So what's The Difference between the Thrustmaster T16000m & the New TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition Hardware for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 , X-Plane 11 & P3D.?? Now Available to Pre-Order -------------- Thrustmaster TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition: fcld.ly/tcalinktreebg
The LED on the 16000M is so annoying as it turns off when the stick is centered and turns on when not, so when going through center in a dark room, it keeps stealing attention of your eye. The spring on the 16000M is also too strong that it kills the great precision the stick offers.
Sounds like you could solve that with a tiny piece of electrical tape. But yeah, the amount of annoying leds on all sorts of tech stuff is too damn high!
I have an older T16000m that I've had for a few years now. (you can tell it's age by the fact that it's got green LED's and marginally different buttons and a different throttle slider) I broke the throttle by dropping it, but otherwise it's fine. (the throttle is a 100k linear pot, so it should be relatively easy to replace) I have mine configured for left-handed use. That and the low price and high reliability is why I bought it. Other than the throttle which is my own fault, it's held up pretty well over what has got to be 4 or more years now. There's no way that I'm aware of to lock the twist axis on the T16000M - at least, not the older version, and I don't see any major change to the stick design itself. Swapping the handedness of the stick is done through 3 screws; One is a captive screw that you loosen, and this lets you rotate the hand support 180 degrees before tightening it again. The other changes require that you have the alternate set of rubber parts. The flat part can simply be pulled off. Doing so exposes two screws that hold the thumb-rest rubber in place. (they're quite long) You unscrew them, swap for the other rubber thumb rest, put the screws back through the other side, then push the flat piece for the opposite side in place. If needs be, you can make the stick almost fully ambidextrous by using both flat pieces and ignoring the thumb rests. In this case you can comfortably swap back and forth from one hand to the other, much like the airbus stick design. Overall a pretty robust stick, and if you're on a budget one of the best options. Also THE best option you've got if you need a left-handed stick, because the only other major choice is trash, and beyond that you end up with stuff like the hyper-expensive Virpil sticks that cost something like $800 once you include the stick and base (without the base the stick doesn't work). There's almost no left-handed sticks before you hit that price point.... So If you definitely need a left-hand stick, get a T16000M (or this airbus branded version that's almost the same...)
I use a twin sticks for Elite dangerous. I have the green variant too. They are combined with a Logitech Formula force GT wheel, I use the pedals for throttle. These have been my sticks for about 4 (almost 5) years. They have taken a beating, both have lost the throttle control (plastic parts came off taking the metal support with them, failure of the housing on the resistor). But this is of no issue for me as I do not use them. In the last 6 months, the right stick has become more slack and is prone to drifting (calibration done on them but still there) but a larger dead zone makes up for that. The trigger on the right stick is also a fair bit less reliable (sometimes presses aren't registered, others it's a double press). These were purchased to replace a faulty X56 Rhino (itself a replacement for a faulty X56 Rhino). I much prefer these to the yoke of the rhino. Overall. I am massively happy with the T.16000m's.
The T.16000M doesn't need to have anything unscrewed to change it from right to left. It comes with additional pieces that swap out, just like on the Airbus model. You just pry the pieces out and switch them around.
Maybe they redesigned it, but on my older T16000M you need to undo 3 screws. One to rotate the base, two to actually be able to swap the additional pieces around. The design for those rubber pieces still looks identical, so I have no reason to believe they changed it...
@@KuraIthys ok...I think I misstepped. You can pop off the rubberized thumb piece and palm piece and swap those out. But you DO have to unscrew the actual stick to swap from right to left. I wasn't thinking about the hand-rest on the stick still being on the right side.
Spray the ball on the t16000m with silicone oil spray. You can get a small spray can for airsoft guns. That will make it nice and smooth again. You'd probably want to remove the old grease on there with some rubbing alcohol though.
The main (and most important) difference between the two is that the T16000m uses potentiometers for its axes whereas the TCA uses HAL (frictionless, magnetic sensors) for its axes, which means that the TCA will never twitch on its axes because they never touch anything. Dust will not affect it over the long term like it would do any axis with potentiometers.
Have Thrustmaster confirmed that the slider and twist axis both use contactless sensors? Because the T.16000M has HALL effect sensors for the pitch and roll as well, just has potentiometers for the slider and twist.
I'd love an updated twist axis sensor because I've had 3 failures on the T16000M. But for me, not being able to select trigger 1 and trigger 2 in any combination is a big negative. Maybe you can slide your finger up or down to select different combos, but that seems a little wonky. Maybe they'll switch out the pot for a HAL sensor on the T16000M (or have they?). I can't find anything on their website that says they are using a Hall Effect sensor on the twist axis and I seriously doubt they are. If you plan on using the twist axis for rudder, not just nose wheel steering, you may want to purchase an extended warranty plan.
