CH quality

[Mr_sukebe]

CH Hotas is garbage in Windows 10,always disconnects.

 

Never experienced that myself

[Svsmokey]

CH Hotas is garbage in Windows 10,always disconnects.

Actually , that is a garbage post . All emo and no info . I get you're frustrated , but :

Never had that either . Sounds like a USB problem , Windows power management , not enough power , driver problem , etc . More info would help to troubleshoot . Windows log file in particular would be helpful . Also , running Control Manager or binding directly in DCS ? How many / what devices do you have plugged in ?

Edited February 1, 2019 by Svsmokey

[ac5]

CH Hotas is garbage in Windows 10,always disconnects.

 

NEVER had such problems.

[Eclipse]

NEVER had such problems.

 

It was a problem at one point because Microsoft broke something USB related. They have since fixed it. I had problems with it also. For a good couple years, all my devices and the CH Control Manager software worked flawlessly. One day it was suddenly a total roll of the dice. I had intermittent dropouts, and switching from normal mode to mapped mode or loading a different profile in the software would sometimes work but more often than not the devices would all become unresponsive until a PC restart.

 

Microsoft has since fixed the problem (6+ months ago or so I think), and my CH Fighterstick, pedals, and throttle and the software have all been good as new ever since. None of it had anything to do with the quality of CH products. It was 100% on Microsoft.

[FragBum]

Buttons don't work.

I remember I had to do something in CH manager.

 

Don't know what,a delay function to get functions like flaps to work.

 

I absolutely hate flight sims for Hotas setup.

 

I spend more time farting around in my controls than actually playing the game,drives me crazy.

 

Hardly played this because the controls are just too complicated,remembering what each button does,staring at an a4 sheet of paper,going blind.

 

I think racing is more fun because of the simplified controls,flight simming is like putting your head on a chainsaw,no fun.

 

Wow, initially just set up the bare minimum of buttons, I'm not a CH user nothing against them I have never used their products but with versatility and functionality comes complexity as well as DCS adds another layer of complexity not only the aircraft but also weapon systems so the setups can be very engaging and complex.

 

Maybe grab the Yak or CE2 and start there small steps can build the foundations for more complicated modules latter. :thumbup:

[ac5]

It was a problem at one point because Microsoft broke something USB related. They have since fixed it. I had problems with it also. For a good couple years, all my devices and the CH Control Manager software worked flawlessly. One day it was suddenly a total roll of the dice. I had intermittent dropouts, and switching from normal mode to mapped mode or loading a different profile in the software would sometimes work but more often than not the devices would all become unresponsive until a PC restart.

 

Microsoft has since fixed the problem (6+ months ago or so I think), and my CH Fighterstick, pedals, and throttle and the software have all been good as new ever since. None of it had anything to do with the quality of CH products. It was 100% on Microsoft.

 

I repeat: NEVER had problems with it, have windows 10 since the beginning.

[Sajarov]

CH Hotas is garbage in Windows 10,always disconnects.

device Manager -> CH Products.

Select your device-> (right button) properties ->power management.

Untick "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

 

 

 

:pilotfly:

[Shepherd]

I used a CH setup for about 10 years. I found it to be serviceable. But not very precise. While doing the Maple Flag A10 basic training and advance missions with AR sorties proved to be very frustrating with the fighterstick and pro throttle. In fact I got so frustrated I ordered a VKB gunfighter and Virpil T-50 throttle. The very first time I tried to AR with the new setup it worked like a boss. I never know that the CH was handicapping me and the precision of my flying.

[Svsmokey]

I used a CH setup for about 10 years. I found it to be serviceable. But not very precise. While doing the Maple Flag A10 basic training and advance missions with AR sorties proved to be very frustrating with the fighterstick and pro throttle. In fact I got so frustrated I ordered a VKB gunfighter and Virpil T-50 throttle. The very first time I tried to AR with the new setup it worked like a boss. I never know that the CH was handicapping me and the precision of my flying.

 

A valid point . I'd love to have that set-up as well :) But it's hardly fair to compare a third-the-price 10-year-old rig with a new Virpil-Vkb combo .

[einarabelc5]

Back around 2007 IIRC CH Products "sold out" to another company. Another sim pilot I've known at another game for 20 years now worked there, and has mentioned in the past that their quality and consistency has dropped considerably since then. I agree with him, and he obviously has much more info/knowledge regarding this - I've owned many full CH sets over the years, both of their pedal types, several Fighter and Combatsticks of both USB and gameport types, etc etc.

 

 

 

The 2 sets I've purchases post "sell out" have an obvious drop in quality if you pull the units apart, it's like drunk children in a sweat shop assembled them and did the wiring/etc compared to the pre 2007 units. A TON more complaints across various forums can be read since then too. Still, overall, CH still makes a good product, it's just not as great or consistent as it once was IMO.

 

Thread revive:

Perspective of a newcomer when it comes to sticks/software and best bang for buck and economics.

 

Used/Purchased/Returned:

Thrustmaster t-1600 - too much spring tension, TOO big palm rest, impossible to use for dogfighting/notching missiles, according to Warthog reviews electronic wiring just as bad as CH.

LOGITECH X-52 manufactured 2020 - Seems cheaply made, mapping stick presses to keyboard strokes seems weird. Software user interface is atrocious, Logitech has done NOTHING to improve upon Saitek's work, in fact they removed features like the throttle tension and cheapened the materials and linked their bloody crap software to social media instead of actually working on it - HR and marketing took over, engineering was relegated. Nothing like some of their actual products, like the MX series trackpads. Stick is ok tension wise, but looks and feels like a Mattel commercial. Huge disappointment.

LOGITECH X-56: A lot of bad/defective parts reported in reviews. Throttle reported to have REALLY bad S/N ratio in its USB output requiring huge amounts of amplification.

CH: Purchased by another bigger company which works on the same space as they did: industrial Joystick production. Now focused on industrial products, still willing to support their flight sim line. Made in Mexico, NOT CHINA, and assembled in San Diego. Using Pots with 8 bit ADCs and very low throw springs, polar opposite of T-1600. Not much support on DCS community when it comes to profiles. Still, created before Globalization. What's wrong with high Industry standards? How cheap is cheap.

 

Reviews:

VKB: Designed by Byelorussians, assembled in Taiwan or is it China? 80 dollars more than CH Fighter stick for slightly better product including shipping: Gladiator NXT. Total package of good Engineering (both mechanical and electrical) and apparently software. Only stick that comes close to CH Fighter stick in handling and spring configuration is their top of the line base, costing 350-400 with a stick.

Virpil: ALSO designed by Byelorussians. Assembled in Byelorussia. COSTS a FORTUNE thanks to EU, not as good as VKB when it comes to Electrical Engineering, positively WORSE than CH in that department. Not good bang for buck. Would never take it near a source of EMI.

Warhog: Almost perfect Throttle except for A-10s most important feature: Target designator stick. Stick is also an EMC nightmare just like CH and Virpil, actually worse because CH barely has any cables and they're all distributed over a large space. Atrocious spring tension, just like its younger cousin. Also "all metal" making it heavier and harder on the gimbal and with a cast metal casing at the bottom that breaks.

 

So, was I wrong to go with CH in the 100-150 range considering the current market and world events and all this?

 

[einarabelc5]

 

Wrong on every count, I am not, and never was a CH retailer and I didn't switch to a Warthog a good time ago though I do own one and still have the grip and throttle from my old HOTAS Cougar among other assorted controls from over the years.

 

How did I miss this? I just got the CH, any idea on where to get maps? Thanks in advance!!