F-18 grip AddOn - close their real value.

[some1]

high quality japanese OMRON

 

If the OMRON switches are so high quality, why are they constantly failing in my Logitech mice? :)

 

Besides, my Warthog stick lasts 10 years without any failure and still feels more solid than Virpil stick straight from the box, so it is not all that bad.

 

 

You're missing the point. TM is selling the same A-10C Warthog grip as a new F-16 grip as if they developed a new grip for the Viper and charging a premium price for it.

 

I'm not missing anything, that part too makes me laugh a bit, although I admit it makes sense from marketing POV. After all, not every customer of theirs must be aware that Warthog stick is almost an F-16 stick, and the one sold by Thrustmaster is an amalgam of both.

 

As for the pricing, don't expect that two products sold separately will be at a comparable price them sold together. It was the same when TM split Warthog joystick and throttle, nothing new.

[Waxer]

OMRON: They are pretty high quality, but: 1) Not all Omron switches are equal... their product line has variations in specification... some higher, some more built to a price. 2) Also think about how many times a mouse button gets clicked. 3) Smaller switches (like in a mouse) are likely more fragile than those with larger housing and more space to build a stronger switch.

 

Thrustmaster: If one of my switches failed in my Warthog I would then do the OTTO Mil-Spec retrofit. But those switches really ARE expensive. c.£20 each unless you are bulk buying them. And it is a bit of a faff to fit them. Do-able though.

[rel4y]

If the OMRON switches are so high quality, why are they constantly failing in my Logitech mice? Besides, my Warthog stick lasts 10 years without any failure and still feels more solid than Virpil stick straight from the box, so it is not all that bad.

 

I'm not missing anything, that part too makes me laugh a bit, although I admit it makes sense from marketing POV. After all, not every customer of theirs must be aware that Warthog stick is almost an F-16 stick, and the one sold by Thrustmaster is an amalgam of both.

 

As for the pricing, don't expect that two products sold separately will be at a comparable price them sold together. It was the same when TM split Warthog joystick and throttle, nothing new.

 

I've never had an OMRON switch fail in my 15 year old Razor mouse eg, but that's beside the point and your millage may vary. If you could tell me what company manufactures higher quality consumer switches than OMRON, I would certainly be interested to buy some. However in the Warthog or the new F-16C Viper stick specially designed & produced, the push buttons are extremely cheap China crap. They cost maybe a tenth of a cent in bulk and that sums up their quality.

 

Don't get me wrong, I use (modified) TM grips myself and especially love my Cougar. I own pretty much the whole Thrustmaster lineup and make mods for them, so I would think I have a good idea of their weak points. Let's have a look:

 

Zamac: cheaper than plastics to manufacture, absolutely unsuitable for mechanical parts like the cougar gimbal, grip tailpiece and I've seen so many broken ones, yet no change

 

People confuse weight with quality. The aluminum, resin or polycarbonate grips of the military weigh much less than the Warthog grip. Aluminium has less than half the density of Zamac with like an order of magnitude higher tensile and impact strength. In general Zamac has the mechanical properties of ice cream...

 

Switches: I think I made my point here already, much prefer Japanese over Chinese, but yeah saved 10c per switch

 

Sensors: 16 Bit resolution my ass, it is physically impossible for the Warthog to run the Melexis sensor at 16 Bit resolution with any meaningful baud rate, classic marketing bs

 

Gimbal design: The F-22 and Cougar gimbal suffered mainly from strong springs and bad material but the Warthog gimbal is simply budget oriented. Just one single two axis sensor in the bottom, hard- calibrated, with a nice injection moulded plastic ball gimbal design and a large spring to top it up. Cost point: ~4-5 USD and that includes the mainboard

The budget TM 16000M uses the exact same sensor and gimbal style btw.

 

Price policy: People were buying Warthog spare grips for $110 shipped, which I guess- no I'm sure- TM didn't sell at a loss. Now they developed this crazy new F-16 stick with lots of R&D and production line setup costs, so they have to sell it at $230. It even has the 5 button CMS switch thats totally accurate to the F-16C and not the Warthog! Uh, duh!

But hey it has celeb reviews: Since switching the Warthog grip on my Warthog base to a brand-new F-16C Viper grip everything changed, my air to air ratio increased tenfold and my hair is much fuller.

 

/Rant off :)

Edited December 4, 2019 by rel4y

[Canadus]

Price policy: People were buying Warthog spare grips for $110 shipped, which I guess- no I'm sure- TM didn't sell at a loss. Now they developed this crazy new F-16 stick with lots of R&D and production line setup costs, so they have to sell it at $230.

 

Hold it there; if you would have asked TM for a replacement stick in summer 2019, they would have sold it to you for 170€ shipped to Germany. Ask me how I know. :D

[some1]

No need to go on a long rant, I know it all. Have the cougar, warthog, virpil, bunch of different stuff I used in the past. Thing is, it's still good enough for most people that are not total hardware nerds. Japanese switches or not.

 

But hey it has celeb reviews: Since switching the Warthog grip on my Warthog base to a brand-new F-16C Viper grip everything changed, my air to air ratio increased tenfold and my hair is much fuller.

 

No one said that, you're overreacting.

[ams999]

Hold it there; if you would have asked TM for a replacement stick in summer 2019, they would have sold it to you for 170€ shipped to Germany. Ask me how I know. :D

 

I bought a replacement grip October 2017 for € 114 shipped to Germany- guess the price hike (+50%!) took place some time between those dates, maybe because they already knew what they were planning :megalol:

Edited December 4, 2019 by ams999

[rel4y]

No one said that, you're overreacting.

 

I believe you missed the celeb quote below the product description. It certainly made me grin.

Edited December 4, 2019 by rel4y

[some1]

I believe you missed the celeb quote below the product description. It certainly made me grin.

 

I did not, he said nothing of what you claim. But hey, anything to prove your point, right? :)