CM3 vs old CM

[FeistyLemur]

Is there anyone out there who upgraded from one of the older throttles to the CM3?  I currently have the CM which I believe was their second product introduced in either 2018 or 2019.

My main question is if the hat switches have improved a lot, because I find some of them pretty fiddly and of questionable quality on the CM.  They're pretty mushy and imprecise, especially the lowest hat on the right side of the throttle, which also just failed today and I'm hoping will be still replaced under warranty which I'm just barely still under.

I did watch some reviews that rave about it and the build quality having improved over the years, and kind of have a hankering for afterburner detents, but am curious about a direct comparison from someone who upgraded.

[HC_Official]

If the CM had of had a throttle handle lock detect switch it would have been the perfect model

 

Comparison between models

 

VPC MongoosT-50 Throttle (V1) - detents, throttle handle lock detect switch, 4 way hats(only one hat has push), 6 analog axis

VPC MongoosT-50 Throttle (V2) - detents, throttle handle lock detect switch, 4 way hats + push (on all), 6 analog axis

VPC MongoosT-50CM Throttle (V3) - no detents, no throttle handle lock detect switch, 4 way hats + push, 6 analog axis + 2 for mini stick

VPC MongoosT-50CM2 Throttle (V4) - no detents, throttle handle lock detect switch, 4 way hats + push, 4 analog axis + 2 for mini stick

VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle (V5) - detents, throttle handle lock detect switch, 4 way hats + push, 4 analog axis + 2 for mini stick

Throttle handle lock detect = copies axis 1 values directly into axis 2 values so BOTH throttles are totally in sync (when left&right locked together)

 

[FeistyLemur]

Has the feel of the hats improved quality wise at all though?  Like for example I've always had some issues with mine with incorrect direction presses where ill try to press left for example and it presses left and down at the same time activating both.

The lock sensor I wasn't aware of but that seems quite useful.  One review I watched said the lock is really good on the CM3, it's definitely a con on the CM in that it's got a noticeable amount of play and is fiddly to activate.  So I would hope that the lock up is more positive as well.

Does the CM3 have any kind of idle button press on the axis like the warthog throttle has to accompany the detents?

[HC_Official]

If you are having issues with the diagonals on the HAT's then configure them as 8 way directions and only bind up down left and right, that way diagonals will be ignored

 

[FeistyLemur]

The way they work on mine if I configure them as 8 way, when they go diagonal they press both buttons at the same time, so if I press the hat down, then it rolls ever so slightly left or right it will activate both.  So if you can imagine left is button 20 and down is button 21, as you move to the bottom left corner you now have 20 and 21 pressed at the same time, and will have triggered whatever you have bound to 21 inadvertently.

When set as 4 way, they do not do this, however they now require you to be more precise than before to activate that direction.  It's very easy to slip back or forward and it will now blip on or off unless you hold the hat straight down and do not deviate at all.

The place this becomes especially annoying is having them bound to my voice attack keys for push to talk.  As you're holding the hat down to transmit for example, and moving the throttle it becomes easy to make it blip on and off and mess up your voice attack commands, or break voice attack entirely because it has a tendency to get confused as to whether the button has been released or not, so it will actually invert the function and its stuck on hot mic with the button released.  Causing me to have to restart voice attack when it gets stuck like this.

[FeistyLemur]

Well, to answer my own question and for any other older throttle owners out there thinking of upgrading.  I upgraded since my CM is acting up and going back to Virpil for RMA right at the end of its warranty period.  To their credit they got an RMA set up for it still even with 9 days left on my warranty.  And it's good to have a spare.

 

First impressions

 

• Shipping time on backorder was great right now, it shipped in about a week.
• Hat switches are improved greatly over my CM.  They still are not gated, but they are more crisp.  All the momentary buttons are more crisp and feel of higher quality.
• Overall build quality is drastically improved.  Toggles are all fantastic, the new colored momentary buttons have a very satisfying tactile click like a mech keyboard.
• The detents are fantastic.  The AB detent is sized just right for the hornet in DCS at the full forward setting.  I settled on the classic plus which I find perfect for dcs.
• Operation of the detents feels very high quality and solid.
• Resistance is too high for me out of the box, and sadly you have to take off the bottom cover to adjust now but it was not too much trouble.
• Upon opening the bottom panel to adjust tension, it became clear just how much their internal build quality has improved, very neat and tidy wiring with ribbon cables and well laid out.
• The rotary encoders work better, in the hornet before I had to turn them very very slowly to register.  Now I can spin them and adjust my radios quickly. (maybe just a default profile config thing most likely)
• The throttle lock lever is a tremendous step up, no fiddling with it just move it left or right and it snaps right in, just perfect really, and the sync feature it has is wonderful.
• The red toggles are set up as on off toggles out of the box instead of momentary blip of the same button, again a profile thing but I prefer that.

Only downsides I can name so far

• I don't like taking the bottom plate off to adjust, but it's livable.
• the added length of the throttle is welcome for finer adjustment, but it exacerbates the angling of the right throttle hats issue even more as it moves around.
• I'm not sure what I think of the rotary encoder where the light switch toggle used to be.  I thought it was an axis looking at it but it's a fourth rotary encoder.  (Probably welcome for the F16 for people looking to get more rotaries on there).
• The detents themselves are plastic.  How will they hold up over time with a metal wheel rolling over them will be a question.

 

So that's that.  If you are a CM or older user, I would recommend upgrading without hesitation.

 

Edit: Just tried an AA refuel and the extra throw is very noticed as far as precision goes.  It makes a considerable difference in that scenario.  I love the feel of the throttle in general, it feels like it has a bit more damping to it, maybe in the grease used in it.  Sadly my muscle memory is now completely out to lunch and I need more practice again, but I can see I will get a lot farther with this throttle.  I fell off the basket twice but overall it went well for a first try with a new device.  I really hate falling off things in AA.

Edited September 10, 2021 by FeistyLemur

[Nereid]

On 9/10/2021 at 10:46 PM, FeistyLemur said:

 

• Overall build quality is drastically improved.  Toggles are all fantastic, the new colored momentary buttons have a very satisfying tactile click like a mech keyboard.

 

 

I can't compare it to the old CM, but as a CH user I thought the CH quality was good (well their sticks and throttles last forever), but the Virpil quality is outstanding.

[FeistyLemur]

On 9/24/2021 at 12:06 AM, Nereid said:

 

I can't compare it to the old CM, but as a CH user I thought the CH quality was good (well their sticks and throttles last forever), but the Virpil quality is outstanding.

I used to have the CH products back in the day.  My first stick was the old ch flightstick with just a trigger and the red nipple on top, with a gameport connector.  My first PC game that involved flight was the original X-Wing back on the 386.  I started playing it with a mouse, so the old ch flightstick was quite a step up.  Didn't even have a soundcard at first, just PC speaker.

Had the Fighterstick and Pro throttle combo as well that I played a lot of Janes simulations on.  I still remember excitedly driving home from the computer store with my CH pro throttle to play Longbow 2.

Things have sure come a long way since then though.  I remember being blown away by the 3D cockpit in Janes F-18 and F-18 Korea, if you had shown young sim gaming me playing those or Fleet defender at the time the VR hornet and Tomcat I would have probably died of a heart attack.