Looking for MS Sidewinder Joystick

[FightingSteel1]

This is probably the worst place to be looking for something like this since everyone seems to love them here, but I'm looking for a Microsoft Force Feedback 2 or possibly a Precision 2. I thought I might as well give a post here a shot.

I'm most excited about the Force Feedback variety (never had one of those), but either stick would hopefully hold up for the foreseeable future now that I'm playing CLOD a lot more.

If you have one of those laying around or an extra you can part with, please let me know :).

[Combat Wombat]

Some of us may have one to spare but being in australia you would be better off looking ebay ect ,but you may strike it lucky here ) good luck.

[Lensman]

as Wombat says...Ebay is your friend..

There are many for sale on there at this moment..several in the USA:thumbsup:

[FightingSteel1]

I have been looking on eBay for one...I didn't see any harm in checking with the community as well. eBay can be a crapshoot on price, condition and other factors. I also thought perhaps in the small chance someone here had one, it would be better taken care of/less of a gamble what condition the stick would be in.

[ATAG_Lewis]

I have a few of these sticks..simply because hunter gather mode kicked in...and I wanted to try get a few of them...Not one of them has failed on me...I know folks who have had them for 10 years and played them most evenings and all that has happened is that they got a bit loose...So they are real work horse sticks....I highly recommend them....and they are very competitive...Getting one from eBay generally means someone bought one a long time ago and put it in the attic after a short while...Folks who have used one know how good they are and don't sell them...so you stand a very good chance of getting a good one....All of mine cost me under £25 ($40)....

So now I have promoted them....Ebay....There are tricks to getting one at a very low price....Check my post half way down this thread for those tricks...

http://theairtacticalassaultgroup.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7160&highlight=ebay

1) Try searching a common spelling mistake....if you find one you will have no competition buyers....

2) Vague searches....like 'Joystick'...You will get many items but in those items you will get items items from folks who have no idea the worth of what they are selling nor on how to advertise it to get the most views....

3) Items that are sold at normal working hours or in the middle of the night...Most Ebayers do their buying at weekends or after work between 6 and 10pm....Anything that is sold at this time will get maximum buyers interest...So look for ones that have end time in early mornings or work times and not weekend...

4) Use a Snipe Website (like Goofbay)....Snipes allow you to put your bid onto an item with only a few seconds to go without your PC needing to even be turned on....If you find an item you are intersted in then don't bid on it, only watch it....If you bid on it before the sale time you give any bidder that time to contemplate upping a bid..and don't forget during that time they only have to think its a good idea once to increase the sale price...A snipe simply stops them having the time to think about it...

5) Always open a dialogue with the seller (using 'Contact Seller' option) and politely ask for a buy it now price when they have NOT put one on initially....You see 6 sellers..then contact all 6 of them with the same question..'Do you have a 'Buy It Now'Price'?....They can only say no and the bidding go on as normal....but sometimes they say yes and give you a ridiculously low price because they don't know the worth of what they are selling and haven't researched that particular items average sale price or simply missed the option for a 'Buy it Now' price when they advertised it......This price they then give you will also be a price no one else can see.....Ask them to change the sale and add the 'Buy it Now' option while you wait and refresh..the moment it comes on you grab it and.....BINGO!!

[FightingSteel1]

What misspellings have you searched for? I did just find a Logitech under "jaystick" so finding what I'm looking for that way could work...never know.

Unfortunately I haven't found a FF2 going for under $40 yet, but I'm on the lookout.

[ATAG_Lewis]

Best bet is search 'joystick'...You'll get a lot of hits but you'll sometimes find one that is just advertised as 'joystick'..that means if you searched' Microsoft sidewinder 2' you wouldn't have found it....The thing is here is its about being patient....If you have the time then you can save a lot of money on ebay...If you're in a rush then don't expect to get one cheap...

Experiment with different spellings....Try searching only 'sidewinder'...and then......'Microsoft sidewinder'.......

