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VIRPIL now has pre-order for their products

Lysrin

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So how do you guys solve the sitting position problem with desk flight sim without using desk mounts like these?

Originally I made some stand alone stands out of some laptop stands from IKEA and then made my own mount plates for them. That worked fine when I had a Saitek X52 because that set up was light and had little resistance. When I moved to the TM stuff, it was just too heavy and the stands tipped or slid around the floor too easily. That is what got me to the VIRPIL mounts, but as I said when I bought them they were VIRPIL's first mount attempt and were much cheaper. And they do work. Nothing wrong with them; just bulky.

The other option is to buy lower or short sticks that are designed for desktop use and have lower bases. In the high end market, VKB and VIRPIL both make ones that are not as tall and therefore more usable from the desktop. You'll still likely want a chair you can raise a bit though. Throttles are usually not a problem on the desktop. Cheaper stick and throttle combos usually are fine on desktop too. Even mid range ones like the Logitech X56 would likely be fine for desktop use.

Some people (@sswilson for example) have modded arms of chairs to accept homemade mounts. This is a good option for lighter set ups, but does need a chair with the right type of arms.

That is why this this flight/space sim hobby gets so expensive! It keeps driving you to better and better gear that then wants more comfortable (and expensive) set ups!
 

Gman109

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I just saw that today myself Lysrin, from your link. Nice to see he's busy enough to need to do that, good sign IMO. I'm going to order from him again once he opens his sales up again.

And yes, long time no see, I need to start posting/reading here more, so few good Canadian PC/gaming sites left now, nice to see HC still doing well.
 

sswilson

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So how do you guys solve the sitting position problem with desk flight sim without using desk mounts like these?

Some people (@sswilson for example) have modded arms of chairs to accept homemade mounts. This is a good option for lighter set ups, but does need a chair with the right type of arms.

That is why this this flight/space sim hobby gets so expensive! It keeps driving you to better and better gear that then wants more comfortable (and expensive) set ups!

I just picked up one of these used on kijiji and couldn't help thinking that it'd make a great flight sim platform....


It's as wide as the arms of my office chair so you'd be able to have the throttle on one arm and the flight stick on the other directly in front of the arms.....
 

Lysrin

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Didn't you also mod a chair for your X52 set up though @sswilson ? Maybe I'm remembering that wrong.

I've considered trays as a set up too, and I think those would work well if your desk can accept them. My IKEA desk has a steel frame that sits about 6-7" back from the edge of the desk so makes the ones like you posted a no-go for me.

I considered ones like this too:

ErgoActive Under Desk Keyboard Tray with Clamp On Easy Installation

But the trick with those, in my case since I'm tall, is the ergonomics of having that attached, then my seat low enough to go under it, etc. First world problems for sure! ;)

I've found the desk mounts to have been the best solution so far in my efforts. And my only actual complaint with the VIRPILs compared to the Foxx Mount or Monstertech is how much of the mount is above the desktop surface. Pic for comparison (just grabbed this from Foxx site):

Foxx vs the VIRPIL mount I have:

ca25aae935a4ca5d72451e06c992338a.jpg

The VIRPIL is about an inch or a little more high, above the desktop, and makes using your desktop space harder; reaching over to use a laptop or your mouse, etc. The other brands have only the thickness of the material above the desktop and after having used mine, I would prefer that. Foxx and I suspect Monstertech too (?) modifies the length to the top piece to appropriately support the weight depending on the thickness of the user's desktop.

I was just looking at Monstertech and their prices seem better than I recall. Still expensive but not as expensive as I remember! Gman109's comment about bad customer support not it be ignored though.
 
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sswilson

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Didn't you also mod a chair for your X52 set up though @sswilson ? Maybe I'm remembering that wrong.

Yep....


The one I linked to worked well on a table as it's deep enough to clear the wood frame supporting the table top. (I used it for the pinball setup).
 

Lysrin

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Yeah that's the thread I remembered!

The pinball set up is pretty slick btw. Well done!
 

sswilson

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Yeah that's the thread I remembered!

The pinball set up is pretty slick btw. Well done!

Thanks. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The printed controller is the perfect width for use with a 27" monitor, and has a perfect fit/grip for a relatively immersive pinball experience. (So much so that I have to remind myself that the "nudge" is on the two thumb buttons, and that pushing the controller itself isn't going to have the desired effect... :) ).

As a bonus... I've got a full controller ready to go if I ever do get around to throwing retropi onto an SD card.
 

sswilson

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Pretty pricey here in Canada.

OTOH.......


Wait.... that's not the whole mount, it's only the mouse pad attachment... Looks like you'd have to look through here to find the appropriate parts and they look to be $75 + shipping each.


edit 2: Nope, looks like every one of those is a $75 mouse tray that straps onto another manufacturer's hotas mount. :(

edit3: There are a few 3D print designs out there, but it looks like the decent ones depend on access to extruded aluminum and those can't be sourced "cheaply" in Canada AFAIK.
 
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