Thrustmaster XL

Don't buy the Thrustmaster XL joystick. I bought one as a reasonably priced 4 button + hat joystick. As it was made by Thrustmaster I thought I'd be Ok with it. Sunday I'm playing NASCAR and the x-axis lets go on me when the springs decide to detatch themselves from the joystick. It comes round to Tuesday and I go to town to get it replaced, which the shop did happily. I get the joystick home and when my housemate pick up the box (prior to opening) it rattles. Lo and behold it's another spring in the box and the x-axis is floppy again. 2 XL's out of 2 faulty. I think it's a design fault. Max

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>Don't buy the Thrustmaster XL joystick. I bought one as a reasonably >priced 4 button + hat joystick. As it was made by Thrustmaster I thought >I'd be Ok with it. Sunday I'm playing NASCAR and the x-axis lets go on me >when the springs decide to detatch themselves from the joystick. >It comes round to Tuesday and I go to town to get it replaced, which the >shop did happily. I get the joystick home and when my housemate pick up >the box (prior to opening) it rattles. Lo and behold it's another spring >in the box and the x-axis is floppy again. >2 XL's out of 2 faulty. I think it's a design fault. >Max

Max, There was a problem with the older XLs. The spring arms were made out of the same glow-in-the-dark plastic that the buttons were made out of....the only thing is - the stuff that's mixed with the plastic to make it glow in the dark, also makes it brittle. So, they changed the type of plastic used. This was changed several months ago, so most of the stock out there should be pretty much gone, and replaced with new. Matt ThrustMaster, Inc.