Bourrinopathe

:thumbsup: Glad it's been helpful AVX0. It's definitely worth the effort switching to the new gimbal. And by the way, the MkII gimbal is closer to the feeling the real russian pilots experience as many russian aircraft use a dual spring gimbal mechanism close to the pincer-type feeling we have with the MkII gimbal (that is in no way inferior to the MkIII, imo). VKB know their stuff really well. There are some very interesting pictures in >>> that thread <<< ----- I would also be interested in a comparison between the BM MkIII and the Warthog gimbal feeling.

Thanks Sokol. And, yes, I've seen you've smoothed the edges on your T-Rudder. More comfort is always welcome. More official details on the MkIII -> MkIV improvements incoming ;) In the meantime, here's a random info (as I was curious about it): 60 mm, same as the MkIII. My MkII has a 50 mm clearance but I didn't try the other hole that would increase the space between the pedal and the T-Rudder's front "feet".

Huh… same as you. I just grabbed the tools and gone all-Frankenstein with it ^^ It should not be very difficult though. The most worrying part was to remove the sensors as I did not have the required tiny hex key. I used a similar Torx key. Check if you have the right tool first before disassembling your MkII gimbal. Otherwise I took a few photos - I'll try to upload them as soon as I can. Let me know if you have the key to remove the sensors and I'll try to help. - loosen and remove the grip for easier manipulation - remove the base plate - unplug the cables inside the base - remove the gimbal (4 hex screws) (you end up with a part similar to your upgrade) - check if you have the tool to remove the sensors (two tiny circuit boards) If you manage to remove the sensors, you just have to put them on your new gimbal. You will have to mount the X (roll) axis sensor inverted (with the connector facing outside - opposite from what you have in the MkII). The Y axis sensor is mounted the same way it is in the MkII. Let us know how it goes. Also, feel free to can contact me via gmail (same nickname). ------- ▲ The red arrows show the tiny screws (4) you need to remove to extract the sensors. ▲ The X axis sensor will not fit the same way it did in the MkII gimbal. Just invert the sensor position (components facing the physical axis). ▲ Final result with the sensors in place. Now, you just have to assemble the rest of the flight stick. (the controller axis connectors are marked "X axis" and "Y axis" (on the circuit board), so you should not invert your axes)

Sawed-off toe? Flying could get dangerous ;)

Thanks for the details Sokol :thumbup: I'm not sure what 5) is referring to: What part could hurt the feet ? (sometimes I use my T-Rudder barefoot and I didn't notice anything uncomfortable (even the heel pads)) (@rrohde: thanks for the detail about the "non-rotating" MkIII pedals. So you don't know how pleasant the feet massage feature is… what a shame :P)

Here's the T-Rudder MkIV from the official announcement: The new heel pads look better and should be more comfortable and easier to adjust (sliding and secured forward and backward depending on the shoe size). There's an access to the "tensioner" hex screw that should adjust the pressure on the internal gimbal. The pedals "cylinders" are now non-rotating (they were rolling freely with the previous versions). I like my MkII rolling pedals as they provide a very comfortable freedom of movement. Some users may prefer the MkIV firmer feeling, similar to the common helicopter anti-torque pedals. The rubber grip pads underneath are also slightly different and should improve the stability. Otherwise, they still embark the 12-bit magnetoresistive sensor and the reversible cam (hard and soft center), stuffed with ball bearings and high quality CNC all-metal parts. I'd like one for testing purposes please :music_whistling:

The Gladiator should be available really soon. (MSRP = $100)

A fellow simmer wants to sell his brand new Vintage Black Mamba MkIII (+ Warthog adapter). Who will be fast enough? ;)

+a billion for that comment and your whole post. I'd love to see more content updates for the Su-27 myself, but I understand there are other priorities. That is the economic reality. I own almost every module (but I only fly the Su-27 when I can afford the time) and that's how I like to support ED. It can't be easy surviving in that rough niche market, even with some partial/occasional military contractors. Maybe I should start to ask for more Su-27 by buying the standalone module each month like you did with the A-10C :music_whistling:

Exactly ;) VKB's "hi-end" flight sticks have been designed with separated rudder pedals in mind (to avoid involuntary rudder inputs and achieve an extreme precision with the x and y axes). The MFG Crosswind, Slaw and Saitek pro/combat rudder pedals could complete your controls. We should have some news about the VKB T-Rudder MkIV pretty soon (no physical brake axes (virtual brakes implementation is still WIP)). VKB is also working on a controller HUB called "Black Box" (we should be able to connect all our devices to that hub, and then the hub to the computer as one big device).

