Mounting a PC Flightstick

[DataWest]

Has anyone had success in doing so? The analog happ ones are WAY too expensive ($180-300) so I was thinking about getting this

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/gaming/joysticks/devices/291

And attempting to mount it.

[ahofle]

Depending on how smooth your control panel top is, another option is a more temporary solution such as this:
http://www.cedarpc.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=53
The benefit aside from cost is that you can pull it out only when needed to avoid cluttering up your panel with a permanent mount.

[DataWest]

Thanks

Do you have one of those? How sturdy is it?

[TopJimmyCooks]

I have the logitech stick you showed.  I have mounted it on top of the CP before and it works well.  I drilled some holes into the underside of the plastic "legs" and screwed machine screws up into those from below the panel.  i was going to recess it but it wasn't worth the trouble to rout it out and only get about 3/8" more depth, routing into a 3/4" panel top. 

I like the stick a lot, although in games that can use the rudder/twist (my example is starwars x wing alliance on PC) it is too easy/sensitive to twist so I barrel roll randomly throughout any dogfighting. 

Pictures of this setup are coming soon on a project announcement thread.

[DataWest]

I have the logitech stick you showed.  I have mounted it on top of the CP before and it works well.  I drilled some holes into the underside of the plastic "legs" and screwed machine screws up into those from below the panel.  i was going to recess it but it wasn't worth the trouble to rout it out and only get about 3/8" more depth, routing into a 3/4" panel top. 

I like the stick a lot, although in games that can use the rudder/twist (my example is starwars x wing alliance on PC) it is too easy/sensitive to twist so I barrel roll randomly throughout any dogfighting. 

Pictures of this setup are coming soon on a project announcement thread.

Cool. Is it 8 way? How does it do on shmups and games like Discs of Tron?

[TopJimmyCooks]

It is analog.  I like it for:  PC games, Star wars arcade, tailgunner.  I haven't played DOT.  I play shmups and almost everything else with the U360. 

The reason I have 2 analog sticks is that I have the short shaft on the u360 and therefore less control, for me, for flight type games.  Plus the trigger fire and b switches are great for flying type games. 

[DataWest]

Ok thanks. You should try DoT and let me now how it is for it.  That is the main reason I want a flightstick.

[bobotech]

I would look for something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Top-Gun-Official-Thrustmaster-PC-Joystick-Controller-/160568415140?pt=PCA_Joysticks_Game_Controllers&hash=item25629f93a4 

It is a usb flightstick but is the old square style with a flat top on the base.  WOuld be much easier to drill some holes on the top of the flight stick and then mount it under a thin control panel.

I bought one at a thrift store for 99 cents for doing just that someday.

[isucamper]

I have some experience with this. 



This was actually the second stick I had on my panel.  The first was junk and needed to be replaced, but I actually took it apart to mount with screws onto a plank beneath the pannel.  This stick was more expensive and I didn't want to take it apart, so I just used double stick carpet tape to secure it to the plank.  It's been rock solid for almost 2 years. 

8 way games feel and play great (though no where near as good as an authentic TRON or Gorf stick).  For TRON you can mess with the controller map option in MAME to make it more difficult to hit the diagonals.  Analog games feel even better, but again, no where near as good as an actual flight yoke.  Still, you get a lot of diversity for having an analog stick on your panel.  For more info see "The System" in my signature. 

[DataWest]

Very cool. What kind of stick is that isucamper?

[bobotech]

Looks close to a CH Products flight stick like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CH-Products-Fighter-Stick-Usb-Joystick-/270728787020?pt=PCA_Joysticks_Game_Controllers&hash=item3f08b1744c

[bobotech]

Actually it looks like this one, a CH Products Fighterstick:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-CH-Products-Fighterstick-Joystick-200-571-/380318148843?pt=PCA_Joysticks_Game_Controllers&hash=item588cba68eb

[DataWest]

Thanks

[isucamper]

Yep, that's the one.  I paid a lot more than 5.00 for it too. 

[bobotech]

Yep, that's the one.  I paid a lot more than 5.00 for it too. 

To be fair, it wasn't the same stick, mine is a Thurstmaster Topgun joystick (has 1 hat and only 2 buttons on the handle) but it is USB.  I jsut looked at it and the Goodwill price is still on it.  1.99. 

[DataWest]

I have some experience with this. 



This was actually the second stick I had on my panel.  The first was junk and needed to be replaced, but I actually took it apart to mount with screws onto a plank beneath the pannel.  This stick was more expensive and I didn't want to take it apart, so I just used double stick carpet tape to secure it to the plank.  It's been rock solid for almost 2 years. 

8 way games feel and play great (though no where near as good as an authentic TRON or Gorf stick).  For TRON you can mess with the controller map option in MAME to make it more difficult to hit the diagonals.  Analog games feel even better, but again, no where near as good as an actual flight yoke.  Still, you get a lot of diversity for having an analog stick on your panel.  For more info see "The System" in my signature. 

I just bought that stick for $41.  how much did you pay?

[drventure]

I bought a logitec flightstick off a guy on CL (actually, I bought a lot of 3 plus another stick) for about 20$. I knew I was going to be hacking them, so I figured best to have backups.

Anyway, once I got it apart, I realized that the stick mechanism itself mates almost perfectly to a happ super base.

A little dremel carving and 4 screws and presto. Flightstick on an arcade stick base. Just count it like any other arcade stick.

I lost the ability to use the little "trim lever" thing that was attached to the base of the logitec but I haven't missed it for mame games.

[DataWest]

I have some experience with this. 



This was actually the second stick I had on my panel.  The first was junk and needed to be replaced, but I actually took it apart to mount with screws onto a plank beneath the pannel.  This stick was more expensive and I didn't want to take it apart, so I just used double stick carpet tape to secure it to the plank.  It's been rock solid for almost 2 years. 

8 way games feel and play great (though no where near as good as an authentic TRON or Gorf stick).  For TRON you can mess with the controller map option in MAME to make it more difficult to hit the diagonals.  Analog games feel even better, but again, no where near as good as an actual flight yoke.  Still, you get a lot of diversity for having an analog stick on your panel.  For more info see "The System" in my signature. 

I got it in the mail today. It's rock solid. But wow I didn't expect such a long throw after the direction gets triggered. I'm gonna have to restrict it somehow.

[isucamper]

Yeah, I guess that's what I was trying to say when I said it didn't feel as good as a normal arcade stick. 

Keep in mind that if you restrict the throw (which is a good idea) you won't be able to hit the extremes on analog games like Star Wars.  It's kind of give/take with a versatile stick like this. 

Btw, I paid more than 41 dollars. 

[DataWest]

Yeah, I guess that's what I was trying to say when I said it didn't feel as good as a normal arcade stick. 

Keep in mind that if you restrict the throw (which is a good idea) you won't be able to hit the extremes on analog games like Star Wars.  It's kind of give/take with a versatile stick like this. 

Btw, I paid more than 41 dollars. 

Im glad I got a good deal. It feels just like a happ arcade flightstick sturdiness wise.

Yeah I just need to figure out a way to restrict it. My main games I want to use it for are DoT and shmups, so I need a short throw. It just feels weird having all that extra space after the button is triggered.