Fellas,
Some of us at Mudspike have been lucky enough to experience the AB-9. I bought mine, opened it, looked at the size and put it in a corner. I struggled with how to mount it. In the end, I just bit the bullet and put in the effort. If I had a garage or even just a place where I could cut a few boards, this would have been done sooner. Enough about me. Here is the Rub.
Mount the darn thing. Figure out how long an extension you will use and either mount it on the floor or like me, on a box off the floor. How far up you want your Joystick is what you need to know. I like mine above my legs about 4 to six inches.
No snickering please. Virpil makes a 10cm extension and a 20cm curved extension. Moza has the table clamp and a new flat Base Plate on their web site. I got both.
The AB-9 is:
204mm or 8 in Tall, 228mm or 9in Long, 157mm or 6 in Wide, So plan accordingly.
2 Once you got that out of the way, Go to the website and download MOZA Cockpit. There is a bunch of Software on the website so that is why i specify MOZA Cockpit. Imediatly update the software by clicking the small circle icon on bottom left.
Go to the Home Page on Moza Cockpit and Set up the game path.
Calibrate the base in Moza Cockpit without the Joystick on it. This is crucial. The base will have limited FFB if you don’t do this.
Put on your joystick and calibrate it in Moza Cockpit. Calibrate trim.
Pick the profile of what you want to fly and look through the options. Create a profile based on that. Leave the stock profiles alone. Create a profile. If you change the stock profile, there is no going back to default.
Fire Up DCS and Ensure in Settings / Options , that FFB is checked.
FLY.
Adjust FFB to taste.
Rinse and Repeat steps 8 and 9 till you are happy.
A key feature of FFB (Force Feed Back) is that it allows you to feel what the aircraft is doing. Wing flutter and onset of stall are fed back to your hand. You will also feel guns, weapon release, flap deployment, Gear deployment and trim. Trim is especially important in Helicopters. A FFB stick completely changes your helicopter game. Depending on the sophistication of the software, FFB can be a game changer.
FFB was state of the art tech back when Microsoft had their force feedback stick, the Microsoft Sidewinder FFB stick. Then they lost their dominance in combat flight sim to IL2 and other tittles. Microsoft then stopped making the FFB sticks and sat on the license. 20 years later we see a resurgence of FFB technology. Lucky for us FFB never went completely away from gaming. Racing has kept the tech alive for the last decade or more. Having used that tech, I can honestly say, driving a car in VR around a track with a FFB wheel is an incredible experience.
It took a while but it was worth the wait.
Smaller and waaay lighter than a TM A-10 grip. Its a beautifully crafted alloy stick.
Works a lot better w the AB-9. This is everything to do with weight. This stick is 15 years ahead of the TM in tech. The buttons are crisper. The extra buttons are very cool. Tried it out w the Phantom. Now the trim works. It didnt stay trimmed w the WT. Tried the Mustang and T Bolt… fantastic feedback.
Money well spent.
EDIT: Only two of the HATs are 5 way. But they all feel like 5 way. Lame, A missed opportunity MOZA.
I’ve only heard great things about the AB-9, but hearing you say the trim in the Phantom “just works” is something I experienced as well when I added the Franken-G940 to my rig.
Force feedback is amazing. Super excited for you, and glad you’re enjoying it!
Does it give you somewhat of a “seat of the pants” experience, in that you can feel the plane moving vs see the plane move? I’m mostly thinking about A2A refueling in which you could more accurately determine input to maintain the plane’s orientation to the tanker.
Seat of the Pants. That is a true description. I distictly remember getting that feeling in IL21946 using the MSFFB2 back in the early 2000s. This is just what I was looking for. Winwing comes in at #2 as far as quality feel and build but that FFB, that is only MOZA … for now.
Exactamudo! This is what was happening. The grip is too heavy. Maybe if I used a shorter extension… That is not really an option at the moment so… At any rate… It works now. Im also waiting for the curved Virpil 200mm extension. I think it is lighter and will (hopefully) make it better.
I did not try with the Virpil base, however it is compatible. Do you need me to test for you?
Thanks. I have a virpil base, a curved extension, and a TM fa18 grip, which seems maybe even heavier than the a10 one. Was hoping I could use the extension with the fa18 grip on a moza base when I buy one in the future, then use the moza grip with the virpil base on the side for the F16. But seems that might not work… If you ever feel like fiddling, please try the moza grip with the virpil base. But please don’t do that just for this sake.
