Virpil Control Panel 2 - One Device To Change Them All

[@DowntoEarthAstronomy]

After talking to Virpil they mentioned that you can remove the cover around the landing gear leaver to make it easier to clean and do maintenance.. I don't know how I missed that.

[@rpersen]

Could use compressed air for cleaning out dirt also.

[@Adjacent_2]

Astro pre-haircut lookin' wild haha

[@1wordtroll]

The day I can see these peripherals in VR my life will be complete

[@AirZeee]

might be worth asking FDevs to allow custom cockpits in Elite, so your games space matches your actual controller set up. perhaps not including a zero gee cat..

[@florianbecke3076]

That opening scene 🤣 .... that kind of delivery would be awesome 🙃

[@thatbrianguy1594]

Dual switch self destruct is the first thing I thought of with those guarded toggles.

[@bmw_m4255]

Why would you want to blow up the panel

[@vincentreinhart9935]

Thank you so much for your video! I am new to Virpil gear and just got my control Panel #2, and been pulling my hair out trying to figure out the features in the regular VPC configuration tool and attempting to get the indicator LEDs to behave how I want. It makes sense that there is a separate tool for more advanced control over LED states. Are you able to provide any steps on how you got the landing gear switch / indicator LEDs to behave as shown in timestamp = 5:54. It's pretty much exactly what I want my control panel to do.

[@rapidrapid01]

I have one of these nice piece of kit. I was able to set up the Gear Lever to turn the LED's on when down and change to another colour when up.

[@karlmesserTV]

hi i was unable to bind the landing gear in Starcitizen ...how do you do that ?

[@hj-redravenheng3822]

Noooo - I didn't need another panel... but it's so shiny! All your fault! :P

[@moriyokiri3229]

you know you want it

[@rpersen]

Give in to the dark side!

[@bmw_m4255]

If you want something. Get something

[@bradykelce6297]

Just got my CP2 today! its so well made, thanks for the vid and clarity on the options for lighting options in the future

[@bikemessenger7]

that was very cool. I would use the landing gear lever to deploy the fighter.

[@dabneyoffermein595]

we need a tutorial on how to program the LEDs for the flaps, landing gear, etc. Also need a guide to control all the lights on all three units CM2 Throttle, CP1 & CP2 so for example, we could set one of the LED push-buttons to "MASTER WARNING" and "MASTER CAUTION" and it would come on and you push it to cancel the warning. I know a ton of people who have been asking for this for a long , long , time from virpil and nothing has materialized.

[@AirZeee]

@9:00 Brushes to prevent dust ingress, like what you might find in a mail slot/letterbox.

[@ericandi]

You said the silver toggle switches are 2-way switches. I’m not sure what you mean by 2-way, but the Virpil website says the silver toggles are ON-OFF-ON. I think of that as a 3-way switch, whereas a switch that is ON-OFF would be a 2-way switch. I could be totally wrong, but that’s just how I think of a 2-way and 3-way switches. I do have a question about the momentary buttons. I have some buttons on a Saitek panel that even when I press and hold the button, the mapped button in the simulator aircraft only presses for a split second and doesn’t stay pressed down, even though I am still pressing down the physical button on my Saitek panel. The reason is ask is because in DCS World, there are some buttons in some aircraft that need to be long pressed in order to activate certain functions. For example, to activate takeoff trim in the F/A-18 Hornet, you have to long press the Take Off Trim button in the airplane for about 2 seconds, but whenever I long press the physical button on my Saitek panel that’s mapped to the Take-off Trim button in the F/A-18, the Take-off Trim button in the plane only presses down for a millisecond and Take-off Trim does not get activated in the aircraft. So I’m wondering if “momentary” button, means that even if you hold down the button, you only get a momentary press in the simulator.

[@daemon3spade]

Can you set those small lights for MasterARM and air brakes?

[@1wordtroll]

Stares at phone, waiting for call that never comes

[@ericandi]

The panel is larger than I thought it was. I’ve only seen the photos of the panel on Virpil’s website and there is nothing in the photos except for the panel, so there I no way to get an idea of the scale.

[@rpersen]

Nice review, subbed!

[@lennie054]

Again a beautiful device. Sticks are gorgeous as well. Pricey, but u guess you get what you pay for.

