New VKB Ultimate Metal Grip

[Lusekofte]

I got almost the same grip but I cannot go back to "normal sticks" I just got this. It is a 12 kg brute with as much self centering and  resistance you want in all axis with the help of adjustable hydrydraulic dampers and rubber bands for centering. If I chose desk  sticks with extension your setup would be my choice

Edited January 12, 2021 by 216th_LuseKofte

[dburne]

Whew finally - I have now mapped my needed buttons for all my flight sims for the new hardware, throttle and grip.

I wanted to replace the two white and one red button caps on the grip with the included black ones. Give it that stealth look.

Last button to put on I dropped on this floor, I heard it hit and have been looking and looking and can not find the darn thing anywhere LOL.

I am such a moron. I just wanna fly !!

And now gotta work on building up the muscle memory on what is assigned where.

Edited January 12, 2021 by dburne

[dburne]

Woohoo my wonderful wife managed to find the dropped button cap for me.

 

Now she is my stealth grip - Black Beauty.

 

[dburne]

So this morning I replaced my Gate (ministick) on the left side of grip with the included Hat that gives me 5 buttons ( 4 plus push).

 

Took me all of 5 minutes. Very cool feature. There is also another that can be used to replace the Master Mode Hat (middle top) , but I like how that hat can be used as either 8 way POV Hat or with a long press a relative axis in x and y so I am leaving it as is for now.

More buttons available now to map, yeah baby!

 

 

Edited January 14, 2021 by dburne

[Habu]

Hi Dburne,

 

I received mine too, and i tried to put the modul you installed instead of the POV, but i have strange result.

 

May you tried and tell me if it works for you.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Habu

[dburne]

2 hours ago, Habu said:

Hi Dburne,

 

I received mine too, and i tried to put the modul you installed instead of the POV, but i have strange result.

 

May you tried and tell me if it works for you.

 

Yes that hat I replaced the POV with is working just fine for me.

What do you mean by strange result?

All I did was remove the two small screws, then carefully installed the hat making sure I had the orientation correct. 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by dburne

[Habu]

When i go left, it goes right. Something like that. I'll try to make a video asap.

 

Here is what i tried, using your picture to show you. The left modul is still the default one.

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Habu

[dburne]

If the hat you have in that top middle position looks like the one I have on the left that you have circled, you may have the wrong hat in the wrong position.

I believe this is the extra hat intended for that position:

 

 

In fact I have been meaning to change that one out also, will go ahead and do so and see how it goes.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by dburne

[Habu]

Yes here is what i try.

 

 

You mean that moduls can't go everywhere ?

[dburne]

Correct. If you watch that video you see which hat goes where. At least that is the way I took it.

Just changed my other hat out and it is fine, this is what I have now:

 

 

Also note you will need to re-assign as it is a 4 way plus push rather than POV, so it assigns button numbers to them.

[Habu]

I watched that video 2 or 3 times, but i didn't understand that there was a limitation. For me, it was just an exemple to switch the moduls.

 

Thank you.

 

 

[dburne]

4 minutes ago, Habu said:

I watched that video 2 or 3 times, but i didn't understand that there was a limitation. For me, it was just an exemple to switch the moduls.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

?

 

Enjoy the fantastic grip!

4 minutes ago, Habu said:

I watched that video 2 or 3 times, but i didn't understand that there was a limitation. For me, it was just an exemple to switch the moduls.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

Oh one other thing I forgot to mention.

Also note you lose the ability to switch that hat to a relative axis by a long press.

I did not mind as I never really found a good use for that feature in my case and found myself sometimes accidently triggering it and wondering what the heck happened to my trim lol.

Edited February 17, 2021 by dburne

[Habu]

I already enjoy it, even if i would like have the other hat. Maybe i can change only the plastic head.

 

 

[Habu]

Dburne, according to the official forum, it seems that all modules can be switched in any position, as i thought from the begining.

http://forum.vkb-sim.pro/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5126

[dburne]

16 hours ago, Habu said:

Dburne, according to the official forum, it seems that all modules can be switched in any position, as i thought from the begining.

http://forum.vkb-sim.pro/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5126

 

Good to know.

[Habu]

If you have time, may you try the setting i would like, to know if everything is fine for you.

[dburne]

48 minutes ago, Habu said:

If you have time, may you try the setting i would like, to know if everything is fine for you.

 

So swap those two hats out on my grip to see if they work?

I would be a little leery of trying that in case it messes something up.

Have you tried the other hat and confirm it works in that spot for you?

You may want to contact VKB support on the issue you are having to see what they say.

Edited February 20, 2021 by dburne

[Habu]

yes.

 

I'm going to try with the other modul.

[dburne]

So for those interested in the new VKB Ultimate Metal Grip, looks like ordering "may" be available tomorrow if I am reading this right.

http://forum.vkb-sim.pro/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4890&p=45967#p45947

 

I absolutely love mine, that cold metal feel wrapping my hand around it. 

I replaced the two POV hats with the two 4 button plus push hats included with the package. I can never seem to have enough buttons.

Plus I went with all black button caps.

 

 

I put a screw in to lock the grip's twist axis and disabled that axis in the software.

