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Guest tcable

Consumer flight Yoke?

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Guest tcable

CH or Saitek? I've read about both. Never seen the Saitek in person, and the CH does not really make me warm and fuzzy, but it sees that issues are more likely with the Saitek.So I seek further opinions :)ThanksTim

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I have, and use, both. For me, the Saitek feels more solid and allows finer control. The included throttle quad is supurb and greatly increases realism. I use only the Saitek drivers, with axis asisgnment in FS and calibration with FSUPIC.I've had no issues with the Saitek system.Neither of these devices provides the experience of a real world control system, but the bank account hit isn't as much :).Jim Harnes

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Guest nigel28

agreed. saitek has an all metal axis point which feels and controls a LOT smoother than the CH which is plastic. and the TQ that comes iwth it is great. I actually modified it by cutting the middle axis down with a dremel to use as a trim axis..just retrofitted a mixer board thumb press on it and then I retrofitted two sexing thread spindles on the tips of the other two levers for more realistic throttle feel. works great!

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I currently use the CH yoke and can verify that it is useless for the elevator axis as manufactured. I tried lubricating per recommendations but could never get rid of the stickiness. Only after tearing it apart (voiding the warranty) and rebuilding it with some different bushings did I get it to work okay. With modifications, it works great, and there has never been any problem with assignments or functioning of switches and other axis. ArtBiostar TF560-A2+, Athlon 64X2-6000+, 4GB RAM, Geforce 8800GTS-320MB, 500W PSU, 250GB HD, FSX(SP1-SP2), Audigy SE sound, Vista Home Premium 32 bit, CH Yoke & Pedals, 22" WS LCD monitor


Art

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Guest dougwells

I've tried both. IMHO the CH yoke is completely unusable. Thank goodness that Saitek came on the scene with their metal shaft yoke.I bought my Saitek yoke about 4 months ago and had read the numerous posts about problems with random button activations. One poster recommended simply not installing the software that came with the Saitek yoke. Simply plug it into the USB port and use as-is. I tried this approach (no downside really) and it has worked flawlessly.Only negative that I have experienced is that I cannot get the mode switch to work as a true switch that would allow each button to have 3 separate functions (one for mode 1, one for mode 2, one for mode 3). Instead it simply works as its own button. I've read where others have fixed this problem but the solution seems a bit more technically advanced than I want to tackle.Hope this helps....

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Guest tcable

Thanks. If CH changed some bushings and that plastic shaft, then maybe.I just like the look of the Saitek better too, and the addon throttles appeal as well.

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On the SaiTek "random button activation" issue:If you install the yoke using the default windows hid.sys driver, and I ASSUME if you alternatively just install the SaiTek drivers without the profile software, when FS9/FSX detect the new controller they will attempt to find a matching controller from a list supplied with FS9/FSX. There isn't one for the SaiTek, so FS9/FSX will assign axis and buttons using a generic joystick assignment list. These generic assignments are for the most part, useless, except for the elevator and aileron axes and the POV view hat. I recommend going into the control assignments setting dialog, and first removing all the button assignments for the yoke, both in normal flight mode and slew mode. You can then test out your hardware, and I suspect you won't have any random button problems. Then start assigning commands to buttons one at a time. As stated above, the "mode" switch is actually programmed as 3 buttons, one of which will always report as "pressed" based on which position the switch is in. Thus, assigning a command to one of those 3 buttons is a good way to have problems.When programming buttons, note that some software will show buttons with ID numbers from 0 - 31, and some will show 1 - 32 so be careful. In FS9/FSX assignment menu, you can just press the button without knowing the actual ID number and FS will save the right ID.scott s..

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Guest B52Drivr

Hi all, Many moons ago -- I think back in 1993, I had boought the CH, and fought with it and its non-precise movement. About that time (I had not yet had my quintuple bypass operation which the FAA says: "Glad your still with us, but no more multi engine for you, son.") LOL I still had a a friend who was the CEO of a major corp and had constant use of a B200 King Air. Well, needless to say, the yoke on the 200 felt quite a bit different than the CH and as soon as I saw AETI (the old pro flight guys) was selling the PFC Saab repro yoke I bought one. Talk about a yoke that feels like the real thing. Now I know most of you will say, yeah, but it's too pricy, and I can't spend that much. Then again, I've had this for almost 13 years now, and that works out to about 38 bucks a year . . .hmmm, I think I have bought more 'junk' software everry year than that. In the long run, if you are going to stick with this hobby, it is well worth the expensse. Just my observations.Best to all, Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"Sundance Quarter HorsesToomsuba, MS USA

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Although I'm not quite ready to commit, this may be the most salient post on this topic yet.My experience: Saitek service = crap. Saitek Pedals = best you can get. The CH yoke won my money only because Saitek's customer service is so lousy. Once they have your money if you experience a problem the best you'll get is (email) lip service, and that's generally slow. Forget that mess.

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I too have both. While the CH Yoke was okay for about 6-9 months it soon was as good as useless.I saw all the posts about the phantom button presses with the Saitek but I still got one as soon as it became available here. I do not use the Saitek drivers at all. I have never suffered a random button press.I wiped out all the settings FSX made when it detected it except the POV and use FSUIPC to map the buttons. The compound buttons and the mode switch make multiple mappings to the same switch extremely easy.The feel of the Saitek is sooo much better than the CH one that it can only be realised by trying them.John Veldthuishttp://www.virtualpilots.org/signatures/vpa475.png

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