I use an 13 years old saitek throttle quadrant for flying. It's getting shaky. Especially on the Fenix this is annoying, because it doesn't stay on CLB and adjustments on final approach are barely possible. Sometimes it work quite well but often it the parameters are going up and down with me using the throttle. Is there a fix for this? I already have calibrated it via windows. Maybe it's because I hadn't used them for many years and they were in the basement (though protected from dusk).

Hi 737_800

I had the same problem, and it seems to be rather common with the Saitek throttle quadrant. You most likely need to clean the potentiometers, which over time get dirty. On YouTube I found a video that very clearly shows how to do the cleaning. When done my quadrant was as new.

The URL of the video is 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHaENjHvFJQ

Success,

Dirk

Hi Dirk,

good to know there is fix. I will try this out. Thank you for posting.

The saitek pots are notorious for breaking down with medium/high use.  Over time even cleaning will not provide relief.  The choice is either agreeing to replace them every few years, mod them with hall sensors, or go in a totally different hardware direction.  

1 hour ago, micstatic said:

The saitek pots are notorious for breaking down with medium/high use.  Over time even cleaning will not provide relief.  The choice is either agreeing to replace them every few years, mod them with hall sensors, or go in a totally different hardware direction.  

I will upgrade to the honeycomb throttle but waiting for a sale - until then the saitek should suffice, it did it's job. Have been using them since 2012.

On 10/13/2023 at 2:15 PM, 737_800 said:

I will upgrade to the honeycomb throttle but waiting for a sale - until then the saitek should suffice, it did it's job. Have been using them since 2012.

While the Honeycomb Bravo has a lot of features, it also has potmeters instead of hall sensors so these will have the same issue after several years of use.
Also, the cables going to the lever buttons (toga/thrust reverse) are flimsy and can easily wear out after a few years. Mine broke just after the 2-year warranty period.

If you have some experience with soldering you could repair those yourself in which case the Bravo is still a nice and affordable quadrant.

There aren't many alternatives though; the Thrustmaster TCA Airbus has hall sensors and is quite affordable but it is ill suited for GA aircraft. The Virtual-Fly TQ6+ is in another price (and quality) range but has fewer features and lacks a jet option. They also have a TQ6 NEO which looks like it is the ultimate throttle quadrant for GA, but it is very expensive.

Edited October 16, 20232 yr by orchestra_nl

On 10/16/2023 at 1:23 PM, orchestra_nl said:

While the Honeycomb Bravo has a lot of features, it also has potmeters instead of hall sensors so these will have the same issue after several years of use.
Also, the cables going to the lever buttons (toga/thrust reverse) are flimsy and can easily wear out after a few years. Mine broke just after the 2-year warranty period.

If you have some experience with soldering you could repair those yourself in which case the Bravo is still a nice and affordable quadrant.

There aren't many alternatives though; the Thrustmaster TCA Airbus has hall sensors and is quite affordable but it is ill suited for GA aircraft. The Virtual-Fly TQ6+ is in another price (and quality) range but has fewer features and lacks a jet option. They also have a TQ6 NEO which looks like it is the ultimate throttle quadrant for GA, but it is very expensive.

That is disappointing. I would've expected they use better components but if yours broke after 2 years, that not good news. It's way to expensive to only last for that short time. Could you fix it? I don't have any soldering experiences. I guess right now there is no other option.

13 minutes ago, 737_800 said:

That is disappointing. I would've expected they use better components but if yours broke after 2 years, that not good news. It's way to expensive to only last for that short time. Could you fix it? I don't have any soldering experiences. I guess right now there is no other option.

This video on youtube explains how to repair it and it might also give an indication of the build quality of the product:

I don't have much confidence in my soldering skills so I haven't gone that route (yet). I still use the Honeycomb Bravo for GA since the lack of reverse thrusters and toga button are less of an issue there. I purchased a Thrustmaster TCA for jets and I like it a lot but I would not recommend it if you mainly fly GA.

Off al the features I only use the 6 throttles levers and the trim wheel a lot. The switches are not very practical for my type of use since I have a Stream Deck XL / + combi which is much more versatile than the autopilot function on the Honeycomb.

9 minutes ago, 737_800 said:

I guess right now there is no other option.

I wonder if anyone has the guts to update the Bravo with the contactless sensors. The way how the potentiometers are placed offers good opportunities to replace them with the excellent AS5600 sensors that are easily available. Of course some soldering skills will be required...

I don‘t understand why honeycomb haven‘t used the quality sensors? From an environmental perspective this is irresponsible. I cannot think of the the better sensors are much expensive. 
 

I need a new throttle, especially for Airbus aircraft, which one should I buy?

On 11/2/2023 at 6:43 PM, 737_800 said:

I cannot think of the the better sensors are much expensive. 

Unfortunately they are- if you think about if from the mass production costs perspective. If you follow the Honeycomb history from the very start of the company (not so long time ago) you'll see that the Alpha yoke prototypes were using the high- quality sensors as well as better mechanical design in general. However it turned out that with that design/ components the retail price target couldn't be met at all. I think that with the Bravo the price level was the ultimate limitation of what they were able to use in the design.

BTW, with the Alpha XPC they've upgraded the sensors and the controller, but with quite a different price tag...

To be a bit more cynical- if you make a perfect device that lasts forever how would you force the customer to change it for a new model after five years?😁

 

Edited November 4, 20232 yr by SergeyPe

On 11/2/2023 at 4:43 PM, 737_800 said:

I need a new throttle, especially for Airbus aircraft, which one should I buy?

If you mainly fly Airbus, the Thrustmaster TCA quadrant is a good product. I purchased the captain's pack which also contains a decent joystick and a flap and airbrake lever. It might not last a lifetime but it feels to be much better quality than the Honeycomb. It's not for prop's though.
 

Edited November 4, 20232 yr by orchestra_nl

4 hours ago, SergeyPe said:

To be a bit more cynical- if you make a perfect device that lasts forever how would you force the customer to change it for a new model after five years?

Selling the same product twice to the same customer within a few years does seem to me an out-of-date practice. It only works when customers are not too bright or when there are not enough alternatives.

Thrustmaster seems to have found a middle-ground: They might not sell the same product twice but they have a whole range of different products customers can buy. That only works is the quality is sufficiently high for customers to trust their money is well spent. The products might not last a lifetime but not so short that people are disappointed and if the replacing products offer a bit more than the former they might not feel betrayed.

Virtual-Fly and a few others are on the other end: very expensive produfts that almost last a lifetime. Customers will not likely buy the same products more than once but the high price compensates much of this, and they might want to spend money on different products and even be tempted to upgrade to a new and improved version after a number of years.