No twist axis by design. It requires a dedicated rudder control.

Did you double check your centering global hotkey is still assigned correctly? I'm using OpenTrack 2.3-rc21p8 with the latest DCS 1.5.3 and there's no issue using the Center hotkey (using Ctrl+Alt+F1) in the sim (without alt-tabbing). As Trackhat is based on OpenTrack is should behave the same way unless there's a recent incompatibility with the latest DCS 1.5 (?). I'd suggest you try another hotkey in case there's a specific issue with the one you're using. Also, you could try OpenTrack and check if the issue is related to the Trackhat version. I hope this will help a bit. [EDIT: OT 2.3-rc21p11 (latest release version) centering hotkey is also functional with DCS 1.5.3]

Excellent! I hope you'll find some time to drop by and post what you think about the gimbal ;)

I ordered directly from VKB Russia as I'm closer to their production site (and probably the only customer in such a remote location ;) ). From what I've read, the other units will be prepared and dispatched to Europe and the US soon. About getting info on the new products, one the solutions would be to check their official website from time to time, but also to subscribe to the related threads on that forum (like this one) as several members are very interested in their devices and will spread any significant news rather quickly (I'm still craving for a modern dual throttle and an even more complex modern jet grip myself :music_whistling:).

I used the stiffest spring on the pitch axis (soft center) and the default one on the roll axis (hard center). I think we could even use two springs per axis (it was also possible with the MkII gimbal) but I didn't try. Imho, choosing the springs for an all-soft-center cam would depend on your personal feeling preference (looseness/stiffness) and how you use your flight stick (lateral/center position, on the desk, on a stand, angle and elevation, extender, jet/helicopter-oriented, etc.). The best thing is we're able to customize it. Now that you can see the cams, it should be more obvious which one is the hard center model (30) ;) Also they're easy to switch. By the way, are you going to receive the extender with your Fat Black Mamba?

And some successful surgery (gimbal upgrade MkII -> MkIII): Everything went well and it was rather easy to change the gimbal. I moved the MaRS sensors from the MkII gimbal to the MkIII, changed the x axis (roll) cam for the hard center model, changed the y axis (pitch) spring for a stronger one (after a quick test) , mounted and connected everything back in the base and finally connected the flightstick. It didn't even require any new calibration. It's too early to give more than a first impression as I only flew about two hours with the Su-27 and the MiG-15bis. What I particularly enjoyed is the pitch axis smoothness (barely noticeable transition in the center position). The hard center cam is still smoother than the pincer-type gimbal but very noticeable without being too hard (imo). With the hard x axis center I've been able to perform pretty clean loops/immelmanns without induced roll input. It's just a personal preference so I can isolate the pitch input more easily (especially with the Su-27). Another very useful feature is the axis progressive resistance. With the stronger spring I installed for the pitch axis, reaching the end of the axis range progressively requires noticeably more force. The difference between the force required near the center and near the extremities is rather significant (difficult to quantify with words but it's definitely there and you will feel it). With the Su-27 it provides a very useful mechanical feedback to avoid pulling too many Gs and keeping the AoA below 20-25 during ACM and aerobatic figures. I only tested a few flights with the Su-27 (T-O/landing, basic handling and aerobatics, dogfight, IR WVR combat, and near-crash experiences ;) ). Always a delight to fly. I launched the instant "intercept" mission with the MiG-15bis, only to T-O and fool around (what a lovely bird). Due to the center position smoothness (with the soft center cam), I think it will be important to test and choose the spring(s) carefully (my flightstick is used as a lateral stick and it's slightly inclined forward to help pulling the stick comfortably and repeatedly - so the weight of my grip tends to push the soft center forward). I think the new gimbal will require some "break-in" period and more familiarization to get the most of it. At least, for now, it feels great and better than the (already very good) pincer-type gimbal, in my case (I also have no extender) as I wanted a smooth pitch axis. :thumbsup:

VKB Black Mamba MkII internals ("pincer-type" gimbal): Thanks to the modular design, I'm about to upgrade to the MkIII (cams) gimbal pretty soon!

