4 hours ago, vortex681 said:

Another thing that I've just noticed from the image of the yoke internals is that the roll sensor is also a potentiometer - MT/7694N1 OCTR. I know that not all potentiometers are equal but hall-effect sensors will always be the better option - longer life, no wear, no spiking, more stable. It'll be a shame if they've decided to go for pots.

It may (just speculating) turn out that Hall sensors are eventually available as an upgrade option, which is not unreasonable in my view. Some folks may be perfectly happy with high quality pots at a lower cost then Hall sensors would be. I've been using the Saitek yoke and TQ regularly for 3+ years now without any problems, and that's apparently with low quality pots. So the use of high quality pots represents a nice 'step up' in itself.

Al

Edited March 10, 20188 yr by ark

Al,

I would be disappointed if Hall effect sensors were offered as an upgrade on a brand new product. Given the price is still being quoted as $199 for each unit adding another $20 or so to the final price would be far preferable to me than sending back the unit in x months for the upgrade. The cost of shipping would probably exceed the cost of the hardware change.

I’m quoting this from the Honeycomb website... “By using existing professional grade internal mechanical components, we ensure, not only that the products will last for a very long time, but also that the weight and feel of the products mimic that of a real aircraft.”

The pots would have to be if the highest quality to backup that statement. But in reality I would expect Hall effect sensors as they are professional grade. A five year guarantee is commendable but the weakest link in this type of unit is the pots. Having to send it away for pot replacement after several years would be disappointing. Hall effect will see this 66 year-old out.

1 hour ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Al,

I would be disappointed if Hall effect sensors were offered as an upgrade on a brand new product. Given the price is still being quoted as $199 for each unit adding another $20 or so to the final price would be far preferable to me than sending back the unit in x months for the upgrade. The cost of shipping would probably exceed the cost of the hardware change.

 

Ray,

I don't disagree with your overall comments, but to clarify, what I meant by upgrade was that eventually, at the time of initial purchase, they might offer two versions of the yoke, with and without hall sensors. I believe some other yoke manufacturers do this now. 

Al

17 minutes ago, ark said:

Ray,

I don't disagree with your overall comments, but to clarify, what I meant by upgrade was that eventually, at the time of initial purchase, they might offer two versions of the yoke, with and without hall sensors. I believe some other yoke manufacturers do this now. 

Al

Hi Al,

I hope you’re right as it would be an easy decision for me to make. But as they are now nearing production I’m not confident we’ll see that option. I hope I’m wrong.

I wish Honeycomb would update their website with the latest info including dimensions and extra photos as someone suggested. There’s been no news about the throttle quadrant which is disappointing given it’s due out in Q1.

So, I'm guessing it will release this month because this is the last month of Q1, or it would release early Q2.

I don't mean to be negative but I have a few questions.

They have stated the yoke comes with a 5yr warranty, I can't see a bungie cord lasting 5yrs as rubber looses its elasticity over time when under tension and not to mention if it comes in contact with petroleum based lubricants.

Does it come with a spare?

So if it does fail, do we have to send the whole unit back just to get it replaced? (I would hate to see the shipping costs for Australia)

or is it something we the consumer are able to replace? (Noting that we would have to open up the unit to replace it, which in almost all cases this would void a warranty.)

Don't get me wrong, I will definitely be purchasing both of these products when released to upgrade from my Saitek junk  which has me grounded at the moment.

 

Bedgie, if you look inside the  Cirrus and the Yoko you will find the exact same type bungie.

2 hours ago, bedgie said:

I can't see a bungie cord lasting 5yrs as rubber looses its elasticity over time

Likely is not rubber, and materials like what you see are products that can be made from  thousands of compounds (material makeup combinations).  I worked for two years for Parker-Hannifin's seal division and the science of compounding of materials was mind boggling. And that was in the mid 1980's.  Believe me. Manufacturers bound by the warranties they offer have a critical eye on compounds. A good example are materials used in aviation.......  They have to last!

Check this out as an example.

https://promo.parker.com/promotionsite/oring-ehandbook/us/ehome/ci.O–ring-Elastomers,EN.EN  

Edited March 18, 20188 yr by fppilot

But the other questions still need to be answered though.

If it fails are we the consumer able to replace it noting that we would have to open up the unit? Possibly voiding the warranty

Or do we have to send the whole unit back? 

18 minutes ago, bedgie said:

But the other questions still need to be answered though.

If it fails are we the consumer able to replace it noting that we would have to open up the unit? Possibly voiding the warranty

Or do we have to send the whole unit back? 

Seems like you should keep looking....

Looking for what exactly? 

All I am doing is asking a valid question?

It maybe ok for you that may have a rep near you to fix it, but what about those that don't and have to ship it to another country hence why I ask these questions. 

Nicki Repenning posted this on the Honeycomb Aeronautical Facebook page two days ago...

Sorry for the late post! We just got back from China which blocks Facebook, so we haven't been able to post progress.

The last 3 weeks we have been working with the factory to get production ready, but some last minute design changes has delayed production. We're waiting for a final assessment and schedule from the factory, but with a tooling change and an update to the PCB has pushed production out at least one to two months.

As a result, we have decided to ship all pre-orders per airfreight, directly from the factory at our cost. Pre-order will start as soon as we have a firm production schedule.

We are very sorry for the delay, but are doing everything we can to get ready as soon as possible.

In response to a question about early orders he said this:-

We will airfreight a combined batch to Europe and the split up the shipment after customs, so that import taxes/duty will be paid by us.

Pity about the delay but better to get things right.

On ‎07‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 9:12 AM, Ray Proudfoot said:

If Nicki has decided to use pots rather than Hall-effect sensors I'm sure there's a good reason for it and it probably isn't cost.

Let's not forget there are different qualities of pots with the Saitek ones probably costing $1 per 1000. Cheap and will only last for 5 years or so. I'm pretty certain Honeycomb are not going to compromise the quality of their units with cheap pots.

Yep, you could well have  a point. Personally I am sick of Saitek, and the next step up is really expensive.

I just wish they would hurry up and get this stuff released.

I guess more important factors will be detents and deadzones - and how it all comes together with software.

Hopefully we will find out sometime this year.

Downside for us in the UK, is that pricing for us will probably be in Euros as Aerosoft are the distributers - so we will be paying a premium.

Crikey, I just bought the Aerosoft CRJ 700, and saved 10 GBP by purchasing from Flight1 in dollars vs Aerosoft in Euros.

@Gabe777, Agreed. I've had my Saitek kit for 10 years and it's driving me nuts especially the throttle quadrants. So many spikes at different points. Grgghh.

I did consider PFC kit but it's a huge leap in cost and I'm not prepared to pay that much. There has to be a middle ground and this is where I'm placing my faith in Honeycomb.

I suspect prices exclude VAT so $200 becomes £200 then add on VAT and you get £240. Times two and it's close to £500. Hopefully P&P is included in that price.

For that price it had better be good which is why I'm prepared to wait for these design tweaks to be sorted out. Better to find something wrong before mass production than afterwards.

Do you have the 50 quid Saitek quadrants with the 3 coloured plastic tops ? I was hoping they would be OK, as the Honeycomb throttle does not fill me with confidence - too much going on there.

I use the X52 Pro, after having the X52 for 6 years. They seem to last OK for about 18 months and then start freaking out bit by bit!

Oh well, we will have to be patient. (A bit like waiting for Radar Contact 5 - lol.....   I know it 'aint happening. But I still use RC 4 in P3D... still no competition.)