Which HOTAS?

[noisy_lightning]

I have got to the point where not having a decent stick/throttle setup is actually hindering my enjoyment of DCS:A10. And with a requirment to spend 4 months away from civilisation due to my job coming up in December decided I am going to spend some money.

 

I am currently very tempted by the TM A10 setup, but wondering what peoples thoughts are on others such as the X52 Pro etc

[Eddie]

The Saitek/CH HOTAS setups are fine, but nothing touches the TM:WH when paired with A-10C.

 

If you can afford it (even if you'd have to live on bread and water for a month), get the TM.

[TulsA-10]

If you want the best stick for this sim then pull the trigger on the TM Hotas.. I have one and love it.

[MTFDarkEagle]

Thrustmaster Warthog. Full stop!

[Stingray66]

Although the TM Warthog might be the best, I have a Saitek X65F and I dont miss anything. All HOTAS controls are on the stick thanks to the many rotaries and coolies...

[ryyy]

I have got to the point where not having a decent stick/throttle setup is actually hindering my enjoyment of DCS:A10. And with a requirment to spend 4 months away from civilisation due to my job coming up in December decided I am going to spend some money.

 

I am currently very tempted by the TM A10 setup, but wondering what peoples thoughts are on others such as the X52 Pro etc

 

I am in the same boat as you as it is hindering my enjoyment as well.

 

I'm looking at the X52 PRO, Saitek X65F, and of course the Warthog. I think the general consensus is that if you're going to be all about the A-10C of course the TM Warthog is the way to go. But if you are on the side of going to try out the new sims coming out (ie: DCS' new plane?! Hmm F-15E?! Super Hornet?!), you'd be fine with the X52 PRO or the Saitek X65 as they are more "generalized" than aircraft specific.

 

I'm tempted to try out the X65F, but I've been hearing that the non-moving stick may take a little while to get used to. Maybe Stingray can chime in on this. How accurate can you get while using the X65? In my head it seems like it would be hard to do any precision flying without the feeling of a traditional stick.

[MTFDarkEagle]

I am in the same boat as you as it is hindering my enjoyment as well.

 

I'm looking at the X52 PRO, Saitek X65F, and of course the Warthog. I think the general consensus is that if you're going to be all about the A-10C of course the TM Warthog is the way to go. But if you are on the side of going to try out the new sims coming out (ie: DCS' new plane?! Hmm F-15E?! Super Hornet?!), you'd be fine with the X52 PRO or the Saitek X65 as they are more "generalized" than aircraft specific.

 

I'm tempted to try out the X65F, but I've been hearing that the non-moving stick may take a little while to get used to. Maybe Stingray can chime in on this. How accurate can you get while using the X65? In my head it seems like it would be hard to do any precision flying without the feeling of a traditional stick.

 

I also use the Warthog in Rise of Flight :)

 

If there is ANYTHING more inaccurate ... ;)

[Aginor]

TM Warthog is good but also very expensive.

Also, if you are similar to me you will go nuts in any other game because the switches have labels which don't match what they do.

 

Therefore I bought a G940 from Logitech. it's a bit less expensive and it is very variable. Also it already comes with rudder pedals which you have to buy seperately when you use a TM. Some people have problems with the profiler software from Logitech it seems, but that is also true for Saitek. For me it works almost perfectly.

 

But the Saitek sticks are very good as well.

[kra961]

I can't even began to imagine not having the TM for this sim if you can afford it its the only way to fly

[noisy_lightning]

I'm tempted to try out the X65F, but I've been hearing that the non-moving stick may take a little while to get used to. Maybe Stingray can chime in on this. How accurate can you get while using the X65? In my head it seems like it would be hard to do any precision flying without the feeling of a traditional stick.

 

That was on my consideration list for about 2 seconds till I heard about the non-moving stick!

 

As I said, I am away for four months at the end of the year with little to no internet and location its not like there is much else to do, so I bought DCSA10 as a "project" if you will to give me something to do other than just DVDs. I am getting there at the moment with the basics but serious starting to struggle.