[@AirZeee]

so far worth the roasting I got from my wife too :D

[@nathanrodgers86]

The usb strange end plug is called an M12

[@kubel83]

Excuse my language but that is freaking cool !

[@jcjammer8972]

Hi. I received my CM2 throttle a few weeks ago and really like the additional control it gives me. I was just using the throttle axis scroll on my Gladiator NXT stick previously. You mentioned something that gives me hope! I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to get each individual LED button to light up when that button is pressed, and then turn off when pressed again. Hopefully Virpil will come out with an update to address this soon. Glad you raised this issue! 👍

[@behindthen0thing]

i have the gladiator nxt. How much of a step up is it having that throttle

[@jcjammer8972]

@@behindthen0thing . It’s a huge step, not just having a separate throttle, but also the extra buttons, switches and axes for key mapping. I don’t have to use the keyboard at all. Also, the split throttle lever is helpful for twin engine planes.

[@behindthen0thing]

@@jcjammer8972 I have the mongoose in the mail now, should be here soon but i'm agonizing over the control panels and thinking I might need to pick 1 or 2 up as well. I mainly play DCS and MSFS2020. Do you think the throttle is enough? I kinda tired of hitting the switches in the cockpit with the mouse. I think the throttle and panel 2 would do most of the functions in the mig21 and having panel 2 and panel 1 with the throttle would be really helpful with all the AP controls in the airbus too. any thoughts?

[@jcjammer8972]

@@behindthen0thing I wish I could help you with that, but I only fly WWII DCS planes and prop planes in MSFS 2020 so I don’t need all of the switches that relate to jets. You might find some help in a Virpil forum. Good luck! BTW the 5-way mode switch on the CM 3 throttle allows you to have 30 different LED buttons instead of 6.

[@behindthen0thing]

@@jcjammer8972 well I got the cm3 and it's game changing

[@TheLord-ce5wf]

Let's be real, until elite dangerous allows you to map any action to any button the HOTAS you choose doesn't really matter. Except for weapons that do real damage you should be able to map mining, scanning, limpits, etc. to ONE fire group with his many buttons you want for controlling the different function. Every in game action should be able to mapped to a button including "docking/landing request"

[@Mad_Alyx]

Agreed!

[@grahamharper7006]

I can request docking with voice attack, which means it's mappable. It's just macro

[@TheLord-ce5wf]

@@grahamharper7006 Voice attack is bs. If I wanted to role-play TNG then voice attack is OK at best and I wouldn't have bought a HOTAS. And Macros are useless for the most part in VR, plus using macros is borderline scripting, which I hear is frowned upon in elite.

[@ItzAllMine360]

This 100%

[@BigDaddyWes]

That would create a significant balancing issue favoring hotas owners. There's a reason you're limited to two fire buttons. That being said, elite has some of the most customizable controls of any game and almost everything can be mapped to an individual input. Fire groups are awesome the way they are now. The extent that people complain about certain features not existing in Elite is crazy to me. You program your load out and with scanning/combat mode and fire groups, you're never more than a couple inputs from any action. You can even map scanners and weapons to the same buttons/fire groups where they only functions if your ship is in the right mode. It's like people want the game to play itself, but at the same time they want more control. It's wild. One of the most fun parts of the game is loading up a big ass ship with tons of bells and whistles and figuring out how exactly you want to personally configure everything to suit your needs, but this game has to be playable with a controller and the advantage you get with a stick and throttle is already significant without being able to smack your controls to activate every module all at once. People really don't think about the implications changes like this would really have. Plenty of the actions have dedicated inputs, you don't need one fire group for 20 modules. And like, I can request docking faster than you can say "request docking" and doing it from the contacts panel makes the most sense. You have to specify who you're requesting to dock with. Even if there's only one option available to request at any given time in the game, it still doesn't make sense to have a dedicated button to request docking. With this line of thinking, you might as well remove the whole docking request mechanic and all associated fines, which would be stupid. The way it works now is perfect. The way fire groups work is perfect. The game "should" be what it is, you don't get to decide that. You can say "I wish" or "I think they should" but not "they should ____." It just makes you seem like an entitled child, especially when you fail to consider the ramifications of such significant changes on a macro level. They may seem like minor conveniences, but it's not that simple. You can't treat it like a single player game even if "solo" is an option. Tons of wannabe commanders act like this and say stuff like "I should be able to _____" "They need to add ____." "It's dumb that _____." C'mon bruh. Nobody really cares what you want.