I'm also using the v0.76.9.2 VKB Device Config and the v1.77F firmware but I tweaked my own profile based on my previous version (v1.779). The virtual brakes axes are configured and the resolution has been increased to 12-bit. Tested with the current T-Link. >>> here's the profile if anyone wants to try <<< (a new calibration could be useful once you've loaded the profile - don't forget to hit the "Set" button) [EDIT: I also use that simplified rudder profile for the jets like the Su-27 (no virtual brake axes, no keyboard, no buttons, 12-bit resolution, v1.77F-compatible) ]

The aluminium "wheel" is not an axis and can't be used as a "(Saitek-)smooth" rotary :music_whistling: It's a rotary encoder, each step CW sends a button press input and each step CCW sends another button press (buttons 30 and 31 iirc). I find it rather comfortable to select display/sensors ranges (HDD/HUD in the Su-27). Also: thanks for the picture giei. I probably have a similar issue with my X-55: some buttons become unresponsive when my throttle handle is in the middle position.

The Black Mamba line is discontinued. So no new pre-orders. Maybe VKB will produce new (improved) Black Mambas in the future but there are several new products already scheduled. Don't expect any new BM any time soon. We should see some modern jet flight stick in the future though. No idea when…

Unless the HUD brightness and RWR are available as axes in the controls, you don't have any decent solution as HUD brightness and RWR volume are mostly controlled with two buttons (increase/decrease) and the Bands function for the rotaries would only act like successive button presses. Let's say the RWR volume requires 10 steps (volume +) from 0 to 100%, you will have to define 20 bands (10 volume +, then rotate ten back, then triggers the 10 volume - commands) (or 5 bands / volume +, a neutral/central band (no action), and 5 bands volume - : you will have to go half the rotation (clockwise) then rotate back to neutral to trigger 10 "volume +" steps, then the rotary will be ready for the "volume -" command (also 5 bands, rotate (counterclockwise) and rotate back to neutral to trigger 10 "volume -" steps). Absolute PIA for a poor result. You could also use 3 bands. One large and neutral (no action), one band with a single key press (e.g. RWR volume +), the other one with the opposite command (e.g. RWR volume -). The key press will auto-repeat as long as the rotary is in the band. You will have to return to the neutral/central band to stop the key presses and then set your defined volume/brightness. Not ideal but doable even if it won't behave like a brightness/volume potentiometer. I can't see any other solution, but maybe there's one.

Parkinsonian-rotaries inside© The X-55 rotaries use 8-bit resolution (256 values/positions). The "shaking" is probably due to the potentiometer oscillating between two values. I can confirm it can be very annoying using them for the zoom view functions ;) (the aluminium wheel is more like a mouse wheel - each step acts like pressing a button (like an encoder))

New feature with the latest firmware (v1.77F): the controller resolution has been increased from 11-bit to 12-bit. That means the axes will report 4096 positions/values instead of 2048. To modify the resolution, you have to: - open the VKB Device Config - check the Common -n- Axes tab (Profile tab) - change the "Precis" value from 11 to 12 - apply the modification by hitting the "Set" button from the top Action tab Get even more surgical and don't breath too heavily :thumbup:

Here's how I configured it for the P-51D: I assigned my flight stick pinky lever to the brake button in T-Link. The way it behaves, the brake action is automated and progressive (about 500ms (?) from 0% to 100%) (as Sokol suggested) when you squeeze the brake "button". Without touching your pedals, it will activate both brakes. To activate the right or left brake independently, you will have to push the right or left rudder pedal (there's a minimum threshold) and then press the assigned brake button. It will also trigger an automatic and progressive braking action (from 0% to 100% in about 500 ms (?)). You keep the full rudder control based on the rudder pedals position the whole time. What you can't do is pushing one brake to a certain level and then adding some pressure on the other brake. I tested some basic taxi maneuvers, tight turns and played around with the P-51D using the Batumi take-off instant action mission and it's been comfortable and precise. I just had to squeeze my pinky lever accordingly. What I'd like to see is a progressive brake action controlled with the rudder pedal (e.g. pressing the brake button and then controlling the brake pressure with the rudder pedal - not automated). However that will associate the full rudder input with the full brake pressure and that may be a limitation. I'll test the other aircraft when I'll find some time :joystick: The T-Link software has been easy to configure and use in its current state :thumbup:

Thanks for the info Sokol :thumbup: You can adjust the rudder response by modifying the multiplier value (MPL) (Profile tab/Common -n- Axes/Physical Axes -> axis 1, set MPL to 9 and recalibrate the pedals (Tools tab)). (v1.77F firmware) The software TEST version is available >>> here <<< Keep in mind it's not a release version ;) One of the other improvements is the controller (NJoy32) has reached a 12-bit resolution. Pushing the available values/steps for the axes from 2048 to 4096 (don't sneeze during your precision maneuvers ;) ).