 

Think I shall ask for the TM:A10 as an early Christmas gift from family and my girlfriend!

[Total]

My X52 died and I was looking for a new HOTAS and was caught between three models:

 

1) The Thrustmaster Warthog

2) Saitek X-65F

3) CH Fighterstick & Pro Throttle

 

The Warthog was waaaay out of my price range. Also, the thought of paying $500 for something that, to this day, people are having the throttles die on them even after the firmware update....well, that didn't sit well with me lol.

 

To be honest, I was REALLY hoping I'd go for the X-65F. The thought of force sensing really appealed to me. The overall design and options were definitely there as well. Not to mention that I am more than comfortable with the programming suite, so I was looking to find a reason NOT to buy it. Well, I found it. Once my X-52 started waning, I started looking at the X-65. There seems to be a problem with the stick un-centering itself. There's no way to calibrate it as Saitek saw fit to take the calibration portion of their drivers out a few years ago. Saitek came out with some beta drivers last year to offer a centering calibration that worked for some and not others and nothing since. Their customer support on their forums used to be really robust and proactive, but now there's one person from Saitek posting and they seem distant and kind of uncaring.

 

I wound up going with the CH and am not regretting it. Build very solid by a long term proven company. Smooth action and very easy to get along with and to profile.

 

If budget enters the picture, I'd suggest the CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle over the X65.

[Stingray66]

Maybe Stingray can chime in on this. How accurate can you get while using the X65? In my head it seems like it would be hard to do any precision flying without the feeling of a traditional stick.

 

Without writing like 5 pages...I have it now for more than one year, and I am completely satisfied. I never had quality issues or problems with installation, software, and so on.

 

First to mention though: As far as I know, there is only one additional axis available and that is the POV coolie. If you want another ministick to be recognized as axis you have to reassign a different axis (e.g. the z-movement of the stick, which you usually dont worry about when you have pedals) to that one. And this reassignment is not done via the Saitek software, but you'll find some manuals in the net. -> ergo: This is a little bit annoying BUT the software is great and and diminishes this annoyance to a minimum as you can configure nearly everything there.

 

Concerning the feeling...It took me like 2 days to become comfortable with the stick. You can do very, very, very exact flyings and maneuvers, and since you can adjust the force-meter at any time, you can immediately go for a more or less sensitive stick according to the situation. E.g. in AAR I choose a "harder" profile as in normal flying. And in Falcon, I go for a more sensitive force-readout during dogfights.

The amount of buttons and coolies on the stick are just fine, and indeed similar to TM whatever stick. But the ones on the throttle are overwhelming. And this renders this HOTAS system a very versatile tool for any sim you are flying.

 

Quick&dirty: Dont worry about the force-sensing stuff - it is awesome. If you plan to fly A10 forever and no other sim, the you should go for the TM Warthog, obviously. The thing is, that I dont want to miss the precision of my force sensor anymore.

 

BTW: IRL, pilots that do have a force sensing stick (F14,F16) love it, maybe you go through some literature or internet posts or maybe someone else can comment this - but in high-G situations you are simply better because of your stick. Admittedly, this doesnt count in the A10 ;) :D

 

EDIT:

Once my X-52 started waning, I started looking at the X-65. There seems to be a problem with the stick un-centering itself. There's no way to calibrate it as Saitek saw fit to take the calibration portion of their drivers out a few years ago. Saitek came out with some beta drivers last year to offer a centering calibration that worked for some and not others and nothing since. Their customer support on their forums used to be really robust and proactive, but now there's one person from Saitek posting and they seem distant and kind of uncaring.

 

 

No problems yet at all. Saitek guys in Europe are very friendly, dunno about overseas. BUT: Hehe, you shouldnt place your mobile next to the stick: Once you get a call while you are flying you will definitely crash :D took me a few crashes after I realized that, but hey, it makes perfect sense.

