FeistyLemur

The grip can be angled any way you like. The cable that plugs in to the bottom of the grip rotates freely and sits in a slot in the adapter. So you just put it where you want it and tighten it down. Pretty much the same as using a WH extension. He does not provide an option for a curved extension, unfortunately, you have to get one made up if you want one. But it would not be too much trouble to get one made from a local metal working shop if you so desire. Conceivably, you could get someone with a pipe bender to just bend the pipe it comes with even, as it's fully removable and the cable comes out. But it has a finish on it that I think is some kind of plastic wrap which would be damaged by a pipe bender. Better to get another one bent up then you can even swap back and forth if you want to use the straight pipe for fixed wing and pop the curved one on for choppers. He could maybe sell you a second coupler for your grip if you wanted to do that. Though it would be a bit of work to change with the cable that comes with it as it has to be unplugged right from the main controller. You could easily rig up a second coupling connector to make the whole pipe quick detach if you wanted though.

I really like that cutout seat and chair rig, is that custom built or can it be bought?

Seek out sthompsons post with attached file on page 50. Then download the Static ATC mod listed on page 1 (actually it does't seem to be listed on page 1, maybe the manual I'm thinking of, just google DCS static atc mod it will take you right to it), which consists of only 2 files. Replace one of those files with sthompsons file from pg 50, and copy those files into the appropriate location. Just paste the whole "scripts" folder into the DCS folder and overwrite the two files when asked. that's really all there is to static ATC, you're replacing 2 files in the scripts folder of DCS. Save them for future use in your downloads folder because any time DCS patches, you will have to copy them again. (And hope they don't break, as they did necessitating sthompsons fixed version of the one file)

I've searched and searched for a solution. Ergotron makes really awesome monitor arms, one of which I have, and they do make a keyboard arm as well. But, their stuff is absurdly priced. I payed $200 for the monitor arm, which admittedly is awesome and frees the entire desk surface. Their keyboard arm however is stupid, it's over $300 here. The obutto keyboard arm is only $99 even in Canada, just the mounting solution also requires fabrication to make it happen on a standard office chair. It's probably going to cost another $20-50 to get someone to fabricate a steel mount for it that would be compatible with a standard chair. DX racer sells a tablet mount for their chairs that could be adapted to a keyboard, but, again absurd price.

So, the grip + TMW adapter allows you to use the grip on the warthog base? Would this then also work on the BRD-N with WH adapter which the WH grip directly attaches to and works with?

I have center mount stick woes as well. Which are even more of a problem now with my new stick as I have to sit even farther from the desk rendering the keyboard totally useless. I was thinking of several options. One is the Obutto Revolution keyboard tray is sold separate, so it could be mounted to a standard chair with a bracket. The other is just getting a beanbag lapdesk and using it with a wireless keyboard to avoid having to move the stick out at all to get back to the desk for normal use. This doesn't help for simming. Another was using a usb numpad as a kneeboard, which is admittedly very limited. I had tried using a logitech G13 similarly but I never did like those because of the limited keys and non standard layout (the extra thumbstick is nice though) I will consider one of these now too. I definitely need a full keyboard in chair solution though, I'm tired of moving my stick out of the way and unplugging it to switch to other games or desktop use.

Spend 100 bucks on an iron and learn to solder and you will never need to pay them to fix anything for you on it again. You will probably make use of it when the buttons inevitably start failing one day and need to be replaced too. My philosophy is never be shy to buy tools as you need them. They don't go bad or obsolete. I didn't know the name, but Micro JST seems popular for drone building, so you should have zero trouble finding replacements if need be.

