Saitek X52 with B200 prop lever

[alder]

Hi

I am trying to calibrate my new Saitek X-52 for the Aeroworx King Air.

In FS9 I have assigned prop control to a free axis wheel on the throttle. That control wheel has a dent midway between full and closed. What I am now trying to accomplish is using that the dent on the throttle as the low prop pitch position in the King Air with an appropriate idle zone, right before the lever goes into the featherting range. Now the dent on the joystick is midway between full open and closed but in the King Air the area where the lever goes into feather is much further down. Is it possible to match the dent with the feather area of the prop lever?

Thanks for the help.

Roland

[Pete Dowson]

Is it possible to match the dent with the feather area of the prop lever?

Yes, if you "map" the mail Prop Pitch axis (see FSUIPC's Joystick Calibration pages) to 4 separate prop pitch controls (via a check-box in the main prop pitch part), then go to the page with the four prop controls and calibrate the first, you will see you can calibrate a "centre" zone for feathering where you like. Set it to operate just above and just below your detente.

Regards

Pete

[alder]

Thank you very much Pete, but that's what I have alreay tried a couple of times (I actually do read the manuals).

The problem is that the prop levers do stop at the joystick's detente but the levers in the cockpit are always down at the very end of the fully feathered area with the red and white markings. I don't know why this happens and something must be wrong.

I have no problems with the condition levers I have assigned to another wheel. If I stop at the detente the levers in the cockpit are right at the low idle mark, but that mark is exactly in the middle of the range in both the cockpit and on the joystick axis, whereas the feather area of the props only covers roughly the last 15% of the range.

Any other ideas?

Roland

[Pete Dowson]

The problem is that the prop levers do stop at the joystick's detente

Sorry, I'm not at all clear on what you mean there.

but the levers in the cockpit are always down at the very end of the fully feathered area with the red and white markings.

So you are saying that the "IN" values from your joystick are reading the same all the way from the detente down to the bottom (nearest position)? If that is the case then none of that area of the joysticvk is at all usable -- either it is broken or you have some trim system on it set at one extreme.

If you don't mean that, but that the "OUT" values are the same all that way, then you need to calibrate properly with a minimum value less than the two centre values.

I have no problems with the condition levers I have assigned to another wheel. If I stop at the detente the levers in the cockpit are right at the low idle mark, but that mark is exactly in the middle of the range in both the cockpit and on the joystick axis, whereas the feather area of the props only covers roughly the last 15% of the range.

Whether the "centre" is calibrated centrally or right at one end is totally irrelevant. YOU are in control of that. It is YOU who presed the "Set" buttons to set the values at whatever point you need them to be. But there obviously must be a gap in values between your off-centre detente values and the two extremes. Otherwise there is no "zone" to move the output values into, is there?

Regards

Pete

[alder]

Sorry for my english Pete. Let's try again.

What I want to do is to calibrate the axis in such a way that the detente on my joystick wheel matches with the min settings of the prop lever. With minimum setting I mean the position right before the lever moves into the feathering range with the red and white markings.

That would make it easy to reduce prop pitch without actually having to look at the lever in the cockpit. I could then just turn the joystick wheel from max back to the detente and would not run the risk of accidentally moving into the feathering range.

Now no matter how I do I set the values ( min can be around 0 or at say at -/+4000 and max feather at -16000 or -11000) the prop lever always moves into feathering range once the joystick wheel is at the detente.

????

[Pete Dowson]

What I want to do is to calibrate the axis in such a way that the detente on my joystick wheel matches with the min settings of the prop lever. With minimum setting I mean the position right before the lever moves into the feathering range with the red and white markings.

Yes, exactly as I understood and explained.

Now no matter how I do I set the values ( min can be around 0 or at say at -/+4000 and max feather at -16000 or -11000)

Erplease get the terms generalised so we can understand each other. Left to Right on the FSUIPC options you have a minimum then two centres then a maximum value to be set. They might go under different names for different axes, but the INPUT values must always increase from left to right.

the prop lever always moves into feathering range once the joystick wheel is at the detente.

Then it is not calibrated correctly. Perhaps I need to elaborate on what I thought were sufficient instructions in the documentation:

Put the wheel at minimum -- i.e. where you want the fully feathered setting to be. It should show the lowest possible value you can get in the INPUT box. If it shows a large positive value then you need to REVerse the axis. (Make sure you are using the latest version of FSUIPC for this, as axis reversal is a little more precarious in older ones).

Okay. Nudge it forward just a little, enough to see the INPUT value change slightly. This is for safety -- in case of slight variations in the input values. Press the SET button above the minum, so that the INPUT value is copied there.

Move it to the maximum, nudge it away for a different (slightly lower) INPUT value and click the SET button above the maximum box (on the right).

Move the wheel to the detente. The INPUT values should change, right? If not, there's your problm -- the wheel is not sensitive in that lower range. Assuming it is okay, nudge it back towards the minimum just a little, and press the SET above the centre two values. Then nudge it a little past the detente and do it again. That sets the little zone around the detente.

And that's it. This is what the documentation says too, all I am doing here is saying it in different words.

It does work. You must have different values in each of the 4 boxes, increasing left to right (the middle two don't have an order). It sounds like you have one or both of the centre values the same as the left-hand one.

I have done this sort of thing loads of times with different joysticks, wheels, game pads, the lot.