Edited August 25, 2011 by Stingray66

[Pilotasso]

Mine is 9 months old, S/N 02514. Still alive and kicking! :)

[tintifaxl]

I have the TM Warthog paired with TM MFDs and Saitek Combat Rudder pedals and it's the very best setup I've ever had.

 

And I had a few HOTAS, starting with a TM F22 and Throttle Quadrant, TM Cougar + CH Pedals, Saitek X52pro, Logitech G940 and finally the Warthog.

[Stingray66]

To bring it to a point: I think you have to decide whether you want a force sensor or not. If yes, the choice is obvious, and yes the X65F can handle all A10 functions. If no - well then I would go for the TM Warthog because it has similar functionalities that could also be used in other sims.

[richiehatchet]

Went for the X52 pro myself...

 

TM Warthog...too expensive and too specialised (want to use my setup in other sims)

X65F...like the idea of the force sensitive joystick but the throttle size put me off

CH Products...what I actually wanted but trying to get them in Europe/Ireland is a total pain in the ass!

 

So ended up with the X52 pro.

 

X52 Pros:

No need for pedals...twist rudder which I find perfectly fine.

Two stage trigger for PAC1.

Programming software is usable.

Ergonomics are very good.

Throttle has a friction control ... detent removal mod is easy too :-)

Bang for the Buck! (the main reason I bought it)

 

 

X52 Cons:

Build quality is merely ok...but then I'm used to CH stuff.

Most pots have jitter ... not a huge amount but the slider is terrible.

That f***ing centering disc really annoys me (will have to mod this somehow). And was the main reason I was looking for something else as I had an X45 before and hated it. There's a lot of centre play too.

 

I'm still contemplating chucking it in the bin and getting some CH stuff.

But it'll do for now. In fact that's probably the best way to describe the X52 :-)

[Kaiza]

I have had the x52 pro and WH.

 

If you have money to burn go WH, but there is no way in hell the price difference justifies the performance difference. While the WH is nice, you aren't missing much if you get the x52 pro.

[Pilotasso]

hmmm, I had X52 non pro. And I disagree with that. Not only the WH is much much more programable, but also has many more usefull precious buttons to assign all those critical HOTAS functions and handles better.

 

You do get what you pay for.

[spikenet]

well I just received my new x52pro HOTAS.. looks like QA is still an issue as the joystick is dead. It lights up but no buttons or axis.. throttle is ok, bloody anoying!

[Waxi]

I changed from a Saitek x45 to the Thrustmaster Warthog. This was a pricey deal but I don't regret it.

[NIJTN_vdm]

If you're very interested in the A10c then i suggest you get the TM HT ! Personally i'm going to wait until someting like an F-16 or an F-15 comes out in the DCS series and then i'm going to buy a decent joystick .

[Pilotasso]

Went for the X52 pro myself...

 

TM Warthog...too expensive and too specialised (want to use my setup in other sims)

X65F...like the idea of the force sensitive joystick but the throttle size put me off

 

Sorry, I dont get it. What makes the WH a specialized HOTAS? Why cant you use it on other SIM's?

[Aginor]

For me it is the labels. I get crazy when a button has a label that does not correspond to its function.

(which is the reason I still havben't added labels to my G940 although it provides a nice way to change labels)

 

I'm pretty sure other people don't have that problem, though. So technically the TM Warthog is not specialised, but it looks so. :)

[richiehatchet]

@Pilatasso

 

More to do with the throttle base switches and setup (like Aginor) than the stick.

And as an excuse not to shell out the big bucks :-)

[ryyy]

So I threw my Cyborg X out the window today. I cannot even do proper training missions as the auto pilot disengages due to the stick not centered. DCS reads it as me doing control input and disables autopilot and down I go falling like a rock as I am not THAT familiar with all the controls yet!

 

I've decided that by next week I'll be purchasing an X65F and I will stop playing until I get a new stick. Truly going back to what the OP said about not having a good stick hindering the enjoyment!