New joystick suggestion

[Brian_Gladden 0]

Heather,I have gone through 3 Wingman extreme sticks in the last year and a half.. I'll never buy another one. I'm currently running a Saitek Cyborg Gold USB and I absolutly love it. it's precise, has a good feel and you can fit it to your hand so you don't have to strech to reach buttons. And it was only $38 at Best Buy.. I highly recomend itBrian

[Guest eko]

I had a Wingman too, and to be honest, I REALLY liked the way it feels. Ergonomically, it really felt good, and the base was indeed nice and sturdy. However, after less than one year of use, it was impossible to keep it calibrated. I too experienced the problems that other have. Specifically, for me, the stick centering was just not stable. I would be flying, and the plane would bank right or left suddenly. A look with FSUIPC showed that while the stick was in its center possition, I would get spikes to the left and right. Hitting the stick hard a couple of times would fix it, but it was just a matter of time before it started doing it again. I had to have my FSUIPC dead zones set to unrealistic numbers, to cancel out the sudden spikes in output from the stick.It seems that the Logitech joystick electronics have this fault.So I bit the bullet, and decided to replace it. Since I already own a set of USB CH Rudder Pedals, I decided to try the USB Flightstick Pro. What a difference!!! Sure, it cost me $70 (it will cost you even more if you don't shop around and look for the best price), but in this particular case, you get what you pay for. The stick feels awesome, it is either right or left handed, and the feel of it is just SOLID. CH Products has quite a reputation for building solid products that stand the test of time, and this stick is the best one that I have tried. I would highly recommend it. Again, a bit more expensive, but if you do any flying at all, then you owe it to yourself to get it, or something of similar quality.BTW, I didn't even bother with their control software. Both the pedals and the stick are using the default W98SE drivers and work like a charm. It was total plug and play, FS2002 recognized it, etc. etc. etc. The stability I have in flight now compared to the Logitech has made me want to fly more and more now. I can now set the plane and trim it, take my hand off the stick, and the plane won't budge a millimeter. In this context, it was worth every penny.

[Guest Heather 636]

I fully agree. Would love to have a nice Saitek. Unfortunately, two problems. This town has only two places that sells joysticks, Wal Mart and On Cue Music and Books. They have the general run of the mill and no large selection.Two, I be poor folk and can't afford to just run out and buy a different joystick if I'm not happy with my current one.The Wingman is great, while it works. When it quits and those "spikes" start up again, I'll just have to hope that Wal mart will keep exchanging it. I'm on my third one now.Adapt, improvise, overcome.Cheers!Heather

[Guest Reddog]

Hi all, newbe to the forums here and thought I'd get my feet wet here. :-waveI'm using a thrustmaster Topgun Afterburner and like it real well. twistgrip for the rudder, detachable throttle setup, 4 buttons on the throttle and 4 buttons on the stick. Was using MS sidwinders till I got this one and they seemed to work okay just wanted a change. been thinking about splurging for a yoke and pedal setup for @002, want the stick for the combat sims I fly.Anyway someone looking for a good stick might want to consider this one,mines not ff, I think the price was 59 or 60 dollars ReddogUSMC Retired

[Guest Heather 636]

Yes, that is it GHN.But if you buy one, as you can see from my problems with it and the others' replies, make sure where ever you buy it will also exchange it when it inevitably takes a dump.Regards,Heather

[Guest Heather 636]

G'Day Reddog!Welcome to the best GenAv flightsim community on the internet. You'll get more than just your feet wet around here, but as Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing." Semper Fi!Heather

[Guest]

Thanks much Heather! Very elaborate response :)Gotta look into it in a few weeks, when I have some money to spend on such things again. I myself had some pleasant experiences with eBay, not one negative (had about 30 trades so far). Until then I'll stick with my good old stick (hoho pun!). I am happy again since my animated water is showing up again (fixed the problem), and I can now really enjoy the alaskan adventures w/ the caravan amphibian in FS2002!ru,celticmatrix

[Guest Heather 636]

DON'T BUY THIS STICK!!!I bought the first one back in MArch of 2001. Really liked it.I am now on my third one. Exchanged the second one for it yesterday afternoon. Hasn't been 24 hours and it's acting up already!!A nice stick as far as looks and feel goes, but so is a new car with no engine under the hood. Looks great but doesn't get you anywhere!!I'm off to get my money back and find something that WORKS!!!Upon my return, Logitech is getting a letter from me.Good luck with your joystick hunting; just don't buy THIS one.Cheers!Heather

[Guest]

Hi guys, I thought I could have a good advice for joystick recommendation too, since I'm on limited budget (about $40 max) I'm not rich and actually $40 is just too much just 4 joystick. Seeing through this topic, and my interest on Sidewinder Precision 2 USB (Priced at $39 on my local store), I would like to know your opinions on this one. I've seen this features on Ms website and they're ok for me, But I wanna know your bad experience for durability I hope this joystick will stand years (I don't want to buy joystick again next year) :)

[Guest Reddog]

I've had good luck with MS joysticks. Started out with there Sidewinder3D Pro,still works good, then there Sidwinder Precison 2 USB and liked that too, decided I wanted to try something different so got Thrustmaster Topgun Afterburner and that's what I using right now but I had no problems with either Sidewinders and the worked good with any of the sims I have.http://www.enter.net/photoalbum/data/reddog/596406.jpgUSMC Retired

[Guest Joe]

Showing a good sale price on the Saitek...http://store.yahoo.com/saitekusa/cyb3dusbstic1.html

[Guest]

This one still uses potentiometers, but offers ultimate programming flexibility (how about changing the stick response on the fly by pressing a button - together with lowering the gear for example?) and is designed after a real world control system. Check out the forums for all kinds of opinions.http://cougar.frugalsworld.com/HTH,Sierk

[Guest]

Hi Scorpio, Are you talking about Ms Sidewinder Precision 2? When I saw review on Tom's Hardware they said it uses optical detector instead potentiometers. which one is true?here's quote from Tom's Hardware : "To make it as accurate as possible, Microsoft uses optical detectors rather than a potentiometer. The same applies to the rudder bar. Only the throttle handle lacks the same firmness. The joystick is sufficiently stable on its base. "Taken from the link : http://www6.tomshardware.com/consumer/01q4...oystick-03.html I hates joystick with potentiometers, problem always arise after using it for more than 10 months, so many spikes (joystick noise) caused by dirty contact within potentiometer's carbon plate.And another question :on tom's site, they said this force feedback joystick, is this true?http://tomshardware.pricegrabber.com/searc...7d042b&tab_id=1Btw, I cannot browse to http://cougar.frugalsworld.com/ (Could not connect remote server)>This one still uses potentiometers, but offers ultimate >programming flexibility (how about changing the stick >response on the fly by pressing a button - together with >lowering the gear for example?) and is designed after a real >world control system. Check out the forums for all kinds of >opinions. >>http://cougar.frugalsworld.com/ >>HTH, >>Sierk

[Guest]

"Are you talking about Ms Sidewinder Precision 2? "No, sorry for being not very clear. I was talking about the Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar. Also, this was meant as an answer to the original poster (ghnilson) because the TM Cougar costs significantly more than $40.The Cougar does not have force feedback. To answer your question the MS Sidewinder P2 is available in versions with and without force feedback.Sierk

[Guest]

Thank you scorpio for you clarification. and thanks 4 ur input for Ms SW PP2.