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BRD-DS ‘Raven’ Review - The Man & The Machine


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So. Got my little mits on one of these beauties the week before last - I thought I’d write a bit of a review for any that might be interested…

 

As some of you may know (or not) BRD is a small independent designer and manufacturer of boutique high-end flight sim gear. In fact, it’s pretty much one dude, Mr. Baur himself, based way off in Sochi, Russia.

 

From what I can gather, BRD are most known for their (his) line of rudder pedals, but there’s also a small range of flight stick controllers too - The BRD-DN, a behemoth floor mounted beast of a stick and its little brother, the BRD-DS, an under seat attached gimbal and stick, which is what I have between my thighs as I type!

 

So I’ll crack straight to it…How’s the stick in use?

 

Put simply, it’s the best gimbal and stick I’ve ever had the pleasure of using, and I don’t see it being bested by any of the current options, widely available or not.

 

To put that in context against my experience with the offerings from the more commercial manufacturers - I started out like most with the T-Flight HOTAS X. I then bumped up to an X-55. I then set on a journey of miscellaneous mods for my X-55 - centre mounting, button replacements, grip weighting, and my own spring based soft centring design, which, as it happens worked very well albeit a little rudimentary compared to the BRD. All of which unequivocally voided my warranty but completely upgraded the quality and experience. Around about the same time-line I got hold of a TM Warthog to see what all the fuss was about…I spent a week with the Hog before it went back to Amazon. Yeah it’s heavy and the grip is cast metal, blah blah, but that didn’t pull the wool over my eyes for a hot second! My modded X-55 was already blowing it out the water and the few highlights it did have were nowhere near worth the asking price. And the throttle was wobbly.

 

Time to start looking further afield for that meta stick!…

 

Back to the BDR-DS:

 

The industrial design that’s gone into the thing is outstanding - it’s complicated, but eloquently simple at the same time. It uses a per axis double cam self centring design coupled with super high resolution RAMS contact-less angular sensors. It’s made entirely from laser cut pressed steel, and when it comes together it’s as tough as a tank…I’ve even noticed I started positioning my flight chair in a bit by dragging from the shaft of the stick before sitting! Something that couldn’t even be considered with any other stick, it’s that solid. And my chair has a scaffold frame!

 

There are options for adjustability - It comes with 2 sets of cam profiles, free centre and soft centre. There are 3 sets of springs that compliment a further 3 possible attachment increments on the cam arms for tension/centring force/progressive resistance. There’s 2 separate base plates for mounting options and 2 I/O plates to use depending on what ‘guts’ you’ll be using for the stick (a little more on the electronics side of things later). The shaft also has incremented height adjustment options too.

I decided upon the free centre cams, middle tension spring set, middle tension cam points.

 

In use it’s as smooth as butter. There is NO centre notching or crossover point at all with my cam choice. At the same time the stick returns to dead centre every time on release. The progressive force is exactly as it sounds and adds another layer of subconscious feedback (coupled with a Gametrix Jetseat it’s awesome). There is nothing even remotely resembling any kind of stiction or deadzone freeplay at all. None. Using an extended stick took all of 5 minutes to get used to and the resolution of the stick, coupled with the natural height extension of the design translate into super fine grained and natural control that I hadn’t experienced until now.

 

 

Worth mentioning at this point: As far as my research outside of my own needs informed me, there are a number of options and variables when ordering a stick from Baur (please correct me if anyone reading this is more in the know and any of the following isn’t spot on).

The basic ‘package’ as it were does not come with a grip. Baur does make a beautiful looking replica of a KG13 grip, but if you’re not ordering one of those as well you’ll need to source your own, and attach it to the column, electronic coupling and all. These choices may also affect which main controller board comes with the the stick although I believe it comes down to two, one for his KG13 and another for any other given grip that has button/hat wiring based on shift registers (my own included). Now, Baur already has this in the bag with a number of options to cater for exactly this subject - I’m certainly aware that a stick with TM WH adapter is an option for example.

 

I myself fully intended to use my modded X-55 grip, and Baur thoughtfully suggested and included one of his custom lathe turned adapters during our initial conversations. This was a godsend, and with a bit of tweaking my grip is mated with the column more effectively and solidly than it ever was with the Saitek gimbal/column, also retaining the ability to remove the grip via locking collar mechanism (I removed the twist function in favour of a more solid stick, but that was my choice, I could’ve kept it and have it work with the controller board of the BRD).

