After years of dreaming I finally just ordered the H4 and eagerly await delivery. However, I know very little about it other than it appears to use Sim Racing Studio to run it and this has two versions, a base licence and a subscription based licence.
Question 1. Does the subscription licence offer any advantage over the base licence? Its only £20 a year, so not really a biggie, but what is the difference?
Big question is motion compensation for VR. I have gleaned over watching many vids that Sim Racing Studio has some sort of built in motion compensation. Since I sold my warthog stick and throttles and ditched DCS jet aircraft in favour of msfs 2024, the A2A Commanche, the Blacksquare Turbine Duke and the honeycomb yoke and throttles setup; will the software based motion compensation cut it with the sedate GA flying I do now; or is the WIT sensor and open XR motion compensation the way to go?
Obviously I do not want the extra complication of the WIT system if it is not really required.
Edit: Dunno whether it is relevant at all but my VR headset is the Pimax Crystal Super 57ppd.
Thanks all.
I’ve owned a DOF H6 for a few months now, and after a couple of weeks with SRS, I bought the Simhub program and only use OpenXR with the BuzzteaBear plugin for motion compensation. It works perfectly fine for me on my Quest 3 with Virtual Desktop. No Witmotion required. You’ll love it!
I lasted just hours but agree with everything you’ve said.
on their site they recomend h6 over h4 for flight experience , so h6 is better or ?
I can only really speak from my own experience with the H6 in conjunction with VR. I was lucky enough to get a nearly new H6 at a good price. The H4 wasn’t available back then. I think the H4 fulfills the most important axes for VR. In my settings, I’ve only set the two “missing” axes compared to the H6 very weakly, as the motion compensation via OpenXR reaches its limits there. So, the lateral movement, or “drifting,” of the chair is practically disabled. I also have the feeling that this movement is almost imperceptible in VR. I think I would buy an H4 today because of the heave function; this is significantly more important than “drifting,” for example, for turbulence. If you were to focus heavily on helicopter flight, the H6 could demonstrate its strengths somewhat more.
Yes the H6 is obviously better than the H4 as it is a true stuart platform and the type used in multi million dollar sims for training commercial airline pilots.
However, I could never justify the extra expense of the H6 to the missus… And she holds the purse strings.
I am on a strict budget and have been resisting pulling the trigger on the H3 for years, but for my needs, the lack of heave killed my interest.
Then out comes the H4 which does have heave that can simulate g forces and turbulence much better than three axis types and seems like the perfect compromise between the H3 and the H6. Since I fly the A2A Commanche and Blacksquare turbine duke exclusively, I feel.that four axis is enough. Sure the addjtional surge and sway axes on the H6 would be nice to have, but for my needs, not essential and certainly not worth nearly double the price.
In my oppinion the H4 simply offers the best bang for the buck.
Another question with an elusive answer, despite much searching of internet.
I note the DOF H4R flight sim version is around £250 more expensive than the H4R racing sim version.
Is this because the flight version comes with all the required HOTAS mounting hardware kit as standard?
I have come across a few refences that the flight version has better gearboxes fitted as standard than the race version which had gearboxes of an older design, prone to “cogging”, which could also explain the price difference.
Then I have come across conflicting reports saying that all new units are now shipping with the newer gearboxes, whether race or flight.
Very confusing. I have had a message from the supplier stating delivery near end of June, so I need to know if I need to order the hotas kit. Certainly the pic of the flight unit is showing Stick, yoke, pedals and throttles fitted, presumably using the hotas fitting kit.
None of the vendors seem to offer any clarity on this. just say flight controls not included.
For the sake of a couple of hundred quid (considering how much the overall system costs) I wouldn’t want to risk assuming all models now come with the smoother gearing. It was certainly my understanding that only the “flight” labelled ones did (although confusingly they use model numbers like H3r for “reduced” I think, not “racing”).
Regardless, the cost difference is definitely not because they come with any hotas mounts; you still need to order them as an additional add-on, although personally I found the hotas kit a waste of money as none of my gear fitted properly and I ended up retrofitting various parts I had from my Next Level Racing flight seat instead.
I ordered the hotas kit and will see how I fare with it. Mounting my honeycomb yoke will not be a problem, but the bravo throttles may be more problematic.
I have no wish go buy the honeycomb mounting plate and have the throttles next to the yoke, I want them lower as they appear in the Blacksquare turbine duke.
If no suitable solution is found amongst the kit, I have found some scrap alloy checkerplate at work and have cut a suitably sized piece from it to make my own custom mount.
Also ordered some 6" square and 2" deep blocks of polyurethane to put under the rig feet to dampen out the vibes from my buttkicker.
Looking forward to delivery, but not looking forward to dismantling my current rig completely and clearing out the room… I see many travels to the local.tip in my future.
