Unveiling the VKB TECS Throttle Control System

Wow, just Wow.....:doh:

 

I know, I know it can be a difficult concept to wrap one's head around for someone on the outside looking in:

 

From our FAQ:

 

Note: We do not offer support for purchases made from any third-party retailers who have a distribution/wholesale agreement with VKB (the manufacturer). Such agreement exists between VKB and the respective third-party vendor only, and has nothing to do with the operations of VKB North America (via VKBcontrollers.com). Any support requests for VKB products purchased from a third-party reseller will have to be submitted to (and fielded by) the same retailer that sold the product and issued their sales invoice to you.

 

That said, third party vendors run their own after-sale support for their own customers, and if they cannot offer support, VKB provides help on their forums - you made it sound as if that's a bad thing.

I wonder who's the 3rd party shop?

Usually some reseller buys direct from VKB HQ in China (under some form of distribution license/agreement), and then sells these products on their own werbshop or Amazon; in most cases in the US it's x-plane.org.

I know, I know it can be a difficult concept to wrap one's head around for someone on the outside looking in:

 

From our FAQ:

 

Note: We do not offer support for purchases made from any third-party retailers who have a distribution/wholesale agreement with VKB (the manufacturer). Such agreement exists between VKB and the respective third-party vendor only, and has nothing to do with the operations of VKB North America (via VKBcontrollers.com). Any support requests for VKB products purchased from a third-party reseller will have to be submitted to (and fielded by) the same retailer that sold the product and issued their sales invoice to you.

 

That said, third party vendors run their own after-sale support for their own customers, and if they cannot offer support, VKB provides help on their forums - you made it sound as if that's a bad thing.

 

You truly missed the point. The Wow was for your failure to take ownership for solving a problem faced by a VKB customer. You are the face of the company, yet you choose to deflect and blame 3rd party resellers. No customer cares who’s to blame only that VKB fixes the issue. If you have the time to monitor forums you have ample time to reach out to a customer to make the problem right.

failure to take ownership for solving a problem faced by a VKB customer.

 

So you'd buy XYZ at Walmart, only to turn around and demand support for XYZ at Target then? And if Target says that's not possible because, you know Walmart =! Target, you'd tell them to their face that they fail to take ownership? ... for a product they didn't even sell? Wow, just wow.

 

You are the face of the company.

What company? If VKBcontrollers.com - then yes. If VKB the manufacturer in China who distributes to third-party vendors unrelated to my own shop? Then no. If X-plane.org, who sells VKB products in their own name to their own customers? Then no.

 

VKBcontrollers.com =! X-plane.org. I only represent the former, not the latter.

So you'd buy XYZ at Walmart, only to turn around and demand support for XYZ at Target then? And if Target says that's not possible because, you know Walmart =! Target, you'd tell them to their face that they fail to take ownership? ... for a product they didn't even sell? Wow, just wow.

 

No I’d expect support for a VKB product (XYZ) from VKB. Target and Walmart are sellers to suppliers of products. I bought my Ranger Rover at Carmax but take it to Range Rover/Land Rover for repair.

 

 

What company? If VKBcontrollers.com - then yes. If VKB the manufacturer in China who distributes to third-party vendors unrelated to my own shop? Then no. If X-plane.org, who sells VKB products in their own name to their own customers? Then no.

 

VKBcontrollers.com =! X-plane.org. I only represent the former, not the latter.

 

No! I’d expect support for a VKB product (XYZ) from VKB. Target and Walmart are sellers for suppliers of products. I bought my Ranger Rover at Carmax but take it to Range Rover/Land Rover for repair. To the customer VKB is VKB. You had a chance to improve a perceived poor image of the company, the product you sell and service provided after the sale and totally missed capitalizing on it.

In all fairness Fusespine33, rrohde is just a vendor, yes I get it but he didn't sell the joystick, now your analogy with the Range Rover, ( 1st I would never buy one from CarMax lol and I do own one 2018 RRS AutoB) but lets say I did and the RR was out of warranty, the only way a Land Rover dealer would repair it is if you paid.

 

Now let's say the joystick was in the warranty period and as he mentioned no reply from the Vendor after repeated attempts it would be nice to have HQ VKB help him out and sort out his problem, after all, your right they manufactured the joystick. It's a shame he didn't buy it from rrohde since any time I email him I get a reply within 30mins which is great.

 

Which brings me to my next point, anytime you buy an expensive product use a credit card, some are better than others but if you have one that "fights the fight" for you worse case you end up having the credit card company refund your money.

 

Looking at the xplane.org website, they would appear they have a very good support system, especially when it comes to sales support.

 

 

I found which appears to be the person.

