X-55 Comfort Mod
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So, first off. I have pretty large hands. Just not large enough for my thumb to reach the top hat and pickle button. So this means I have to bring my hand up to get to those. I have seen this problem around the net and there have been a few mods that people have made, so I decided to try one myself.
The measurement from the bottom of the hand hold to the top of the uppermost hat switch is a little over 7 inches. The pickle is right around there as well. I measured 6 inches from the tip of my thumb to the bottom of my wrist. My rest is about an inch. Now it sits perfectly.
Basically I used electric tape to make an outline of the base. I created a cardboard cutout and then cut through about an inch of foam to get the shape. I then wrapped tape around that. It’s also held in place by velcro. Obviously this makes it difficult to click the shift button at the very damn bottom of the stick. This thing is really a bad design, whereas the X52 let you adjust the wrist rests. Anyway, I velcroed a paperclip wrapped in tape to the botton and now I can keep my hand in place with a comfortable press of the shift button. Makes a damn world of difference.
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Interesting reading since I too have the same issue you mentioned. My early use of the X55 had me set the pickle button to the stick thumb button because of that. Later study into BMS informed me that the standard location is the red button way at the top above the hat. Tried it, but just can’t get used to it there. I can reach it and press it, but find that I loose stick precision having my thumb stretched up so high, especially during CCIP. So I have moved it back to the thumb button where I can press and hold and not loose stick precision. I wonder what the reach is on the new X56? I understand that the one press thumb button is now an axis or a 4 way.
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Speaking of comfort, I found it inconvenient for the thumb to move to the pickle and H1 without accidentally hitting H2 and POVdue to their shape and size.
Can these buttons simply be pulled out and replaced?? I’ve got an old dead joystick sitting around, perhaps I can make use of some parts.
Thanks.
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Its not a hard problem, designing a joystick for ergonomic use. I just dont get why Saitek have been trying to reinvent the wheel. Cougar design has the right idea. Pickle is up higher where you have to reach for it deliberately, but the hat below it is short and not easy to accidentally press.
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I had a similar “mod”, back when I played IL-2 1946 with Cyborg Evo. It wasn’t an issue of size (Evo had adjustable hand rest, like the X52 Pro I have now) just that the hand rest had a shape that was uncomfortable for longer flights and caused red imprint on my wrist. I took some cotton wool, wrapped it around in some black material, and sewn around the hand rest. Lasted several years until I switched to X52, and only required occasionally pushing around the displaced cotton wool.