Hi guys,I have a Thrustmaster F16 PRO Joystic & THRUSTMASTER TQS throttle, both of which cost me a small fortune some years ago. The problem is that they are not USB and therefore only can be run on older PCs. Is there any way to successfully modify them to USB somehow, perhaps by using the guts out of a cheapy USB stick, or must I bite the bullit and go for some some new gear? It would be a shame to have to toss these out!!Cheers.

There is a digital chipset upgrade available for that set of sticks (third part) sorry I haven't got a link for you but some googleing should get you there, I wouldn't be throwing them out !! At least maybe sell them on ebay, they seem to still get sold on there OK, I just purchased a set for my sim, will probably do the digital upgrade a little later.Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to convert them to USB without losing their full functionality.Cheers Glenn. You can check out my Simpit Project here:http://www.simhardware.co.nz/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33

Yep I found that digital conversion from Stickworks ( http://home.att.net/~stickworks/swf22.html ) for US$50. Not something I'm too keen on doing myself, so I'll be selling my gear on e-bay soon and save for a looooong time and get the TM Cougar. They seem to be the best HOTAS out there.Thanks for the tip!

If you are a semi-handy with a soldering iron you can do-it-yourself with one of Leo Lavaca

What about a gameport to USB convertor?Norbert

I don't think that will allow the full functionality of the joysticks, as they usually need software to run them. I've had that with a Saitek X35 + throttles. Only things I could use were the throttle, rudders, joystick axes, the POV, and the six buttons on the stick itself. Converting them to USB will allow them to be used on a pc with no spare gameport, but won't allow an increase in functionality. Windows XP is notorious for not allowing old software to use the gameport properly!