@DiBarkis - What are you talking about!?!! If I compare each of their FEATURES, they both have the same HallEffect AccuRate Technology. The only difference I read, is that the Airbus has a 14-bit resolution while the T.16000M is 16-bit. But, it may be an error in the description.
The t16000m uses a Hall effect sensor for x and y axis, they do use potentiometers for the throttle and the twist. I suspect very strongly that the new TCA uses an identical guts as the two previous versions of the T16000m sticks with only deleting the two led lights on the stick base and changing the shape of the grip.
I feel there's nothing really to choose between the sticks but the quadrants or HOTAS parts are very different. I went for the T16000 because the TCA quadrant has no hat switch and is too specific to airbus simulation for me.
Do not buy a used thrustmaster! You get a solid 6 months then calibration are needed. After that, what ever side you rest your palm is the direction the aircraft will start to bank..trim needed at that point. finally, the twist aspect will go and then, its time for a new joy. Trust me..I'm on my 3rd Thrustmaster...Fun fact, the first Thrustmaster was green/light. Love the Hotas Quality..great medium range joy...true step up for all you logitech 3D pro users..yes, i was one also :) Went through about 15 of those damn things before getting the Thrustmaster T16000.
I’ve been using two t16000s for about a year. I would never recommend this stick to anyone. The z-axis will fail. Spend a bit more and get VKB Gladiator NXT. That’s what I’m going to do.
Thanks for the thorough comparison! My local microcenter had these in store for a somewhat reasonable mark-up (80 each) and I was not sure if I should snag 'em or not.
I have to disagree with you about the durability of the T16000 stick. The z-axis on mine broke within a week and I've talked to MANY people who have had the same problem. If the TCA stick uses the same mechanism, I'd be very hesitant to recommend it.
It's a common issue. Just check any forum. I got the same problem three weeks after purchase. Looks like TM is cutting the corners with cheap and crappy potentiometer. And I don't think that Airbus joystick will be different.
@@BluGames Ok so i know this is an old video and all, but you really must have not looked. The twist axis fails because thrustmaster's molding has a fault in it, and a piece of the grip puts excessive force on the potentiometer causing it to fail. This has been known for over a decade at this point, and they didn't fix it even when they updated the t16000 to this newer orange color scheme version ages ago. Good stick for the money, unless you need the twist rudder.
I ordered the TCA today on amazon, but then realized thanks to this video that I could get something IDENTICAL for 20 euros less, so I'm getting a few months-used T1600 and deleted my order for the TCA. Thanks
This was a great comparison and thanks for making it. I do have a question about the directional thumb controller on the 16kM. It appears to be physically higher on the joystick compared to the TCA. I ask because I have smaller hands which would likely require a bit of a stretch to comfortably reach it.
Branding. The differences seem little more than cosmetic. It’s pretty cheap though, compared to some. I like the throttle quadrant, and spoiler, controllers though.
hello sir excellent video, very good comparison, I need to ask you although I think I already commented but to be sure, which of the two joysticks consider that it is smoother? I mean which of the two must make less force to move it? the other question is if you consider that the two joysticks have the same travel of the Y axis that would be the elevator .... thanks and greetings to you.
If you are on a budget, a good joystick for beginner or people playing some retro sims would be the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. Really good one for the price.
The real question is did they fix the twist. The T16k is known for the twist going out due to how the pot is held inside the grip. I have two T16k's, one developed the problem within only a couple months of use. I've fixed it multiple times, but every time it comes back. I ended up going back to my old trusty Microsoft Sidewinder FFB2 for my right hand stick.
Fun facht: Got two FFB2s with the twist axis broken the same way, otherwise both are fine and one has seen like 14 years of service now. The twist axis freaking out on the second one made me buy pedals back in the day. That way I solved three problems: I could keep my stick, have a spare one ready and finally have decent rudder control. Today I know how great that stick is because I never needed to switch back to the first one since the second one still works like a charm. I'd be ready for another 15-20 years without new FFB hardware probably. Just hope there will be new stuff, especially with the MS FS20 on the horizon...
