you are leaving it. The proximity sensor is opposite to G940, so when you take off your hand then it will just preserve the position. Of course there is 0 deadzone.

 

And it is good, mine have already 12 years.... me first, in the past 3 years my son, and still feel strong. Only the buttons starts to suffer, but they are easy job to fix.

 

In DCS I used it only with SU-25T.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Abburo

[Martyn]

Have read that the MS FF 2 was a legend. Does anyone use it?

I use an MS FFB2 and have done for much of the last 10 years. It's still going strong with no faults at all. It is a great stick (before it I had the FFB 1), but not perfect. I haven't used any other sticks so can't compare easily.

 

I somewhat disagree with Abburo though; it doesn't stay exactly in place and there is a small 'slack' area in the centre where no force is applied. When flying the Huey, I sometimes find it best to trim very slightly away from the required centre position, so I have a small force to 'hold' the stick against. Helps to keep it steady. If I trim it exactly to the right spot, I sometimes find my hover wobbles a lot more due to the 'forceless' area. But overall I would highly recommend it. I just wish it had more buttons! (I use two of the buttons on the base as modifiers, so it still makes for a reasonable HOTAS in the A-10C for example, with 3/4 of all the functions I need on there).

 

I'm tempted to save up for a HOTAS Warthog, but I am really in fear of missing the force feedback and off-centre, realistic trim aspects. Difficult to know what's best!:joystick:

 

Still, the MS FFB2 can usually be had from eBay for a good price. Last time I looked there were plenty on offer. I sometimes think I should buy a second one as a backup!

[Abburo]

Yes, there are some slight slack areas... I totally agree with you. But comparing to G940... neaaahhh... it is as inexistent :)

 

I would not trade MSFFB2 nor G940 for non force feedback joysticks, even I am so damn aware about Warthog precision. To have more butons just make some addons with after market joystick controllers as Leo Bodnar, Arduino or whatever you prefer.