Suncom F-15e Raptor advice

[Leofev]

I was digging through boxes of my old stuff and uncovered this old beast I had stuffed away and forgotten. Back in highschool I used to play it with things like Air Warrior, MS Flight Simulator, X-Wing, TIE Fighter. It was a great stick.

Cost/effort wise, would it be worth converting from serial to USB? I've seen the Raptor is still highly regarded and used today and wondered if it would be worth the investment. Anyone have experience with this kind of thing?

Not a picture of mine, but what it looks like:

 

[Lorddarthvik]

I've only done my MS Sidewinder 3D Pro, that was easy with just an external breadboard, a a few dollars worth of bits and bobs and a Teensy board.

As for your joystick, oh boy. Doing a quick search led me to total conversions with custom PCBs and such... Absolutely not worth the time money and effort imo unless you are the type of person who doesn't mind spending a year and a half doing something like this on and off..


Nope, nope, ignore the above, this might be the thing you are looking for

FUSBA - Realsimulator | Online Shop

F.USB.A is the acronym for F-15 USB Adapter and let you connect the Suncom SFS F-15 hardware to any standard USB socket. It is a true second life for it.

realsimulator.com

 

[Leofev]

Holy shit, the dedicated adapter costs more than a VKB Gladiator.

I've also seen someone rig it through an older keyboard with a serial port input and from there into a modern computer for not too much, but that kind of creates a mess in the area I'm working in and I don't have much room.

I'll probably just stick with my mouse/keyboard for now. This was mostly out of curiosity as I do have an x52 HOTAS, with an old MS Sidewinder on the side if I want to try HOSAS.

 

[Lorddarthvik]

Holy shit, the dedicated adapter costs more than a VKB Gladiator.

I've also seen someone rig it through an older keyboard with a serial port input and from there into a modern computer for not too much, but that kind of creates a mess in the area I'm working in and I don't have much room.

I'll probably just stick with my mouse/keyboard for now. This was mostly out of curiosity as I do have an x52 HOTAS, with an old MS Sidewinder on the side if I want to try HOSAS.

Oh shit, lol, I forgot to check the price, I assumed it was no more than 30-50bucks shipped lol

Yeah, at that price point I'd get a Gladiator as well.
Actually I did, after I got bored of my adapter being in the way and falling apart for the Sidewinder. It's a pretty nice stick, the higher end stick option (spacesim option I think?) comes with enough hats and buttons to effectively run most planes in DCS with a bit of remapping, so it's good enough for SC. I do miss a left hand analog control though, would be nice for racing in SC and targeting controls in DCS.

 

[Leofev]

Ok, decided to join the growing bandwagon and ChatGPT this.

To connect your Suncom F-15E to a USB computer, you'll need the following steps:

1. Obtain a USB joystick adapter: Your Suncom F-15E is a joystick that uses a 9-pin serial connector, while modern computers use USB ports. To connect the joystick to the computer, you'll need an adapter that converts the serial signal to USB.
2. Connect the adapter to the joystick: Plug the 9-pin serial connector into the joystick and the USB end of the adapter into an available USB port on the computer.
3. Install drivers: If necessary, install the drivers for the USB joystick adapter. The drivers should be available from the manufacturer's website.
4. Test the connection: Once the drivers are installed, test the connection to ensure that the computer recognizes the joystick and that all buttons and axes are functioning properly. This can be done using built-in joystick testing tools in the operating system, or with a joystick calibration and

I think I've found the right drivers, so I might spend a couple bucks in the future to get the 9-pin serial to USB adapter and try it out later.

 

[Radegast74]

I'd get the adapter. While it may be "expensive" they literally do **not** make joysticks like they used to. You aren't going to find the metal & quality built into the latest joysticks, unless you go for the tippy-top end.

 

[Leofev]

I'd get the adapter. While it may be "expensive" they literally do **not** make joysticks like they used to. You aren't going to find the metal & quality built into the latest joysticks unless you go for the tippy-top end.

It definitely feels solid and has a great tactile experience to it. At some point in the future, I'm going to pick up a regular adapter and try it with that. I'm pretty sure what makes that high-end adapter expensive are the parts to load firmware on there to make it fully plug-n-play, but since I've found the original drivers may not need it.

And if that works..... I'm certainly going to find the matching Suncom SFS series throttle for the matching set. I have seen it around for $75-100 on its own in a couple of places.

 

[Pistol]

Cool looking Joystick! If you don't get it working it would make a nice ornament, looks fairly authentic.

 

[Dirtbag_Leader]

Wait, clear up one important thing first: does it use a DB 9- or 15- pin connector?

 

[Leofev]

Wait, clear up one important thing first: does it use a DB 9- or 15- pin connector?

Mine has 15 pins.

And after looking I realized my model is the F15e Raptor, not Talon. Slight difference, but not huge.

 

[Captain Harlock]

Mine has 15 pins.

And after looking I realized my model is the F15e Raptor, not Talon. Slight difference, but not huge.

Hello, I'm a new member here, I just saw this very interesting thread about the Suncom F 15 and info are so rare about USB mods for it! I received an offer to buy a completely new F 15 Hawk for next to nothing, and wanted to know if the simple adapter + drivers worked with the Suncom? Have you got it to work?

Thanks and cheers everyone!

 

[RacerZX]

Mine has 15 pins.

And after looking I realized my model is the F15e Raptor, not Talon. Slight difference, but not huge.

Hey man, did you ever get and use that 15-pin USB adapter? I recently just got a Suncom f-15E talon which also uses a 15-pin connector and I wanted to know if you had any luck with getting it to work. Although, I'm hoping to get mine to work with War Thunder. Also, do you still know where you found the original drivers for the stick?