[@crimsonmug9106]

I'm jelly. I feel like young william watching the knights ride past in their virpil gear. The thing is, I'm nearly thirty and my father isn't lying to me about being able to change the stars.

[@jflanagan9696]

William Thatchers father didn't lie to him, because he DID change his stars specifically because he told him he could. He was weighed and measured, and not found wanting!

[@crimsonmug9106]

@@jflanagan9696 Yeah, but I tweaked it to suit my porpoises

[@jflanagan9696]

@@crimsonmug9106 Aha, I get it now. Still a great movie! I think I'll put it on as background noise while I game this evening. 😃

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

Ah, a fellow intellectual in the comment section. Gel, der, land gelderland gelderland gelderland gelderland gelderlaaaaaaaaand

[@joecronin02532]

Hoy do you get into the Beta for the Virpil Link software?

[@ItzAllMine360]

They way I have the cm2 set up just now. In mode switch 1 the buttons are all blue which will be combat in elite. When I switch to mode 2 they turn orange and swtich to discovery mode in elite.which is also orange for me. I also have the throttle set up so all the buttons light up white when I'm in the centre, so zero throttle. Gives a nice visual feedback cos I don't have the detents. Took absolutely ages to work out but was worth it. On the alpha I obvs got the red for hardpoints deployed and blue for retracted. Love the device. Defo looking at getting the helicopter collective when it's out.

[@AirZeee]

Did you set this up in the virpil controller set up? interested in doing something similar, my x55 rhino mode switch was ineffective, so i ignored it on the CM2. had it 6 weeks now, and I still don't have all the hats & things mapped yet!

[@ItzAllMine360]

@@AirZeee yeah I did. I used the general profile where the mode selector switch doesn't actually change the modes to new buttons. So I could then use it as a switch. I then linked the led lights to toggle between 2 modes (blue and orange) on rotary I think. The white only shows up at zero throttle in the blue mode. This is because it is set up as an axis to button. The button then triggers another led state. The side effect of this is I need quite a large deadzone in elite for zero. It took some messing about but it's defo possible. The Virpil forums were a great help.

[@cmdr_thrudd]

Virpil stuff is awesome. Been so happy with my hotas. Expensive but you get what you pay for

[@nwbasson]

Those square LEDs on the plane is flaps and airbrake respectively

[@doodmonkey]

How long does it take to order/receive from Virpil? Their website is not that clear.

[@SQTierHog]

That's what I thought. I think they build to order. I ordered the CM3, Throttle 1 and 2. By the time they get your order, charge your account, ship it...between 3 weeks to a month.

[@AirZeee]

@@SQTierHog my stick & base took about a week or so longer than the throttle, but that was an order placed while in lockdown.

[@fcf8269]

The more I look at this the more I think that for most games, you could buy a midi controller (the ones used for synthesizers and virtual instruments), and use software to translate the midi signals to keypress (which exist already), and you get the same experience at a fraction of the cost (and it won't look like a real airplane, I know)

[@fcf8269]

@Andre None, but they have enough buttons, knobs and switches with LED to pretend that those are for anything you may have in a plane. Not everyone flying in a simulator are looking for a 1:1 cockpit recreation. For that audience you have companies building sim pits parts, which appeal to users with that requirement in mind. If you are handy with a solder iron you can make your own button box with a simple arduino board and few multiplexer; there are a ton of videos online about how to do that; so there are various routes to get to a compromise between realism and affordable.

