Today we lost a button on our 2nd Logitech F310 and we’ve been using them for a long while. Instead of getting another F310, we want to improve the swerve driving experience. Although we’re on a strict budget, we have some options and want your opinions on them. Maybe new ideas too?
1- Buying a PS4 Dualshock, and using it via Micro USB
Pros: Sensitive data, Ergonomical, Affordable (We can get 2 and switch both F310s)
Cons: The wire may come loose after a while, the port will get damaged after time
2- PowerA Enhanced Wired XBOX
Pros: Ergonomic Design, Really durable, Programmable rear buttons
Cons: Out of budget(We can only get one)
3- Wired PS3 Controllers
Pros: Affordable, Sensitive
Cons: Durability concerns, less comfy than modern controllers, also some additional steps for FRC setup
What are your ideas? Do you have any tips on making the PS4 connection more durable? (Like hot gluing it or not removing the cable after use) What would be your own choice?
I loathe micro-usb, and would suggest against it for robot operation. If you can, go something hard wired or USB-C. We’re just using standard XBox controllers right now, and haven’t had any problems.
I would highly suggest not cheaping out on the controllers, even more so than other components such as the battery, as a good controller will get you so much further in comp than literally anything else for its cost. A bad controller will significantly hinder your driver, which will severly degrade the entire robot you designed, to the point that I’d rather spend a tiny bit more on a good gamepad than spend it on the robot any day of the week. performance Comparing a F310 to anything decent is night an day, the F310s completely remove your ability to do fine adjustments at both low and high speeds due to massive deadzones.
At a minimum, you want good quality thumbsticks (no deadzones), no micro usb (hardwired preferred, usbC an option). I’ve used the official Xbox controllers and they work well. Not nearly as durable as gamepads with hall-effect sticks, but also hall-effect sticks are not cheap.
If your drivers like console controllers, the GameSir G7 SE is a great choice at a reasonable price. It has hall effect sticks that center very well to eliminate stick drift with a tiny deadband. They are linear all the way to the stops and can be calibrated if needed. Rumble intensity is configurable. They have two remappable buttons on the grips if your driver would prefer those over typically placed buttons. The cord is USB-C and is removable, but it is held in a pretty deep well with a good bit of friction. It’s unlikely that it could fall out under any gameplay scenario, but it could be hot glued if desired. There is nice surface texture throughout the controller.
GameSir recently came out with the G7 HE, which is nearly the same, but has microswitches for the buttons and silicone on the grips rather than textured plastic. I haven’t touched one of those, but I’d probably try those first if I didn’t already have SEs.
I ordered a GameSir G7 HE to compare with the official XBOX controllers we used last season. The XBOX joysticks often re-center as poorly as ±0.05, which requires a much larger dead zone than we would like. So far the GameSir controller has always re-centered to 0.00. All buttons respond crisply, and all analog inputs respond smoothly. We’ll see how this controller does over the next few months, but initial results are quite promising.
We are using the 8Bitdo Pro 2 Wired Controller for Xbox (Amazon ASIN B0CYZKNSS1) for the competition bot. They are Hall effect on the sticks, center back with no deadzone needed, and we like having both sticks at the symmetric position.
We have relegated the F310s to lab and programmer use and won’t be buying any more F310s, but they’re totally fine for utilitarian/lab use so no sense in throwing them out.
I just received my GameSir G7 HE to try and it’s essentially DOA and too aggravating to keep.
The USB A to USB C cable is broken at the C end - almost works for a few seconds if you bend the cable just right. The cable is replaceable but the hole in the case is too small to insert every one of my other C connectors.
The included paper instructions didn’t say you had to turn on the controller (nor, obviously, how to turn it on) and that was a bit tricky to figure out considering the cable was 99.9% broken.
We use an old Xbox 360 controller with a USB adapter. Works great for us as its super comfy for our driver to use and doesn’t disconnect very easily. Also extremely durable as it survived a few drops with minimal scuffs.
Thants unfortunate. We got two of them last year and have had no issues. I wonder if there was an internal update or something. I don’t remember having to turn the controller on either manually. It just plugs in and works
It looks like the online manual has an update and I got an old paper manual without the new instructions.
What they call the Home button is what they labelled as the Xbox button.
I was able to use the controller for about 5 seconds and it seemed okay and better than the Voyee which also came with both ends of the USB cable broken.
The GameSir is more complicated than what we need but my biggest concern was I don’t have a single USB C connector in my house that would fit into the case. I presume it’s a bit special so it doesn’t fall out of the case too easily.
I prefer not to lock the driver at the driver station in case they need to move to look around. Thats why I like the game controllers. I found our driver and I had our heads against the glass to find notes below us.