 

 

https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/167160-help-with-vkb-sim-gladiator-mkii-issue/&tab=comments#comment-1561172

 

Assuming it he's correct, I would call my credit card company and either file a warranty claim or dispute the charge. If your wondering the credit card offers the best in this area, either Citi cards or Chase Res

At no point in this discussion have I ever suggested free parts or service. I have pointed out that RRhode as the North American extension of VKB could have used this opportunity to be a brand ambassador and helped directly facilitate getting the parts, instead he punted it off to another forum. If he chose to solve the problem immediately he could have been a hero. This is elementary customer service. He chooses to be defensive and point to fine print and legal agreements.

 

I have no expectation Carmax is going to maintain parts for every car they sell and would never go to their service department. Carmax provided a one year old, well maintained, low mileage Range Rover for $28K lower than new from a dealer. Range Rover doesn’t maintain value so buying new is for folks that have money to burn in first year depreciation. A Range Rover Dealer is going to have parts and they aren’t going send me to another website for parts.

 

In all fairness Fusespine33, rrohde is just a vendor, yes I get it but he didn't sell the joystick, now your analogy with the Range Rover, ( 1st I would never buy one from CarMax lol and I do own one 2018 RRS AutoB) but lets say I did and the RR was out of warranty, the only way a Land Rover dealer would repair it is if you paid.

 

Now let's say the joystick was in the warranty period and as he mentioned no reply from the Vendor after repeated attempts it would be nice to have HQ VKB help him out and sort out his problem, after all, your right they manufactured the joystick. It's a shame he didn't buy it from rrohde since any time I email him I get a reply within 30mins which is great.

 

Which brings me to my next point, anytime you buy an expensive product use a credit card, some are better than others but if you have one that "fights the fight" for you worse case you end up having the credit card company refund your money.

 

Looking at the xplane.org website, they would appear they have a very good support system, especially when it comes to sales support.

 

 

I found which appears to be the person.

 

 

https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/167160-help-with-vkb-sim-gladiator-mkii-issue/&tab=comments#comment-1561172

 

Assuming it he's correct, I would call my credit card company and either file a warranty claim or dispute the charge. If your wondering the credit card offers the best in this area, either Citi cards or Chase Res

And here I thought I might actually be reading news about a VKB product...and instead read about car warranties? WTF...

 

There are PMs for a reason.

Usually some reseller buys direct from VKB HQ in China (under some form of distribution license/agreement), and then sells these products on their own werbshop or Amazon; in most cases in the US it's x-plane.org.

You guessed it in the US. So, now that I know about the VKB support forum I will post there. BTW, I am sorry to have caused such a passel of posts. I really like the stick as it is a huge upgrade compared to my old Logitech. I used that button primarily to fire rockets in a P51 and have simply assigned a key board key to that function. I am sorry for the thread derail. Thanks for all the help guys

Edited March 3, 2019 by CBStu

In all fairness Fusespine33, rrohde is just a vendor, yes I get it but he didn't sell the joystick, now your analogy with the Range Rover, ( 1st I would never buy one from CarMax lol and I do own one 2018 RRS AutoB) but lets say I did and the RR was out of warranty, the only way a Land Rover dealer would repair it is if you paid.

 

Now let's say the joystick was in the warranty period and as he mentioned no reply from the Vendor after repeated attempts it would be nice to have HQ VKB help him out and sort out his problem, after all, your right they manufactured the joystick. It's a shame he didn't buy it from rrohde since any time I email him I get a reply within 30mins which is great.

 

Which brings me to my next point, anytime you buy an expensive product use a credit card, some are better than others but if you have one that "fights the fight" for you worse case you end up having the credit card company refund your money.

 

Looking at the xplane.org website, they would appear they have a very good support system, especially when it comes to sales support.

 

 

I found which appears to be the person.

 

 

https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/167160-help-with-vkb-sim-gladiator-mkii-issue/&tab=comments#comment-1561172

 

Assuming it he's correct, I would call my credit card company and either file a warranty claim or dispute the charge. If your wondering the credit card offers the best in this area, either Citi cards or Chase Res

Nope, not me.

At no point in this discussion have I ever suggested free parts or service. I have pointed out that RRhode as the North American extension of VKB could have used this opportunity to be a brand ambassador and helped directly facilitate getting the parts, instead he punted it off to another forum. If he chose to solve the problem immediately he could have been a hero. This is elementary customer service. He chooses to be defensive and point to fine print and legal agreements.

 

I have no expectation Carmax is going to maintain parts for every car they sell and would never go to their service department. Carmax provided a one-year-old, well maintained, low mileage Range Rover for $28K lower than new from a dealer. Range Rover doesn’t maintain value so buying new is for folks that have money to burn in first-year depreciation. A Range Rover Dealer is going to have parts and they aren’t going send me to another website for parts.