[@fcf8269]

@Andre You assume everyone think in your way; which is why you can't see the case where people just want a physical button to press, and not necessarily a sim-pit button board. To make a button board you need: - arduino board: 10 dollars - wiring: 15 dollars for a spool of AWG 15 - buttons, switches and rotary encoders : price may vary from 20c to few dollars. If you want to use more than 16 buttons you need a multiplexer; which is a fancy circuit that multiply the signal on one input of the microcontroller to 16 or 32 IO. This is how 90% of the controllers for button boxes are built; and you can find plenty of tutorials on youtube. Of course someone will charge you for the time spent soldering; you can avoid soldering by buying spade connectors; which is most arcade buttons use. You pay the time spent to make the box, nothing more; so if you are handy with a solder iron, you can save 80% of what others are asking for a simple box. Which midi controller is made of metal? You can make a plate for any controller with ease; I have been using plastic midi controller and they work just fine; since I don't jump on them or hit them with a hammer; I play games... But if you want something made of metal there are few, like the arturia beatstep. If you are OK with solid plastic you have things like the Akai Fire and Novation launch for about 100-120 (even less used), which sport a ton of buttons, sliders and knobs. If you want something with just button; the novation launchpad has 64 buttons; which are also RGB so you can color them as you like. The app to convert midi to keystroke is free; and you save a ton. Sure; it won't look like an F18 panel, but personally I could care less; the immersion of pushing buttons is already satisfactory as is; and I can pocket the rest of the money to buy a good throttle or stick

[@fcf8269]

@Andre a keyboard is not meant to be used as button board, since it has only buttons to start with; they are too close together; so you need pots, switches and rotary encoders to augment the experience. You can buy housing... they are called "project box" or variants of that name; electronic stores are FULL of them; even Home Depot has them; if you go in the electric section. I guess you are neither handy at making things yourself, or you were not aware at all that people have been using the same techniques for decades now; to make arcade joystick and button boards with what you can find in home improvement and electronic stores. Weeks to program the arduino? Sure, if you want to learn it, it will take you months, not weeks; but there are projects with pre-made files that you just need to upload. And yes, you do not need to pay a programmer 100 dollars for a simple script; they give it to you for free. The only ones that sell you tech for hundreds are the ones that make button boxes; thinking that just because they learned the basics of sensors and C language; they changed the world :) You hang in the wrong places I guess; just on youtube, you can find a ton of projects with commonly used materials, stuff you get from Amazon and code downloadable from github. Of course if you want the thing pre-made, and put 0 efforts, you have to pay for it...that is a given. You pay for the work to make things easier for you; this apply not only for button boxes but for almost anything. Sit down; check some tutorials and then tell me how hard it is to make something decent. Not talking of polished stuff; for that you need equipment, time and skills. Everyone have a choice: make your own that is not so shiny, or spend money for a pre-made button box and pay for it, if a person can[t be bothered to even learn how to do basic things; nothing more, nothing less

[@fcf8269]

@Andre This conversation is really getting boring; do as you wish.

[@fcf8269]

@Andre No, the problem is that you do not have an understanding of anything I am talking about; so talking to a wall at least trigger a sort of response since the sound bounce off it and goes back. If you think you have valid points; good luck with that; I wish I was living in the same world you live in, but I am not.

[@Mad_Alyx]

Just got an X52 pro HOTAS and mounted it on my desk... now time for a panel! Does anyone know if this will work with _any_ HOTAS unit?

[@ssjsjb]

I don't think you could chain it, but you can use it as a separate panel/button box.

[@Mad_Alyx]

@@ssjsjb Yea I wouldn’t be able to chain but I could probably just use the USB to my pc and use it.

[@AirZeee]

@@Mad_Alyx exactly this. the virpil software isn't pretty, but it's straight forward, and with the developments mentioned you'll still be able to have state changes on the LEDs. enjoy the X52 :D

[@AirZeee]

not sponsored, but they're not having it back! Good work! >8D o7

[@Rgmekanic]

Awesome device, but I have to say ... mother of God man raise your monitors! My spine hurt looking at that setup lol

[@TheKermit2110]

Astro, your acting talents improve with you hair growth 😁🥸. Love your vids mate. But as a console user your Virpil stuff is like showing food porn to Ethiopians 🤣. Here’s hoping Sony hardware peripheral partners up their game for ps5 - will definitely upgrade for that since frontier aren’t improving he elite graphics engine for next gen yet. Seriously though, virpil is stunningly beautiful tech - best in class.

[@leebuckley7436]

I was thinking exactly the same but couldn't quite work out how to put it so eloquently 🤣🤣

[@haalstra]

This one is already on my wishlist :D but my desk is getting to small XD

[@25xxfrostxx]

They're really cool but Virpil is just too expensive.

[@AirZeee]

expensive yes, but build quality is amazing. I already had monstertech desk mounts for my previous HOTAS, so had to "suffer" using them on desktop - never slipped one. I don't imagine I'll ever need another.