Those little white connectors and the crimp ends for them are standard and can be bought. The only trick with that kind of stuff I find is knowing the right name to search for at electronics supply places. It might be worth looking at 3d printer supply places, of which there are many options to choose from in Europe. Or you can always just solder wires right on to the pins. My advice is if you are going to be working on electronics, spend the money and get a nice little solder station. I got this one for 100 bucks and it's fantastic. There are tons of youtube videos that can teach you to solder correctly as well. https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-Soldering-Station-599B-Cleaner/dp/B01DUPRXCE/ref=pd_lpo_328_tr_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1NPTVWDBCYYSAMJSTJFV

Well, I've been using the windows calibration tool with no issues (other than having to calibrate any time I unplug the USB connection) so no worries really on using the Russian language software. Roman sets it up for you and it comes ready to use if you're international. From what I read in the forum, the Russian software allows complete control of the behavior of the controller as well as calibration, but I haven't even delved into it because the windows calibration has worked fine for me. As it's a new device, you have to re-do all your binds for the modules in DCS but it shows up like any other directx joystick. There probably is an easier way to go about that by editing the config files for DCS and doing a find / replace for the stick name, but I just rebound it manually. All the buttons work 100% so no issues there. The stick height on mine is 55cm and I really cannot foresee any issue with a shorter arm. There small springs are super super light when used on the lowest cam setting. So light you could comfortably sit and hold the stick in place indefinitely with your pinky at full deflection. Even moving the mount post around without the pipe attached was easy on that setting. But do not worry if you want more tension, the extra strings included can make the tension extremely strong. You can even go with the light and strong springs on the cam at the same time for really strong tension. What was said about the curved stick is valid point to consider. I would really like to get a curved pipe bent for mine, and I am sitting full upright. At 55CM It's fine for fixed wing flight because you never really nose the stick forward that far. But for choppers that huge throw means you really have to reach forward to get full deflection. If you have a local machine shop it would be trivial to get them to chop and bend up a new pipe for you, drill and tap the holes necessary to mount it and re mount the grip adapter. My advice on stick length is make sure to get the handle up above leg height when measuring, because it's a lot of throw, and when you pull back on the stick, if it's too low your leg will be in the way. Bear in mind, there is a small amount of adjustment of the stick height as the mounting point on the base is a slot. so you can move it up and down a couple inches as well there. And you can always shim the height of the stick with the thickness of the base you screw it down to. Consider the height of your rudder pedals as well. If you have one, just use a meter stick and pretend it's the handle and experiment a bit with your feet on the rudder pedals to figure out comfortable positioning and estimate freedom of movement before deciding on a height. I say this because the crosswinds are fairly high and require a certain seat height to be comfortable, so in my situation at least optimal seat height was limited by that. 45cm will decrease the throw required a fair bit over my set up.

I had a CH fighterstick and pro throttle back in the days when USB didn't exist and it was on gameport. I know I sure thought they were something else back in those days. That was my big upgrade from the 2 button original CH flightstick at the time. I played a lot of fleet defender and F15 strike eagle 3 with those old sticks.

Hmm, that's interesting. I never really considered the mathematics of movement per degree. I was just reading a page about the Komaroff rams sensors and it indicates they are 8192 digits of resolution, translating to about 0.022 per step, so it would make sense for the stick to have about that much resolution over it's movement range as well. In any case it's incredibly precise.

Seeing the mechanism in motion is quite impressive. Everything is huge, durable and solidly assembled. The double cams are really nice and smooth, and everything looks like it's going to last a long long time. I really like the configurability of the cams. I've settled on using the soft springs on the highest mount point on the cam. This provides an increasing resistance curve as you move the stick. It's very soft in the center and as you approach the edges the tension grows. I like this a lot, because it lets you develop a muscle memory for where the stick belongs when maneuvering the aircraft. The one thing that did worry me at first is the controller it comes with has 2048 positions, which does not seem like much compared to the 65536 position resolution the WH has. Or even the 4096 positions of the MFG crosswinds. But it feels more precise even at 2048 positions than the WH does in game. Of course modification is completely possible if you're so inclined and wish to put different electronics in. The most important part is the mechanics are incredible, and great for anyone who might be interested in modding, because it's a very straightforward design with tons of room to work with. I have seen people criticize the WH as having a ridiculous resolution that the mechanics of the stick can in no way even make use of though. And I have definitely not felt that there are any shortcomings in precision with the controller in the BRD using it so far. One small downside I have found is it does not cope with being unplugged and plugged back into the computer without requiring a re-calibration. Though I would consider that minor as most people will probably leave it plugged in.

I had best results with 1.5.8 1.5.12 works for me but there are more quirks I find. I've had some crashes, and last night when I was using it the commands were super slow to fire off even after restarting voice attack. Today it was fast again after a reboot of the system though. The only real improvement from 1.5.8 I can see is the ability to bind joystick buttons.

