X-31_VECTOR

I had a similar problem to @CommandT and found exactly what you describe -- if you just flip the collective and mount it on the other side, the angle is all wrong... provided you use the screw holes that are currently drilled in the steel mounting plate. The easiest options are to either drill new holes into the (steel) Virpil mount, make your own, or to do as @SharkWizard suggests and cut the mount. I opted for a variation of the latter as best for my setup.

I'd suggest a left-handed Virpil Constellation Alpha grip... it has an analog thumb stick as well as a thumb wheel. The thumb stick of course springs back to center, and if that doesn't bother you (i.e., for momentary zooming), then the new Virpil Apache collective grip also has an analog thumb stick. The thumb wheel on the Constellation Alpha doesn't recenter, but it's also not a true axis; it's a radial switch that gives a series of presses of either an "up" button or a "down" button. However, you can program it in the Virpil software to essentially mimic an axis. It's a little fiddly, but I got it to work and use it for zoom myself (on my right-hand Alpha that I use as stick/cyclic grip). The thumb wheel can also be pressed down (like a mouse wheel), and I use that to recenter/reset the zoom.

The switches are worse than on my left-hand MongoosT-50CM from about five years ago, for that matter. I'm so annoyed by the garbage switches that I was going to return the Apache grip, but I decided that they would bother me less in practice than they do in principal (provided I don't try to use the push on most of the hats). @Vakarian, I kind of see what you mean, but the stems themselves can also be displaced a considerable distance from center before the actual switch engages. I hope your fix provides some improvement for you, but I fear that the bigger issue can only be solved with different switches. I wonder if we will see a design change in later iterations of this grip (in which case a retrofit might be possible). Probably wishful thinking...

Thanks both. I’m on Win 11. I’m running the latest stable version of DCS, and SimAppPro is up to date, but I haven’t updated the firmware on the displays. I’ll try that this weekend and update here with results.

We’re living somewhat parallel lives. I checked a stock tracker on a whim yesterday and also got a Gigabyte 4090 (the OC) from Newegg. And my 3080 is now going to my son, who has the 1080-based system I replaced last year. He is lucky that I am a flight simmer or I’d still be driving that 1080, and he’d be gaming on an Atari 2600 or something.

Anytime I shut down/ restart my computer, I have to go through the whole setup procedure for my MFD screens again in SimAppPro and in Windows (changing the orientation from landscape to portrait, positioning them in the display layout, etc.). No matter what I change, Windows just does not retain the new settings after shutdown, and SimAppPro acts as though I am setting up the screens for the first time. All my drivers are up to date (both NVIDIA for my main display and the DisplayLink drivers for the MFDs). Has anyone else encountered this issue and/or have thoughts on a solution? Many thanks!

I submitted a Customer Service ticket and got a prompt and nicely worded reply that essentially said they had oversold the last restock (or more specifically, that suppliers did not deliver in the needed quantities to fill all the orders). They said my order will be filled at the next restock, unless I’d prefer a refund. I’m fine to wait. Lord knows my own company is struggling with supply chain issues, so I’m inclined to empathize.

Has anyone who got an order in on the last restock received their units yet? I placed my MIP order on November 20 and it still shows status as “shipping in-progress,” but under tracking number it shows “wait for shipping,” so I assume it has not actually shipped yet. (I’m in the US btw). Just wondering if this is normal, or if maybe they oversold the last restock and some orders won’t be filled until the next restock.

I know the MIP has native support for the F/A-18, F-16 and AH-64, but does anyone know how to export other instruments to the display screens for other modules? It would be great to use them to display the basic instruments in warbirds, older helos, etc. Would something like Helios work for that purpose, or could it be manually done via LUA edits? Or would the module have to have the ability to export instruments programmed into it already, the way it is in general aviation sims? Any insights are much appreciated, as my MIP is inbound and I have never before dabbled in the dark arts of display exports.

Amazing work on this project. I assume that when you use a Virpil grip, you lose the ability to program anything in the Virpil VPC software? Also, for the Alpha grip, will functions like the thumb wheel, the brake lever axis and the thumb stick axes be recognized? Any other limitations on button recognition? Thanks.

I'm happy tp report back once I get the Brunner and the time to set it up. Meanwhile, there are folks in this community who I'm pretty sure use the Brunner and Virpil grips already and can comment on what's possible without the work-around I'm going to try. My understanding is that a) you lose the ability to program in the VPC software, since you're not attached to a Virpil base, and b) some of the buttons/axes are not recognized, depending on the grip. But I defer to the folks who have actually done it of course.

Happy to post pictures. I've ordered the Brunner, extension and the Arduino, but it may be awhile before I can get everything together given a lot of travel over the next month. I'm using the shortest extension I can get, and I'll try to stabilize the cable connections on each end as well as putting in some sort of strain relief or abrasion protection where the cable exits. We'll see...

Yeah, as I understand it, the Brunner does not natively support DirectX Force Feedback, so the Force Trim (or as they call it Mechanical Trim) has to be set in the Brunner software using a button connected to the Brunner. That said, there is a modification using an Arduino Micro and software created by @Chuls that may make it possible to do exactly as you describe: pass the DIN-5 connector cable out the side of the extension tube directly into the Virpil base, bypassing the Brunner base altogether and only using it for the X/Y axes. I may just bite the bullet and give it a try soon. I'll report back on my success of failure regardless.

Thanks for the feedback. The only issue with that solution is that I think for the force trim features of the Brunner to work (e.g., to hold the stick in a new center position when flying helicopters), you have to program a trim switch in the Brunner software itself, rather than just programming the trim function in DCS. So I need the Brunner base to see at least one switch on the grip, in addition to seeing the axes. (And yes, that was my bad: PS/2 uses a 6-pin DIN rather than the 5-pin used by TM, Virpil etc.)

I want to switch from a Virpil VPC WarBRD base to a Brunner CLS-E force feedback base, but as I understand it, I will lose a lot of functionality in my Virpil Alpha grip (scroll wheel, analog stick, several buttons, and all the programming flexibility of the VPC software). I've got an idea for a work-around that seems like one of those "if it were that simple people would already be doing it" kinds of things, so I'm hoping for feedback on whether this might actually work. The idea: 1.) Mount the Virpil Alpha grip to the Brunner base via a short extension, with a hole drilled/cut in the side of that extension. 2.) Instead of using a normal PS/2 extension between the grip and the base, connect the single end of a PS/2 Y-splitter to the grip, and connect one of the two dual ends to the Brunner base but run the other one out the hole in the side of the stick extension. 3.) Connect that second end of the Y cable into the Virpil WarBrD base (which would be mounted to the side of the Brunner base with no grip attached. 4.) In this fantasy of mine, DCS would see two devices (a Brunner and a Virpil) and receive button inputs simultaneously from both. I would only assign functions to the X and Y axes and trim button(s) from the Brunner, and I would assign every other button/switch/encoder/min-stick axes etc. through the Virpil like normal, with no button/switch assigned in both devices. So... dumb idea, or do you think it could work? And if you do think it would work, any idea where to order a single female to dual male PS/2 Y-adapter? Most I've found online are the single male to dual female. I'd prefer not to trust to my crappy soldering skills. Thanks as always for any feedback!