[@OmegaPaladin144]

I'm not sure if I want to make the kind of commitment to Elite to buy something like this. Still, it looks cool.

[@AirZeee]

other flight sims are available

[@Webfra14]

Super super cool!

[@FeralLogic]

I have two sticks. Between them I have enough buttons for everything in Elite. If I had the throttle I'd have some unused buttons. I can't even fathom having throttle, stick and a control pad.

[@AirZeee]

more buttooooooooooooooonses! *lord of the rings precious baldy (smeagol?) thing's voice*

[@mandiworld]

"You are keeping it.." Not loving you right now!

[@neilhankey2514]

Its a pity that they hve nothing in stock... Its impossible to buy anything from them.

[@SQTierHog]

That's what I thought. I think they build to order. I ordered the CM3, Throttle 1 and 2. By the time they get your order, charge your account, ship it...between 3 weeks to a month.

[@RealBelisariusCawl]

Just wish it weren’t on back order!

[@TheJack4000111]

I just bit the bullet and ordered one

[@aldenteanddelicious1005]

much love my brother but you are starting to need Keeps to send you a product to review

[@TyberiousMaximus]

Click on this giant black square or click on your keyboard hrm...

[@BlxxdySin]

"im not sponsored by virpil....BUT they sent it to me free of charge and i can keep it afterwards"

[@theoriginalkeysto]

Its not a sponsorship, it's free advertising.

[@jasperzanjani]

It's not sponsorship it's a suggestion

[@justgoey6872]

„I'm a jealous asshole, because I don't get anything in line myself and never have such a chance.“

[@jasperzanjani]

@@justgoey6872 "I'm not a fanboy, I just attack people who post sarcastic comments under my favorite KZbinrs"

[@justgoey6872]

@@jasperzanjani i dont adressed you with my Post.

[@FilipoLipos]

uf 250euros, would love it but not for this price

[@keithgilham9438]

I assume it’s only for the pc elite?

[@originalmin]

Yes.

[@eblingus]

Cool device, but they should make it modular so I can pick and choose my own switches, lights etc

[@blakewardUS]

'liked' at 0:14... funny intro :)

[@sebbychou]

lovely

[@DankTank374]

I use g for gear...it was free lol

[@lennihursti9681]

Should probably buy that one

[@jetnavigator]

Virpil: out of stock.

[@SQTierHog]

That's what I thought. I think they build to order. I ordered the CM3, Throttle 1 and 2. By the time they get your order, charge your account, ship it...between 3 weeks to a month.

[@AirZeee]

pre order.

[@mick2594]

Sorry but if the device was sent for a review and told it could be kept , I think at nearly 300 Euros that would be construed as being paid . The country where i reside at present 300 Euros is a week and a half`s salary for the average person . Sorry think the bias aspect will be there

[@mick2594]

@Andre I`ve revisited the post and stand by my response ,

[@JamesWilliamsWill]

Damnit why did I buy an Xbox. Wish they would work with one.

[@mandrac2]

jeez 250 $ for a bunch of switch worth 1$ each and an arduino to send a usb signal costing 25$ what a bargain!

[@AirZeee]

build quality & attention to detail. I looked into the DiY option first, couldn't find a housing I liked so got the credit card to melt a little...

[@asvarien]

Whilst these panels look awesome they are seriously expensive.

[@Devin7Eleven]

@@cammy9r you are asking someone to learn electrical engineering who probably knows absolutely nothing on it Not a realistic approach

[@stevenboughner7255]

Oh No I spend too much on Elite Dangerous! Just kidding. I have a X52 pro after using it for awhile there's to much play in the stick for my thinking. I may check Virgil out.

[@johnterpack3940]

VKB Gladiator NXT is much cheaper than Virpil.

[@williamread5652]

“After doing the review I can keep the panel”.......and that’s not being paid????? 🤡

[@Connor22231]

How would that influence the review? If it was crap then he just got a free paper weight. There would be no point lying and saying it's good when it's not. Unless he wants them to send more free stuff that he thinks is bad

[@ferrynator15]

You are sponsored..... You get this for free....

[@FiRem002]

If only the buttons were OLED screens and not inserts... not a fan of that in 2021