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Courtesy: Andre Malesh. Posted:
With the strength of the 2.4GHz cordless technology found in today's best cordless phones, you can stop being limited and start stretching out. We've also added a wealth of buttons and features on the Logitech Freedom 2.4 to give you all the control you need for flight sims, racers, and mech games. 9 LOGITECH Get into the game with advanced control and a cordless joystick. 2.4 GHz wireless technology lets you concentrate on the game. A wealth of buttons and features on the Logitech® Freedom 2.4™ gives you all the control you need for game competition. The Freedom Force 2.4 is a great joystick, plenty of buttons all in easy to reach places and most importantly it feels really sturdy and well built, with main elements of the control being aluminium to.
Some games simply don't work properly if you use the traditional mouse and keyboard combination. It's no coincidence that this reviewer has recently acquired Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 3, and as a result the subject of joysticks has been looming large.
Zooming around the clouds to shoot down the jolly old Bosche is all well and good, but it's much more fun using TV-Out rather than a PC monitor. Playing a game sat in the comfort of your favourite armchair is a whole new experience, just so long as your joystick has a long enough cable, or you can take a whole new approach and go wireless.
Logitech has released the Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick as part of its wireless range, alongside wireless mice, keyboards and gamepads. That '2.4' indicates that the joystick operates in the 2.4GHz frequency range, which is 802.11b and Bluetooth territory. Oh yes, and also your microwave oven.
Once you install the controller software on your Windows 98/Me/2000/XP PC you plug the USB receiver in and you're up and running. Well, you are once you insert the three AA batteries (supplied) in the base of the joystick and press the receiver connect button.
The Freedom 2.4 uses frequency-hopping to avoid interference from all the other devices operating in the same range, and the joystick works at a range of up to six metres from the receiver. Logitech claims the battery last 'up to 50 hours' but common sense says that will vary depending on which batteries you use.
The joystick is impressively styled in a skeletal tripod way, and it feels like a quality piece of hardware. It is positively covered in controls, with an eight-way hat switch on the top, circled by four programmable buttons. There's a trigger and also a thumb button. On the base are four large buttons for your left hand and at the rear is a throttle lever. It also has a twist function which works far better as a throttle control to our way of thinking.
While you can program the buttons yourself, the idea is that games writers create specialised profiles for the controller that you download from the game's site or from Logitech.
The only absent feature is force feedback, but that's no surprise as the only power source is those three batteries.
Conclusion
This is an impressive piece of hardware, and it's a very good joystick for its price. We are all in favour of getting rid of the rat's nest of wires around our PCs, and this is a positive step in the right direction.
We give this product 8.2/10.
Logitech Freedom 2.4 Windows 10 Drivers
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Logitech Freedom 2.4 Receiver Manual
Logitech Freedom 2.4 Driver
The funky looking Freedom 2.4 Cordless is designed to offer lagless gaming over wireless connection. The stick comes with a USB receiver and software. The receiver plugs into an available USB port and has a connect button. Other than the basics there’s nothing else that comes with the stick.
Ten buttons are available for you to program and use. Four are located at the top of the stick in a two by two configuration on either side of the hat switch. Four more buttons are on the left side of the base in various sizes and shapes. The different button shapes help a little bit in determining which button your finger is on. There’s a thumb button on the thumb groove of the stick and finally, the trigger rounds out the list of buttons. Most of the buttons offer good feedback when pressed. I would’ve preferred a little strong spring on the trigger and maybe thumb button but that’s just me.
Like most sticks nowadays, there’s a thumb throttle on this one at the base area closest to you. The throttle’s motion is smooth and offers good resistance in both directions. I was happy with the way it felt and it offered good control in both small and large movements. On top sits the hat switch for functions like padlock view or whatever you decide. I did find that buttons five and six on the top sit pretty closely to the hat and the hat will easily hinder your ability to push them without nudging the hat.
The stick features a platform to rest the ball of your hand on. It makes for a comfortable hold and the molding of the handle offers a good grip. Handle twist is also a feature of the Freedom 2.4 Cordless and will make games like Mechwarrior 4 a lot easier to control. The spring that centers the stick gives good resistance and feels very smooth. It quickly centers the stick with authority yet is soft enough to not be too hard to move.
Three large rubberized feet offer a nice base for you to set the stick on. The tripod configuration of the rubber feet offer a good amount of traction and it stayed still nicely on all the desk surfaces I tested on. Its wide base keeps the stick stable during all sorts of fast action. By taking off the bottom of the base, you insert three AA batteries to power the stick.
If you own other Logitech wireless game controllers, the receiver will look very familiar. On the front is a connection button with an LED underneath. If, for some reason the connection between the receiver and the joystick gets interrupted, you can reconnect the two by pushing the connect button and then any button on the joystick. A solid green means that you have a solid connection. If it’s blinking then you need to connect the joystick. On the joystick base there’s a clear Logitech logo that lights green when connection is made and orange when searching for the receiver.
Plugging the receiver in the USB port of my Windows XP computer, the OS had no problem recognizing the joystick and setting it up for operation. Without using any of the Logitech software, I went into the Control Panel and game controllers to see if it was operational. Sure enough, the joystick showed up correctly labeled and testing each function yielded the appropriate response. Pressing multiple buttons and performing movements with the stick and hat also showed up correctly in the test window.I do suggest installing the software though as it adds the ability to double all the buttons by assigning one as a shift button. You can also adjust the deadzone of the stick and also load profiles for certain games.
The one game I really was anxious to use this stick with was Battlefield 1942. Battlefield 1942 is a game that you really need more than one controller to truly play. With a wireless mouse and keyboard setup already, having a wireless controller for flying can really help alleviate the mess around your playing area along with being able to switch between devices without having to deal with cords. Spending a good amount of time with the game, I found flying with the Freedom 2.4 Cordless to be trouble and lag free. The stick was a bit touchy though but that was taken care of by increasing the deadzone. After I adjusted it to my liking, flying was a breeze. Having more than enough buttons to control the plane, I was soaring the skies with the greatest of ease. The controller worked out really well and I didn’t notice any delay when pressing a button or moving the stick. Playing Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries I had another solid experience using the controller. Torso twist was easily accomplished by the twisting handle and I had no problems controlling the speed of the mech with the throttle.
The Freedom 2.4 Cordless stick is one great piece of work coming from Logitech. It offers lag free gameplay with a good amount of buttons for you to program. While I do have a few minor gripes about the layout of the top, overall I really liked how the stick handled. Logitech continues to offer great cordless solutions and the Freedom 2.4 Cordless is no exception.