Announcing Project VPC MongoosT-50

[Archie]

Is it worth updating the firmware when the stick arrives?

[Jade_Monkey]

Probably. Unless there are reports of a flawed firmware, all you will get are fixes and improvements.

[BP_Lizard]

Mine changed status this morning to ‘Departed from export office’ in Minsk. So, two weeks, be sure. :-D

[Jade_Monkey]

Mine finally made it out of the NYC USPS sorting facility. Hopefully this week...

[BP_Lizard]

Mine finally made it out of the NYC USPS sorting facility. Hopefully this week...

 

Badass! Finally, huh? After it left Minsk, did it go through an Asian distribution faclty or straight to NY?

[Jade_Monkey]

Badass! Finally, huh? After it left Minsk, did it go through an Asian distribution faclty or straight to NY?

 

There is zero info between those two points in the tracking.

I think it was stuck in NYC due to a storm (according to someone in reddit).

[Archie]

Mine changed status this morning to ‘Departed from export office’ in Minsk. So, two weeks, be sure. :-D

Mine too!

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

My was delivered yesterday, after few hours of accommodating , I can say that compared to my previous MSFF2 ,Mongoose T-50 is incredible smooth and precise, especially around the center. I did not change cams or springs yet, and use 15cm extension. This default setup is good (soft center, and medium springs). Maybe later I will be experimenting - if it is worth hassle...

[No_85_Gramps]

Glad to see that orders are leaving Minsk, and that Jade_Monkey's made it out of NY. Good to hear you got yours 307_Tomcat! 

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

Is it worth updating the firmware when the stick arrives?

 

Like with Baur's F-3 pedals, updating shouldn't be necessary unless something is very wrong or if you had an earlier base and you want to use their software. The corresponding version of FW is found in the Software download itself. You want to make sure to follow the software guide step-by-step (load profile, save profile, write profile, load profile, etc) and not forget any of those. If you did, just repeat the process properly and it will work.

[Archie]

Well, just checked EMS tracking and my stick is 20 miles away at the import office!

[BP_Lizard]

My was delivered yesterday, after few hours of accommodating , I can say that compared to my previous MSFF2 ,Mongoose T-50 is incredible smooth and precise, especially around the center. I did not change cams or springs yet, and use 15cm extension. This default setup is good (soft center, and medium springs). Maybe later I will be experimenting - if it is worth hassle...

Are you in the States, Tomcat? How long did it take from leaving Minsk to getting delivered to you?

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

I live just one border do west. I think The company sent it directly from city of Grodno in Belarus.

Edited January 18, 2018 by 307_Tomcat

[Jade_Monkey]

Just got notified it will be delivered today. If i don't get it today bc there was nobody to sign I'm going to go berserk

[Archie]

Just got notified it will be delivered today. If i don't get it today bc there was nobody to sign I'm going to go berserk

Mine's out for delivery today as well. Just waiting...

[Jade_Monkey]

I should have worked from home hopefully they come by late in the evening.

 

Edit: They showed up before me, so no luck. I'll pick it up myself tomorrow morning. God this stick is evading me like a Spitfire in a tight turn.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Jade_Monkey

[Archie]

Mine's arrived, after a failed delivery yesterday! Very well packed, boxes don't look battered at all which is nice after some of the pics I've seen. 

[Archie]

Did anyone else get a virus warning when trying to run the  virpil joystick tester? Wondering if it's a false positive but my antivirus doesn't like it!
 

Edited January 20, 2018 by 6./ZG76_Archie

[Archie]

OK, had an issue with the buttons not working which a stripdown of the extensions and reattaching the wires sorted out. My original plan of mounting it to a desk was a non starter, it is a pretty hefty lump of steel when all together so over to plan B which I'm happy with.
Now it's all set up the Mongoose is amazing, my landings have immediately improved 100% and the whole thing is so smooth. For me the springs and cams the base shipped with work perfectly with all three extensions.

[dburne]

OK, had an issue with the buttons not working which a stripdown of the extensions and reattaching the wires sorted out. My original plan of mounting it to a desk was a non starter, it is a pretty hefty lump of steel when all together so over to plan B which I'm happy with.

