Thasiet

Whatever floats your boat. My feeling is DCS, especially the more recent modules, does a better job letting momentary buttons emulate latching switches then latching switches could ever emulate a momentary one. And with most other titles latching switches are nearly useless. Having the positional feedback is certainly nice, but having to remember to reset switch states before any mission loads gets tiresome, and if I consistently forget to do it, then that physical feedback is no longer trustworthy anyway. I know you can write lua scripts to automatically sync switch states, but I still have to remember to reset switches lest I find myself starting a mission at 600kts and with gear and flaps down.

FYI for everyone using it for zoom outside of VR for whom the detente is a nuisance: if you open the grip to get at the pot, up there's (just) enough readable range on one side of the detente alone to remove the detente entirely from the physical travel range of the lever. Just pop the lever off the pot shaft and rotate it a little bit to where the detente is just beyond the limit stop, put the lever back on. Do this with the Virpil config software open so you can check the raw values on the pot, because if you go too far then you'll have dead travel on the other side. It's a small sweet spot, but I assure you it's there.

Ripping apart expensive toys and taking a soldering iron to them is scary, I know. But you could also just replace them with actual momentary switches. Took like 20 minutes. https://www.ebay.com/itm/T80-R-ON-OFF-ON-Momentary-3Pin-Plastic-Square-Black-Mini-Toggle-Switch-SPDT/184003227867?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

And he's just going to ask for a Scandinavian fjords map. Either way, exciting!

Another way to fix the limited usefulness of the toggle switches, replace the latching ones with momentary switches. Still need to run the software to map the unused physical inputs to a logical input.

Yes.

I find my Gunfighter Mk II cams to be too light in the center, too stiff at the edges. I want non-linearity to the cams, just not as much non-linearity. How would you say the aluminum aviation cams compare in this regard to your Mk I? I have a WarBRD also and the resistance profile on that is just perfect.

You can reassign the number to the MFDs with the latest TM driver. Probably doesn't change the VID/PID, so this alone might confuse DCS, but between this and simple editing of the control assignments file you should be able to make it work.

It's the bushing that the preload adjuster screws thread into. Pull the gimbal out and unscrew the preload adjusters until the screw falls out of the bushing. Next pop the bushing out out of the aluminum arm. Now go feel all the burrs in the race that the bushing rotates in as the spring compresses; that's your problem. Polish the races with a progression of sandpaper grits. 250 --> 600 --> 2000 should do you well. Grease the bushing and reassemble.

Mk I, with L-brackets, and Mk II, with a hacked up WarBRD desk mount. Unfortunately adapting my Mk II design to a Virpil accessory base plate won't be the easiest affair, since there is no metal directly under the u-bracket that you could drop a bolt straight down to. This unforgiveable oversight will, of course, be fixed in the Mongoose-T50CM2 base plate which will, of course, be announced the day after your previous Virpil order ships.

I don't like the current cams on my Gunfighter Mk II; too aggressively non-linear. Too soft around the center, too firm at the edges. Frankly prefer my Virpils right now. So, are these "revised" aviation cams, relative to the old ones, more progressive, or are they more linear, or are they the same as far as profile?

Oh you know it. I believe the springs I'm using are 1 7/8" by .035 wire.

Q: Umm, what? A: Q: Why? A: Because it gives you the benefit of cams, without the cams. Because this also neatly solves two of the biggest problems with the Fighterstick gimbal, namely, the weak spring tension and the annoying center 'clunk', which are related issues. The strength of the center clunk is proportional to the strength of the centering springs, as anyone who has merely installed stronger springs has discovered. The profile of a non-linear spring, by contrast, allows light spring tension near the center (with a weak centering clunk) with greater spring tension toward the edges. The increased tension reduces overcontrolling. The non-linearity promotes greater accuracy, for the simple reason that your musculature is a terrible tape measure, but an excellent strain gauge. Q: How? A: Figure it out. All I used was a small flat screwdriver and the pliers on my Leatherman. Start with springs that are a good bit stiffer than stock (the operation will soften their max tension), and short enough that they still fit after being stretched. What I have pictured ended up lighter than stock around the center, and somewhat stiffer at the edges. Comparable to #30 VKB springs, or so. Q: Damn you, I don't have a Gunfighter, that's why I'm reading your stupid post. How does this compare? A: Not as good, but surprisingly close. Arguably preferable to a stock Gladiator (but you could do this mod to one of those too...) Way better than any of that Logitech crap. Certainly good enough to justify Rel4y's Mk II sensor and board upgrades as soon as they're available. Q: Anything else? A: Disassemble the whole gimbal, the whole of it, and Nyogel 767a the crap out of everything that moves.

It's 50 euros, not 40, and the reduced size and weight should save an additional bundle on the (very expensive) international shipping. The keycaps can be removed and labelled, the throttle has 20 degrees more throw, the guarded toggle and cone of shame button will not be missed, the simplified layout will be better for "find by grope" in VR, the detachable cable and beefed-up flap lever are very nice. With THIS MANY buttons, yes still, and DCS support for shift buttons, and clickable cockpits for things I use so infrequently I won't bother to memorize where they are on the joystick anyway, I really don't see the need for a five way mode dial. I guess it'll make a good fuel tank selector for the P-51. I'd have preferred a three position latching switch on the butt end of the grip to have for A-10 lights control, but I'll take another rotary encoder over the original two position latching switch. The two toggles hidden between the throttle and flap lever look like a bother to get to, but oh well. It does look more toy-like, but let's not fool ourselves; it --is-- a toy. Been waiting for the right kit to replace my excellent TWCS+mmjoyX35T frankenbeast. This one is finally a definite buy.

This entire thread is specifically about a plastic grip.