 

Now, if any of the last paragraph caused alarm bells for anyone regarding a need for electronics and general technical skills, please don’t fret. Of course, it helps in life in general as with any other skill set, but not entirely necessary in this instance. From my understanding Baur is able to ship his products in two forms - More or less fully assembled, or in kit form.

The kit form, I believe, is normally reserved for the business he does within Russia, preferring to go fully assembled when despatching to the west or anywhere else. A wise choice on his part for obvious reasons, probably. Yet, after discussing skill levels with Baur and we were confident that I’d be able get through it with minimal fuss the kit option was deemed the way to go. In fact, if you feel confident with building stuff , are a general tinkerer and have the basic tools (and a rivet gun) I’d highly recommend it, it was a joy to build and gives you a real understanding of the stick, and a real appreciation for the design and fabrication work that’s gone into one of these things. (I’ll include a link at the end to the forum build guide for those that may be curious.)

 

On the other hand - If all you want to do is whack your WH grip onto the base, don’t worry, I believe that can be totally facilitated as an option. Although you will have to come up with your own mounting solution, but hey…

 

So anyway, the stick is f@cking awsome…That much I’ve probably made clear. What about the customer experience with Baur, lead times on order readiness, despatch, etc.

 

Initially, my thoughts were probably in line with every other westerner who’d found out about BRD gear in whatever way - “So there’s a guy in deepest Russia that make cool gear. Doesn’t speak English (nor I, Russian). No website. No Paypal. No…[insert random lack of confidence phrase here]…

Forget about it! - From start to finish, Baur has been an absolute pleasure to do business with. In many ways, in the area of customer service, he has ousted the vast majority of big commercial firms I’ve had dialogues with.

Pretty much any query or contact made with Baur had been replied to within the hour in my case, often not only with the answer but also additional helpful info too. He was prompt with notifications regarding lead time, payment verification and shipping. And in general very knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with. He cannot be faulted on that front.

 

Obviously there is the language barrier that might cause initial reservation for some, but that’s nothing that Google Translate can’t deal with and you’re concious of the inherent difficulties when translating (i.e keep your syntax and sentence structure digestible).

 

As for lead times, payment and shipping - I first contacted Baur mid December last year. After the initial discussion Baur gave me a tentative order readiness time of January (obviously this was case specific). Right on cue I got an email from Baur mid January informing me my order was ready :)

 

Payment was very simple, Baur doesn’t do Paypal but the preferred Western Union transfer was very simple to set up. I did just that. Western Union called me personally to verify the transaction and as soon as it went through I let Baur know, he confirmed receipt of the payment with me the next day. A week later I got a shipping notification from Baur complete with full international tracking info (the tracking was traceable through both Potcha.ru and Parcelforce International) - It took about a month to hit my doorstep and there was about a 14 day window where the tracking info wasn’t updated, but this was nothing to do with Baur’s service, the parcel just decided to take the scenic route, I guess. It arrived very well packaged and surprisingly untarnished given it’s 2000 mile/28 day journey.

 

All in all I’m a very happy flyer! :)

 

BRD-DS = ***** Editors Choice Award!

 

Mr. Baur = ***** Editors Choice Award!

 

Edit: Links (google translated) -

 

Build Guide: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Favia-sim.ru%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ft%3D758%26start%3D60&edit-text=&act=url

Controller Board Thread (the one in my base): https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Favia-sim.ru%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D34%26t%3D897&edit-text=&act=url

 

Edit 2: As reviews and info for this particular bit of gear in the wild are pretty thin on the ground please do feel free to ask any questions you might have, I’d be happy to answer with my observations or opinion, respectively.

 

The ever-so-nearly complete setup: IMG_0190.jpg


Edited by Fubarbrickdust

9700k@5.2Ghz | GTX 1080ti | 32gb Ram@3200Mhz | 512gb M.2 NVME SSD

Oculus Rift S | VKB GF Pro Mk.II+MCG Pro (rotary wing) | BRD DS-Raven (fixed wing) | MFG Crosswind V2 | Jetseat+SSA/SSM | SimLab GT1 80/20 Rig | NLR Motion Platform V3 | Quad Bass Shaker Setup

DIY Control Panels: 'White Rhino' Throttle | UFC | MFBB Left | MFBB Right | MFBB Centre | WEP-TECH ACP | HYD-MECH LDG | SYS-ELEC | AN/ARC Radio

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Congratulations on a great stick!