Now it's all set up the Mongoose is amazing, my landings have immediately improved 100% and the whole thing is so smooth. For me the springs and cams the base shipped with work perfectly with all three extensions.

 

 

 

I too had buttons not working the first time I hooked mine up, apparently did not have a good connection - a reconnect fixed it right away.

Been smooth sailing ever since.

[Jade_Monkey]

This is becoming a total nightmare for me.

 

Let's skip past the horrible shipping experience, received my unit today and played around with it.

The stick feels fine but the cams that come by default are a really weird choice. I decided to change them.

Turns out that most american sets of Allen keys don't exactly match 3mm (not included), they go over or under which doesn't work.

After two trips to the hardware store, finally get the right Allen key and open this thing up.

 

Accessing the cams is a whole new ordeal, despite it being a feature of the base. 

16 screws later I find out the cams are over-tightened and there is no way to remove them.

The 2.5mm key fits but it's deforming the metal with the force because of how over-tightened they are.

I'm about to give up. Any ideas on how to remove the cam screws? They are not Phillips screws as shown in this video.

 

[dburne]

Try heating the cams/screws with a heat gun, or hair dryer.

 

They put a thread lock on those things ( which causes probably more grief than it helps). I know, I actually ruined my first gimbal trying to get a screw out because of this.

 

Looks like they have gone to allen screws there to try and help ( the Philips screws stripped easily).

Edited January 20, 2018 by dburne

[Archie]

Apparently they have threadlok on them for some stupid reason. Best advice seems to be to heat them up first, but I'd be worried about the electrics.

Try heating the cams/screws with a heat gun, or hair dryer.

 

They put a thread lock on those things ( which causes probably more grief than it helps). I know, I actually ruined my first gimbal trying to get a screw out because of this.

 

Looks like they have gone to allen screws there to try and help ( the Philips screws stripped easily).

Yes they've changed to allen screws, but they are tiny, and probably made of cheese. I have absolutely no intention of changing mine for now.Luckily I like the feel of the stick as is with the extensions.

Edited January 20, 2018 by 6./ZG76_Archie

[No_85_Gramps]

It's been reported that VPC uses a really strong thread lock on those screws. Some people had success warming them up with a blow-dryer and some have used the tip of a soldering iron. It's probably why I haven't messed with the cams.

[Jade_Monkey]

My default cams are just useless especially for fighters, cant get to roll more than 60% with these defaults. I'm sure that's fine with bombers.

 

I just gave it a shot with the hairdryer, no luck. I havent been so disappointed in years. After waiting for the package for nearly 2 months I get this...

 

Just dont make it a feature of the product and then make it impossible to use.

Edited January 20, 2018 by Jade_Monkey

[Sokol1]

Is used the red type threadlock - the most strong that require heat to be removed. Without heat are risk of broken the bolt head. Not a easy job.

Edited January 20, 2018 by Sokol1

[Jade_Monkey]

It's been reported that VPC uses a really strong thread lock on those screws. Some people had success warming them up with a blow-dryer and some have used the tip of a soldering iron. It's probably why I haven't messed with the cams.

 

Yes, I can see they used the red one, which according to Wikipedia is the high strength one...

 

Edit: just posted the same thing as Sokol1

Edited January 20, 2018 by Jade_Monkey

[Archie]

Try a soldering iron on the screw heads, more direct heat might help. I can't imagine a hairdryer doing much. It is a very strange design decision to fix the screws like that. Mines probably from the same batch as yours so will have the same thread lock

Edited January 20, 2018 by 6./ZG76_Archie

[dburne]

I would send an email to Cyph3r =  sale@virpil.com

 

Do you know which cams are installed? Something does not sound right only getting 60% roll. Have you tried adjusting the pitch and roll screws?

Edited January 21, 2018 by dburne

[VIRPILControls]

Hi guys!

 

As of the start of this year, we've swapped to the low-strength Loctite that is designed to be easily removable to avoid these issues. If your Flightstick is from an older batch and you're struggling to remove the screws, please contact me via support@virpil.com! We'll get it resolved, don't worry 

 

60% roll on ANY of the cams is not correct. All MT-50 bases are fitted with the medium strength springs and the soft-center cams by default. It's worth noting that if you overtighten the spring pretensioners (accessed via the top plate) this will cause a reduction in the total deflection. Either that, or a simple recalibration will solve the issue. 

