VKB STECS Standard throttle review (part 2)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- First part: • VKB STECS Standard thr...
Third part: • VKB STECS Standard thr...
0:00 Intro
0:22 Standard option accessories overview
1:18 STEM vs racing chair
1:56 Dual throttle benefits, propellers, lock, modifier on grip
3:01 Excellent throttle tension adjustment system
4:36 EU pricing discussion
5:25 Comparison intro
5:40 Comparison with Virpil VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Throttle
7:09 Bases comparison and VKB's buttons affinity
8:05 VPC vs STECS various, quality and conclusions
9:03 Comparison with Thrustmaster TWCS
9:50 TWCS quality issues: what broke for me
10:44 TWCS positives, axes, hats
11:30 TWCS TDC, rotary and paddles
12:39 TWCS with T.16000M combo and upgrade path
12:50 TFRP pedals vs twist on the joystick
13:17 Upgrading to STECS, have the rudder solved
14:11 Outro
15:26 Terrible touchdown - เกม
I went with the Standard version. This throttle has way more functionality than I need right now. I’m still pretty new to flight sim, but I’ve been into racing sims for a long time. I know that I will enjoy this hobby for many years, so the upgrade to the standard version seemed like the best option. The customization options with this thing is incredible!
I'm a fan of flying sims on and off for way over 20 years. I even remember Su-27 Flanker game that was the far ancestor of DCS! Nice to see more people in flying simming. STECS is great, despite a few reservations I love it - and it's always important to embrace what we have and use it to its maximum. Standard is a great option, good value, great choice!
same here. FedEx is delivering today 😊
I was really stuck between this and the Winwing Orion 2, until I realized you have to buy the handle and base separately on the Orion. I think this is best bang for buck at this quality level, and the company seems to genuinely care about the end user experience in a way not many do nowadays. Thanks for your very in-depth review series of this!
Thank you! With WinWing, the prices for combos are quite good and you can also mix and match to some degree. I have to say that STECS bases are least interesting from all the other bases. I wish it had more latched switches. But the throttle is not just the base, of course. 🙂 STECS works well for me.
Nice review 😀
I appreciate the comparison to the TWCS. I'm coming from that same throttle and have a STECS standard on the way. It's interesting to hear your thoughts on it while I'm waiting.
Let me know what you think in a comment when you test it. What bothers you, what you need to get used to, etc. 🙂
Hey, thank you very much for your thorough reviews! Definitely gave us a detailed view on the STECS.
I do have a question about the flat buttons on the base -- are they mushy like a normal keyboard, can you feel noticeable feedback from pressing them?
There are two round buttons on the STECS base, these have short travel, but very obvious action with semi-loud higher-pitched click. Buttons on the STEM (A1-2, B1-5, C1) have a bit more play, probably a tad longer action than the buttons on the main base (but still quite short) and also clear action, this time with lower pitched softer click. K-switches, good action, but unnecessarily heavier for the middle click. All the buttons are good, you know when you pressed them, they give you enough resistence, so you don't press them accidentally. Not sure what "normal keyboard" means for you, but I hope I answered the question. They don't feel like keyboard.
@@dcsunscripted This is very helpful, you definitely answered my question :) I was hoping the case is how you described it, now I am definitely going for the STECS. Thank you for the videos and comments, you are brilliant at communicating!
I just received my VKB Gladiator NXT EVO premium joystick. I upgraded from Thrustmaster. It is truly an excellent joystick. It has the z axis twist I can use for rudder. The premium stick has a little more configuration and buttons. But both Standard, or Premium offer very good quality. However the Thrustmaster Airbus TCA joystick and Quadrant is a very good combination in MSFS 2020. The Airbus joystick seems to be a re-badged or re-coloured 16000M. It may have been improved slightly. However it is very acceptable in MSFS along with the throttle quadrant. Perfectly matched when flying the Airbus A320. It is a good price point, and that is important as the cost of all the addons, aircraft, airports etc soon add up !. But the VKB stick is excellent and more appropriate in DCS ( or space simulator like Star Citizen etc) with a good range of buttons and the included axis's on the joystick base that will cover most button assignments in DCS. Regarding the STECS which you review here, I would agree with your synopsis. It is also a good choice. Of course you have to factor the delivery charges tax and VAT, which can really push up the price a bit. I love the quality feel of the VKB stick, no wobble, solid and weighty on my desk. But time will tell. I hope the buttons and POV are stable sfter a lot of use. Maybe a comment for the future as time progresses with stick use. Thank you for this interesting STECS review. Apologies for going off topic ( talking about stick rather than throttle ) but just to say that VKB offer a very good product range at a reasonable price point, in my opinion.
I also have VKB Gladiator Kosmosima Premium - and that's an incredible value for its price, I'd say. And yes, it covers the rudder with its twist (not perfect, especially for warbirds or helos, but usable). I have the stick since the last April and I plan to review it some time later, so it will be kinda long-term review already. 🙂Especially the thumb side hat (the one which is button in non-premium model) is a bit imprecise, but the rest of the buttons and hats are great. I still couldn't find proper use for the ministick, so it's used more as a POV anyway. I don't like how it's tougher to push it than to pull it (also the spring/return action is different from push and pull)... but in overall, I like it a lot. But more on that some time later. ;-)
Can you use the triggered as brakes for the planes? I like running the older modules but not having pedals for left n right brake make warbirds little difficult for me
The triggers are only buttons - so you can use them as left and right brake, but not as axes (analog), only as buttons - which typically works in such a way that they apply more and more power to the brakes during a short period. This makes it semi-usable when you "pulse" the buttons (this way you can keep the brake level in some area), but it is not as precise as real toe-brakes, or any analog replacement.
STECS will not really help you with either the rudder, nor the toe-brakes. Also, if you want to use the triggers as toe-brakes anyway (even with button actions), you can't do split-throttle to have RPM (prop) and throttle in various positions. That makes using the triggers side by side impossible. They will always be each in different position.
My STECS standard was very tightly dampened out of the box, yet the throttle still slowly falls forwards whenever I release it in a forward-enough position. I definitely didn't expect this from such an expensive throttle, coming from a X52 Pro which didn't have this falling tendency at all. I'd love to release the dampening force a lot but cannot do that as it'd make the throttle fall even faster, but I suppose it's not possible to overcome this mechanical issue in these heavyweight throttles without damping them a lot.
By the way, what do you prefer to map the 4 paddles to? I fly mostly A-10C, Harrier and plan to learn the Apache, and couldn't find what anyone else uses them for.
I got used to a bit tighter throttle - of course, not too much so it doesn't move around the desk 🙂 - and I always change the tightness when switching to split setup for propeller. If you hold the throttle there for a few secs, it should help as the damping/stiction appears quite quickly if the throttle doesn't move. But I don't know how variable this is between the units.
As for the "triggers", I decided to use the back ones for countermeasures (either with a thumb or simply by moving the hand and pressing it with other fingers) and the ones on the front for target unlock and lock (the right one), because I don't like the press action of the TDC (OTS). With a modifier I use the front ones consistently for flight clock and stopwatch (where available), but that's probably too much information. ;-)
How do I slow down the axis please ? I can't find a solution for antenna elevation axis, they move too fast and I can't control it by raising the multiplier and precision
You have to lower the multiplier actually. But then you'll have to twist the encoder much more. There is no way to make the "axis step" smaller than the encoder click. That's why encoder to axis is not good for precision-critical axes. Elevation may be ok-ish, especially on the pinkie encoder which is easier to rotate.
See this video how to do it: th-cam.com/video/GB-pf6dEICM/w-d-xo.html