Joystick calibaration question

[jb747]

Pete,

Throttles worked like a charm. However, the flaps are a problem. Calibration numbers are as follows: Up position: IN 0, OUT -16383

Down position: In 16300 Out 16377. I'm doing the Boeing 747 so I get 7 detents with a incr of 5460.

Everything looks good with setting the min and max. However, when I fire up PM, my flaps indicator shows 30 degrees of flaps in the up position. No change from Up-20 degrees. At 25 degrees position it shows 1 notch, then at 30 degree postion it goes back down to 30.

I'm runing FS9 with the March release of FSUIPC. Hadn't noticed the April update.

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Jon

[Pete Dowson]

I'm doing the Boeing 747 so I get 7 detents with a incr of 5460.

And do they work with the flaps gauge in the default FS panel?

However, when I fire up PM, my flaps indicator shows 30 degrees of flaps in the up position. No change from Up-20 degrees. At 25 degrees position it shows 1 notch, then at 30 degree postion it goes back down to 30.

Test in FS first. PM's flaps relationships are defined in its own aircraft files, which you may need to edit.

Regards,

Pete

[jb747]

FS9 performs just like PM. I checked my output values for each of the flap settings and they are: from 0-30 degrees... -16383, -10923, 010923, -5463, -3, 5457, and 16377. For flaps 1 & 5, the output value stays the same but the input value moves from 1630 to 2934. Maybe something to look at?

I'm aware that the PM files need to be edited to optimize but since FS is not responding I'll address PM later.

Cheers

Jon

[Pete Dowson]

FS9 performs just like PM. I checked my output values for each of the flap settings and they are: from 0-30 degrees... -16383, -10923, 010923, -5463, -3, 5457, and 16377. For flaps 1 & 5, the output value stays the same but the input value moves from 1630 to 2934. Maybe something to look at?

I'd need to reproduce it first, and it is behaving correctly here. You are now using 3.48, aren't you? I can't possibly check older versions, and it isn't worth it in any case.

If you are getting odd behaviour with FSUIPC 3.48 please show me the Joystick Calibration section of the FSUIPC.INI. Also read out to me the Aircraft name and flaps increment in the FSUIPC options page. Please also try several different default aircraft and see what results you get for each. When I'm trying to find something I can't reproduce here I need as much information as I can get.

Thanks.

Regards,

Pete

[jb747]

Pete,

Yes, I upgraded to 3.48 so that's not an issue. My FSUIPC.ini subsection for the joy stick calibration is as follows:

[JoystickCalibration]

FlapsSetControl=0

ReverserControl=66292

MaxThrottleForReverser=0

AileronTrimControl=0

RudderTrimControl=0

CowlFlaps1Control=0

CowlFlaps2Control=0

CowlFlaps3Control=0

CowlFlaps4Control=0

SlopeAileron=0

SlopeElevator=0

SlopeRudder=0

Spoilers=0,16300

Flaps=163,16300

Throttle1=-16380,83,898,13938

Throttle2=-16380,246,572,15731

Throttle3=-16380,83,898,11982

Throttle4=-16380,83,735,13123

ExclThrottleSet=No

SepRevsJetsOnly=No

Reverser1Control=66422

Reverser2Control=66425

Reverser3Control=66428

Reverser4Control=66431

I tried several different aircraft and got exactly the same result. At all flap settings except the flaps 25 position FS goes to flaps 30. At flaps 25 it goes to flaps 5.

One potential issue that I haven't mentioned is that I am using the GoFlight GF-TQ6 throttle quadrant, now just using their joystick controller married to my regular throttle/flaps/speed brake set. Is there something in the GF deal that I need to change or delete?

Also, a slightly different issue but I haven't been able to calibrate the thrust reverse either but let's get to the bottom of the flaps setting first.

Cheers

Jon

[Pete Dowson]

I tried several different aircraft and got exactly the same result. At all flap settings except the flaps 25 position FS goes to flaps 30. At flaps 25 it goes to flaps 5.

Is it reversed by any chance? Try reversing it in any case.

One potential issue that I haven't mentioned is that I am using the GoFlight GF-TQ6 throttle quadrant, now just using their joystick controller married to my regular throttle/flaps/speed brake set. Is there something in the GF deal that I need to change or delete?

Aha! I have a TQ6 here. I think its GF driver does the flaps handling itself. I'll connect it up again and check it tomorrow, but I've a feeling you can't have FSUIPC trying to control the postions at the same time as GF's program does it -- they even provide an attachable notch set to match their own calibration, don't they? Mine had one but I couldn't get it fitted correctly.