Edited January 21, 2018 by VIRPILControls

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

I would really like to have shorter distance between desk mount and the base. It would do huge diffect to my setup.

[Archie]

Tomcat I think making that part adjustable would be a great idea. Mine is fine with all three extensions but would be too long if I wasn't using them.

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

I'm about to change my roll cam, but my first attempt fail and I think only drilling will remove those thigh screws (they already damaged after first attempt) :/

[Jade_Monkey]

I'm about to change my roll cam, but my first attempt fail and I think only drilling will remove those thigh screws (they already damaged after first attempt) :/

I did the same yesterday.

Drilling might only be an option for the pitch cam because the screw goes through and you can see the other end. The roll cam screws do not come out the other side, so the solution might be worse than the problem.

[Archie]

Might be worth contacting Virpil as per post 430. I wouldn't mess around too much as that's how dburne wrecked his first gimbal...

Edited January 21, 2018 by 6./ZG76_Archie

[dburne]

Might be worth contacting Virpil as per post 430. I wouldn't mess around too much as that's how dburne wrecked his first gimbal...

 

Indeed it was.

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

Jordan seems to successfully take out roll cam...

[216th_Jordan]

Yes Tomcat:

 

- The cams were secured by industrial threadlock (color code red - the strong one) - I needed to heat the screws to about 250°C (with a hot air blower) before I could loosen them (removed most of the electronics but still needed to be very careful at that heat) and then still my allen key went through on 2 screws so i had to drill them out with much effort trying not to destroy the thread in the deflection mechanism. This took me about 3 hours and quite some pain in the ass. In the end it all worked out and I put new (supplied with the base) screws in and can now freely change the cams.

 

I did the same yesterday.
Drilling might only be an option for the pitch cam because the screw goes through and you can see the other end. The roll cam screws do not come out the other side, so the solution might be worse than the problem.

 

Jade, take a blower gun and carefully heat the screws (remove electronics before), what I did with the roll-cam-screw after the allen key went through was to file in a slit that would fit a big screwdriver (just slit, not cross - best done with a modelling drill and a small filing disk). I then heated the screw again to make the threadlock soft (dont take too much time after heating up so it doesnt cool down too much!) I had the base clamped on my working table  so it would not move and then used a high quality slit bit on my drill (screw function - you can take a battery screw driver), its important to keep a high pressure doing this to not spin through. The screw came out nicely. The temperature is the most important issue here, if it isn't high enough the screw will not come loose.

 

But if you feel you cannot do this well better talk to VPC and let them do it.

[Jade_Monkey]

Yes Tomcat:

 

 

 

Jade, take a blower gun and carefully heat the screws (remove electronics before), what I did with the roll-cam-screw after the allen key went through was to file in a slit that would fit a big screwdriver (just slit, not cross - best done with a modelling drill and a small filing disk). I then heated the screw again to make the threadlock soft (dont take too much time after heating up so it doesnt cool down too much!) I had the base clamped on my working table  so it would not move and then used a high quality slit bit on my drill (screw function - you can take a battery screw driver), its important to keep a high pressure doing this to not spin through. The screw came out nicely. The temperature is the most important issue here, if it isn't high enough the screw will not come loose.

 

But if you feel you cannot do this well better talk to VPC and let them do it.

 

 

Thanks! i don't really have any of the right tools to do this.

 

VPC was very quick to answer and they have been very responsive both on Saturday and today (Sunday).

I'll just send it back to them before I break anything.

[BP_Lizard]

Dang, J_M. I could feel your frustrations having to wait that long, and now this.

There are inexpensive soldering irons that are available on various thrift store. I see them at 99 Cents store and Dollar Tree ever so often. Most definitely, at Harbor Freight. They could be had for around $3 - $5. I use them when working on guitars to soften the glue if bridge thimbles need to be pulled out. 

Just like this one:

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/30-watt-lightweight-soldering-iron-69060.html