I also ordered the H4r, have received it and mounted everything this weekend. The motors work very smooth when you fly. Definitely go for H4r! You will love it! I added the NLR flightsimulator seat 2.0 to the rig. It’s a nice seat. The seat should ideally sit with optimal weight distribution in mind, and mine does, but that doesn’t leave much space for a man of about 100 kg getting in and out. I have both the hotas (for Warthog) and honeycomb (for Alpha/Bravo) addons, so the rig is filled which add to the tight space. Next up for me is getting in control with motion compensation as you notice the pain straight away in VR. Good luck with building your rig 
Also a 100kg bloke.. ahem.
I went for the BB7 recliner seat on the recommendation of my H4 supplier. Says it fits the rig like a glove.
I had the earlier NLR Flight/Cockpit seat. Wish I had the newer one as my back gets a bit sore with it. It didn’t fit the H3 either but I was expecting that. I mounted it on a piece of MDF first so it didn’t matter if it didn’t align with the rig, and it also made it easier to attach bass shakers underneath.
Thanks for the very useful pic. Of all the pics I have seen of the H4, yours is the most helpful in giving me some ideas.
First, I am surprised how small it actually is, it looks to occupy less space than my current sim cockpit, so when I break it up, I do not have to fear the H4 not utilising the same space.
I see you have plumped for the cover. I held off on the cover because I did not know if it was weight bearing. I intend to cover the space in front of the seat but below the moving portion with a plywood floorboard which extends outwards to port about a foot with a suitable box support structure to form a step. Just to aid climbing aboard. I was originally going to screw it to the motion frame, fearing getting a foot trapped, but I see the cover is not attached to the motion part.
A useful weight saving.
I can see how your stick will impair the ease of climbing aboard. Maybe mount it on a hinged metal strap, so it can be tilted forward out of the way when climbing in and out?
I already sold my hog hardware and bought Honeycomb flight controls as I really only fly light aircraft in 2024, ditching DCS and my beloved hog, purely on the grounds of the far superior real and whole world scenery that 2024 offers. I was never really interested in being a combat pilot, dropping bombs was just a way of justifying a three hour flight.
With Blacksquare and A2A offering DCS quality, high fidelity aircraft, I cannot say I have missed DCS much.
The yoke will allow easier access to the seat than the stick, coupled with the seat being a car seat, is equipped with sliding rails so it can be slid back. I suppose the fly in the ointment will be the seat sinking rearwards when climbing in with it fully back and having to.scootch forwards uphill. Shame the motors do not lock when not in operation, or that is my supposition.
Yeah, it’s surprisingly compact. I got the base (which isn’t load bearing) because we have cats, and the thought of them getting caught up in it was a concern but tbh they’re more interested in trying to chew the rubber endcaps on the control panels than giving two hoots about coming too close when it’s running. And yes, the way I’ve got it setup does require some gymnastics to get in and out of the seat, but it is what it is. I’ve not got the front (wheel/yoke) mount attached which helps, but eventually I want to make it flight/racing compatible which is going to take some planning.
I add a picture of my crowdy rig. I have the warthog where you can unscrew the joystick. Then I can climb in and then attach the stick.
Under my honeycomb I have attached one of the plates from my hotas mount so I could have my mouse.
Nice. Very interested in your keyboard mounting solution on top of the Alpha. Is it a home made bracket or something available to buy?
I will be throwing my current full size desk away and just using a small computer desk to stand the 50" tv I am using as a monitor on, so my PC will be stood at my right side on a plinth made as the right panel in my A10 rig. I will probably use the top of it for using the mouse.
Failing that I am considering a trackball type mouse.
I sold my hog stick and throttles to fund the purchase of the honeycomb alpha/bravo setup I have now, something I have come to regret.
Nevermind I thought of how to mount my old sidewinder 2 force feedback stick instead… I looked for it, then realised I took a couple of large boxes of outdated PC stuff too the tip last year… Doh!
I have been informed by my supplier that his next batch of H4Rs will be shipping from Poland sometime next week and I should have mine about a week later after inspection. Happy days.
All of my hog VR cockpit has been ripped out. The desk and empty side plinths are all that is left with my bravo throttles on the right plinth and alpha yoke on the desk.
Looks like the H4 is going to occupy far less room..
DS
Indeed the H4r is very compact. You will save up som space 
The keyboard mount I bought from Shane from FlightSimMods (ausflightsimmer). It’s made to fit the Alpha completely. A bit expensive but very nice quality. I love my honeycomb alpha and bravo. A very nice combo. But of course use the warthog for jets and helicopters. Like that too. Mostly I fly GA aircraft though. But adding the H4r adds a new level of immersion to my hobby combined with my VR headset. I now use BATC and that also adds a lot since I have not thrown myself into VATSIM.
But quite an expensive hobby we have 
but you will love your DOF Reality rig
