Thrustmaster Warthog owners: extension mod available

[brian747]

If you have a 'hog, you may be interested to hear that an "extension mod" is now available which increases the length of the joystick arm and hence the precision of the unit. To quote from the web page:

The goal of this modification is to enhance experience of using TM Warthog HOTAS™. Introduction of the longer joystick arm ensures full usage of joystick excellent precision. Longer joystick throw comes with several benefits which among others include:

Increased precision during manoeuvres, in particular, fine adjustments (when flying in formation or during aerial refuelling)
Eliminates the need for joystick's curvature in settings
Lessens the effect of "snapping to center position" when moving the stick through/or close to/ central detent.
Smaller stick's centering force
Extension allows installing the joystick in off-center (twisted) position. It is useful feature when joystick is placed between legs. It allows the user to rest hand more naturally on the joystick and decrease tension in wrist.

Extension is available in three lengths:
80 mm  ~ 3.15 inches
100 mm ~3.94 inches]
120 mm ~4.72 inches
* every extension includes cable and comes as a set.

The UK price for the metal extension piece and accompanying cable is £40. (Additional shipping for Europe/USA is £10).

For more details, see https://sites.google.com/site/warthogextension/home

I can confirm that for me the extension mod works extremely well, and adds a significant degree of additional refinement even to the smooth operation of the unmodified 'hog.

Perhaps owing to the fact that they were apparently mentioned recently in PC Pilot, the extension pieces have been in somewhat short supply, so all you can do is watch the web site and dive in quickly when they are once again offered for sale. It would appear also that the shorter sizes are the most popular, selling out faster than the longest (120 mm) version.

(At the time of writing, however, (3:15 p.m. BST on 23rd Sept 2015) all three sizes are available from stock).

I placed my order last Sunday, and soon received a courteous email (yes, at the weekend!) telling me that it would be posted to me on Monday; followed by another mail the following day confirming that it had been posted and giving me the tracking information. Amazingly good service! I received it the following morning (Tuesday) via signed-for mail, and well protected in layers of bubblewrap.

On unwrapping it I was immediately impressed by its weight and its quality. I'm no metallurgist, but it would appear to be turned from stainless steel or something similar, and is beautifully made, complementing the heavy metal feel and appearance of the 'hog admirably.

In view of the stern warnings on the website I was slightly nervous when it came to installing the cable, but all was well and it worked first time.

Obviously, I immediately fired up PSX, and was delighted with the improvement in the 'hog's sensitivity and authority. (It was definitely one of those "how have I managed without it until now?" moments).

I had opted for the 100 mm version.... Hang on, and I'll take a quick pic:—



There you go (the extension piece is ringed in yellow).

The difference in the 'throw' of the stick is considerable, and I can endorse the maker's claims for —

* Increased precision during manoeuvres, by providing finer and more precise adjustments.

* Reduced need to counter the stick's tendency to try and return to the centre detent when making small adjustments.

Hence, if you have a 'hog, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. The service from the vendor is superb, and, as I said, after only an hour or so I was hooked — I just can't imagine living without it. Your only problem will be deciding on whether to get the 80, 100, or 120 mm version, depending on what's most appropriate for your home 'pit.   

Cheers,

Brian

P.S. Here's a link to the video on their website, showing how easy it is to install the mod:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zS5EbE-qHw&feature=youtu.be

[Britjet]

Hi Brian

Thanks very much for the heads-up! Just the thing..

Peter

[Hardy Heinlin]

Hi Brian,

thank you for the tip!

Do you now place the stick on a lower desk, or do you hold your hand higher?


Cheers,

|-|ardy

[brian747]

Hi Hardy!

<grin> Yes indeed, the stick was only placed on my desk for the photograph. For flight, I currently have it on a plastic "hop-up" that's just over 30 cm high, and use a woodworking clamp to ensure that the base doesn't move on the plastic (the hop-up itself has rubber feet, so with the weight of the stick it doesn't move on the smooth floor of my 'pit). It's hardly an ideal setup, but OK for a short time....   

