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Started by Will, Mon, 21 May 2012 18:05

Will

I feel silly asking this question on a forum full of hardcore home cockpit builders... but does anyone have recommendations for retail joysticks and other (flight) controllers that work well on the mac?

For example, Saitek doesn't make mac-compatible drivers for their sticks, so although they work in "basic" mode after plugging them in, quite a few of the bells and whistles are apparently missing.  (Some of Saitek's controllers have a switch that selects one of three modes, tripling the functionality of the stick.  But this mode switch isn't available without the driver, which isn't available for the mac.)

So any recommendations?

Note: this question isn't PSX specific.

Thanks
Will /Chicago /USA

Will

#1
Looks like CH Products also only makes PC-compatible controller software... I wonder what functionality is lost when using their four-lever throttle on the mac?

Edit: Similar to Saitek, CH Products says things like "144 programmable buttons (40 on the mac)",  so it seems that both Saitek and CH Products have software that extends the functionality of the device, but only on PCs.

What are the best mac alternatives?
Will /Chicago /USA

petdocvmd

Hi Will,

I can't speak for the latest hardware, but my 5-7 year old CH Pro Pilot USB Yoke and rudder pedals both work fine on the Mac with X-Plane 9.  Sorry I can't help with your question regarding extended functionality, though.

-Scott
Scott L. Fausel, VMD

Will

Thanks Scott, just to clarify, I have the Saitek X52 and it works perfectly as a basic joystick just by plugging it into the mac.  All of the buttons work.  The Saitek has two added features that don't work though, without the PC-only software.

One is a three-position switch that gives three modes, in effect, giving you three completely different mappings (three times as many effective buttons).  The other is a "shift" button, that doubles the number of functions per button. That increases the number of available buttons from 34 to 3 * 34 * 2 = 204 different actions.  Without the PC-only software there are just 34 available.
Will /Chicago /USA

Hardy Heinlin

I have a Logitech "Extreme 3D Pro" plugged into the iMac. All buttons work.

Nice for the office. It's not so big.


Cheers,

|-|ardy