I got the BRD-N Black Stork, and it's fantastic! I wrote a review of it over at Mudspike.com, if interested.

 

Yep, I read it as part of my research into Baur's stuff. Great review btw :thumbup:

9700k@5.2Ghz | GTX 1080ti | 32gb Ram@3200Mhz | 512gb M.2 NVME SSD

Oculus Rift S | VKB GF Pro Mk.II+MCG Pro (rotary wing) | BRD DS-Raven (fixed wing) | MFG Crosswind V2 | Jetseat+SSA/SSM | SimLab GT1 80/20 Rig | NLR Motion Platform V3 | Quad Bass Shaker Setup

DIY Control Panels: 'White Rhino' Throttle | UFC | MFBB Left | MFBB Right | MFBB Centre | WEP-TECH ACP | HYD-MECH LDG | SYS-ELEC | AN/ARC Radio

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How did you fasten it under the chair?

 

It's integrated as part of my flight chair which uses 34mm scaffold tube for the frame. Gimme 2 mins and I'll UL a photo (it'll explain it better).

 

Edit: Here's the method.

IMG_0193.jpg

 

...it's not going anywhere!


Edited by Fubarbrickdust

9700k@5.2Ghz | GTX 1080ti | 32gb Ram@3200Mhz | 512gb M.2 NVME SSD

Oculus Rift S | VKB GF Pro Mk.II+MCG Pro (rotary wing) | BRD DS-Raven (fixed wing) | MFG Crosswind V2 | Jetseat+SSA/SSM | SimLab GT1 80/20 Rig | NLR Motion Platform V3 | Quad Bass Shaker Setup

DIY Control Panels: 'White Rhino' Throttle | UFC | MFBB Left | MFBB Right | MFBB Centre | WEP-TECH ACP | HYD-MECH LDG | SYS-ELEC | AN/ARC Radio

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--SNIP-- My experience was exactly the same as yours. Baur is a great guy,always helpful and reliable.

 

Totally. Really helpful chap. He even offered to help and walk me through some wiring complications I had with my X-55 grip - I had previously gutted it and wired it for a 4x4 diode matrix which wasn't compatible. I didn't want to put that on him though so I did the research myself an re-did the internals for shift registers. I'm sure he had a little sigh of relief when I let him know it was all fixed...I know I would have! :helpsmilie:

9700k@5.2Ghz | GTX 1080ti | 32gb Ram@3200Mhz | 512gb M.2 NVME SSD

Oculus Rift S | VKB GF Pro Mk.II+MCG Pro (rotary wing) | BRD DS-Raven (fixed wing) | MFG Crosswind V2 | Jetseat+SSA/SSM | SimLab GT1 80/20 Rig | NLR Motion Platform V3 | Quad Bass Shaker Setup

DIY Control Panels: 'White Rhino' Throttle | UFC | MFBB Left | MFBB Right | MFBB Centre | WEP-TECH ACP | HYD-MECH LDG | SYS-ELEC | AN/ARC Radio

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Excellent review!

 

I can also report the Baur is a perfect businessman. Order my F3 pedals in January, and they arrived 4 weeks later. I have it in my garage, ready to start building (I also ordered it in parts - I enjoy assembling things, one of the reasons I probably still enjoy Lego, and Technic lego in particular).

 

Seeing as I'm currently in a position to buy a new stick, and this is heading up the list...

 

I have a Warthog, but want to keep the warthog as is so I can keep using it (I have 2 PC's in different countries, the Warthog will be a nice second rig setup).

 

So.. Anyone know where to get hold of just a Warthog grip? I woudn't mind standardising my control grips, and I quite like the warthog layout.

 

Otherwise, I guess a Virpil or VKB grip is an option (once VKB have a jetfighter or space sim grip out in the wild).

 

Now, how do we convince Mr. Baur to make a Throttle ?

 

Also, thanks for the pic, it has given me ideas for my coffee table sim pit...

 

Z...

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The pair of MFG crosswinds in the photo tell me there is a level that has been equalled.

 

 

BRD you say?..... interesting.

HP G2 Reverb, Windows 10 VR settings: IPD is 64.5mm, High image quality, G2 reset to 60Hz refresh rate as standard. OpenXR user, Open XR tool kit disabled. Open XR was a massive upgrade for me.

