VKB 2 stage trigger question

I’m currently testing a kind of “HOSAM” setup for on-foot stuff. My left hand is on the VKB OTA, my right on my mouse. It’s really comfortable for FSS, DSS and exobiology, but I haven’t done any kind of FPS combat with that combination yet.


Yeah, that’s tricky. I use table mounts by Monstertech together with their mouse extension. It’s definitely pricey, but worth it for me. The best thing is: I can stow away everything in seconds when I want to work at my desk, and vice versa.
I haven't added them back in yet, but I was working on a HOSAS for foot as well so. X axis to strafe, Y for fwd/Rev, and rudder pedals Yaw. It worked quite well but I didn't have all the binds for the on foot on the stick yet so I didn't use it for combat. I will add more when the new stick gets here.

On the other hand, I'm using the the HOSAS setup for the SRV with the pedals set for driving and the mini stick to run the Turret and really liking it.

I'll include both of my work and play setups when I get it done. I move the laptop out, rearrange the monitors, plug up the docking station and ready to work in less than 2 minutes. Put the laptop up, I unhook the docking station, move the sticks out and arrange the monitors, ready to play in 2 minutes.

Best of all, no excess cords hanging around. Loving my setup.
 
@Lhorndra check this out!

I don't know if I can recommend this anymore. The 3d printed throttles have both brown a couple of times and now the throttle tab on the Omni throttle is broken.
 
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My brother is making both a left hand and right hand one...
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@Lhorndra check this out!
Thanks! I use this axis only for the DSS zoom, and the main Y axis for thrust/throttle. But for someone who has just a single Nxt Evo, this could be really helpful.
 
Anyway, a quick note about the Gladiator stick. When I moved from the T-Flight Hotas years ago to the T1600m, I noticed a large improvement in the control the stick offered. It was noticeably more precise and controllable. Last night, in the short time I had to use it (thanks to this glitch that locked me out of my ship) I noticed a nice improvement to the controllability of the ship. Bear in mind that the T1600m is 6 years old, but the center area is much finer, easier precisely aim the ship and not as twitchy as the T1600m. The range of motion that the T1600m has is about an inch longer than the Gladiator, but the Gladiator has much better control through the range of motion than the T1600m.

Still working out the control bindings, but the stick feels so much more solid, being able to set the resistance with the clutches and springs really makes for a better experience overall.
 
I've found the same @Pville_Piper ; the Gladiator feels engineered compared to the T.16000m which feels constructed, if that makes sense. I actually like the shorter throw of the Gladiator compared to the T.16000m, less work and all that. I agree that ED ships are much more controllable for precise aiming.
There is only 2 things that bother me with the Gladiator, and both may be "fixable" or something I can get used to. The first is I find the trigger spring way to heavy/strong, and after a good hour or so of AX combat my trigger finger knuckle is in a lot of pain*, so I've taken to binding a second primary fire to the throttle to ease things.
The second is the twist yaw is also heavy/stiff. From a bit of googling/reddit reading it's likely the grease they use, and others have had success re-greasing with a lighter dampening grease or just removing some. Others have found it just eases up over time. I'll give it another few weeks, but maybe I'll remove some of the grease from the twist, maybe apply it to my throttle instead.

*hell, just as likely the beggining of arthritis, but it's still a lot heavier pull on the Gladiator compared to other sticks.
 
I understand the arthritis... Getting carpal tunnel is what drove me to using rudder pedals in the first place.

I find that, like you, the triggers are a bit stiff. The center button functions of the hats are stiff, they need to be to prevent accidentally pressing them, but I found myself assigning them to functions the don't need to be pressed as often.

Still working on the keybinds, getting close, play a bit and make corrections. I want to change things up a bit by moving some keybinds to the left stick... Afraid of much pain it will be to unlearn more muscle memory...

BTW, that EDRefCard is a awesome piece of work, I need to buy that dude a 🍻!
 
The second is the twist yaw is also heavy/stiff. From a bit of googling/reddit reading it's likely the grease they use, and others have had success re-greasing with a lighter dampening grease or just removing some. Others have found it just eases up over time. I'll give it another few weeks, but maybe I'll remove some of the grease from the twist, maybe apply it to my throttle instead.
From what I read somewhere in their forums, it's Nyogel 767A, which adds heavy damping, and is often recommended for the floppy Thrustmaster T.16000M and TWCS throttle. In the case of the Gladiator twist axis, I find it a little bit too damping as well, like you said. It does ease up over time a little bit, though.

They have an official video tutorial on how to replace the grease, but firstly, it looks like a lot of work, and secondly, I think that it just shows the X and Y axes.
 
Regreasing VKB's twist is really simple, 15 minutes of work tops. There is a separate tutorial for that:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2oj8M0E-yY


But I'd double-think that. I found the factory greasing too damp, too, and replaced the grease immediately. Now I have to regrease the twist 2-3 times per year because the less damping grease I use worns out much faster. Now I think I should have forced myself to use the original grease and wait for it to ease up.

I'm considering going back to original grease but it's barely available here and when it happens to be available, it costs absurd money. :confused:
 
Been switching a lot of buttons to long presses, the F buttons above the throttle are a bit quick to press and I would hit them when I fumbled around with the center throttle axis... Nothing like hitting the system map button when trying to reduce the throttle when docking!

I have the ships/SRV lights on a short press and the night vision on the same button, but a long press, I really like this double funtion when it makes sense like that. I will be setting chaff and heat sinks to a long press as well, just to keep from accidentally firing them off.

I have been flying the Krait Phantom lately as my main mission runner, my Challenger was nearby and setup (poorly) for the goids and I switched to it. I found it to be really touchy with the supercuise settings, if you get to five seconds for more than a second or so, you'll nube loop everytime, where as the Phantom is more forgiving when slowing in supercruise. I usually us voice attack to set my throttle speeds, but in an effort to learn the new keybinds, I haven't been using it. I've been rather enjoying manually setting the throttle instead of setting the percent, it's more immersive. 🤪

I use the throttle axis for setting cruise control in a dog fight and setting the supercruise speeds, the Y axis of the omni for setting thrust. It works quite well for me as long as I don't forget to reduce the throttle to zero when landing. My landings are slowly getting better. Adding the double rate function on the X, Y and RX axis has helped a lot. My biggest issues are not paying attention to the gear or some other issue. Getting the landing down and setting new processes and taking advantage of the possibilities has been a learning process.

I really wish that the landing request was a button press after targeting the station. Either that or the have the request come up infront of you rather than looking away from where you are heading.
 
A little tight to work with but what the heck. A little tall, but I don't use that throttle when maneuvering
 

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I have the ships/SRV lights on a short press and the night vision on the same button, but a long press, I really like this double funtion when it makes sense like that. I will be setting chaff and heat sinks to a long press as well, just to keep from accidentally firing them off.
Is this a function/option within Elite or is it the VKB software? I had no idea this was possible :oops:

And those throttle handles look very interesting. Now I'm going to be perusing Thingiverse with VKB keywords for an hour or so ... :LOL:
 
Ooooh wow, I don't recall ever knowing that 😮
If I remember correctly, you can bind every input that is not an axis to be either press or hold. It makes no sense for i.e. the triggers or other buttons you would habitually hold for repeated action, but it helps to prevent accidental activation. One other example would be again on foot, where I have the grenade throw bind as hold so I really have to mean it :).

All inputs are toggles though, so all you can change is the trigger behavior. I don't think there are many toggles. One exception is the cargo scoop, I think, where you can choose the button behavior from a single push to deploy or retract to deploying while holding the button. But that is the only one I remember.
 
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