VPforce Controls•4y ago

Ooh very nice! What base does that mean we're up to

AAndyHill is 50+50 officially recommended?

aniron•7/15/22, 4:33 AM

Yes, on VKB forums, by the VKB owner/chief engineer.

VVulkan Ooh very nice! What base does that mean we're up to

Frenchy•7/15/22, 4:48 AM

I'm 0005, but Walmis sent out a batch this time, not sure up to which number

walmis•7/15/22, 5:11 AM

Up to 8

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:12 AM

@the.face Quick update on my VKB support ticket if you're interested. After a couple rounds back and forth, I sent them some pictures and some screenshots from the VKB USB error monitoring program, they said the pins on mine "look shorter than normal" and offered to send me replacement parts (new cable with contact pads and pogo pins) for free. Unfortunately I'm a few months outside the 2-year warranty so I need to pay for shipping from China via Alibaba, which is $26. Some quick googling doesn't turn up any generic replacements (wasn't really expecting to find any for this specific part), so looks like I'll probably have to eat the cost. I don't necessarily expect companies to support their products all the way to the heat death of the universe, and I've certainly gotten my money out of this (nevertheless very expensive) joystick, but I'll say that I'm totally unconvinced that this is not a weak point in the design that is almost bound to fail eventually. Contacts are notoriously hard to make durable, and these seem worse than most. When I take it apart to put in the new parts, I'll definitely be looking for a way to cut the whole thing out and replace it with a JST plug to avoid this happening again in a couple years.

walmis•7/15/22, 5:14 AM

@sliphavoc I can sell you the contact PCBs

TheFace•7/15/22, 5:17 AM

Damage almost always happens after a non level install. Not always but it's usually the culprit. I have off level installed and it was glitchy. It didn't damage my pads at all. All the grip connectors out there require gentle handling, I know many people that have had failures on TM style. Especially the TM grip. The VPC at least went with a loose connection so the pins don't get smashed as easily.

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:19 AM

Lol, I had to resolder wires in my WH grip twice, once because the wires were not soldered properly and second time was another wire, so I resoldered the 2nd time and hot glued it all together

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:20 AM

VPC grip with twist adapter (Alpha grip) would unscrew when using ‘under normal operation’ the twist adapter on the WarBRD base, I returned both to Virpil

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:21 AM

VKB, I have only had glitch when the grip is not seated correctly (user error), otherwise its the best adapter out of them all imho

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:22 AM

I found a post on r/hotas from 4 months ago that almost perfectly describes the issue I'm having, complete with pictures of the contact pads that look basically like mine do, except a little worse https://www.reddit.com/r/hotas/comments/tbsfkz/any_vkb_gunfighter_owners_having_connection_issues/ I would simply rather have a free-floating plug. At least that would only have the possibility of wear when it's actually being plugged or unplugged, rather than every time I move the stick. I'm going to be very very hard to convince that this is a good design compared to the alternatives. :-D

r/hotas - Any VKB Gunfighter owners having connection issues?

7 votes and 7 comments so far on Reddit

Ssliphavoc I found a post on r/hotas from 4 months ago that almost perfectly describes the ...

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:24 AM

I have seen far more issues with plugs being ripped out of the base and tearing connectors from virpil / winwing bases because if this

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:24 AM

Well, I have seen far more issues with these contact pads flaking out, so I guess we're at an impasse.

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:24 AM

I would not recommend this adapter plug type over VKB which is clearly designed for hot swap

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:25 AM

It's not clear to me that it was well designed for hot swap.

Ssliphavoc Well, I have seen far more issues with these contact pads flaking out, so I gues...

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:25 AM

I moderate the /r/hotas and hotas discord servers, I would doubt you have seen more issues than I have

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:26 AM

I also have direct contact with Virpil/VKB/Winwing etc and I own products from all companies

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:26 AM

I also own products from VKB, Virpil, and TM, and only one of them is giving me problems.

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:27 AM

Issues do happen, but don’t confuse what happens with you and a couple other people that it happens to everyone

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:28 AM

As long as you don't try to tell me that this is a good design. :)

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:29 AM

It is, and thats my personal experience

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:29 AM

It isn't, and that's my personal experience, and we can leave it at that. Next question is, how the heck do I get the top of the extension off... it's stuck on there pretty good. Hopefully the replacement parts come with some instructions...

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:29 AM

Your also getting a product replaced out of warranty for free (except shipping), I think this is more than fair

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:30 AM

Indeed. Still doesn't make it a good design though. :)

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:30 AM

Contact support before you do any potential damage that could cost more

Ssliphavoc It isn't, and that's my personal experience, and we can leave it at that. Next q...

walmis•7/15/22, 5:31 AM

Hot air

Heat up that sucker and the glue will release.

Wwalmis Hot air 🙂 Heat up that sucker and the glue will release.

VulkanOP•7/15/22, 5:31 AM

Huh didn't think of that good idea

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:33 AM

Yep, just found this https://www.reddit.com/r/hotas/comments/mdunp6/vkb_200_mm_extension_disassembly/ looks like a heat gun and some percussive maintenance might be the way to go.

r/hotas - VKB 200 mm Extension Disassembly

11 votes and 8 comments so far on Reddit

Deleted User•7/15/22, 5:34 AM

Percussive mainteance?

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:34 AM

I took mine apart the other day

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:34 AM

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 5:35 AM

2 screws

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:36 AM

I didn't try the bottom yet, just the top. There was a good amount of threadlocker to break loose getting the one screw out, and then the top cap is not moving at all.

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:37 AM

But if it's got some of that same threadlocker, or if it's just a really tight mechanical fit, that could explain. Heatgun should help with both, I'll just have to be careful.

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:38 AM

@Deleted User Percussive maintenance is a joke. Means hitting the thing until it comes apart :)

sliphavoc•7/15/22, 5:40 AM

In the meantime, since everything's back together for now and hopefully not flaky for a while, I'm going to play some DCS while dreaming about FFB...

TrigaNZ•7/15/22, 6:47 AM

General question. Will the Rhino work as a fully damped stick? For example, can you move it to a position and it will stay there, without pressing anything like force trim. Cheers.

ddrake1984•7/15/22, 6:50 AM

I would assume so

TTrigaNZ General question. Will the Rhino work as a fully damped stick? For example, can ...

walmis•7/15/22, 6:52 AM

Yes, if you enable the Friction effect, it will hold it in place until breakout force is exceeded.
I had this documented in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBxxXPD0ivI

YouTubeValmantas Palikša

VPforce FFB New Friction Effect Development

New research on how implement FFB friction effect. The new effect properly simulates static friction.
This system will enable enthusiasts to build a plug-an-play FFB joysticks with custom mechanics. Contact me for details if interested.

Contacts:
VPforce Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/Y7YmFGHbee
DCS Forums: https://forum.dcs.world/profil...