Axis calibration with multiple joysticks

[barrykensett]

Could you clarify what happens when calibrating axes using multiple joysticks please.

If I detect an axis by moving the control I can see which joystick and axis I am addressing. If I then go to the calibration page I do not see the joystick number which causes me to ask how it operates in the case of dual controls (Captain and First Officer).

I presume that when I move from the axis detection page directly to calibration that I was calibrating that same joystick.

Are two separate calibrations held for the two joysticks or is there one calibration for the function (e.g. aileron) which would be overwritten when I calibrate the other joystick for the same function?

The problem arises over difficulty in maintaining the centre point calibration from one day to the next. Oh for one magic button that sets all the control centre points before flight!

Barry Kensett

www.a320sim.com

[Pete Dowson]

Could you clarify what happens when calibrating axes using multiple joysticks please.

If I detect an axis by moving the control I can see which joystick and axis I am addressing. If I then go to the calibration page I do not see the joystick number which causes me to ask how it operates in the case of dual controls (Captain and First Officer).

FSUIPC does not calibrate joystick axes. What it calibrates are the values being sent to FS via the specific controls. The calibration section knows nothing about HOW those values arrive, it merely allows you to spread whatever range you can achieve, by whatever method you can find, across the correct range for FS -- with the "centre" in the place you choose and possibly a response curve or other frills added.

The source of the values going to FS, which FSUIPC intercepts and "calibrates", may be from joystick axes assigned in FS, joystick axes assigned in FSUIPC, values from certain supported PFC serial port devices, or values written to FSUIPC offsetrs for this purpose by external programs (even via wideFS) or internal FS modules.

So, the one and only aileron is calibrated from whatever sources you have for it, same with elevator and rudder, and so on. Since the values seen are those of the FS control (aileron control, rudder control, whatever), there's no differentiation for different simultaneously attached and assigned axes.

For multiple axes assigned for direct calibration in FSUIPC there is an arbitration procedure carried out to determine which of two potentialy conflicting inputs will "win" -- and the arbitration favours the one providing the largest deflection from "normal" (wherever "normal" may be, which varies fro control types.

Are two separate calibrations held for the two joysticks or is there one calibration for the function (e.g. aileron)

The latter.

which would be overwritten when I calibrate the other joystick for the same function?

As I said, you aren't calibrating joysticks, but controls.

The problem arises over difficulty in maintaining the centre point calibration from one day to the next. Oh for one magic button that sets all the control centre points before flight!

For dual controls you do really need reasonably well calibrated axes in the first place, ideally well matched of course. To calibrate axes you use the Windows "game Controllers" control panel application. YTou should certainly be able to match centres there. Without FSUIPC you'd find that was the only place you could do it in any case -- FS itself offers nothing, it relies on the Windows calibrator.

There is the possibility of manipulating the input values before they are passed onto FSUIPC's calibration == multipliers and addition values which can be added to the assignment lines in the INI file -- but this is a bit of a sledgehammer for your application.

Regards

Pete

[barrykensett]

Thanks Pete, understand it now

Barry