FS Hardware Throttles

[veryshort]

Hi Guys ,
Its been a while ! I have just started playing around with FSX SE and I have to admit it runs really nicely on my newly built machine .While simming the other night I have noted my saitek dual { yes I have two of them } throttle quadrants have started acting up , I have read about cleaning the pots etc in them and I have done this a couple of times however I have reached the point of throwing them out as the pots that saitek use are rubbish and you cant seem to buy new ones either { thanks saitek ! } So I'm now looking at options for throttles quads .

I mainly fly the A320 so would like something that would fit the bill for this .There seems to be a big whole in the market for FS throttlequads I have had a look around and not much is available and what is starts entry level wise { yes Saitek thats you ! } and goes very professional quickly along with the price .

What options can people suggest ? I'm happy to look at homemade stuff as well was thinking of gutting the saitek quads for there USB interface and building something .

All ideas are welcome
Cheers
Andrew W

[Ian Warren]

Been well Know Saitek is in a change, I have two throttle quad's myself, there was a good deal on quad's a week or so back, can't recall the vendor but were in the $150AU dollar mark, wonder if the FSUIPC is the solution could be a software problem rather hardware?

[veryshort]

Hi Ian , yes i was using FSUIPC , i then stopped using it to calibrate the throttles to prove it was hardware related and it seems it is as i can see the values going all over the place its not a linear progression.

I can move one throttle from bottom to 50% and get no throttle movement .....its showing all the signs of stuffed/dirty pots and I'm a bit over pulling it apart to clean it again ... I have already lost one axis due to cleaning the pot going wrong ....they really are rubbish pots .






quote="Ian Warren"]Been well Know Saitek is in a change, I have two throttle quad's myself, there was a good deal on quad's a week or so back, can't recall the vendor but were in the $150AU dollar mark, wonder if the FSUIPC is the solution could be a software problem rather hardware?[/quote]

[Ian Warren]

Working with what you have got, maybe pulling it apart , there are very skilled people here who are in the know for rebuilding with old hardware, a few would have an idea were to get the spare parts for a new custom made A320 quadrant, one I know very well , was a regular here , I'll contact Sean and see were he gets the parts from and general cost.

[mfraser]

I have an early GoFlight TQ6 throttle and became extremely disappointed by them from day one. Their performance is extremely poor for an 'enthusiast' grade product - I don't know if their newer versions are any better. There is a huge amount of 'jitter' in the pots, the reverser axis would keep activating when moving the throttles and none of the throttle levers would 'line-up' making engine power management a nightmare! As Ian said, FSUIPC provides a solution. I calibrated each lever first and then used throttle smoothing and the Sync Pos option - plotting about 10 points per axis. I don't know if it will help your issue - its certainly reduced the issue for me, to the point where I can forget about the issues when flying.