Nice to know I have it should I ever need it like for a space sim.

Edited March 10, 2021 by dburne

[dburne]

Ultimate Metal Grips are now available to order in VKB store.

With or without twist.

I can tell you it is one sweet grip, loving mine!

https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=mcg-ultimate-stand-alone

 

Can also be ordered as a package with the Gunfighter Base.

https://vkbcontrollers.com/?product=gunfighter-mk-iii-modern-combat-edition-ultimate

Edited March 11, 2021 by dburne

[LukeFF]

Ordered! I also finally broke down and decided to pick up the MK III electronics upgrade kit. I'd purchased the dust cover and cam upgrades a while ago, but at the time I didn't want to spend the money on the electronics upgrade.

[dburne]

8 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

Ordered! I also finally broke down and decided to pick up the MK III electronics upgrade kit. I'd purchased the dust cover and cam upgrades a while ago, but at the time I didn't want to spend the money on the electronics upgrade.

 

?

 

Congrats! You are in for a real treat.

 

BTW use caution with those wires when replacing them.

I added a spring to both axis the other day, put it back together then yesterday everything started flaking out like crazy then it was not recognized. I opened her up and apparently the red wire had gotten pinched in there and eventually broke in two.

Luckily I have a soldering tool and solder, so was able to get it soldered back together and wrapped electrical tape around the joint.

And I was real careful this time with the wire placement so hopefully it holds up and no more issues.

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by dburne

[LukeFF]

I received my grip today (two days ahead of schedule!). Man, this is one very solid durable grip - it makes my old MCG grip feel like a toy by a comparison.  I don't think I've used a grip this solid since the old TM Viper stick in the early 2000s. I'm very, very happy with it.

 

I swapped out the ministick for the other button module, because I like how it matches the look of the real stick better that way. Yeah, I lose the analog axis functionality, but that's not a big deal to me.

 

[dburne]

5 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

I received my grip today (two days ahead of schedule!). Man, this is one very solid durable grip - it makes my old MCG grip feel like a toy by a comparison.  I don't think I've used a grip this solid since the old TM Viper stick in the early 2000s. I'm very, very happy with it.

 

I swapped out the ministick for the other button module, because I like how it matches the look of the real stick better that way. Yeah, I lose the analog axis functionality, but that's not a big deal to me.

 

 

 

?

 

Big congrats!! Still loving mine.

[dburne]

On 3/11/2021 at 4:10 PM, dburne said:

 

?

 

Congrats! You are in for a real treat.

 

BTW use caution with those wires when replacing them.

I added a spring to both axis the other day, put it back together then yesterday everything started flaking out like crazy then it was not recognized. I opened her up and apparently the red wire had gotten pinched in there and eventually broke in two.

Luckily I have a soldering tool and solder, so was able to get it soldered back together and wrapped electrical tape around the joint.

And I was real careful this time with the wire placement so hopefully it holds up and no more issues.

 

 

Just wanted to report back on this.

Even though I soldered it back and it is still working fine, I wanted to get an extra wiring harness to have just in case it should fail at some point.

So while VKB does not show this available as a standard part to order, I contacted VKB support to ask the question. After a couple of correspondence emails they offered to send me a wiring harness just for the cost of shipping.

 

So they set up a special way to order this part, which I did and received it here around 3 weeks later.

So I have the wiring harness now and will have should my solder job fail or anything else happen to it, so would be a quick fix for me.

 

Big nod to VKB for arranging this for me! I like to be prepared and feel much better knowing I have this now available should I need it. Or I may next time I open it up for adjustments just go ahead and replace it while it is open.

Edited May 2, 2021 by dburne

[[Warship]MidnightLightnin]

On 1/7/2021 at 5:44 PM, dburne said:

Just got a text message from Fed EX that they now have my new Grip and it will be delivered on Monday.

Good times with new toys lol.

Mine is arriving Friday - just wondered whether you had a button mapping reference chart you would be willing to share. I am planning how to set the stick up and would welcome some ideas?

[dburne]

2 hours ago, [THORN]MidnightLightnin said:

Mine is arriving Friday - just wondered whether you had a button mapping reference chart you would be willing to share. I am planning how to set the stick up and would welcome some ideas?

 

No not really. I did all my button assignments in the game.

It is a very subjective thing depending on the individual. Just start with a few of the essentials and run test flights in between to get what feels good for you.

I use the regular trigger for machine guns, the flip down trigger for cannons. Rockets/Bombs I put on the upper right button. Top hat I use for trim, hat just below I use for exterior view modes.

 

You are in for a treat with that Ultimate Grip !

Edited October 7, 2021 by dburne

[[Warship]MidnightLightnin]

3 hours ago, dburne said:

 

No not really. I did all my button assignments in the game.

It is a very subjective thing depending on the individual. Just start with a few of the essentials and run test flights in between to get what feels good for you.

I use the regular trigger for machine guns, the flip down trigger for cannons. Rockets/Bombs I put on the upper right button. Top hat I use for trim, hat just below I use for exterior view modes.

 

You are in for a treat with that Ultimate Grip !

 

Ok thanks,sounds like good advice.

 

Yes looking forward to it arriving tomorrow