Anyone have bad experience with Logitech 3d Pro?

I have had two of these and the senors have "died" within a year. The one I have right now has a messed up rudder deadzone and inputs left rudder when I pull back on the stick for no reason. This joystick works beautifully when new, but it slowly becomes unuseable. I've calibrated it multiple times but it still does the same thing. So I'm shopping for a new stick now, and I don't think I want to go with the same joystick again, but it gets all these amazing reviews. So did I just get 2 duds or is this always going to happen? Is there a joystick that won't die like this after a few months?

Hi Tommy,

I had a problem when using a joystick with mixed up axis within FSX. The joystick calibrated fine in Windows but when I tried to use it in FSX, with everything supposively in neutral, neutral to the throttle axis looked like half throttle. And I could go to idle my applying full rudder. I don't recall left or right. I cured it by deleting the existing joystick reference in Standard.xml and then letting FSX detect the joystick and add a new section for it. If the joystick calibrates properly in Windows I believe you might have a similar problem.

Jim F.

Anyone have good experience with Logitech 3d Pro?

 

They suck, I've had 3, they use cheap a$$ pots and they lose their ability to center in a year or less as you've found out. When you get ready to fly unplug the stick and shake the hell out of it working all 3 axes back and forth from stop to stop a few dozen times. Set it back down on the desk and plug it back in. Test centering in slew mode and make sure it takes the same amount of rudder left or right to make the plane spin, if it isn't centered unplug it and plug it back in until it is. Using "calibrate" from within windows or the sim won't make it center, you have to unplug it and plug it back in or reboot the PC.

 

I've taken mine apart a number of times and rinsed out the pots with hot soapy water followed by compressed air. It makes the stick feel like new again but lasts proportionately less & less time the older the stick gets. Mine's in really rough shape now and I've already stolen all the pots out of other dead joysticks to fix the one I use. Time to order up another pallet I guess.

 

I got tired of the cheapies at one time so I spent $70 bucks on a Thrustmaster T.16000m which was great at first but turned to junk in less than 3 weeks. Also the alien green light every time you touch the stick drove me nuts. Much worse than the Logitech in terms of life expectancy and after depositing it into file 13 I'm back using my 5+ year old Logitech which still works (using the term "works" loosely) after all these years.

I've never had a Logitech 3D Pro, but a good tip with all sticks is to waggle them (including rudder twist grip) a few times to "free up" the control surfaces before taking off.

For example I currently use a Saitek Cyborg EVO stick and sometimes notice in external view that the rudder is offset left or right after booting up even though the stick is central, so a few twists on the grip sees the rudder go to neutral.

It might be a stick issue or an FSX issue, but now I habitually waggle and twist before every flight.

but now I habitually waggle and twist before every flight.

but what about the stick??

 

Sorry, couldn't resist

 

Pat☺

Always worked fine for me. Mine has loyally served me for a few years now.

Went through three of them in 18 months, they do become soft and unresponsive in as little as a few hundred hrs. When I purchased mine from a local retailer I bought an extended warranty for a few bucks and just kept exchanging them. Still have one attached to my system but 99% of my flying is now done with a yoke.

I've had mine for five years and I've never had a problem. Strange things these computer thingies.

 

Doug

I've always been of the firm opinion that cars should be driven with a wheel, not aircraft. To me, personally, a stick is much more intuitive. Want the plane to go up and left, back and left. And so on.

But then again, I learned on a S-232, controlled by: Yes, a stick. Probably set my preferences for life, since I was only 14 at the time. Hadn't learned to drive yet, so cars and steering wheels were still a relative unknown to me. Shaped my muscle-memory responses, so to me, a stick is the way to go.

 

And my Logitech 3D has been working for a couple years very nicely :)

 

Pat☺

I am looking at for a new stick too. I had an old Logitech Wingman Digital for years and it never wore out, but I am not hearing as good on the newer Logitechs. I had to ditch it only because it was gameport and they no longer make cards with gameports on them.

 

I tried a Saitek Aviator and it was not acceptable at all. You could move the stick an inch and still get no response out of it. I returned it after 2 days because one of the throttle controls quit.

 

I wish there were something in between these cheap junk and a 100 dollar plus CH but I have not found much.

 

My CH rudder pedals lasted 12 years before they gave up the ghost and worked great. I might bite the bullet and get a CH Combat Stick and another set of their pedals.

 

My opinions, for what they are worth.

I can say that my Logitech 3D Pro has been going great for a few years. Strange how some just don't last though.

Something just came to me: what kind of flying have you done? Certainly hard, F-18 dogfighting will wear out your stick faster than airliners or GA. Perhaps this why some sticks wear out faster?

I have had a Logitech 3D Pro for years, and it works. Keep it clean, especially the USB contact. The only problems I have had are when the assignments get corrupted in FSX. Thats the 1st place I look if the stick starts acting strangely.

 

Bob

 

 

Sent from my tablet thingy!

I've had a Logitech 3d pro for about a month and a half now. Still works fine but there is some 'waggle' in the deadzone -- feels like it's wearing out a bit already.

 

It is on the cheaper side of the equation, and so I never expected great things from it. Honestly I'm guessing I'll get about a year or two out of it. As with all things like this, it can be luck of the draw in terms of build quality from unit to unit. Some people get lucky and others don't.

Something just came to me: what kind of flying have you done? Certainly hard, F-18 dogfighting will wear out your stick faster than airliners or GA. Perhaps this why some sticks wear out faster?

