My team is currently looking for new Xbox controllers and flight sticks, does anyone have good recommendations for either? Preferably in the 20-40 dollar range. The main priority is longevity, although sticks that don’t get stuck would be great.
Tbh controllers (especially good ones or flight sticks) are expensive. The Xbox series X (standard and elite) are an excellent all rounder option for most teams. They are best (by far imo) for driving at the expense of button density, so if you need a ton of buttons, a custom button board to save on cost might be up your alley. But tbh most good (for the abuse FRC controllers take) options are going to be in the 50-60+ range. On the lower range i here the Logitech F310 is decent, though its far more PS4 style ergonomically, so it will depend on the person an how much they like that layout with the close sticks and all. But still, thsts risking a lot on an bargain-basement controller.
For perspective, I have seen estimates showing that each match is costing your team in the range of $500 so it is worth finding the money to get the good controllers. If necessary, go do some fundraising. We had some decent quality controllers go bad and cause problems in some of our matches last season so we got some of the Xbox ones (I am not sure which model).
This year we used the Afterglow branded Xbox controllers. The quality is pretty much identical to normal Xbox controllers, but with LEDs. The only downside is they require a usb connection and lack wireless, but you would never use the wireless anyways. They are also cheaper than official Xbox controllers. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pdp-gaming-afterglow-wired-controller-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-windows-10-transparent/6452820.p?skuId=6452820&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnOipBhBQEiwACyGLumQnGhG_Aq6Hu_Ik0p-ze0MSXjijjtV4f0VAbawxdrvHxLCvNqTbRRoCLooQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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My team (1778) has used relatively cheap (~$150) hall-effect joystick drone controllers to great effect). We did a writeup and made a custom controller (modded with hall effect joysticks and custom gimbals) and won a 2017 Innovation in Control Award at district competitions, but nowadays that kind of controller is easy to buy, and we recently bought a new one for this year.
Benefits:
- Hall effect sensors for joysticks do not wear out over time, and so typically there is no deadzone at all, because there is no need for one, compared to potentiometers which naturally wear out with physical contact over time and get drift.
- Many are more ergonomic than typical gaming controllers, but that may be subjective most of the time.
- These days, it is more likely to be able to buy ones that connect to a PC with normal USB gamepad behavior, for the commercial purpose of flight sims.
- Longer gimbals allow for more precision of movement, along with the simply higher step resolution of the hall effect sensors, which can often be 10x the resolution of normal gamepads. This really shows in precise control and turning, and shines with the use of longer gimbals for more precision.
- They look cooler.
Getting expensive Xbox ones is often not worth the money when most of the cool features and branding costs that make Xbox controllers more expensive do not matter for FRC at all. They may be high quality, but are of a terrible value when you consider cheaper controllers with hall-effect sensors, sturdy (built for outside use) build quality, and higher resolution, as well as a lack of reliance on Xbox controller drivers, which can be finicky.
Edit: the specific controller we bought for the upcoming season is this: RadioMaster Zorro MAX EdgeTX RC Transmitter w/ AG01 Mini Hall Gimbals. This is $220, unlike my original estimate, but still worth it if you have a larger budget, and of better value than alternative Xbox controllers with potentiometers.
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I know 3468 have had overall good experiences with PowerA’s Wired XBox Controllers. Which often has the base models in the $25-30 range. And while the wires are removable, we’ve had no issues since the connectors are keyed and deep-set in the controller making them fairly robust.
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These are out of your budget but I wouldn’t recommend skimping out on controllers (if you have the budget available).
For Xbox controllers my team uses Razer Wolverine controllers since we have had problems with the USB-C port on the box controllers wearing out
For sticks, we have been using Thrustmaster T16000Ms and we plan on continuing to use them along with a custom Arduino button panel for our main driver and operator controls with the Xbox controllers as a backup
if you have the budget, I can’t say enough good things about VKB gear.. contactless sensors, bearings on all axes, adjustable spring tension, adjustable drag, lockable axes, many buttons.
we also use logitech f310’s, they last 6 months in heavy use but they’re useful for prototyping.
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We use the razor wolverines as well and love them.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sku/5796515.p?skuId=5796515
We love these! We finally have drift after 8 years of abuse and so be it at those prices. $40 or less I can replace it and not be mad about it. Plenty of buttons for operators, 3 joystick axis for holonomic control, 4th axis slider for controlling shooter speeds, mini dpad for panning a camera, etc.
It has a nice long cable for drive practice or you can wrap it up and mount them down onto a board. I’ll send a picture Wednesday of our setup. But normally it’s one joystick for drive and one for operating.
If budget isn’t an issue what are the best controllers for frc?
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I would go for a custom Design Lab (in your team’s color pallet) Xbox Elite Series 2
or a custom Scuf controller tbh
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