Viper MIP w/ MFD Displays
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Hi,
After much research and help from several people in this forum, I ordered the Viper MIP with MFD displays last week, and they arrived today.
A quick review/critique of this package follows:
The size of the MFDs and UFCP doesn’t disappoint. The DED is very clear and easy to read, and works flawlessly with BMS (4.37 as of the time of writing), as do the MFDs and displays.
The MFD display resolution is outstanding, and the brightness, clarity, and contrast of the displays is excellent. They have a very wide viewing angle, and put my main 4K display to shame (I’m not kidding). The TGP image on the MFD is bright and clear with excellent contrast.
The buttons feel like the rubber buttons found on industrial control equipment, but that isn’t a bad thing (it just means the tactile feel is not prototypical). It should, however, mean longevity and a long service life.
Much is made of the key caps themselves being silicon, but so long as you keep your hands clean, they should prove durable.
Probably the weakest area of the UFCP is the dobber switch. They implemented it with a 4-way hat with button press, and the dobber itself is constructed from plastic, giving a somewhat imprecise feel to the switch, but the press action itself feels solid.
The units are a little too light for free-standing use on a desk (as I have it presently) but some brackets to hold them together and extend backwards to add stability would solve this. They do sell desk clamps to attach them to the edge of the desk, and the propensity for the MFDs to tip over backwards, especially when pressing the OSBs at the top, can be mitigated by supporting the top of the unit when pressing a button. The MFDs are not top-heavy however, and sit stable on the desk.
Shipping was fast (5 days) from China to the UK, and everything was very well packaged and nicely presented.
A neat feature of the MFD bezels is in-between the OSB buttons are additional buttons, that otherwise act as the dividers between the OSB buttons. This allows for mapping of additional functions without detracting from the overall look. You gain 16 buttons per MFD, for 32 in total. Useful for auxiliary switches such as autopilot control, CM switches, etc.
For someone who doesn’t have the tools to DIY, or is looking for a desk-pit (as I was), I’d say this is a solid offering, and reasonably priced, when you consider the cost of other ICPs on the market, and the cost of a small display or two for the MFDs. The DED is the icing on the cake.
Given the quality of the displays, the quality of the ICP and the DED, and the plug-and-play nature of the units, combined with the very simple-to-use software, I’d rate these a solid 9/10.
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@Tiger-0 thank you for this review. This is adding more check marks in the Do This column. After getting the ICP and seeing the quality, I’m thinking of adding the MFD/screen combo within the next year.
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@Quasi_Stellar +1
@Tiger-0 Thank you for this review. Very helpful in my decision making. -
Hi Tiger 0,
Do you happen to know the difference between the Winwing cheaper MFD’s and the more expensive USB 3.0 MFD’s?
Which ones do you have? -
@drillerman52 the cheaper ones are only the bezel, the surrounding part with the bottons. The expensive ones are the ones with the display.
You can also buy them separately. -
Oh right. Is it me or it is not that clear on their website?
Probably me! -
@drillerman52 said in Viper MIP w/ MFD Displays:
Oh right. Is it me or it is not that clear on their website?
Probably me!I agree, it isn’t clear.
“MFD” is the bezel only with the buttons, while the actual displays are “USB3.0 Instrument Display” and are a seperate component.
If you’re just buying the MFDs and displays, you need to buy them seperately, but everything is in the pack to make them a complete unit.
I really like how they did this. You remove 4 screws (you need a torx screwdriver) from the bezels and 4 from the LCDs, and then using longer screws provided, you screw the two together so the MFD is held firmly in place over the LCD. You then put the support brackets on the back of the LCD.
The displays are made by WinWing, and when booting up show the WinWing logo.
I also bought a powered USB 3.2 hub (connected to a USB C port) with the hub itself connected to a 75W PSU. The units seem to work fine like this, and I only require one USB port on my computer (the Viper MIP requires 5 USB ports - 1 for each MFD, 1 for each display, and 1 for the ICP/DED).
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I don’t know if it is the case if you buy them separately, but I have bought 2 MFDs with the displays as package and the allen keys needed to remove the 4 bolts from each component were included, along with the thicker allen key for the mount and a key to hold the nut steady. On the downside, now I have a lot of tools that I don’t need. And I can’t stress enough that you need a powered hub, as @Tiger-0 has mentioned.
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@drillerman52 said in Viper MIP w/ MFD Displays:
Oh right. Is it me or it is not that clear on their website?
Probably me!the VR suffix should imply that there are no monitors; but in reality it is not so clear.
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@drillerman52 said in Viper MIP w/ MFD Displays:
Oh right. Is it me or it is not that clear on their website?
Probably me!Nah, it’s them. The struggle with (against?) English language is real!
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The Viper MFD Displays are arriving today. I see directions for setting them up in DCS, but where are the directions for setting them up in BMS?
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@Scotters it is very easy to set them up. Just run simapp and follow the instructions. Make sure to designate the BMS folder path in settings.
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@skippermike
Thanks! I can’t wait to try it. -
Hi TigerO,
I have a question for you. How many usbs connections are needed to work the mfd and the usb display?
From looking at the manual, three appear to be needed. Is this correct?
Regards
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@drillerman52 you need one usb for the MFD bezel and one for the display, if your hub has enough power. I also use a usb c to usb c cable that I supply extra power to the display from a charger, because in my case the hubs seem to be a little bit on the limit. This extra usb c to usb c is what you see in the manual as a third cable.
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@skippermike
Thanks for the reply. Do both USBs plug into the pc? Or one into power and one into pc?I have a powered usb hub BTW
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@drillerman52 the display must be a USB 3. For the MFD bezel I am not sure if a USB 2 is enough. I use a lot of USBs (4 for my 2 MFDs and one each for the ICP, stick, throttle, tracking camera etc), so I use 2 powered USB hubs plugged to the 2 USB 3 ports on my PC. But in my case, it seemed that the power from the hubs was not sufficient, because sometimes the displays would turn on and off randomly. So, I got me a USB C charger with 2 outputs of 65 watts each, and I connected it them to the USB C plug that the display has for extra power (it also has a 12V input, if you are interested). I don’t know if this setup is an overkill, but I had no issues since. Maybe the power of your hub is enough for your rig and you don’t need the extra cable.
So to make it more clear. The MFD bezel and the USB 3 of the display must be connected to the PC, directly or via a powered hub. If the power that the display gets is not enough, you can give it an extra boost, either via the 5V USB C, that has to be connected to somewhere that powers it, or the 12V input.
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@skippermike
Hi, thanks for the reply.Will have a go this week based on your instructions. Didn’t realise they needed 2/3 usb’s.
Assumed the bezel plugged into the screen and the screen plugged into the pc. Oh well. -
@drillerman52 yes, that option would be optimal for our case. I guess the idea is that the MFDs can be used as standalone, for those that want to use them in a VR rig.
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I got mine a couple weeks ago. The ICP is great with DED above it, and the MFD’s are awesome. Very good quality and easy to set up. Comes with a lot of bench stock so you can improvise your install. If you have bad eyes and struggle seeing the MFD info, these are for you. Very easy to setup with the software.