Title says it all Im concerned with the reliability of this hotas anyone owning it and having issues/experiences good or bad please feel free to relate .I dont care about the stiff throttle I plan to hard mount mine I mainly concerned with any G940 logitech type stuff(sounds like that thing is a nightmare)I have 28 days to return it so any feedback will be appreciated and may save me a LOT of headaches

Thanx in advance

Skip,

You have another thread, in this same forum, currently right below this thread. You started off that thread by asking the same question you did in this thread.

To make things even weirder, you just posted in the other thread that you just bought an X-65F. What gives? There's no need for both of these threads.

Its not really the same question Im asking any OWNERs if they are having difficulties the other thread was for anyone owners or not what they think, two completely different questions Joe

I responded to your post before your edited it, so just ignore the mounting comments I guess...

I've only had it since July, but I haven't had any problems with it personally in terms of quality. No broken or loose components and no jitter from any of the axis'(rotaries, stick, split throttle), etc. Of course, the big test is a year or two later as Saitek is typically not know for their quality, but maybe no moving parts on at least the stick will address that. If you don't have a way to secure it whether it be industrial strength velcro or bolted down, I wouldn't recommend it though.

I say that because you might find the throttle too stiff initially where it doesn't stay in place if you don't have it secured, but after a few weeks of use, it is no longer an issue as I tested it unsecured, but I still prefer bolted down. And then of course, there is the force sensing stick where you are applying force to the stick itself instead of moving a handle, so if you like to apply a stronger level of force before it responds, which is my personal preference, you'll want the stick to be secured.

A lot of it also depends on what you fly as well. If you only fly WW1 and WW2 aircraft, a force sensing stick won't quite have the right feel, but is doable and this would be applicable to chopper sims as well. With that said, I still use the CH Products gear for those types of sims. Now if you primarily fly jet sims and/or space combat games, I think it is a very good solution and feels natural in relation to flying the aircraft and in twitch space combat games, I found it improved my accuracy just because of the smooth control of force sensing.

If you have no experience with a force sensing stick, I would definitely recommend getting it from a place where you could return it if you don't like it, because some people get catch right on with using a force sensing stick, while others will absolutely hate it and never catch on. For me at least, I caught on pretty fast where it was completely natural. Results will definitely vary.

what I fear is the mess G940 owners are having right now and if thats the case with the saitek(New technology) itll go back in a flash so all pertinent info will be Greatly appreciated OWNERS ONLY PLEASE

My words might fall on deaf ears, as I'm not an X65 owner, but take this for what it is: The only thread in the "saitek" section of the controller forum is about issues with the programing software. The overall problem is the manus don't profit off software upgrades/support. Logitech is a prime example: Shoe honing the G940 into software intended for steering wheels and gaming mice, as the margins on a $300 video game controller are too low to justify the dedicated software it needs. The issues with Saitek always seem to come back to long term reliability (which no one will be able to give you a straight answer for, as the X65 fleet is still too young) and poor software. You can test the latter on your own, and arrive are your own conclusions.

To put a bow on it: Your well aware of the G940 issues, but your not aware of any real X65 issues, save for the stick itself being force sensing (a polarizing design choice), and stiff throttles, which you already have an in place solution for. So no, this isn't a G940.

One final edit: If you truly want an "OWNERS ONLY PLEASE" thread, I here Saitek has just the thing....

I have had no problems with my X65 as far as quality of build has gone. All the buttons, switches, axis and rotary's work, nothings broken, or fallen off. I did purchase direct from Madcatz, the 3 year warranty was extended to 5 years, so I feel pretty safe in the purchase. I have a simple requirement of any purchase, that it work, and so far the Saitek works. I dumped my Cougar, because it didn't work.. and became a job instead of a hobby to use it. I also have a complete CH setup, that I've had zero problems with, and one can't fault the support one bit.

Only reportable problem I've had with X65, is some times the mouse pointer had a mind of its own. Upon release, it would continue to wander on its own little way across the screen. Moving the mouse controller back to center, instead of just releasing it would stop it. The latest Saitek software, or a Windows update seems to have corrected this on both an XP and Win7 x64 machine. Don't really know who to give credit too, but its fixed.

Saitek's support site could be better, but worth checking out if your going to purchase the stick. The software? Like anything it takes learning, and the best way for that is to use it. Can more be done with the Cougar/Warthog and CH software? From what I've read I think so, but post here and other places confirms that the trustmaster software is a work in progress too. An argument could be made on how many combination key codes can one use? let alone remember. Any game controller in the $400 plus range, Logitech, Saitek, or Thrustmaster, should do what its designed to do, plain and simple.

Like anything, every high priced controller is going to have a want/correct list, from the hardware to the software. For me the X65-F is a quality set. Do I like my CH set.. yes. The Warthog, me, I'll wait, if the build is as good as everyone is hoping and reported, with no reliability problems (rule #1, its got to work, rule #2 not be more trouble then its worth) I'll have one on my desk too.

Saitek software is in a distinct class below the capabilities of Thrustmaster software (be it Foxy or T.A.R.G.E.T.) and/or CH Control Manager. While it's true that T.A.R.G.E.T. is an still-improving product, it already outshines SST by a large margin.

Not everyone wants or needs this capability, so it may not matter to some. However, compared to some other controllers available for a similar price, the X-65F software capabilities are quite limited.

The most thing that Im disappointed about this product is something "rudeness" of the product since its by no means low price joystick.

As is mentioned on SimHQ review, on sensitive force settings, XY axis go out of the center and the biggest problem about this one is that the Saitek didnt produce a calibration feature for it.
Dont you think, precision of XY axis is the most basic factor to determine the quality of the joystick?

Some claims that this can be solved by setting deadzone but I do not recommend doing so.
With this stick, the more sensitive force settings you set, the more (especially )X axis goes to the left of the center.
When it is going -3.0 from the center, you set deadzone for 3.1, but this means, you need to make a +6.1 pressure for the initial of a right roll while only -0.1 pressure is needed for a left roll.
You can clearly feel this gap and obviously this is uncomfortable.

Back to the XY alignment problem, this was really problematic when operating hover mode in Blackshark and even in Falcon.
Therefore you will be forced to use above certain force settings.

Software has some bug that is for critical for some user and the problem is that the bug that has been pointed out 7 months ago, is not addressed yet.
Unlike other company, flight stick is not the only product Saitek cares as they are expanding their market place.
However this can't be a reason. Why does customer need to care the circumstance of company since they demanded us a good price for this product?

I received mine on 20 August 2010 and all I can say is wow, In Il2, Black shark, DCS a10c, it is just fantastic. I can not speak about the controller software as I have all the keys setup in game menus only. SO far I see no issues with it. I will report back at about the year mark and see how it goes.



Bullet