VOGONS


First post, by madrobby

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This photo was taken ca. 1995-1997. It’s a PC joystick, I know it had a thumb hat. Can anyone identify it? Thanks!

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Reply 1 of 7, by Cbb

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ThrustMaster Top Gun, ain't it?

Reply 2 of 7, by madrobby

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I researched more and I think what I had back then was a FCS Mk 1. Not totally sure tho... I wish I had a better photo.

Reply 3 of 7, by Ozzuneoj

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Doesn't look exactly like either of the ones mentioned. Look at the shape of the base.

Now for some blitting from the back buffer.

Reply 5 of 7, by firage

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Sure looks like one of the Suncom SFS/F-15E line models.

My big-red-switch 486

Reply 6 of 7, by madrobby

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Thanks, looks like it’s the Suncom! Here’s a comparison with an eBay auction of the F-15 Hawk...

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Reply 7 of 7, by NamelessPlayer

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Those Suncom F-15 sticks are good stuff, nice gimbal.

The only problems are that they use linear slide pots that aren't too easy to find replacements for (and make adapting to Hall effect sensors a total pain), the lower-end sticks (Hawk and SFS) don't have two functioning hat switches like they should and also have the CH Flightstick Pro problem of not being able to press individual joystick buttons together because that's how the hat switch works (so look elsewhere for Wing Commander/Privateer and X-Wing/TIE Fighter), and as typical of sticks of the era, there's a lot of missing functionality compared to what a real F-15 stick would have, which is more of a concern if you're playing DCS than anything that would actually have run on a system with an old-school gameport.

They also have nice F-15 split throttles to go with these sticks, albeit released at a time when using both throttle levers meant having no axes left over for your rudder pedals - a BIG problem back then, and unsurprisingly, individual engine control wouldn't really be a thing until the USB age. Two of the switches on the side are wasted on programming bank selects, but it does have the nifty feature of being programmable without any external software, just a PS/2 keyboard.