Regards

Pete

[alder]

That's exactly what I have done from the beginning.

I am convinced it's not the joystick's nor FSUIPC fault but it must have something to do with how Aeroworx has programmed the inputs of the proplever axis.

Anyway, many thanks for your assistance. It's really appreciated.

Roland

[Pete Dowson]

That's exactly what I have done from the beginning.

I am convinced it's not the joystick's nor FSUIPC fault but it must have something to do with how Aeroworx has programmed the inputs of the proplever axis.

Ah. I clean forgot you were talking about an add-on aircraft. Apologies.

Can you test it on the default King Air and let me know?

If it is still not right, then something strange is going on for sure. If the 4 values are all different then they must correspond (be calibrated to) the correct values for the aircraft's prop pitch lever movement. Maybe you can show me the FSUIPC INI file line for the appropriate Axis calibration, or read the values from the calibrate screen, and also tell be the OUT values shown there for each of those axis postions?

However, if it is specific to the Aeroworx add-on, maybe you should fire them a question about how it should be operated?

Regards

Pete

[alder]

I have followed your advice and have just tested my calibarations with the default King Air and there the prop lever does stop at it's minimum setting right at the joystick's detente. Perfect. But if I continue to turn the joystick wheel beyond the detente (reducing prop pitch further) the prop lever does not move into the feathering zone but stays put. Odd, isn'it?

It now looks likely that something with the joystick axis is wrong.

[Pete Dowson]

But if I continue to turn the joystick wheel beyond the detente (reducing prop pitch further) the prop lever does not move into the feathering zone but stays put. Odd, isn'it?

Please show me the values. With the default aircraft I can even test the same values here.

Pete

[alder]

here you go:

[JoystickCalibration]

ExclThrottleSet=No

SepRevsJetsOnly=No

ApplyHeloTrim=No

FlapsSetControl=0

FlapDetents=No

ReverserControl=66292

Reverser1Control=66422

Reverser2Control=66425

Reverser3Control=66428

Reverser4Control=66431

MaxThrottleForReverser=256

AileronTrimControl=0

RudderTrimControl=0

CowlFlaps1Control=0

CowlFlaps2Control=0

CowlFlaps3Control=0

CowlFlaps4Control=0

MaxSteerSpeed=60

Aileron=-16380,-1849,1587,16129

Elevator=-16193,-1148,1270,16192

Rudder=-16193,-1084,1174,16192

MapThrottle=Yes

Throttle1=-15160,-13870,-7935,15684/8

LeftBrake=-16380,16380

SlopeLeftBrake=7

RightBrake=-16380,16380

SlopeRightBrake=7

Rudder Trim=-16384,-779,768,16256/8

SlopeRudder Trim=1

Aileron Trim=-16380,-512,512,16380

SlopeAileron Trim=15

MapProp=Yes

PropPitch1=-16192,0,1097,16192/8

MapMixture=Yes

Mixture1=-16193,0,0,16192/8

[Pete Dowson]

here you go:

...

PropPitch1=-16192,0,1097,16192/8

Well, that's the IN values, and they look okay -- surely nothing wrong with your joystcik -- but where's the OUT values corresponding to those (the ones you can read off the Calibration screen)?

Did you check it all with the default King Air as I suggested? These things always need checking with default aircraft, as it could easily be a function of the add-on aircraft to modify the default behaviour.

Regards

Pete

[alder]

The out values are 16834 and under min I have 1097.

Roland

[Pete Dowson]

The out values are 16834 and under min I have 1097.

Er. Which "out values are 16384"? which do you mean by "min".

Can you please just relate the IN values to the OUT values for each main position - min/far left, centre/middle pair, max/far right? Thank you. Else I cannot envisage what you see!

Have you bothered to try the default King Air yet? (Third time of asking! ;-) )

Pete

[alder]

I tested all settings in the default King Air and the out values are:

-4096,0,-237,16384.

Please also see my earlier post regarding the default King Air. I cannot make the prop lever in the aircraft's cockpit to visually move into the feathering area (with the red and white stripes), even though joystick is in the fully feathered area.

Roland

[Pete Dowson]

I tested all settings in the default King Air and the out values are:

-4096,0,-237,16384.

Well, the -4096 is perfect (for full feathered). The 16384 is perfect for high RPM, and I assume the -237 is something you get just before the detente? It certainly shouldn't be in or above as indicated by your order.

Please also see my earlier post regarding the default King Air. I cannot make the prop lever in the aircraft's cockpit to visually move into the feathering area (with the red and white stripes), even though joystick is in the fully feathered area.

I've just tried it here. and -4096 most certainly gives full feathered settings in the default King Air here. Where are you measuring this? The lowest position for those levers on the graphic is where the metal struts (not the knobs) are bang against the bottom of the slots. They cannot go any lower. Because of the curve on the levers, the knobs then appear almost level with the top of the striped area.

I am 100% positive that sending the axis value -4096 on the individual prop axes (as mapping them does) gives you that fully feathered setting. It works perfectly here with the default.

Regards

Pete

[alder]

Pete, you are right. I was testing in the VC and the view angle was a bit distorted. In the 2D panel with the throttle window open the settings work a treat. So it's definietly not the joystick but has to be a problem with the Aerorworx add-on.

I will move over to their forum with this problem then.

Thanks a million,

Roland