When I went through three of them I was only flying GA stick planes with no auto pilot...Microsoft flight. Flying tubes will never wear out a stick.

I used mine as a slew stick more than a flying stick being a scenery developer and all, and yeah swinging around looking at things and slewing from one spot to another to get an elevation or something every 30 seconds probably does tend to wear out the stick more than AP flight, lol.

 

They still use cheap a$$ pots though, they're about $0.005 USD apiece for something similar from digi-key in bags of 100. If they'd just use something commonly available that you could replace with a Craftsman screwdriver the stick could be infinitely rebuildable. There go my old school thought processes surfacing again... :rolleyes:

I've always used a stick but I keep meaning to get a yoke and switch between the two depending on whether the real-life FSX plane I'm flying has a joystick (eg Piper Cub) or yoke (eg Cessna 172)

Hi Tommy,

I had a problem when using a joystick with mixed up axis within FSX. The joystick calibrated fine in Windows but when I tried to use it in FSX, with everything supposively in neutral, neutral to the throttle axis looked like half throttle. And I could go to idle my applying full rudder. I don't recall left or right. I cured it by deleting the existing joystick reference in Standard.xml and then letting FSX detect the joystick and add a new section for it. If the joystick calibrates properly in Windows I believe you might have a similar problem.

Jim F.

 

The problem is that my stick DOES NOT calibrate correctly in Windows. I forgot the exact steps but at some point I right click on the stick and select the option to calibrate, this is what I'm talking about specifically. The rudder has a large amount of deadzone going left but no deadzone at all going right. The calibration configurator shows the position on the screen with a cross so I can see what's going wrong. Also like I said pulling straight back on the stick results in some left rudder input, but its only when the stick gets pulled back 1-25%, more than that and its fine, but this is annoying when trying to land.

Anyone have good experience with Logitech 3d Pro?

 

They suck, I've had 3, they use cheap a$$ pots and they lose their ability to center in a year or less as you've found out. When you get ready to fly unplug the stick and shake the hell out of it working all 3 axes back and forth from stop to stop a few dozen times. Set it back down on the desk and plug it back in. Test centering in slew mode and make sure it takes the same amount of rudder left or right to make the plane spin, if it isn't centered unplug it and plug it back in until it is. Using "calibrate" from within windows or the sim won't make it center, you have to unplug it and plug it back in or reboot the PC.

 

I've taken mine apart a number of times and rinsed out the pots with hot soapy water followed by compressed air. It makes the stick feel like new again but lasts proportionately less & less time the older the stick gets. Mine's in really rough shape now and I've already stolen all the pots out of other dead joysticks to fix the one I use. Time to order up another pallet I guess.

 

I got tired of the cheapies at one time so I spent $70 bucks on a Thrustmaster T.16000m which was great at first but turned to junk in less than 3 weeks. Also the alien green light every time you touch the stick drove me nuts. Much worse than the Logitech in terms of life expectancy and after depositing it into file 13 I'm back using my 5+ year old Logitech which still works (using the term "works" loosely) after all these years.

 

I unplug the stick many times since I switch it out when I'm not playing FSX. I haven't unplugged it once the game is loaded and i'm about to fly if that's what you mean, I'm pretty sure that a) this won't make a difference and b) the game won't recognize the stick after its been unplugged. Is there any guide on how to take it apart and clean it? There's no reason it should be dusty or dirty in there but I'd give it a try before having to buy a new stick

Something just came to me: what kind of flying have you done? Certainly hard, F-18 dogfighting will wear out your stick faster than airliners or GA. Perhaps this why some sticks wear out faster?

 

Almost exclusively GA flight. It hasn't gone through any abuse besides just normal usage

So this is definitely something with the actual physical sensors in the joystick. If I plug it into another USB drive, the Z axis at neutral stick is like 70% right rudder, but the deadzone in the rudder is still messed up like I said before. It also still inputs rudder when slightly pulling back on the stick. Plugging into different USBs and doing calibrations does not help. Is there anything I can do such as taking it apart and fixing it somehow?

I have had the 3d pro for a little longer than 5 months. The only problem i have is that the throttle would fall down a little bit. On the takeoff roll, TOGA would suddenly disengage or something. It happens every 10 to 15 times now, but it is a hassle. In terms of all the other axes, they seem just fine according to FSUIPC.

 

I am, however, looking for a cheap yoke and throttle. Any suggestions?

Hey Tommy,

I don't think you have much to lose by taking it apart. It could be something simple. I would be hesitant to use water for any cleaning. It tends to wick into places and can cause serious problems if not completely removed.

Jim F.

I guess that you have set the desired Sensitivity and Null Zones under Options, Settings, Controls in FSX.? If these are ok, what happens when you calibrate your joystick within FSX.?

 

Bob

 

 

Sent from my tablet thingy!

TommyK,

 

From your description it sounds like the Rudder potentiometer has gone out, and is not picking up the signal properly, causing the Calibration problems you mention. I had this happen to a 3D Pro we used for Combat Flight Sims. We used the joystick pretty hard for about 4 years, then the Rudder started going out of adjustment just as you described.

 

Looks like it's time for a new Joystick...

 

Capt. Sam - unfortunately, there's no such thing as a cheap Yoke/ Throttle combination. Either CH or Saitek will set you back at least a Buck and a quarter, depending on where you purchase it from. You might want to try Craigslist; you can sometimes find Yokes pretty reasonably from someone who's getting out of Gaming, or else they upgraded.

 

:pilot: