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I'm about to buy a yoke/ pedals.I've heard that Saitek feels more realistic, but has some software issues. CH is more reliable, but not as well built.Should I get the same brand rudder pedals as the yoke that I buy or does it not matter?Thanks.

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Guest jahman

Same brand yoke and pedals means you'll save time configuring your hardware as you will only need to learn one set of drivers.Other than that you can mix and match hardware to your heart's content.Cheers,-jahman.

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Guest Lesliek

I have CH yoke/pedal and after 1 year of use I am absolutely satisfied. Some of my friends using them and no any problem I have heard. For me is CH Products realy good choose. I think it is no matter if you use pedals and yoke from different supplier, only the separate configuration will take longer time.

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Guest jahman

Same here (Yoke, Pedals) plus the Throttle Quadrant: All been working like a charm now for about a year...If you fly heavies you

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And I've had my CH controllers (yoke, pedals, throttle quadrant - a bit custom-remade) for a few years now. No problems of any kind.I'm really satisfied. Of course it's not perfect and it's plastic, but what could you expect for this reasonable price?I didn't and I'm not going to have Saitek, co I can't comment on this. Sorry!It would be best for you to hear from someone who used both. But it may be hard since why should anyone do that? :)Best regards,Rafal

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Guest GeorgeDorkofikis

It's true that a large number of Saitek yokes had severe problems with phantom button presses.But that has been fixed in the latest production lines and also all the old affected yokes have been repaired or exchanged by Saitek.See here for more information (you will need to register. It's free):http://www.saitekforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=149I have bought the Saitek yoke late February and it was one of the new lines (s/n sz52xxxx) so I have no problems. In fact I love it better than the CH Yoke I had since 2000. The CH Yoke still worked fine all these years, although being the first gameport version it gave me some headaches to have to have a gameport on my PC.If I can compare both, I would say the Saitek is better build, using metal axle instead of the plastic one of the CH. Response of controls is very good and smooth. You have to play with the sensitivities through. Especially in FSX.To summarize a comparison I would put it down like this:CH YokePros: Many years on the market, reliable, good programming software (although not needed for FS).Cons: Plastic axle, weird/hard to reach buttons on top of the wheel. You really have to have long thumbs!Throttle, mixture, propeller axles are on top of the unit.Expensive, high price compared to quality.Saitek YokePros: Metal axle, separate throttle quadrant, Clock/Chronometer, nice arrangement of buttons, better hand grip. Good quality of materials for body and wheel. Cheaper than the CH. Mini USB hub on the yoke body to connect other USB devices (like the extra throttle quadrant).A power supply is required in this case but it's not provided in the box.Cons: Some problems reported with the button programming software which is optional anyway, and not really needed in FS. Average quality of buttons (Could have been better). A bit short USB cable (about 1.8m only), so an extension might be needed. If you want to use the USB hub, you need to buy external power supply to power it.Please note that I had used the first gameport version of the CH Yoke, so my comparison is based on that. USB Version may differ.There is also a small problem with the button programming in FS, but it's not a problem of the yoke, but FS itself! Thankfully, it's easily fixed.I'm not affiliated in any way with either CH or Saitek. All of the above are my own personal opinion and should be interpreted as just that.Cheers,George DorkofikisAthens, Hellashttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/811520/1704.png

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George,Thanks for your help. Are you saying that I wouldn't need to install the saitek software to use it in FSX? It sounds like that is the biggest problem. You can still assign everything in FSX like before though, correct? Can you set up profiles in FSX if I fly an F-18 and use a joystick with one setting, and then switch over and fly a 737 with they yoke under different settings, or do you need the Saitek software for the profiles?Thanks again,JeffHuntsville, Alabama

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>>But that has been fixed in the latest production lines and also >>all the old affected yokes have been repaired or exchanged by Saitek.This is the official company line but it's my understanding that this issue has never been resolved and Saitek just pays lip service to the problem. This is still an issue and Saitek can't/doesn't care to solve the problem.Personally, I had to return 2 yokes to Saitek and to their credit they did cover the defect, but I had to pay postage on both both ways -- the last return I just gave up and took a refund. I swear I'll never buy another one of their products again. I advise against it, no matter how much cooler it looks and feels than the CH. Those random button pushing issues will drive you crazy and make landing next to impossible.

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Chuck,When did you buy the Saitek? It sounds like Saitek is probably a better product, but the phantom button makes CH a safer choice?

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Guest SkullxBones

I was also told the newer Saitek version fixed the phantom button issue. I have no problems with my Saitek yoke/pedals/throttles.

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I have had no issues with my Satek Pro Yoke, Pro Rudders, or my Extra Throttle quad. My unit serial number is 49XX. All 49XX and above units have the corrected firmware.I do not use the Saitek programming software as a registered copy of FSUIPIC does a bettter job for Flight Simulator.Most of the issues I have read about, were people still had problems, were tracked down to a conflict with another device driver/hardware.

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Guest GeorgeDorkofikis

In FS9 it's very easy to do it.Haven't tried FSX though as I don't have it. I'm waiting for FS11. ;-)But If I remember from the demo, you can save your settings to different configurations, so it must be possible.And I confirm, there is no need to use the Saitek profile software. Just use the driver so that you have functional clock/chronometer.FSUIPC does the same job much better.George DorkofikisAthens, Hellashttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/811520/1704.png

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Guest GeorgeDorkofikis

I had the same considerations that's why I waited and bought it late February. But again, I personally checked the serial number on the yoke before buying it. It was in the 52xx series so it's ok.Some issues with random key presses on newer productions are NOT a hardware issue but an FS problem.If you clear ALL assignments, exit FS and then restart it, you will see that FS has put in the button assignments buttons 9,10 and 11 by its own! And FS is "smart" enough to put those buttons to gear, view change etc...Those buttons are the mode selector switch on the right column and should not be used in FS. Remove those assignments, program your own, exit FS, LOCK the settings (in fs9 use the Locked=1 line under each{Joystick....} line in fs9.cfg) and you're all set.Never had an issue for 3 months now.George DorkofikisAthens, Hellashttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/811520/1704.png

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Guest dswo

I've had a CH yoke for four years. The elevator control is sticky, although lube can mitigate this SOMEWHAT. But there is a weak point here in the design and/or materials. I also had to return the yoke once for a button that was starting to go bad. I had to pay one-way shipping and a repair fee in the US$10-20 range (even though the yoke was under warranty; never under that part).I like the placement of buttons, and having the sliders (throttle, prop, mixture) on top of the unit, where they don't take up extra desk space.When a plastic part inside the yoke broke last month, I wasn't sure what to do. (Yoke was two years out of warranty.) Plastic cement fixed the problem for one month, then it broke again. I did another repair which I described here, with a few pictures: http://tinyurl.com/4l6ebc. That seems to be holding.If the CH yoke didn't have the elevator problem, I would probably buy another. On the other hand, complaints about the phantom key problem with Saitek have so far kept me from that one; glad to hear it's fixed, and I'll give it another look. Now that there's some competition, CH is gathering input for a new yoke product: http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5145. I'd be interested to see what they come up with, but it doesn't sound to me like we're going to see a production model anytime soon.Am very happy with CH pedals. They feel very solid, and I've never had had any mechanical trouble with them. (When I first bought them, I did have some trouble with them not being recognized; the solution was to edit the properties for their USB port so that Windows could NOT turn off power to the port when it seemed to be idle.)

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>Chuck,>>When did you buy the Saitek? It sounds like Saitek is>probably a better product, but the phantom button makes CH a>safer choice?I picked my Saitek yoke up about a month ago and have had zero issues with phantom key presses or anything else. It comes with the throttle which is awesome...so, for me, it's a no-brainer.Also, you don't have to use Saitek's crappy software. I disabled my joystick in FS and programmed it solely through FSUIPC...it works perfectly.Hope this helps!Jeff HepburnKDEN

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