Good Budget Hotas

[irfanahmed1979]

1. Is the Saitek X-52 pro compatible with Windows 10? Are there any issues running it with DCS on win 10?

 

2. Is the above option for a stick and throttle better in terms of durability or the TM T-16000M and a CH products pro throttle?

 

3. Overall (through experience) which is best for DCS running on Win 10 pro?

[Sokol1_br]

2. Is the above option for a stick and throttle better in terms of durability or the TM T-16000M

 

Probable similar durability - but pot ' in throttle and rudder axes in T-16000M tends to wear first than in Saitek due the low cost pot's in that axes in Tm stick. Not that ones used in Saitek are "stellar", but slight better.

 

and a CH products pro throttle?

 

This brand is more durable - in fact is the most durable existing (despite his "obsolete" - for today standards - USB 1.1 8 bits controller).

Edited October 27, 2015 by Sokol1_br

[dburne]

Couple additional points...

 

The T.16000M does use a Hall Sensor in the stick itself, same type sensor the Warthog uses. No inherit "pot" type issues. Pots can get dirty over time and cause spiking of the controls. But as Sokol mentioned the throttle and rudder axis are on a pot.

The T.16000M also has the TARGET software one can use for creating joystick profiles for your games, same software the Warthog uses if you think you might graduate to it someday.

 

Otherwise, don't think you would go wrong with either of your choices, especially if this will be your first HOTAS.

 

Having said that, I have owned neither of these, have always had TM sticks starting with the FLCS, then the Cougar and finally the Warthog. I do have the Saitek Combat Pedals, and they have served me very well for over 2 years so far.

Edited October 27, 2015 by dburne

[irfanahmed1979]

thanks for the info guys. Pedals I already have so no need for using the twist function. (CH pro pedals)

 

Sokol, so the CH throttle is not a good idea? If it has an 8-bits controller does that mean it won't be as accurate?

 

Another question is that I'm running out of USB 2 ports; I've got the Track IR, keyboard, mouse, pedals and the joystick plus a wire from the UPS to the PC for monitoring. But I still have 4 extra USB 3.0 ports. Is there any harm in connecting peripherals to the USB 3.0 ports? I noticed that when I used a USB flash drive on a USB 3 port it wasn't as responsive as when inserted in a usb 2 port.

[dburne]

I would suggest considering getting a powered USB Hub to plug into one of your available usb ports.

This would increase the amount of available USB 2 ports, and by powered ( has it's own power supply), it uses it's own power instead of draining on your system's power.

 

I use a powered hub for my peripherals with good results. Gave me like 7 additional usb ports.

[irfanahmed1979]

I would suggest considering getting a powered USB Hub to plug into one of your available usb ports.

This would increase the amount of available USB 2 ports, and by powered ( has it's own power supply), it uses it's own power instead of draining on your system's power.

 

I use a powered hub for my peripherals with good results. Gave me like 7 additional usb ports.

 

Thanks

[irfanahmed1979]

Does anyone know whether the X-52 pro will work with Win 10

[Haukka81]

Does anyone know whether the X-52 pro will work with Win 10

 

 

Works fine, there is beta drivers for win10

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sokol1_br]

 

Sokol, so the CH throttle is not a good idea? If it has an 8-bits controller does that mean it won't be as accurate?

 

 

8 bits mean only 256 resolution points in axis curse, but for throttle and that mini-stick function this is not important, you dont need change power from 65,3% to 65,5%. :D

 

As reference Tm announce T.16000M as "16 bits" = 65.536 resolution points.

 

Anything above 12 bits is superfluous (marketing), neither your hand or sticks gimbal can make practical use of 0.02 degrees increments.

 

If your idea is make a "HOTAS" with T.16000M + CH PRO Throttle is a good option.

[irfanahmed1979]

Thanks again everyone.

[some1]

Actually, 8 bit precision in the throttle axis is poor, and you definitely notice it when flying some airplanes. Usually the joystick electronics skips some steps, so it's not even 256 points available, more like 200-220.

 

I had x52 several years ago, good, universal hotas for the price.

Edited October 27, 2015 by some1

[Sokol1_br]

You reminder the detail that not all X-52 axis are 10/11 bits, the secondary are 8 bits.

 

Not sure if RZ is rudder, if yes, the throttle is 8 bits like in CH.

 

img host

 

Joy Resolution Tester from X-52 and X-52 PRO (this is 10 bits in X, Y instead 11 like in X-52 "vanila").

[Tekkx]

Without knowing much about resolution and this all mattters:

I made good experiences with a X52 (not pro).

 

But: The X55 is quite better. It is more like the A10 Stick and Throttle.

I use the smallest Spring with cropped a half winding.

After some mess with axis curves it works really good.

[Tumbleweed]

My X-52 pro is a massive improvement over the Logitech 3D I first started out with HOWEVER I do wish I'd waited and saved up to go for a TM Warthog where I believe the quality of certain parts is better.

 

The X-52 Pro is good for the money and is definitely a step up from flying with just a joystick and keyboard but there are some irritations to it.

 

The first annoyance is with the rotary wheels on the throttle. They're pretty much useless owing to how unstable they are - at least on mine. They flutter and twitch about all over the place. Since owning my X-52 Pro, I've never been able to use them for anything in game. I tried assigning the larger rotary wheel around the E button for zoom view - BIG mistake. It just twitches about like crazy even after trying everything to deadzone out the twitching. There's just no good position on the things.

 

The slider is also not that great either. It's slightly more stable and I tend to use it for pitch / RPM on the P-51 and it's not too bad for that but as well as the twitching, it just feels cheap and sloppy.

 

The last irritation is how much the joystick seems to suffer from stick friction.

 

The first thing I noticed with mine is that there is some slight play in the stick. It's not quite rock solid when centered. This can be dealt with by adding a small dead zone to the joystick X & Y axis however this seems to put the start of the sticks range of movement right at the point where the stick friction starts meaning any slight movements you want to make, you first have to fight the friction zone which then translates into the game as a massive jolt to the input as you fight to try and smoothly get the stick past the friction point.

 

It's caused by the big metal base plate that's being pushed down against the joystick base by the spring. It reaches a certain tension on the spring and grabs on the plastic it rubs against.

 

I've tried all kinds of plastic friendly lubricants but they don't last long and you have to keep reapplying all the time.

 

I've not owned many other joysticks but I find the X-52 is quite bad for the stick sticking.

 

I can't compare the X-52 pro against the warthog but there are so many people that say it's far superior that I'm convinced it's certainly better and given the choice, I wish I'd saved up.

 

Overall though the X-52 does what I want. I've got plenty of buttons at my disposal meaning I don't have to fumble around for keyboard shortcuts in the dark and for the price these things are, I can't complain too bad.

If I ignore the fluttering with the rotaries and slider all I really have to deal with is the stick friction which you just get used to.

 

The X-52 pro isn't bad but there are things that could have been done better.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Tumbleweed

[irfanahmed1979]

Thanks for the heads up Tumbleweed.