DCS: Pixel Density 1.0, Forced IPD at 55 (perceived world size), 0 X MSAA, 0 X SSAA. My real IPD is 64.5mm. Prescription VROptition lenses installed. VR Driver system: I9-9900KS 5Ghz CPU. XI Hero motherboard and RTX 3090 graphics card, 64 gigs Ram, No OC at the mo. MT user  (2 - 5 fps gain). DCS run at 60Hz.

Vaicom user. Thrustmaster warthog user. MFG pedals with damper upgrade.... and what an upgrade! Total controls Apache MPDs set to virtual Reality height with brail enhancements to ensure 100% button activation in VR.. Simshaker Jet Pro vibration seat.. Uses data from DCS not sound.... you know when you are dropping into VRS with this bad boy.

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Warthog grip although I may use the T50 mongoose grip if it's compatible.

 

It should be, since the Mongoos grip is compatible with the WH base... The Analogue brake lever won't work though. But maybe that's something BRD can fix?

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"Mongoos ... The Analogue brake lever won't work though." - Don't work (in TmW) as analog axis - due Thrustmaster controller limitation - but work as digital button. ;)

 

Theorentically BRD base can handle this as axis, rest know if that "'Bonfire of Vanieties" will allow. :D


Edited by Sokol1_br
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"Mongoos ... The Analogue brake lever won't work though." - Don't work (in TmW) as analog axis - due Thrustmaster controller limitation - but work as digital button. ;)

 

Yes, since the TM Warthog didn't have an analogue lever on the grip. :)

 

Theorentically BRD base can handle this as axis, rest know if that "'Bonfire of Vanieties" will allow. :D

 

You lost me..? What do you mean?

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You do not need to argue. You do not need to think ...

You need to wait :) I'm familiar with the programmer VPC. We will solve this issue. Wait until the stick is already at the clients. Now it's VERY, very early to discuss this issue.

---------- Head Designer ----------



[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]





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You lost me..? What do you mean?

 

A joke, you need follow Russian forum stick/hardware makers threads to get this. ;)

 

The funny thing about this analog lever in stick is:

 

Most of planes that use lever in stick for brakes work with compressed air.

 

In that system move the handle ~50% will don't make the admission valve limits the pressure in brake system to 50% like in hydraulic system, will only retard a bit the the maximum air pressure in brakes by reached.

 

So that brakes work more as

and the way that people want use the levers (proportional 20/ 30/ 50%...brakes) in flight games is..."gamey". :joystick: :D
Edited by Sokol1_br
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A joke, you need follow Russian forum stick/hardware makers threads to get this. ;)

 

Oh! Ok :)

 

 

So that brakes work more as
and the way that people want use the levers (proportional 20/ 30/ 50%...brakes) in flight games is..."gamey". :joystick: :D

 

Really? I didn't know that.

I don't think the Spitfire lever works that way though.

 

EDIT: Looking at that movie... Didn't see your link at first. @10:05 you can see the pilot using the brake handle, ever so slightly. Just nudging it, really. He's nowhere near full travel on that handle, which tells me he's just tapping the brakes, so to speak. So, it seems like it's a proportional input, but the pilot is not braking hard.

 

EDIT 2: I found this text by Jeff Ethell:

Strength of application is delivered by the hand lever on the grip.

This suggests that brake application was proportional to the input from the hand lever.

 

 

On the other hand, when simulating flight on a stationary PC, you miss many physical inputs that real flying would give you. Sense of decelleration when braking, for instance. You don't get that in the sim, so you need to be able to control your braking with higher precision than you would in real life.

This is the same with the joystick. No aircraft I have ever flown has flighcontrols that are as precise as my old VKB stick or the new BRD stick.

 

So, using an proportional axis to control brakes may be a better way of simulating braking, even if it's not technically correct.

 

I have used the Warthog paddle switch for braking in the L-39C and it works.

Right now I'm working on a handbrake lever, using a bodnar board and a loadcell.

Here's a vid of my "proof of concept" ;)


Edited by Goblin
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So. Got my little mits on one of these beauties the week before last - I thought I’d write a bit of a review for any that might be interested…

 

As some of you may know (or not) BRD is a small independent designer and manufacturer of boutique high-end flight sim gear. In fact, it’s pretty much one dude, Mr. Baur himself, based way off in Sochi, Russia.