 

 

I don't disagree with you, it is a strange arrangement these independent� Vendors have with VKB, I would compare it to going to Bestbuy buying a product that has a 2 year warranty, 1 year in it stops working, your hardly going to go back to best buy to replace it, you go the manufacture.

 

 

 

CBStu - that's interesting that it's� not you but the person appears to have a similar issue. I hope you get it fixed or VKB do the right thing, if not look at your credit card benefits to see if you have any recourse. �

Good morning! I see I've missed a lot!

 

Good old times of forum holy wars and floods are back? :lol:

 

That was a lot of fun going on last night, pity I wasn't here to follow it in real time.

To begin with, I checked the background of some Range Rover owners and found them real people, not bots. So it is real people we have to deal with, even if their opinions or tone of their voices are not exactly pleasing.

 

He chooses to be defensive and point to fine print and legal agreements

- Before attacking RRohde you might have given it a thought, why in the first place the legal agreements are written altogether, if they are not supposed to be pointed to in disputable situations.

I believe RRohde out of all of our dealers has done the most to make customers happy, and let me put it directly, any attempts to blame him are simply ridiculous, period.

He needs not to be told what to do.

Opinions can, of course, be different, and I and the other forum readers have heard you. Thank you for making yours clear.

 

I am sorry to have caused such a passel of posts

Absolutely nothing to say sorry for. We monitor this forum for a purpose, and this purpose includes checking for situations like yours. Your big mistake however was not to mention the shop where you got your device - this should be the first and foremost. It might be some outlet unknown to us, or it may be a knock-off device (yes there are fake VKB devices in the market). Or, it may be a pawnshop, or this may a faulty device re-sold to three people one after another, or whatever. Even when you write to VKB directly, or post on their forum, this is going to be the first question you will be asked, together with proof of purchase. (I know it because with high probability it will be me reading your message there).

Sure VKB will take care of the case but we need to know the full story.

So go ahead and write to us, and get registered at our forum - help from the forum sometimes comes faster than if you write email message.

 

Please no more car dealership mess here. This one is a TECS topic. I hate to say it but all further messages on the above issue will be immediately purged as off-topic.

Peace to all :)

Any snippet of information about the TECS then ? :x

 

I had to try, right ?

in work......

I want to let all of you know that Aerogator got w/ me on the VKB forum and suggested a possible repair. So I took the stick apart and he was spot on. Under the button is the actual switch which slides into place in a channel. Unfortunately it had slid out of position so was not aligned under the visible button. I slid it in and added a small dab of glue and all is well.

Thank you Aerogator!

possible repair

My pleasure!

Wish you tons of fun flying!

:pilotfly:

My warthog throttle started giving me some trouble the last couple of flights. At certain throttle positions, the buttons stop working. So its probably on its way out. Is there any indication of time frame for the TECS? I already have a Gunfighter and the T-Rudder's, and love em both. I *NEED* a TECS :)

... I *NEED* a TECS :)

Me aswell, any updates on this?

Edited March 31, 2019 by Der Hirte

Ordered a MCG PRO to replace my warthog and i wanna get rid of the warthog throttle aswell. What timeframe are we looking at?

They said on the vkb forums after summer... not sure if that means no news until after summer or the release will be Q3-Q4 in 2019. Being patient is hard, I can't wait to replace my temp throttle (t1600m).

Guys we absolutely appreciate your impatience.

 

TECS is in the pipeline.

Developing such a device takes time.

It would be very wrong to think that as soon as the product design is finalized, it is ready to be produced. No it is not.

Developing technology to produce it takes time, too.

Nudging the cook doesn't make the dinner come earlier. The cook is the one who wants to get it done the most!

 

TECS will be only be released when it is fully ready, and it will be The Best Throttle :)

We CANNOT divulge any time estimations. Not because we're being mean and over-secretive, but simply because there are too many variables to impact the schedule.

This summer? - no, for sure. Q3? - no, for sure. The rest is in the mist, but we are working on it every day, day after day.

Yeah, but when you read the initial announcement from December 2017, it does not leave you with the impression that availability will be 2 years later (if not even more).

Yeah, but when you read the initial announcement from December 2017, it does not leave you with the impression that availability will be 2 years later (if not even more).

Announcement of what?

Was it an announcement like "get your cash ready, next Monday this is coming out"?

Clearly, no.

It was an announcement - or better call it information - like "see what we are working on".

No less, but no more.

:smartass:

 

We appreciate interest to our future products but we also expect understanding that we are not going to sacrifice technical perfection to haste. Our throttle will be outstanding - for that it will take as long as it takes to make it.

Difficult to hear, but thank you for the feedback. Looking forward to it, hopefully my warthog holds on long enough.