CH MFP

[binto100]

I am mighty new to all of this.

I have a registered copy of FSUIPC V4.28 and am just starting to get my feet wet.

Is it possible to program/use the CH Mulit Function Panel in FSUIPC? When I go into Options & Settings in FSUIPC my three main controllers show up (CH Fighterstick, Pro Throttle & Pro Pedals) but the MFP is nowhere to be found.

Thanks.

Bruce

[Bob Church]

Hi Bruce,

No, it's not. The MFP has to be programmed through the Control Manager and with the current Control Manager releases you have to map all the controllers. If you're using the CM and a map, then just add the MFP to the map and you can program the buttons to send characters, or you can assign them to the Control Manager Devices that the map creates. By itself, the MFP is "vendor-defined" which means Windows doesn't have any idea what to do with it.

If you don't want to use a map, the next release of the Control Manager has an install option to let it program only the MFP, the rest of the CH controllers will still use the Windows standard drivers. If you want, I can set you up with a beta copy, I just need a valid email address.

Once it's programmed, FSUIPC should recognize it when the map is active, so you can use FSUIPC to assign functions to it if you want.

Best regards,

- Bob

The StickWorks

http://www.stickworks.com

[binto100]

If you don't want to use a map, the next release of the Control Manager has an install option to let it program only the MFP, the rest of the CH controllers will still use the Windows standard drivers. If you want, I can set you up with a beta copy, I just need a valid email address.

Bob - thanks for your quick reply. I would definitely like to give the CM beta copy a try. Please forward to binto100@yahoo.com.

Once it's programmed, FSUIPC should recognize it when the map is active, so you can use FSUIPC to assign functions to it if you want.

It this is using the new CM beta or for the new & existing? If it's for both then that means as long as CM is running with an active map then the MFP will show?

Bruce

[Bob Church]

Hi Bruce,

>> Bob - thanks for your quick reply. <<

You're welcome!

>> I would definitely like to give the CM beta copy a try. Please forward to binto100@yahoo.com. <<

Okay. I'll add you to the list and send along an email a little later that tells where to pick up the current version, and as updates come along you should receive emails telling where to get those, too.

>> It this is using the new CM beta or for the new & existing? If it's for both then that means as long as CM is running with an active map then the MFP will show? <<

The MFP itself never shows up as a device, really. When you write a map, you assign the buttons and axes on the real controllers (MFP included) to what end up being virtual joysticks which is what Windows sees when the map is active. The MFP was set up so it gives you some buttons that you can assign to these same virtual joysticks. For example, if you had a CH Yoke in the map and the map was active, you'd normally end up with a "Control Manager Device" rather than a "CH Yoke USB", and if it was just mapped straight through, it would essentially work just like the Yoke did, 5 axes and 12 buttons. If you added and MFP, you could assign the buttons on the MFP to that same CM Device. They would show up as additional buttons on the CM device that represented the yoke, so instead of 12 buttons, you could add another 20. That's not enough to cover the entire MFP, with the two modes available, it's really got 50 buttons and those could be shifted and you could set up 4 modes, so it could actually produce 400 outputs by itself and 800 if you were to add the additional 25 buttons. And you can have more than one MFP. The CM Devices are 32-button/8-Axis devices, so it won't all fit on one, but you can create 16 CM Devices that will show up as individual joysticks in FS. Any button on the MFP or any of the real controllers can be be assigned to any of them.

The thing is, you don't have to assign a real controller, just assigning an MFP button to a CM Device is enough to create the CM Device (or more, depending on whether you wanted to use the shifts and modes). It comes up as a joystick. The Control Manager adds an X and Y axis to the mix, they don't do anything but Windows won't recognize it as a stick without X and Y so they just sit there. Anyway, it's that "joystick" the FS sees and that you can assign any of the normal FS functions to. It operates below Direct Input, so FSUIPC still works fine, it just looks like another joystick. The problem is most FS users don't really like to use a map. The default assignments fall back to [Generic], and things act pretty strange until you reassign the buttons and axes to the "Control Manager Devices".

OTOH, you can't do anything with the MFP unless it's in a Map, and you normally can't map just some of the CH devices. The map has to include them all, so mapping the MFP means mapping the Yoke, Pedals, Throttle Quad, etc. The new installer just includes an alternate set of INF files that don't send anything but the MFP (and the DT225 trackball) through the map, so your other CH controllers still run under the Windows drivers. You can also map the MFP buttons to send characters, mouse buttons, etc. but you have to have a map running to do it, just like you would with the standard Ergodex pad. The drivers will run in Vista 32 and 64, XP 64, and you can use multiple MFPs if you want to, things the Ergodex mapper doesn't support.

Anyway, I'll get the info off to you. It can all be a little confusing at first, if you need help with it you can post here, I come through every day or so, but you'll probably get a quicker response if you post it over at the CH Hangar:

http://www.ch-hangar.com

There are lots of people there who can help.

Best regards,

- Bob

The StickWorks

http://www.stickworks.com