Germans sure do love their aluminum open beam construction. I just noticed that the Obutto keyboard tray for the revolution is sold separately for a much more reasonable 99 dollars, with minimal effort a bracket could be made to mount it to a DX racer chair arm base, so I am now thinking that idea over.

A note on the design of the chair lock in, It was not my idea so I can't take credit. I found a video on another forum suggesting it. I love it though, much more solid lock up than what I had going before with the wheelstand and a strap, because it pins it down to the floor and nothing can move. One thing though is the extra throw of the stick, does create more difficulties for me with the keyboard. And I haven't been able to think up something that's easy enough for me to build yet that would solve the issue of being able to keep the stick in place and switch back to regular PC use without hauling the stick out of the way. The DX racer chair I have has an incredibly solid arm mount to a steel base so it would be possible to rig some kind of Obutto like keyboard tray to it. If such a thing existed, I don't weld and making it out of wood would suck. The obutto revolution is on my want list but the Canadian dollar tax all considered, plus shipping, plus accessories puts the revolution at pretty much a $1800 purchase in Canada, so I haven't been able to talk myself into it. As for the question of price, Roman seems to have what I've seen referred to as "top secret" pricing. Which I assume is because he changes the design frequently and does not know the cost of the next batch till he gets it all done. So out of courtesy to him and not being totally sure why he does it that way, I won't say the price. Suffice to say I did not find it unreasonable in comparison to other products, and given the design quality. The "Canada Tax" hit on the price which was in US dollars was definitely pretty nasty, but such is life in Canada. He also does not ask for deposits, so there's nothing to stop you from saying too much no thanks I guess. I'm sure his batches sell out with ease anyway. But I do not regret the money spent at all. This stick will outlive me. If the KV1 tank was a joystick it would be this.

Well, It's time to say goodbye to the Warthog, as I was fortunate to get my hands on a BRD type N from the November batch. If you're unfamiliar BRD is the company of Roman Dorokhov, aka Baur. There was another thread about his rudder pedals on here. Roman is based in Sochi, and makes some very incredibly well made hardware. Some pictures of the new mount I made up today which I got the idea for from the simHQ forum. The slot behind the stick is for the wheel of the chair to lock in, The stick and pedals are both mounted on Velcro, which might not be for everyone, but they could always be screwed down. And I like them removable. Chair locked in place. This makes for a really stable and comfortable setup. On to the mini review of the stick itself, it's incredible. The quality of Romans work is fantastic. He uses heavy, quality steel for everything. The stick itself weighs over 20 pounds. Motion is based on cams, with an option of either no center bump whatsoever, or a second set of cams with slightly more centering. I have only tried the free moving cams and I love it. Spring tension is very adjustable with many options. Roman sent it on the lowest possible tension level which is extremely free moving, barely has any resistance, but you can crank it up to very heavy resistance with the supplied extra springs, or place them on different slots on the cams for different resistance. Higher on the cam for rising tension with movement, or lower on the cam for more linear resistance. Much like the Crosswind pedals. I could never deal with the grungy hard centering Warthog base again I'm afraid after using this. The feel is just unbelievable. If you want to make super fine adjustments on the stick it's no problem. Just playing around ground strafing with cannons is so precise. You don't even have to trim flying the KA50, just hold the stick where it's supposed to be held, and the super low resistance setting works great for choppers. The downsides, of course being a floor model might not be for everyone, there is a lot of throw given the size of the stick, and it's very heavy. But Roman does make desktop models as well which also look incredible and have cam based motion. Also, you need to think of a solution for a grip if you don't already have one. I'm using it with the WH grip which works 100%. But the Cobra M5 also can be used with a different setup. And I believe Roman also has KG13 grips available but I'm not 100% certain on that, and of course it does add to the cost. The main calibration software for the board is all in Russian so some extra work is required for English only speakers, and Roman as well, only speaks Russian. But he does a really good job communicating with Google Translate. I can definitely recommend dealing with Roman 100%. He always replies right away to communication, and does really well figuring out English with a translator. And of course he makes really incredible stuff of the highest quality. You can see more on the stuff he makes in great detail on his Russian development forum. http://avia-sim.ru/forum/viewforum.php?f=34 As well here are some of his topics on the English forums. http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/24303-new-pedals-brd-f3/ http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3774820/Baur%60s_KG13_Grip#Post3774820 http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/4324-baurs-kg-13-grip/ If you are interested in any of his stuff, you can send him an email at brd-2014@inbox.ru and he will let you know what he has available or when he's working on more. The process is as easy as telling him "I want one" and he puts you on his list for his next batch. I know it can seem nerve wracking to wire a bunch of money to a stranger over Western Union. But if you look over the forums you can see he deals with a lot of people (mostly in the Russian IL2 community) who all speak highly of his work. And I can definitely vouch for the quality of his work and trustworthiness in dealing with. Great experience all around and the shipping was surprisingly very fast. The Russian post puts Canada post to shame in tracking accuracy for international orders.