 

From what I can gather, BRD are most known for their (his) line of rudder pedals, but there’s also a small range of flight stick controllers too - The BRD-DN, a behemoth floor mounted beast of a stick and its little brother, the BRD-DS, an under seat attached gimbal and stick, which is what I have between my thighs as I type!

 

So I’ll crack straight to it…How’s the stick in use?

 

Put simply, it’s the best gimbal and stick I’ve ever had the pleasure of using, and I don’t see it being bested by any of the current options, widely available or not.

 

To put that in context against my experience with the offerings from the more commercial manufacturers - I started out like most with the T-Flight HOTAS X. I then bumped up to an X-55. I then set on a journey of miscellaneous mods for my X-55 - centre mounting, button replacements, grip weighting, and my own spring based soft centring design, which, as it happens worked very well albeit a little rudimentary compared to the BRD. All of which unequivocally voided my warranty but completely upgraded the quality and experience. Around about the same time-line I got hold of a TM Warthog to see what all the fuss was about…I spent a week with the Hog before it went back to Amazon. Yeah it’s heavy and the grip is cast metal, blah blah, but that didn’t pull the wool over my eyes for a hot second! My modded X-55 was already blowing it out the water and the few highlights it did have were nowhere near worth the asking price. And the throttle was wobbly.

 

Time to start looking further afield for that meta stick!…

 

Back to the BDR-DS:

 

The industrial design that’s gone into the thing is outstanding - it’s complicated, but eloquently simple at the same time. It uses a per axis double cam self centring design coupled with super high resolution RAMS contact-less angular sensors. It’s made entirely from laser cut pressed steel, and when it comes together it’s as tough as a tank…I’ve even noticed I started positioning my flight chair in a bit by dragging from the shaft of the stick before sitting! Something that couldn’t even be considered with any other stick, it’s that solid. And my chair has a scaffold frame!

 

There are options for adjustability - It comes with 2 sets of cam profiles, free centre and soft centre. There are 3 sets of springs that compliment a further 3 possible attachment increments on the cam arms for tension/centring force/progressive resistance. There’s 2 separate base plates for mounting options and 2 I/O plates to use depending on what ‘guts’ you’ll be using for the stick (a little more on the electronics side of things later). The shaft also has incremented height adjustment options too.

I decided upon the free centre cams, middle tension spring set, middle tension cam points.

 

In use it’s as smooth as butter. There is NO centre notching or crossover point at all with my cam choice. At the same time the stick returns to dead centre every time on release. The progressive force is exactly as it sounds and adds another layer of subconscious feedback (coupled with a Gametrix Jetseat it’s awesome). There is nothing even remotely resembling any kind of stiction or deadzone freeplay at all. None. Using an extended stick took all of 5 minutes to get used to and the resolution of the stick, coupled with the natural height extension of the design translate into super fine grained and natural control that I hadn’t experienced until now.

 

 

Worth mentioning at this point: As far as my research outside of my own needs informed me, there are a number of options and variables when ordering a stick from Baur (please correct me if anyone reading this is more in the know and any of the following isn’t spot on).

The basic ‘package’ as it were does not come with a grip. Baur does make a beautiful looking replica of a KG13 grip, but if you’re not ordering one of those as well you’ll need to source your own, and attach it to the column, electronic coupling and all. These choices may also affect which main controller board comes with the the stick although I believe it comes down to two, one for his KG13 and another for any other given grip that has button/hat wiring based on shift registers (my own included). Now, Baur already has this in the bag with a number of options to cater for exactly this subject - I’m certainly aware that a stick with TM WH adapter is an option for example.

 

I myself fully intended to use my modded X-55 grip, and Baur thoughtfully suggested and included one of his custom lathe turned adapters during our initial conversations. This was a godsend, and with a bit of tweaking my grip is mated with the column more effectively and solidly than it ever was with the Saitek gimbal/column, also retaining the ability to remove the grip via locking collar mechanism (I removed the twist function in favour of a more solid stick, but that was my choice, I could’ve kept it and have it work with the controller board of the BRD).

 

Now, if any of the last paragraph caused alarm bells for anyone regarding a need for electronics and general technical skills, please don’t fret. Of course, it helps in life in general as with any other skill set, but not entirely necessary in this instance. From my understanding Baur is able to ship his products in two forms - More or less fully assembled, or in kit form.

