Question about the VKB Omni Throttle

[Pville_Piper]

I am seriously considering buying one, I currently have a the Thrustmaster TWCS that I use for a throttle.

I currently use a button to switch between forward and reverse, and the analog finger axis to strafe left/right and up/down and I think the Omni throttle will be a big improvement over this.

My question is, how sensitive is the throttle when using it as a forward/reverse without a button, does the range seem to be good or is it overly sensitive. In other words, is it easy to control or is it twitchy and hard to precisely hit the desired speed.

I had used a T-Flight before that had a center detent and felt it was a bit sensitive, particularly when driving the SRV.

 

[Elephant42]

I've had my Omni-Throttle for about a week now and it is ... brilliant.

Using the VKBDevCfg software, you can tailor the sensitivity to whatever degree you want. I have mine set up so that in normal operation it has linear sensitivity and when I press a button (I use one of the 3 on the base) it applies a quite aggressive curve to all three axes - I use this when docking/landing. I've even set it up to light the base LED when the curve is applied so I can tell at a glance what state it's in.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

I use it as a forward only throttle, pinky button as hold for reverse.

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

I use my Omni Throttle more like a second stick than an actual throttle. I use the Y axis for vertical and the X axis for lateral thrusters. The twist axis is mapped to thrust forward/back. For supercruise, I do not use a throttle input anymore, I have mapped the 0/25/50/75/100 percent to the thumb 4-way on the right stick (click is 100 percent). Those also work in normal flight, so I can set a preset speed (50% is the center of the blue area) and accelerate or decelerate around that with the twist.

 

[Pville_Piper]

I use my Omni Throttle more like a second stick than an actual throttle. I use the Y axis for vertical and the X axis for lateral thrusters. The twist axis is mapped to thrust forward/back. For supercruise, I do not use a throttle input anymore, I have mapped the 0/25/50/75/100 percent to the thumb 4-way on the right stick (click is 100 percent). Those also work in normal flight, so I can set a preset speed (50% is the center of the blue area) and accelerate or decelerate around that with the twist.

I had thought about that... Elite works pretty well with throttle presets so leaving the stick centered and setting the throttle during cruise would be pretty good. Plus, I use voice attack for a lot of commands such as the cargo hatch and landing gear, so I don't have to take my hands off the controls to press a button.

I think, for me, I would still prefer to the Y axis as forward and reverse, the twist as up and down as I think it would be more intuitive. I'll have to play around with it when I get it. I'm still thinking on removing the Y axis centering springs and tightening up the clutch, but some good options here for sure. It will be nice to such a versatile piece of equipment to work with!

 

[Jack Shaftoe]

I use it as a forward only throttle, pinky button as hold for reverse.

I'd really love to use my VKB Omni for Forward only with pinky for reverse, but I can't seem to set it that way in my SRV. Whenever I do, and move the throttle at all, it ends up setting 'minimum throttle' (on the physical stick) to mid-range on the SRV (in game), meaning I can't stop the SRV unless I hold down handbrake.

I had the above scheme set correctly on my previous throttle (CH Pro Throttle), but can't seem to get it to work with the VKB Omni-throttle.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

I'd really love to use my VKB Omni for Forward only with pinky for reverse, but I can't seem to set it that way in my SRV. Whenever I do, and move the throttle at all, it ends up setting 'minimum throttle' (on the physical stick) to mid-range on the SRV (in game), meaning I can't stop the SRV unless I hold down handbrake.

I had the above scheme set correctly on my previous throttle (CH Pro Throttle), but can't seem to get it to work with the VKB Omni-throttle.

Works fine for me. Here is that section of my controls:

The accelerate and decelerate buttons are irrelevant, I never use them (are they from HCS Voicepack forcing those binds to be set to buttons?) - I think that is why there is a key combo for the throttle reverse 'cos that is not something I would use.

I don't use VKB software, nothing is changed since the initial setup.

 

[Jack Shaftoe]

Works fine for me. Here is that section of my controls:

View attachment 408250

The accelerate and decelerate buttons are irrelevant, I never use them (are they from HCS Voicepack forcing those binds to be set to buttons?) - I think that is why there is a key combo for the throttle reverse 'cos that is not something I would use.

I don't use VKB software, nothing is changed since the initial setup.

I fixed it. The issue was that I removed the spring from the Y axis of the VKB OTA (throttle) before I ever plugged it in, and when I eventually did plug it in and ran the Calibration from the VKB Config software, the Throttle wasn't centered. I just re-ran the calibration through VKB Config with the throttle centered, now I have full range in my SRV with pinky reverse. I think it was your comment that you didn't use the VKB Config software that lead me down the right path. Thank you!

 

[Fnord Velkor]

I fixed it. The issue was that I removed the spring from the Y axis of the VKB OTA (throttle) before I ever plugged it in, and when I eventually did plug it in and ran the Calibration from the VKB Config software, the Throttle wasn't centered. I just re-ran the calibration through VKB Config with the throttle centered, now I have full range in my SRV with pinky reverse. I think it was your comment that you didn't use the VKB Config software that lead me down the right path. Thank you!

Glad you got it sorted.

 

[the100thmonkey]

I use a CAD controller (only the translation axes; not the rotation axes - I have a stick for that) .

I've also set up hotkeys in the same way as @Helmut Grokenberger. I find it works pretty well. It's most useful for flight assist off. I'm not sure I'd like having thrust set to a twist axis though. I'm sure I could get used to it eventually, but it never once felt natural when I tried it with two T.16000Ms.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

I use a CAD controller (only the translation axes; not the rotation axes - I have a stick for that) .

I've also set up hotkeys in the same way as @Helmut Grokenberger. I find it works pretty well. It's most useful for flight assist off. I'm not sure I'd like having thrust set to a twist axis though. I'm sure I could get used to it eventually, but it never once felt natural when I tried it with two T.16000Ms.

I tried using a 3DConnexion SpaceMouse in Elite - I just could not get the hang of it at all. Maybe if I tried the SpaceMouse Pro I could have role-played flying the Rocinante (Screamng Firehawk mode). However the puck version just didn't do it for me.

 

[the100thmonkey]

I think we talked about a while back.

For the just-a-puck version, I paired it with with a cheap wireless number pad and placed both on one of those sticky silicon mats to keep them in place.

The basic issue is that Windows treats it as a relative joystick; it needs middleware to route the inputs through vjoy (Sx2vJoy). Then it works great.