ah. em kay. still looking for someone to give me an enthusiastic YES! joysticks are the only way to go... but it still has to be someone who grew up on the old school stuff. i did see someone on another forum who said they were impressed with the new jcb controls; i have not driven one yet.
"O-K" ..... here is your deffinate "YES" ..... I started out with a hybrid JD/NH 8875 .... it had the foot controls/hand for travel & right wrist for the aux control
What a joke that was, especially when I had been an excavator guy for many years till then .......... BUT as anything you can/will get used to it, which I did ! ..... and got pretty damn efficient too ..... probably one of the best (patting myself on the back ...LOL) ..... had the finess down pat, as many contractors told me.
BUT if it hadn't been that the 8875 wasn't such a POS, and mechanical nightmare, best part was the motor f/JD, and that's where the buck stopped !
I probably would still own it. So, we traded it for the '07 BC A-300, Full meal deal, every trick in the book as an option on it.
"I TOTALLY LUV THAT MACHINE" with the electric hand controls, and variable foot throttle, and all of the electric joy stick buttons for all the aux controls as well.
But I will admit that it took exactly 51-hrs to get so I did not have to think about my actions, sort of as any real operator will tell you, it becomes second nature.
The hardest part coming from an excavator pilot hand control, where you can FEEL engagement to the electric controls was having to compensate for a very slight delay in resonding time to the ground. But after a while you will find that the delay only happens when you are just over idle speed, eg: when you are inching or for those that don't understand that phrase, creeping up to something. the higher the rpm the easier it gets, the drift dissapears, don't ask me why, it don't matter it just happens !
With this style of controls there is "ABSOLUTELY" no operator fatigue. This winter alone I put in quite a few 18-30 hrs straight in snow events, I think the longest was 38hrs ...... at the end of that my 50+ yr old body only lost eye balls and not hand/wrists, or legs n/feet .... trust me it happened in the hand/foot stuff in the old school machine, even in the excavator in long durations you'd have to stop cause parts of the body start to disapear, get out and go for a power walk and start all over again !
So, you got your quote of somebody that will never go back, staying where he's at !
Ps. ...... I am not saying that other machines with pilots are bad/good/better, its kinda like the other threads (excavators) of the age old pissing match " JD/ISO vs CAT/SAE " control paterns ..... which we're not going there now or again !
I know what works for me, same for other ...... stick with what makes you comfortable ............. Cheers ! :drinkup