We have a plague of builders, tilers, plasterers, plumbers, and painters in the house at present, but once I can remove all their stuff that unfortunately came to be stored in my workshop I'll build myself something better!   

All the best,

Brian

[Britjet]

I have the wheel stand pro for warthog

http://www.wheelstandpro.com/products/wheel-stand-pro-for-thrustmaster-hotas-warthog--deluxe-v2

It is very sturdy and a specific adapter is available which does away with the flat plate arrangement. Very neat.

Peter

[brian747]

Thank you, Peter!   

That looks like a great piece of kit. My only mental question mark concerns whether the "extended" stick might be a little high when mounted on that unit?

Meanwhile I have been toying with a variation on the home brew system seen in this video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lyFtZf6QBi4

I'll let you know how it all works out.   

Cheers,

Brian

[frumpy]

Hi Brian,

after 9 months of usage my Warthog got very sticky. I sent it in for repair,
but I believe the construction of the joint itself is a fail. Otherwise I love that
stick, my better half even sewed a dust-cover for it. I am hesitant in investing
any more, did you experience any stickyness issue? It should get better
with the extension though...

Cheers,

Olli

[Britjet]

I fitted the 4" extension and it is OK height-wise but I have been amazed at how much "lighter" it makes the whole action feel. If anything it is too light now for 747. So for 747 emulation I would recommend probably the shorter extension..

It definitely improves the sensitivity though!

Peter

[brian747]

@Frumpy

No, I never had any stickiness issues, as far as I'm aware. There's always the odd rogue unit, I suppose (something that in this country is sometimes referred to as a "Friday afternoon job", i.e. when the workers might cut corners because they're rushing to get away for the weekend). But there is a noticeable tendency for the stick to try and centre itself, which is more easily overcome with the greater leverage afforded by the extension. But is that the stickiness you mean, or does it occur elsewhere?

For a cover, I tend to simply chuck one soft yellow duster over the stick and another over the throttle base (my better half is utterly immune to the charms of flight simming).   

@Peter

Never having felt the stick forces on the Real Thing, sadly, I have been very happy with my three inch (we can forget metric for a while, *we* know what we mean    ) extension, but I'm interested that you feel the shorter (or shortest?) version might be better. But for the moment, I'm having lots of fun re-flying lots of interesting stuff with the 'new' stick. Just don't ask me to do that Heathrow approach again — with you watching I'm bound to screw it up (again)!   

Cheers,

Brian

[frumpy]

Concerning the stickyness - quite a few of these cases can be found on the net.
Anyway, my Warthog got quickly repaired within warranty by Thrustmaster -
they greased it up again and put in a bottle of grease for free - I'm very happy.

[Hardy Heinlin]

I now have a warthog as well. Very good quality. The resolution is fantastic, and the self-centering mechanism goes exactly to zero indeed. The force is just strong enough for me; I won't insert that extension :-)

The centering force feels linear to me, i.e. when I deflect the stick more and more, the force doesn't increase, which is a bit unusual. When I deflect both elevator and aileron, the force even decreases with the increasing deflection. I need to get used to that. But it's still possible to fly steep turns very precisely.

I find the price-quality ratio very good too. But the warthog has the same problem as all other sticks I tried: The aileron centering force is non-existent when the elevator is deflected, and vice versa: The elevator centering force is non-existent when the aileron is deflected. In fact, this perfect zero null zone drifts away from zero as soon as the other axis is moved off the center. Yokes typically don't have this problem.


Cheers,

|-|ardy

[Britjet]

I bought the smallest extension and removed it after a while. I found it made the joystick feel too "floppy". It was too easy to make a deflection, and the movement required was unrealistically large.

Peter

[Hardy Heinlin]

Interesting tips re stickiness: https://youtu.be/OQOOoPdmRl8


|-|ardy