These next ones are from the UK Ebay...

4 here are under $40 but if anyone had caught these guys early as I said then they'd have stood a chance of getting one below $40....That's how I got all mine..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-SideWinder-Force-Feedback-2-/131596345483?hash=item1ea3c0e08b

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-Sidewinder-Force-Feedback-2-Joystick-X05-63776-/141767404201?hash=item2101feeaa9

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-SideWinder-Force-Feedback-2-Joystick-and-Flight-Simulator-/301729980075?hash=item4640821eab

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-SideWinder-Force-Feedback-2-656-00105-Joysticks-/121751000274?hash=item1c58ecd4d2

and this one with free postage at is under $40 and 'Buy It Now'.....its £20 ($31)..this is the best bargain...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-Sidewinder-Force-Feedback-2-Joystick-/271982460215?hash=item3f536afd37

and this one a bit more expensive

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Microsoft-SideWinder-Force-Feedback-2-Joystick-/281794365728?hash=item419c40c920

What can I say..you just got to look for them...they're out there man!....

[FightingSteel1]

Thanks for the information. Looks like the good stuff is in the UK though!

[RAF74_Buzzsaw]

I have two MS FF2's, I bought the second one as a backup although my first one is still working... although the '3' button is a little sketchy, I am going to try to clean the contacts on this when I find the time.

Here's another good source although it is quite a bit more pricey than finding one which has been sitting in the attic.

This guy in Germany rebuilds and sells them, and offers a guarantee. No FFB's on his site right now, although lots of the sidewinders:

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/mdalkowski/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

The good news is even if you buy a well used one, you can get replacements for the parts which typically might show wear.

For example, here's one of the pots:

http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&KeyWords=omron+b3m-6009

The main motor and feedback system is basically bullet proof.

[ATAG_Lewis]

I have a seen over 10 from ebay...mine and mates who have bought them...Not one of them showed signs of wear....They all performed perfectly so I can only assume that there's a lot of folks out there that have them and have hardly used them..I would be very surprised if you got one from ebay and it was a bad egg..

[DoubleStandards]

I have been on a mission the last couple weeks looking for MS FFB sticks. I stumbled on one at "Goodwill" (a second hand store in the states) for $8. I am now going to all the Goodwills in my area and searching. I have come across 2 more, one for $10 that has problems with the buttons and another for $12 that is working fine.

Looks like I will be attending "Hoarders Anonymous" with Lewis now. :)

DS

[FightingSteel1]

I have been on a mission the last couple weeks looking for MS FFB sticks. I stumbled on one at "Goodwill" (a second hand store in the states) for $8. I am now going to all the Goodwills in my area and searching. I have come across 2 more, one for $10 that has problems with the buttons and another for $12 that is working fine.

Looks like I will be attending "Hoarders Anonymous" with Lewis now. :)

DS

Sounds like you should share the wealth a bit :). I'm jealous, as I would definitely pay more than that for one. 8 or 12 dollars is a steal.

I have some Goodwill stores in my area, but they aren't the nicest places in Florida and would be a needle in the haystack situation finding a stick there I think.

[7./JG26_SMOKEJUMPER]

Sounds like you should share the wealth a bit :). I'm jealous, as I would definitely pay more than that for one. 8 or 12 dollars is a steal.

I have some Goodwill stores in my area, but they aren't the nicest places in Florida and would be a needle in the haystack situation finding a stick there I think.


I grew up in those seedy spots. Those are the best place for stuff like this. Hard up people sell anything they think may have value and they will sell it cheap. I scout pawn shops when I can still.

[DoubleStandards]

I grew up in those seedy spots. Those are the best place for stuff like this. Hard up people sell anything they think may have value and they will sell it cheap. I scout pawn shops when I can still.

Goodwill is a donation only place. One persons trash is another persons treasure. People sometimes dont know the value of things they think is trash.

DS