Hi buddy, being a Boeing pilot for about 20 years and an Airbus pilot for about another 20 years... means >40 years flying time, could you confirm 2 points 1) about the " nul point" of the side stick: on Airbus, this stick center position has no lag... means, as soon as you move it, it will give immediatly the signal to the flight controls. 2) about the red button we have 2 functions: Auto Pilot disconnect and Priority switch. Is this second function activated on this side stick as it is on the Airbus Side stick? Thank you for your good job. Claude:.
Hey cpt thanks for watching! 1. Yes there is no lag from the the sidestick center position. And if you would like it to be less responsive or more sensitive you can adjust the response curve in your simulator for each axis. 2. The buttons need to be manually set up. So you can do with them any function you would like.
If I can chime in too cpt, I think that second question will depend on your simulator. I assume you use Xplane 11 and I have yet to find a button assignment that be activated by say a button hold. So I think the button assignment can only be either autopilot disconnect or priority. My current T16000M is pretty much the same setup. Would be awesome to see more intricate button assignments. God bless and may the tailwinds be in your favor!
@@indianboy0453 Ok Indianboy04... so only one action can be assigned? To bad! The red button acts as a priority take over button when the AP is disconnected and as AP disconnect button when the AP is in function... not so difficult to adapt the software with those 2 functions which are of utmost importance when 2 side sticks are linked to the system knowing that a lot of young captains had a tailstrike when taking over the controls from their copilot in last resort to avoid a crash landing...this without pushing and maintaining the disconnect PB switch... Have fun and take care
@@skychaserA330 That logic has to be done on the simulator side. Just as an example, the F/A-18 Hornet has a pinkie switch that is for nose wheel steering on the ground or flight deck, but acts as a undesignate button for the sensors in flight. In DCS, you just map that function "NWS/Undesignate" to one single button and what it does depends on conditions (weight on wheels, radar/TGP being SOI) just like the real one. As for the priority takeover function of the Airbus: That's something we all hope to get in FS 2020 as part of the multi-crew feature that won't be in at release yet. As soon as you'd be able to share the cockpit with someone else, that function would be very much needed.
While I haven't got one, I used a Sidewinder with the same number of buttons on the stick for a year on DCS (still use it for helicopters because no pedals). Works fine, just need a couple modifiers for the hat switch.
The Amazon page for the 1600M says that the twisting rudder can be locked, but Thrustmaster's website doesn't mention this, and the instruction book doesn't either. Nor could I figure out any kind of way to actually do so either. I'd really like to do this as I fine myself accidentally twisting when I'm doing maneuvers and it throws me off all the time.
Although I cannot confirm this, after searching, it appears the 16kM cannot be locked natively. Otherwise, it requires opening the unit and making physical changes to the rudder springs.
I've had two 16000m's go bad on me, one after several years and one right out of the box. They both had z-axis drift. This is a common problem with the 16000m. Does the Airbus one have the same issue?
If it’s lighter it’s gonna have the same fake feeling as the t6k. Airbus sticks are much more stiff and hard with less input range required. The Logitech has a much more realistic feeling.
@@BluGames thanks very much, because I have the Airbus edition and I want a better throttle with more buttons and the throttle quadrant of the Airbus edition is only for civil fight sims.
Hi! The T-16000M was my first joystick. What are the buttons for on the Airbus stick? Like I know the trim, and the red button to turn off Autopilot, but what do the left button, the trigger, and the button above the trigger do?
Hello. I started out with XP10 on a PC using the T16000m. I switched to iMAC on Catalina now running Ventura and XP11. It's a plug-and-play device. I just found it on Amazon for 149 bucks. I don't remember having paid so much for it about 10 yrs ago, probably around 50 is more like it. Would I pay 150 nowadays? Probably yes, pricey but worth it.
For T16000, how much that throttle central wheel rotates? I want to use it in racing games and put acceleration and brake on that central wheel? But if it rotates too much, it can't be done. It must go from low to high on one move, without having to lift the finger and apply the movement again in the same direction. I hope I explained right what I need.
Was hoping for some information on what looks like the only real difference in the slider, does the airbus version have a stop you can feel before the bit marked as reverse? Or is it just the graphic and the actual motion is identical between them?
The lack of analog thumbstick on flightsticks makes no sense to me. I really don't freaking understand it. It's an obsolete remnant from the 80s. Nobody uses digital hat for any reason., IF you use it for POV, then you have no analog fine control for head movements which is, really dumb and people having to pay for things like IR head tracking is a result of this ancient mechanism.
Why do you already have the TCA? I don’t know where are u from and if it’s already released there but I’m from Germany and here it’s still not released
The Infidel Do they fall apart or what? I was considering getting one later thiis year, what experience have you had with Thrustmaster and which model?
