Any one using Thrustmaster TFRP rudder pedels?

[Patco Lch 1,464]

I have a seven year old pair of CH pedals which have been driving me nuts trying to get the brakes right since converting to fsx steam. I have spent hours trying to adjust them through FUSIPC as well as fsx sensitivity adjustment. They still grab too easy with sensitivity slider all the way right. I saw in PC Pilot that Thrustmaster has a very nicely priced set. I was wondering if anyone  using these could tell me if the brakes are any easier to adjust.

Thanks in advance.

Vic G.

[JimmiG 244]

Well I've had my CH Pro Pedals for over 12 years :smile: They seem to last forever.

 

I haven't had any problems calibrating the toe brakes. Once, one of the toe brakes locked in at 100% which was due to a damaged wire internally. After fixing that, it's working fine again. You could try setting the null zone to 5 -10% if the problem is just that it comes on too easily. Also, I don't remember whether you need to reverse the toe break axes or not, that might be another reason.

 

Anyway I just ordered a pair of Thrustmaster pedals because as I said, I've had the CH's for over 12 years and they just aren't as smooth as they used to be. I don't know when they'll arrive since they seem to be out of stock at most places, but I'll post a quick comparison if I can remember.

[Patco Lch 1,464]

Thank you Jimmi. Anxious to hear how you like your new pedals.

[Penzoil3 480]

Just got a pair of TFRP. I haven't had any problem with the brakes being grabby. Had them for about  a week, using in FSX, and P3D.

 Sue

[JimmiG 244]

Just received mine today.

Here they are next to my rather filthy old CH pedals (sorry for the blurry pic, just a quick snap with my phone)

http://imgur.com/a/5uVCb

 

The actual unit is a bit smaller than the CH's and quite a bit lighter, but the pedals themselves are bigger and more comfortable. They also have a removable heel rest. They are slightly closer together, so if you already think the CH pedals are close together, this might be a problem.

 

The throw or range of motion is slightly smaller than the CH, both for the toe brake and sliding motion, but it's not a huge difference.

 

The motion and control is much smoother, and they're less noisy. However it's a bit unfair since I'm comparing them to my 12-year old CH pedals. Theoretically, the Thrustmaster pedals should be more durable since they use aluminum rails rather than plastic rollers on plastic, but that also depends on the rest of the construction (the plastic seems lighter and perhaps less durable), and the potentiometers used (glitchy, jittery potentiometers have been the most common problem I've had with various controllers). They should also be much, much easier to keep clean. With the CH pedals, the rollers collect dirt and grime so you have to take the unit apart and clean them periodically (which is time consuming and voids your warranty).

[Patco Lch 1,464]

Thanks for the review Jimmi. Are the brakes any easier to calibrate and do they release better? I think I finaly got my CH pedals calibrated after an hours long trail of tears. (using FUSIPC4).

[JimmiG 244]

Toe brakes seem to work fine. With the CH's, I sometimes have to put my foot lightly against the bottom (heel) part of the pedal for the right brake to release properly. This is a function of old potentiometers, They were not like that when new. Since the Thrustmaster pedals are brand new, I can't speak for how well they'll work several years from now  :smile:

[richie894 45]

Any updates from people who have these pedals?

 

I am interested in getting the Warthog HOTAS and they have a deal right now where these TFRP pedals are free with the joystick and throttle. I recently got the MFG Crosswind pedals - still in box not yet to be opened. I am thinking I can pretty much get the Warthog HOTAS and the Thrustmaster pedals for the price of just the MFG pedals.

 

Obviously I know the quality will not be anything like the MFG, but if they work well for the average flight simmer I might as well save some $$$.

[Patco Lch 1,464]

I've had mine a couple of months now and I really do like them. For the price they're fine. The brakes are not near as temperamental as my old CH pedals. As others have said they are a bit uncomfortably close together.

[Mark Wark 0]

I have a pair of Thrustmaster Rudder pedals (picture by my name at the bottom of this note). Granted I bought them (probably) in the late 1990s but they are in good shape and I want to continue using them.

 

After extensive research I concluded that Thrustmaster refuses to write drivers allowing these pedals to work with any operating system newer than Windows XP. I even installed Windows XP on 1 of my computers so that my rudders would work & contacted Thrustmaster for the XP drivers. They refused to send those drivers to me the necessary drivers.

 

I get angry when companys render products theyve sold useless by refusing to write drivers for new operating systems. I think there should be federal laws prohibiting manufacturers from doing this but their lobbyists (the National Assn.Of Manufacturers) pays lobbyists millions of dollars per year to ensure that manufacturers remain impowered to make their products obsolete whenever they wish....but I digress.

 

I am a pilot but not a coder. Is anyone out there interested in writing a driver that will allow these (or other) rudder pedals (and ALL sorts of other products sent to early graves) to work on newer operating systems?

 

Sorry for the screed but I get so frustrated at the brazen audacity of these manufacturers and retailers, especially knowing that the right person with the right knowledge can extend the usefulness of these products. In the alternative is anyone interested in pressuring Thrustmaster (or other manufacturers) to stop this behaviour?

 

Mark

[Mark Wark 0]

In my previous post I said that a picture of my Thrustmaster pedals were by my name at the bottom of my last post. In reality they are my member picture. Click on that picture to get a better view of those pedals

 

Thank you, Mark.

[fppilot 4,355]

Will these drivers not work?

https://support.thrustmaster.com/en/product/tfrp-en/

[Glynn 405]

 

 

Sorry for the screed but I get so frustrated at the brazen audacity of these manufacturers and retailers, especially knowing that the right person with the right knowledge can extend the usefulness of these products. In the alternative is anyone interested in pressuring Thrustmaster (or other manufacturers) to stop this behaviour?

 

It's not the fault of Thrustmaster, Microsoft dropped support for Gameport devices in Win7 and beyond.

[Mark Wark 0]

Thank you fppilot I will download the drivers you provided and give them a try.

 

Glynn:

Thank you for your comment about MS dropping support for Gameport devices in Windows 7 & thereafter. I installed MS XP on one of my computers specifically to install MSFS 2004 that would work with my Thrustmaster rudders as they had befor and I couldnt even get that system to recognize my rudders. As I said above I contacted Thrustmaster to get a copy of the drivers that previously worked on my Windows XP system with MSFS 2004 & Thrustmaster pedals and Thrustmaster said that they would not give me those drivers.

Its easy to get frustrated when devices dont work and blame the wrong party without understanding who is really responsible but Thrustmaster previously created drivers that enabled my rudder pedals to work on XP running MSFS 2004 with my Thrustmaster pedals. Im willing to create a MS XP computer setup specifically to use my rudder pedals but thrustmaster wont send me a copy of their drivers that they created specifically to work with their rudder pedals.

Let me know if Im wrong and thank you both ffpilot and Glynn for your assistance.

[Mark Wark 0]

Hi fppilot:

 

I downloaded the Thrustmaster drivers and documentation provided by the link you included above. I installed the Thrustmaster driver at that link and so far it doesnt work. In addition to this and a few other drivers though Thrustmaster provided several documents that I will go through to see if they can shed more light on the failure of my system to recognize the Thrustmaster rudders described above.

Thank you again and I will dig into this issue some more and return here with my results and/or further questions.

 

Mark.