Testing has been completed. Here are my findings. The MH-16 mostly works but there are some caveats. The DMS, Trim, TMS and All the buttons work. The “extra” buttons(add ons) of course do not work. And the CMS exhibits some weirdness. When I press a button on the TMS, it triggers two buttons on the switch. So, you lose some functionality with the T-50 Virpil base that I have. I could use it if I HAD to but I would not buy it as my only choice.
Here is something I have forgotten to mention. Prior to buying the MH-16, I thought all the HATs were of the 5-way variety. This is not true only the top HAT on the add on and the TMS have 5-way switches. The Trim, DMS and TMS feel like 5-ways but they are not. Annoying…
Turn on Trim. In order to follow along you must be on the latest build of the software. 1.1.1.30. Go to the software and click the AB-9 base. You can go Home/AB-9/ Then find SPECIAL at the top. Turn on Hardware Trim Mode. This opens up the Trim Hat and two more buttons (Force trim and Recenter). There you must click on the buttons in the software using the mouse. You can now press the button on your physical joystick to where you want these inputs. I found that if I program this said button and program the game with the same buttons, the Huey (at least) flies smoother.
Also pick the birds profile in MOZA software. It makes a world of difference.
To find it at the Left bottom there is a cog, then an arrow then 3 lines. Click that and then at top pick AB-9 then DCS World then whatever you are flying. This made a big difference to me. Rumble, rumble!
I ran into this video. It’s in Spanish but with English CC. I don’t understand Spanish at all, but with the CC, I think the author explained everything really well. He is using a curved extension, which seems to be virpil 's 20cm one, and a seemingly TM fa18 grip. He also has a rhino. Overall he’s really happy with ab9 (I think lol). At about 5min, he mentioned about calibration. The base seems to do it based on the extension and the grip’s weight and the resulted torque. Maybe you can check it out if you haven’t.
Lucky I speak Spanish. I have seen it before. The Text is accurate. Good Video overall. I am awaiting delivery of that curved 20cm extension. You may be right. Perhaps it was just not calibrated right. I have not had a problem with FFB lately. I know when its not right and I immediately stop the Sim and recalibrate.
Good Video. Thanks for posting.
A few nights ago, I broke a cardinal rule of not browsing sim gear sites after imbibing a couple of beers, and ordered an AB9 base and MH16. Strangely, not buyers remorse yet
But I am thinking about the need for an extension. Currently, I’m using the long version of a Monster Tech Desk mount with a Virpil mounting plate. Between my legs, the mounting plate is 11 in / 28 cm from the floor. Then I have a VPC 7.9 in / 20 cm curved extension, resulting in the grip mounting point 23 in / 58.5 cm from the floor. The VPC extension looks like it should work with the AB9, but the Moza extension is half the length. I know that the AB9 is taller than my VPC MT-50CM2 base, but I worry about the additional leverage and height using the VPC extension. I can imagine that the AB9 software has a setting for it’s 97 mm extension.
I’m under the impression that the AB9 has both front and bottom mounting holes for a number of compatible bases. So I should probably wait until the parts get here before ordering more parts. Monster Tech offers both bottom and front mounts available for the AB9, but at $45 plus shipping, not something that you’d want to chuck in the parts bin if not needed. Regardless, I really like the current height of my stick mounting point.
Hey @PaulRix , I see your post about using the 100 mm VPC extension. How are you getting along with the AB9 so far? And @Maico I see your photo of a similar length extension. Seems like that is the sweet spot.
@chipwich
First things first, Congratulations. It is a great setup. Then, there is the mounting… I can tell you, it was not easy for me. I finally got sick of it just sitting there. I made a base of wood. It is basically held in place by being heavy enough. I used two extensions. Currently I am awaiting Virpils Curved 20cm extension.
See here.
Thanks for the reply, and nice woodworking job. That’s something that I haven’t done much of since 9th grade shop class. Well, I did assemble a picnic table with deck screws. I’m a measure 3 times and still cut twice kind of guy.
I went ahead and spent $45 for the Monster front side mount for the AB9. I’ll play around with moving the mounting plate up and down before ordering an extension.
I’m a measure 3 times and still cut twice kind of guy.