Also, a slightly different issue but I haven't been able to calibrate the thrust reverse either but let's get to the bottom of the flaps setting first.

Are you using their reverser levers? They only operate buttons, they aren't real axes. It sounds like you need to check the GF documentation. The TQ6 is meant to be self-contained -- you shouldn't need or want to do anything for it in FSUIPC. If the documentation isn't sufficient maybe they have a forum or support site you can check?

If I don't here from you before tomorrow I'll check the flap assignment here and see what it does -- what I've said above is from a vague memory from last year some time.

Regards,

Pete

[jb747]

Pete,

I tried reversing it. It changed the numbers a bit but that was all (specifically, I get a flaps 5 at a flaps 25 setting in the normal mode and an flaps 20 at flaps 1 in the reverse mode.

I tried to simply use the GoFlight setting originally and had difficulty getting things to operate which is why I tried to program them in FSUIPC.

Let me know what you come up with.

Cheers

Jon

[Pete Dowson]

I tried to simply use the GoFlight setting originally and had difficulty getting things to operate which is why I tried to program them in FSUIPC.

Let me know what you come up with.

Okay. Run the GFConfig program and set the Flaps lever to undefined. Run FS, check in Options-Controls-Assignments and if necessary allocate the lever to Flaps there. Go to sensitivities and set maximum sensitivity, and zero null zone.

THEN go to FSUIPC and calibrate.

It behaves perfectly here. In my GFConfig I have all six axes undefined and assign them all in FS and calibrate in FSUIPC.

I can reproduce your symptoms by assigning Flaps in GFConfig and placing the GFdev2k4.dll in my Modules folder. What is happening is that the GFconfig program sets the DLL to read the axes and change the flaps directly. Obviously the points at which is does this conflicts with FSUIPC's calibrated points and you get nonsense. You have to use one or the other, not both.

By de-assigning all axes in GFConfig you leave all the assignments to FS and all the fiddling to FSUIPC. I expect that will solve your reverse calibrations too, assuming you don't want to use the TQ6 button-levers for that (I don't think they work too well -- I did try them once).

BTW I would hope that GoFlight support would be able to give you similar answers. Let me know if they don't and I'll copy Doyle. :wink:

Regards,

Pete

[jb747]

Pete,

Thanks for all your help on this. I'll give it a try.

Doyle had a post on the GoFlight forum talking about a 1.51 release that might also provide some alternatives but it isn't out yet.

[jb747]

Well....

I gave it a try, and it's probably some really stupid mistake I'm making, but it doesn't work.

I cleaned out the devices.cfg settings for the Tq6 and reloaded them. Deleted the GFdev2k4.dll from the modules folder. Re-ran GFConfig and set all settings to undefined. Ran FS, did the assignments, re-set the sensitivities and nulls, then went to FSUIPC joystick settings and nothing was recognized. The buttons assignment went fine(originally allocated to thrust reverse and I reassigned to TOGA and Autothrottle).

When I went back into GFConfig and activiated throttles, then everything showed on the joystick tab and I was able to calibrate, but ran into the same issue that prompted this post in the first place. grumble, grumble...

Ideas?

Cheers

Jon

[Pete Dowson]

I cleaned out the devices.cfg settings for the Tq6 and reloaded them.

Not sure why you'd need to do that. I've never touched the CFG file directly. This is the file where GFconfig saves its allocations, I assume?

Deleted the GFdev2k4.dll from the modules folder. Re-ran GFConfig and set all settings to undefined.

I don't think that is needed if GF has no driver in the FS Modules folder. Maybe running GFconfig AFTER deleting the module puts it back? Did you check?

[LATER] I just checked, and it does! GFConfig puts the DLLs into the FS Modules folder!

Anyway, you do NOT need to do anything with GFconfig if you don't have any of GF's modules installed. The one sets up the other.

The important thing to note about the GF TQ6 is that it is, in fact, and unlike all the other GF modules, configured as a "standard joystick" with 6 axes and 4 buttons. Without GFconfig or the GF FS DLLs, and before running FS, just go to Windows Control Panel (Settings-Control Panel), choose the Game Controllers, and in there slect the TQ6's Properties. You wil see that you can test them all there, and calibrate. Do all that BEFORE running FS.

Then run FS and so on ...

Regards,

Pete