Saitek Pro Flight Yoke calibration

[georgetyrrell]

Hello all,

firstly having just registered a copy of fsuipc I'd like to say thanks for this wonderful tool. i've just recieved my saitek pro flight yoke and throttle and having set up the throttle quadrant to my liking I cannot seem to be able to configure the x and y axes properly. What I am currently getting is an 'on/off' type effect with a turn left on the yoke being a full turn straight away and similarly pushing or pulling the elevator results in the full range staright away if that makes any sense.

Any help would be greatll appreciated, I have not installed the SST drivers on this.

George Tyrrell

[Pete Dowson]

I cannot seem to be able to configure the x and y axes properly. What I am currently getting is an 'on/off' type effect with a turn left on the yoke being a full turn straight away and similarly pushing or pulling the elevator results in the full range staright away if that makes any sense.

I assume you've claibrated them in Windows first? If not, that's your first step.

Then check the Sensitivity and Null sliders in FS -- the sensitivity should be at maximum (full right) and the null zone full left.

That should give you a "normal" FS response. For more control, calibrate in FSUIPC: follow the instructions in the FSUIPC User Guide, step by step.

Regards

Pete

[georgetyrrell]

Honestly Pete I've been trawling over the user guide and its just not working. I've done the throttles no problem i just cant get the axes of x or y to work properly. when you say calibrated in windows i assume you mean the control panel/ game controller way? i did that to ensure all axes and buttons were functioning. i also have the null zones and sensitivities as you require but i have the joystick disabled from fs? i do that because i want them calibrated and controlled from fsuipc. then i check the send direct to fsuipc option when assigning axes. i must say thats the fastest support reply i've ever seen!!

edit: in fact now that i look closer, when i'm in the axis assigment page and move either the x or y axis the values in the box go from -16893 to 16893 instantly, they don't 'scroll' like the throttles do when i move them. in other words when i stop turing the yoke half way its instantly the top end of the range. do you know what could be causing this? incidentally earlier before i even went near fsuipc i simply plugged the thing in and used it on the default cessna. it gave no problems of this nature it was when i used it on the lds767 and hs trident i realized that it was too sensitive and registered fsuipc to see if i could calibrate it better.

[Pete Dowson]

when you say calibrated in windows i assume you mean the control panel/ game controller way? i did that to ensure all axes and buttons were functioning. i also have the null zones and sensitivities as you require but i have the joystick disabled from fs?

Oh, right.

i do that because i want them calibrated and controlled from fsuipc. then i check the send direct to fsuipc option when assigning axes.

Okay. So what range of values do you see in the FSUIPC axis assignments Tab. Do they move through the range, or jump from one extreme to the other?

edit: in fact now that i look closer, when i'm in the axis assigment page and move either the x or y axis the values in the box go from -16893 to 16893 instantly, they don't 'scroll' like the throttles do when i move them.

Ah .. it sounds like you somehow have the yoke set to a "digital" mode, like a Game Pad. Doesn't it show this behavious in the Game Controller (Windows) screen too?

do you know what could be causing this?

No. As I say, it sounds more like what you would get from one of the rockers on a gamepad, or a game pad joystick when set to "digital" instead of "analogue" mode.

incidentally earlier before i even went near fsuipc i simply plugged the thing in and used it on the default cessna. it gave no problems of this nature

Strange. I've really no idea. All FSUIPC does here is read the axes directly instead of via FS. You didn't mention if it was FSUIPC3 or FSUIPC4 (for FSX) you are using, but FSUIPC4 uses the same system (DirectInput) as FS, whereas FSUIPC3 uses the old Windows API.

it was when i used it on the lds767 and hs trident i realized that it was too sensitive and registered fsuipc to see if i could calibrate it better.

What made you go direct to the total-FSUIPC rather than the easier (older, more established, less complicated) FSUIPC joystick calibrations of FS assignments method?

If we are talking about FS2004 and FSUIPC3 here, it may be that the drivers for this yoke do not support the older Windows joystick interface very well. I attach a utility which uses the same interface -- you could check with that.

If we are talking about FSX and FSUIPC4, then it is a real puzzle -- if it were acting like a digital pad via DirectInput it wouldn't be flyable through FS's assignments either.

Regards

Pete

joyview.zip

[georgetyrrell]

Hey Pete its fs9 and fsuipc3 sorry should have specified. No it shows normal behaviour in game contorller in windows. very odd. when you say full fsuipc and not fsuipc joystick calibrations of fs assignments how do you mean? meaning can fsuipc still calibrate and make the x y axes less sensitive? If I enable the joystick in fs now will i loose all the button assigments that ive programmed through fsuipc? or can i dekete all assigments in fs9 and just use the axis assignments of fs9? sorry for all the questions

many thanks

george

[Pete Dowson]

Hey Pete its fs9 and fsuipc3 sorry should have specified. No it shows normal behaviour in game contorller in windows.