I haven't played in a bit and recently came back, as per usual when there's an update to DCS it breaks the static ATC mod. So as per usual I put the static ATC mod files back, and it seems to be breaking the game for me now trying to use static ATC. Without it I can use the coms menu as you would expect it to work. But, once I put the static ATC mod in place, the PTT in game keys cease to function for me. I can no longer use either of the defaults \ or RALT-\ on the keyboard, they do nothing and the menus do not come up. I hear the click of the PTT key in the KA-50 but no coms menu comes up. Repairing DCS they work again. So the question is, is the 1.1 static ATC mod no longer working with the current version of 1.5? Edited: Disregard, It seems I found the answer on PG 50.

Will it be possible to buy just the throttle unit with no desk mount system and no stick? Will the throttle have a metal motion system? I would like something with a finer level of sensitivity than the Warthog throttle, which the deficiencies of become apparent on air refueling.

Try out Vaicom 2.0, there's a sticky about it at the top of this forum. It's really awesome and there are profiles for most modules already.

The latest voice attack lets you use joystick binds directly. Though it's a bit weird to enable. It's in the settings, I forget off the top of my head how it works but just play around with it. There's probably some further info in the voice attack thread toward the end. I remember having a conversation about it in there. You have to create the binding first in the settings, then use it in the individual profiles, it's kind of goofy. Ok I stopped being lazy and looked and this is an edit. Its settings, general tab, joystick options. Add up to two sticks on this page, there's a little + and - sign at the top, you click plus, add the joystick and keys you want on it, and enable or disable it there. Then in your voice attack profile you have to find the PTT key and change it. If it's hollywoods profiles, you edit the profile and it's under, Push to talk > Transmit XXXX. There are multiple transmit commands for different radios. Then you just edit each one and bind the Joystick button you want to it. Double click Transmit VHF1 for example, at the top there are checkboxes you uncheck "when I press Keys" and check "when I press button" then bind the button with the little ... to the right of that checkbox, then save it. Repeat for any other radios. To change back just change the checkbox back to keys and uncheck the button one. Alternately, I find what's easiest is learn to use autohotkey. It's so much better than target, super easy to use when you get it, and super convenient. You can even make a command in Voice Attack to change your autohotkey profile with the auto profile switching. Very convenient. And the best thing about it is, since you aren't editing your lua files, you don't have to back them up and restore them every time you update DCS. Way less of a pain I think.

In my experience if the wires get shorted or disconnected inside the base of the stick nothing works at all. In the case of mine, I had it apart for greasing and this happened, the stick got thrown into bootloader mode and after re-soldering the connector in the base I had to fix the firmware as well. I would suspect the buttons themselves unless wiring inside the grip has come loose.

You know, a can of gloss black krylon fusion would probably look nice on that pvc, just saying.

I play with a single monitor though and I really don't understand the problem. Just don't zoom out super far? My TMS up swithch is zoom in slow and TMS down is zoom out slow in mig21. And DMS right centers view. Nothing seems different to me about how well that works.

Oh I see, well I never zoom out that much or use a slider so probably why I didn't notice. So they basically made it work like the FC3 aircraft do?

I have only one complaint about the wheelstand. If you let it sit for a long time on linoleum without moving it leaves brown marks all over the floor. I have no idea how i'm going to get them off. I tried acetone and it didn't even touch them.