The kit form, I believe, is normally reserved for the business he does within Russia, preferring to go fully assembled when despatching to the west or anywhere else. A wise choice on his part for obvious reasons, probably. Yet, after discussing skill levels with Baur and we were confident that I’d be able get through it with minimal fuss the kit option was deemed the way to go. In fact, if you feel confident with building stuff , are a general tinkerer and have the basic tools (and a rivet gun) I’d highly recommend it, it was a joy to build and gives you a real understanding of the stick, and a real appreciation for the design and fabrication work that’s gone into one of these things. (I’ll include a link at the end to the forum build guide for those that may be curious.)

 

On the other hand - If all you want to do is whack your WH grip onto the base, don’t worry, I believe that can be totally facilitated as an option. Although you will have to come up with your own mounting solution, but hey…

 

So anyway, the stick is f@cking awsome…That much I’ve probably made clear. What about the customer experience with Baur, lead times on order readiness, despatch, etc.

 

Initially, my thoughts were probably in line with every other westerner who’d found out about BRD gear in whatever way - “So there’s a guy in deepest Russia that make cool gear. Doesn’t speak English (nor I, Russian). No website. No Paypal. No…[insert random lack of confidence phrase here]…

Forget about it! - From start to finish, Baur has been an absolute pleasure to do business with. In many ways, in the area of customer service, he has ousted the vast majority of big commercial firms I’ve had dialogues with.

Pretty much any query or contact made with Baur had been replied to within the hour in my case, often not only with the answer but also additional helpful info too. He was prompt with notifications regarding lead time, payment verification and shipping. And in general very knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with. He cannot be faulted on that front.

 

Obviously there is the language barrier that might cause initial reservation for some, but that’s nothing that Google Translate can’t deal with and you’re concious of the inherent difficulties when translating (i.e keep your syntax and sentence structure digestible).

 

As for lead times, payment and shipping - I first contacted Baur mid December last year. After the initial discussion Baur gave me a tentative order readiness time of January (obviously this was case specific). Right on cue I got an email from Baur mid January informing me my order was ready :)

 

Payment was very simple, Baur doesn’t do Paypal but the preferred Western Union transfer was very simple to set up. I did just that. Western Union called me personally to verify the transaction and as soon as it went through I let Baur know, he confirmed receipt of the payment with me the next day. A week later I got a shipping notification from Baur complete with full international tracking info (the tracking was traceable through both Potcha.ru and Parcelforce International) - It took about a month to hit my doorstep and there was about a 14 day window where the tracking info wasn’t updated, but this was nothing to do with Baur’s service, the parcel just decided to take the scenic route, I guess. It arrived very well packaged and surprisingly untarnished given it’s 2000 mile/28 day journey.

 

All in all I’m a very happy flyer! :)

 

BRD-DS = ***** Editors Choice Award!

 

Mr. Baur = ***** Editors Choice Award!

 

Edit: Links (google translated) -

 

Build Guide: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Favia-sim.ru%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ft%3D758%26start%3D60&edit-text=&act=url

Controller Board Thread (the one in my base): https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Favia-sim.ru%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D34%26t%3D897&edit-text=&act=url

 

Edit 2: As reviews and info for this particular bit of gear in the wild are pretty thin on the ground please do feel free to ask any questions you might have, I’d be happy to answer with my observations or opinion, respectively.

 

The ever-so-nearly complete setup: IMG_0190.jpg

 

Hi, Awesome job on the throttle. I am curious about throttle handles. Am I correct there are extension on the handles? And the action how does it compare to stock height. Do you feel you have better throttle control? Maybe you have PICs as you modded the throttle?

 

Thanks!

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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Delicious gear :)

 

Definitely worth the money I guess !

 

My next gear purchases when needed will be Baur. There seems to be no alternative for long lasting equipment...with the option to repair yourself, contact the constructeur, etc..

 

Nice !

Gigabyte Aorus X570S Master - Ryzen 5900X - Gskill 64GB 3200/CL14@3600/CL14 - Asus 1080ti EK-waterblock - 4x Samsung 980Pro 1TB - 1x Samsung 870 Evo 1TB - 1x SanDisc 120GB SSD - Heatkiller IV - MoRa3-360LT@9x120mm Noctua F12 - Corsair AXi-1200 - TiR5-Pro - Warthog Hotas - Saitek Combat Pedals - Asus PG278Q 27" QHD Gsync 144Hz - Corsair K70 RGB Pro - Win11 Pro/Linux - Phanteks Evolv-X 

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Hi, Awesome job on the throttle. I am curious about throttle handles. Am I correct there are extension on the handles? And the action how does it compare to stock height. Do you feel you have better throttle control? Maybe you have PICs as you modded the throttle?

