After my Thrustmaster T3/Nascar Pro problems, thought I would try a Saitek
R4 wheel. It looks good on paper and has all the things I want: a
traditional gear shift, F1 style paddle shifters, decent pedals, adjustable
tension in the wheel and both pedals, split, combined and analogue (for DOS)
modes, and a reasonable price.
After taking it out of the box at the store and checking it over a bit, I
could confirm that the construction quality and finish seemed decent to good
overall.
The set-up: Great clamping system. Fiddly to assemble because you must
attach the wheel to the base, but the base also has an adjustable rack for
height and angle (3 settings). The only bad point I could see was that the
pedals cable (a telephone cord) plugs into the base of the main unit
necessitating two cables across the top of the desk. The main cable does
not detach from the base allowing for "removal" of the wheel when it is not
in use. Both of these things could be addressed with $1 upgrades.
So far, great!
The software installation is 2 MB of useless graphics and ***to put a 35K
file into the Windows\System folder, but who cares...it runs automatically
and doesn't leave a bunch of stuff behind.
Calibration: jitters in the calibration screen are quite severe--worse than
with a disabled pot. in a T3!! I play around with the different modes, but
cannot get a stable reading. After calibration, on the Test screen, the
wheel goes absolutely nuts. Attempt to play GPL: the nuts part makes the
car completely undriveable.
Now I think maybe it is not the wheel(s), but my piece-o-shite SoundBlaster
PCI 128 sound card gameport that is causing problems...since both the T3 and
the R4 have calibration problems. Check into it a bit at various sites and
sure enough, others have had problems with the card and recommended putting
in a dedicated (and adjustable) game card. Unfortunately, I don't have room
in my system for that...and no, I'm not giving up ADSL Internet access for a
game card!!!!
Go to my local big box store and "borrow" a Logitech Wingman wheel. I tried
out the wheel in a store a while back and though it was fantastic.
Calibrated and worked perfectly out of the box. After using it for a few
hours, I didn't like the light "springy" feel of the wheel nearly as much as
at first....but I digress. So the Logi works perfectly, but the R4 and the
T3 don't. Hmmm...
Try the R4 on my spouse's machine (P200 with an SB16) and it does exactly
the same thing as on my machine. Hmmmm...
Tell the store to order me another one so I can swap the two main guts
pieces. Meanwhile, after 6 days, Saitek support finally gets back to me and
says that the latest drivers fix "the jittering problems". Problem is, I
had already updated the drivers. Checked the version manually on the
files...they were NOT updated!! Ran the update installer again, and they
are still NOT updated.... Updated them manually. Made no difference.
Jittering and going haywire after a calibration.
New unit arrives at store. Take my parts in and try them on a machine in
the store. Jitters and haywire, just like my two machines. Try the new
parts on the store machine...same thing. Jitters and haywire. (I like that
phrase.)
Try the new parts on a second machine in the store...same thing. Try
updating the drivers on the second machine...makes no difference.
I bring home a third wheel parts, and I still get jitters, and much less
frequent but still occasional haywire actions.
GOD, this is annoying!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would love for people in the know to please suggest to me what I should do
next. I know people are successfully using the R4 wheel...they are not all
unusable...the company would be bankrupt if they were! What on earth could
be causing this behaviour? 3 wheels from two batches on 4 machines...all
unusable.
Lastly, according to the updated readme instructions, to switch from one
mode on the wheel to another (like you do every time you want to switch from
GPL or the sim.-type games to a "lower-order" game that doesn't support
split pedals), you must uninstall the previous version from the control
panel and install the one you want, then recalibrate!?!?!!? Having to power
down the machine to switch modes with the T3 was bad enough! The Logi can
be switched on the fly with a check box and auto calibrates as
well!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are the drivers/software support for this wheel really that BAD??? Could it
just be flaky drivers that are causing all the problems and the
Nintendo-heads buying them are too dim-witted to notice the jittering in the
Test screen because they never bothered to check it and their game is so
badly programmed that they don't notice the effect the wheel is having on
control of the car?? Boy, I hope not, but it seems like that is one of the
few plausible explanations left.... Please, please tell me it isn't so :)
Thanks,
Marc.
--
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Marc Collins
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist---"
General John B. Sedgwick's last words, 1864
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Howdy Marc. Sounds like a pain in the ...... My R4 didn't suffer from the
"jitters and haywire" problem :-), though it had enough other woes to send it
home to its makers. This is probably useless, but if you haven't tried it, you
might want to try different settings for the "poll with interrupts enabled" box
on the Windows game controllers screen. I seem to remember someone getting
results with that. If your experience with Saitek's tech support mirrors mine,
you won't get much help there.
As for the "springy" feel of the Wingman Formula, it largely disappears after
you modify it for 270 degree rotation, and the springs do loosen up a bit with
use. I've seen a post from someone who put softer springs in his wheel, but
then I stiffened mine. Go figure. Hope you get it sorted.
Steve B.
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