Okay. Try that Joyview program I sent above, please. That uses the same joystick interface as the Axis Assignments in FSUIPC3.

when you say full fsuipc and not fsuipc joystick calibrations of fs assignments how do you mean? meaning can fsuipc still calibrate and make the x y axes less sensitive?

Yes. The normal and long-standing way of calibrating FS's axes is to let FS read them, and ask FSUIPC to intercept the actual control values (aileron, elevator, etc) and "correct" them before they get to FS's simulation engine.

If I enable the joystick in fs now will i loose all the button assigments that ive programmed through fsuipc? or can i dekete all assigments in fs9 and just use the axis assignments of fs9? sorry for all the questions

You can have a mix of assignments in FS and FSUIPC as far as buttons are concerned -- just don't have any assigned in both if you don't want both actions to occur.

Please just look at the User guide and skip the Axis Assignments section, which is an advanced and recently added capability mainly for very sophisticated actions, like auto-switching between helo and airliner and fighter controls, etc.

Regards

Pete

[peterhayes]

Pete & George

This may not be relevant but has George actually got the SAITEK driver installed? (Not the SST software that's programming software). In his first post George says that he does not have the " SST driver" Software installed. If the drivers are not installed you can get some very strange effects. If the driver is installed it will be listed in the Windows game controller window [Properties\About]. It may be worth reinstalling the Saitek driver and see if that makes a difference??

Regards

PeterH

[georgetyrrell]

Folks thanks very much for your time and responses to this. Just a follow up, i've returned the unit its been affected by the random button pressing bug as announced on the saitek forum so i'll be getting a brand new one soon.

Just to post a fix for an issue i had with it and for the information of anyone else who comes to this forum with a simililar prolem, when the yoke was not being recognised as analogue, meaning i got the all or nothing effecft as detailed above the fix is

Unplug the controller, click Start>Run, type regedit and click OK. In the Registry Editor browse to the following

folders in order:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

SYSTEM

CurrentControlSet

Control

MediaProperties

PrivateProperties

DirectInput

And delete all folders beginning with VID_06A3. Plug the controller back in, rotate and twist the stick fully a couple oftimes and see if that has fixed it.

If you are on Vista, you may also have to delete the entry under

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

SYSTEM

CurrentControlSet

Control

MediaProperties

PrivateProperties

DirectInput

And delete the VID_06A3&PID_xxxx folder.

Thanks again

George Tyrrell

[Pete Dowson]

Folks thanks very much for your time and responses to this. Just a follow up

Two bugs in two units, eh? Unusual these days, but glad they are getting sorted. Thanks for posting!

Regards

Pete

[Triple3]

Hi Pete,

How do I find out if my Saitek Yoke and throttles are set to digital vs. analogue (and how do I change these settings)? I have been having a terrible time getting this new equipment to work.

I calibrated in Windows and assigned in FS then calibrated in FSUIPC. When in the latter the throttle 1 lever 2 jumps directly from 0 to 16383 (it shows this in both axis tab and calibration page). Throttle 2 levers 1 and 2 goe to 16383 max and 0 at idle (In and Out).

When using any Aircraft, I throttle up and it spins up but the more I input throttle the engine decreases back to idle (at full throttle).

I had no problems with CH equipment and have nothing but frustration with Saitek. I haven't even gotten to the point of random button firing as I have been reading about.

One last comment - when I began to assign buttons earlier in the day, I realized that the FS9 Config file could be causing problems from older settings so I allowed FS to create a new one and started the whole process over again.

Thanks for your assistance.

Ted "Triple Three"

AAL333

[Pete Dowson]

How do I find out if my Saitek Yoke and throttles are set to digital vs. analogue (and how do I change these settings)?

No idea. I'm amazed that they can be set to operate digitally at all. But doesn't the other posting, above, by GeorgeTyrell help?

I have been having a terrible time getting this new equipment to work.

I'd send them back and get them fixed if I were you.

I'm sorry, but I don't have any Saitek gear and cannot substitute for their support. Judging by the recent threads on their new gear it looks like everyone's having problems with them, and that they were released rather before they were ready.

I had no problems with CH equipment and have nothing but frustration with Saitek. I haven't even gotten to the point of random button firing as I have been reading about.

I'm sure Saitek had an excellent reputation before this, and it is rather sad to see all this happen. But there's not an awful lot I can do about it. Sorry.

Regards

Pete

[Triple3]

Pete,

Thanks for your kind reply. My last attempt before returning the equipment is to remove FSUIPC (along with the Config) and see if a fresh start will help.

I did do the regedit prior to writing to you and it didn't help the basics of getting the throttles to work.

