Gunfighter Mk3 flightstick Flash & Calibration really necessary...?

[liddic1]

Hello...
I've just received my VKB Gunfighter Mk3 Modern Combat edition flightstick expecting it to be 'plug & play'. The green light that's beside the 1 on the Black Box is 'on', the blue light on the other side of the BB is 'on', and the green light at the base of the Gunfighter is 'on'. So, the stick seems to be working fine and I assume my brand new VKB T-Rudder Mk4 are too (I've got them plugged into the BB). But, when I go into play War Thunder and tell it that I'll be using a flightstick, not a mouse as the controller, it says 'Device not connected', or something like that. So, it's not Plug & Play so far. Do I really have to do all that complex calibration & flashing of my flightstick from VBK's website before I'm able to use it to play WT, Il2 Sturmovik, or any other flight sim...?
Otherwise, VBK's stick & rudders are a beautiful piece of kit!

[fallout9]

You don't need to flash your device as new devices are coming flashed with the latest firmware. All devices have to get calibrated when they arrive though, just follow this tutorial https://youtu.be/LBW0P1mlGno, but skip the flashing part. If the rudders are plugged into the same Black Box as the joystick don't forget to include them in the calibration process. If they're not, then calibrate them separately.

[liddic1]

Thank-you fallout9! One more question though...After I download the Device Firmware, configuration & bootloader programs, what step in the video tutorial do I go to to avoid the flashing part...?

[Grifter-RLG]

So, Just order my Gunfighter MCG Pro and, to be clear, I won't need to flash it or install the firmware because that will have done by the factory. Correct? In which case, I skip those parts in the video and use the config manual and video to calibrate my stick and configure controls?

Just skimming through the manual here and it seems I can bind keystrokes using VKBdevCFG software. Is that so? As it looks fairly complicated, can I also directly program my MCG Pro using menu in my Digital Combat Simulator control menu?

Finally, one last question, am I going to have to put on springs and cams out of the box or does the stick come already setup and it's a simple matter of plugging it into my computer? Sorry, I'm seeing mixed messages on this point and I'm new to this level of input control and so I don't entirely know what to expect.

Very excited about my purchase but also a bit intimidated by the manual.

Thanks for answering my noob questions.

[fallout9]

Thank-you fallout9! One more question though...After I download the Device Firmware, configuration & bootloader programs, what step in the video tutorial do I go to to avoid the flashing part...?

From here: https://youtu.be/LBW0P1mlGno?t=159

[fallout9]

So, Just order my Gunfighter MCG Pro and, to be clear, I won't need to flash it or install the firmware because that will have done by the factory. Correct? In which case, I skip those parts in the video and use the config manual and video to calibrate my stick and configure controls?

Correct.

Just skimming through the manual here and it seems I can bind keystrokes using VKBdevCFG software. Is that so? As it looks fairly complicated, can I also directly program my MCG Pro using menu in my Digital Combat Simulator control menu?

You could definitely bind your controls in DCS, just look for the MCG Pro binding column, double click on wanted command and press the button on the joystick.

Finally, one last question, am I going to have to put on springs and cams out of the box or does the stick come already setup and it's a simple matter of plugging it into my computer? Sorry, I'm seeing mixed messages on this point and I'm new to this level of input control and so I don't entirely know what to expect.

Joystick comes with cams and springs installed. But people are different: what axes transition and spring resistance is good for me maybe you won't like it. That's why you have multiple choices in both cams and springs. Take your time and don't swap them too often at the beginning, give yourself some time to realize what you like and what you don't like with the current combination and go from there.

Very excited about my purchase but also a bit intimidated by the manual.

It's hard to get into it, but it comes easier after you break through the surface.

Thanks for answering my noob questions.

Please ask away on whatever other things you'd like clarified.

[Grifter-RLG]

Didn't realize you had posted this reply. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. My MCG Pro wasn't supposed to arrive until Friday, but it's actually arriving today! I'm excited but again it's a steep learning curve. I'm looking forward to setting it up!

Just looking ahead, I'm assuming I don't have to grease anything out of the box, but will need to do so yearly? Correct? If so, I see numerous discussions here about proper grease. So I need to do some more reading on my own. But is there a tutorial video on this subject? Thanks.

[fallout9]

Depending on the quality of the lubricant you'll use and the time you spend playing I would say anytime between 6 months and a year for lubricating the ball bearings. And maybe a very thin layer of lubricant on cams, but only if your room has a high humidity level.

[Grifter-RLG]

Okay good to know. Thanks Fallout.

[liddic1]

Thank-you fallout9! One more question though...After I download the Device Firmware, configuration & bootloader programs, what step in the video tutorial do I go to to avoid the flashing part...?

From here: https://youtu.be/LBW0P1mlGno?t=159

Hi Fallout9...
OK, so I've got my VKB Rudder pedals & Gunfighter ModernCombat Mk3 stick plugged into the same BlackBox & all blue & green lights are lit on both the BB & the joystick. But when I open the ConFigDev folder, the only device in the Device List box that I see there is the rudder pedals, which I've been able to calibrate successfully. My joystick doesn't appear on the list here. I've spent about an hour re-watching that video many times, but I'm stumped as to what I'm not doing/doing wrong. Why doesn't my stick also appear in this box...?

[fallout9]

Alright, let's start from beginning: so you have an MCG Pro with MKIII GF base and a Black Box and you got rudders with their Black Box too. You plugged them both the base and the rudders in the same Black Box and in the device name it shows the rudders only. This is because you used the Black Box flashed for the rudders (the one the rudders came with). Swap the Black Box with the other one, already flashed for MCG Pro + MKIII base, plug both devices in and you'll see the MCG Pro shown in the device list. After that you could calibrate including the rudders too, they'll automatically be added on axis nr. 7.