 

Thanks!

 

Heya Brewnix,

 

Eagle eyed spot there. Your quite right, the handles are extended (50mm using alu box tube). In answer to your question, it greatly increases the available precision - the extension in height naturally increases the size of the arc and length of travel for the handles. That particular mod has two benefits - the buttons/switches directly beneath the right throttle are now a lot more accessible in use...one of a number of things that always niggled me with the X-55.

 

As for the other question - Yes, I can certainly up some images and give some details on the mods, although, they are quite extensive and many of which aren't immediately obvious from the photo. It probably warrants a little thread of its own (not to derail this one) so I'll do just that on Monday when I'm at home. I'll fire a link up here when it's done.


Edited by Fubarbrickdust

9700k@5.2Ghz | GTX 1080ti | 32gb Ram@3200Mhz | 512gb M.2 NVME SSD

Oculus Rift S | VKB GF Pro Mk.II+MCG Pro (rotary wing) | BRD DS-Raven (fixed wing) | MFG Crosswind V2 | Jetseat+SSA/SSM | SimLab GT1 80/20 Rig | NLR Motion Platform V3 | Quad Bass Shaker Setup

DIY Control Panels: 'White Rhino' Throttle | UFC | MFBB Left | MFBB Right | MFBB Centre | WEP-TECH ACP | HYD-MECH LDG | SYS-ELEC | AN/ARC Radio

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I'm really interested in doing the same thing, more or less. I want to replace the clunky Saitek bottom but keep the grip (which I really like). Can you maybe PM me a bit more info about what your 'slight tweaking' entailed, if you don't mind?

Де вороги, знайдуться козаки їх перемогти.

5800x3d * 3090 * 64gb * Reverb G2

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I'm really interested in doing the same thing, more or less. I want to replace the clunky Saitek bottom but keep the grip (which I really like). Can you maybe PM me a bit more info about what your 'slight tweaking' entailed, if you don't mind?

 

No problemo. It's pretty on topic so I'll explain here...

 

The 'tweaking' mainly referred to rectifying the previous work I had done in replacing the internal wiring of the grip. In its stock form the only work you should have to do is remove the coupling connector from the shaft of the X-55 base (held in by a 'split pin' and slight glueing) and de-solder the round terminal contact plate from the base. Once removed it was a case of fixing the coupler to the adapter Baur provided, which was fairly straightforward: the adapter was sub-millimetre accurate...it took some pressure pushing on but it's so solid it hasn't required glueing in any way!

After that it's a case of soldering the wires from the new controller board to the newly installed contact plate - 5 for the button shift register output (comes with the kit) and 3 for the twist axis pot (if you intend on retaining that function. The board has the facility to accommodate 4 axes). You will have to open up the plate on the bottom of the grip (2 screws, if I recall) to check your correct solder points...they're handily printed on the rear face if I recall. From the underside it looks like there's 10 contact points, but in reality there's only 8 - 5 for the register and 3 for the axis ( +, - and signal).

 

It sounds complicated in writing but actually quite self explanitory when you have it in front of you...

 

If you're seriously considering it, how's your soldering/wiring skills? The solder points on the contact plates are pretty tight! It took a squinted eye and a steady hand when I did it!

 

EDIT: in fact, the terminal printing may well be on the base contact plate as well - so there may not be a need to open up the grip in any way. But I'm not 100% certain so don't hold me to that.


Edited by Fubarbrickdust

9700k@5.2Ghz | GTX 1080ti | 32gb Ram@3200Mhz | 512gb M.2 NVME SSD

Oculus Rift S | VKB GF Pro Mk.II+MCG Pro (rotary wing) | BRD DS-Raven (fixed wing) | MFG Crosswind V2 | Jetseat+SSA/SSM | SimLab GT1 80/20 Rig | NLR Motion Platform V3 | Quad Bass Shaker Setup

DIY Control Panels: 'White Rhino' Throttle | UFC | MFBB Left | MFBB Right | MFBB Centre | WEP-TECH ACP | HYD-MECH LDG | SYS-ELEC | AN/ARC Radio

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