Have a great weekend and thanks for your awesome support of our hobby.

Ted

[simbio]

I am asking here if someone use the 767 leveld.

With this fix all other plane works perfectly but the lateral navigation on the 767 dosen't work.

This is because if you delete in FS and use FSUIPC direct axis assign I don't know why in other plane like PMDG or FT ecc.

Fabrizio

[Pete Dowson]

With this fix all other plane works perfectly but the lateral navigation on the 767 dosen't work.

With what fix where?

This is because if you delete in FS and use FSUIPC direct axis assign I don't know why in other plane like PMDG or FT ecc.

Sorry, you've lost me there.

By "lateral navigation" aren't you talking about autopilot LNAV mode? If so, can you say where "FSUIPC direct axis assign" comes into it? Are you saying that in some assignments methods the LevelD works and in other assignment methods it doesn't? Can you be a little clearer, please?

Pete

[simbio]

Thank' s for reply sorry to be imprecise.

The fix is for Saitek yoke which in defective stock gives some random phantom button problem, but if we add in the FSUIPC.ini file the EliminateTransients=Yes and the pollinterval=50 this solve the problem.

Here the thread in saitek forum.

http://www.saitekforum.com/showthread.php?t=12871

For the 767 leveld the old FS9 version, there is a problem with the lateral navigation which disable the lateral navigation on autopilot, I never understand which element cause the problem.

But in the new FSX version it works fine as read in the leveld forum.

I would really love to keep fsuipc to do all key & lever assign because FS is really crap and imprecise.

Here the thread in leveld forum.

http://www.leveldsim.com/forums/forum_p?TID=15578

Thank you

Fabrizio

[Pete Dowson]

The fix is for Saitek yoke which in defective stock gives some random phantom button problem, but if we add in the FSUIPC.ini file the EliminateTransients=Yes and the pollinterval=50 this solve the problem.

Okay, yes. I know about that one, of course.

For the 767 leveld the old FS9 version, there is a problem with the lateral navigation which disable the lateral navigation on autopilot, I never understand which element cause the problem.

But in the new FSX version it works fine as read in the leveld forum.

Okay, here I'm lost again already. The FS9 version of LevelD, used in FSX, has a bug where LNAV doesn't work. Is that right? But they've fixed it now in an FSX versionam I right so far?

I would really love to keep fsuipc to do all key & lever assign because FS is really crap and imprecise.

So why can't you? This is really the part you have not explained yet, at all ...

Here the thread in leveld forum.

http://www.leveldsim.com/forums/forum_p?TID=15578

Well there you appear to say "For what i understand we have to unassign in FS all axis and assign to FSUIPC plus add the script in the .ini file"

which is all nonsense. The fix for buttons is nothing to do with axis assignment or calibration in FSUIPC! All you have to do is add one line the the [buttons] section, after assigning your Buttons in FSUIPC. Axes simply don't come into it at all, it is a BUTTON assignment fix, NOTHING TO DO WITH AXES!

PLEASE read the documentation. The new facility is described in the release notes and History document! I am sorry, but you are evidently completely misunderstanding it all. The only fix I made was to ignore spurious button presses.

Regards

Pete

[simbio]

I am sorry for my English and way to describe. :oops:

For the saitek I understand now a little bit more so it is only the key and bottom assign to FSUIPC that fix the problem and no need to use also axis assignment.

I thought, to solve the problem with the yoke I have also to assign axis in FSUIPC and remove all assignment in FS.

For 767 leveld which is another situation.

If I setup in totally (axis and button) in FSUIPC and deactivate everything in FS, the FS9 version of leveld have problem with LNAV, I never understand why and which assignment cause this.

In other add-on like PMDG it works fine.

Hope this time to explain my self.

Fabrizio

[Pete Dowson]

For the saitek I understand now a little bit more so it is only the key and bottom assign to FSUIPC that fix the problem and no need to use also axis assignment.

Correct. I was not told of any problem with axes at all, only that the Saitek's produced random button presses, but these were very short -- so the option merely ignores short button presses.

For 767 leveld which is another situation.

If I setup in totally (axis and button) in FSUIPC and deactivate everything in FS, the FS9 version of leveld have problem with LNAV, I never understand why and which assignment cause this.

In other add-on like PMDG it works fine.

This is probably because unlike PMDG they don't use the axis cut-off facilities in FSUIPC4 to prevent your FSUIPC-axis changes affecting the autopilot.

In FSUIPC's axis assignments, if you have told it to send them direct to the calibration, change that (at least for aileron, probably elevator as well) to send it via FS controls (Axis aileron set and Axis elevator set). Possibly the LevelD module will intercept those okay.

If that doesn't work I'm afraid you might have to assign them in FS after all.

Regards

Pete

[simbio]

Good thank you Pete