Axis setting problem

[Arismac]

A rare chance to post and say thank you Pete for FSUIPC. My first little problem in over three happy years of using. I have 4.827 installed for FSX and P3D. My Flaps Axis is working OK in FSX but in P3D the flaps will only move between positions 2 and 3.

I have compared .ini files and Axis Assignment settings and they seem to be the same. It was working OK in P3D Ver 1.3 and this error has only appreaed since I did a fresh install of P3D 1.4 and reinstalled FSUIPC. Help please.

[Pete Dowson]

I have compared .ini files and Axis Assignment settings and they seem to be the same. It was working OK in P3D Ver 1.3 and this error has only appreaed since I did a fresh install of P3D 1.4 and reinstalled FSUIPC. Help please.

I only just heard of P3D 1.4 yesterday. I've downloaded it and will install it over the next days and try to make FSUIPC4 work with it. There are lots of things in FSUIPC which are very dependent on specific code in FS and I'm rather surprised much works at all as it is. I cannot support versions of P3D at the date of release because, unlike Microsoft, L-M do not provide me with pre-releases. In fact I've not even got a license since John Nicol left L-M..

However, that said I have never seen any change in the normal controls since FSX SP2, even through ESP and P3D versions 1.0 to 1.3, and the code in FSUIPC4 is identical for all, so it actually sounds as if L-M have introduced a new bug in 1.4. I suggest you submit details on their Support Forum and see what they say. (Test with Flaps axis assigned in P3D too, to be sure).

BTW the current version of FSUIPC4 is 4.851.

Regards

Pete

[Arismac]

Correction, I have now installed 4.851 but I still have the same problem in P3D only.

[Arismac]

Thank you Pete I will keep watching for updates. Cheers, Mac

[Pete Dowson]

Thank you Pete I will keep watching for updates. Cheers, Mac

Which are unlikely to make any difference if it was okay in 1.3. As I said, please also test the flaps axis with P3D assignment and if wrong report it to L-M. I won't be able to fix P3D bugs.

Regards

Pete

[Arismac]

Understood, thank you Pete. I have reported at LM and suggested that it would do us all a favour if they provided you with a pre-release.

[Pete Dowson]

Understood, thank you Pete. I have reported at LM and suggested that it would do us all a favour if they provided you with a pre-release.

Rather than wait on L-M I purchased an "Academic" license so I could test. I'll be making some changes to make things like wind smoothing work again, but with 4.851 installed I cannot make anything go wrong with the flaps axis. I've tested all three methods of assignment -- Axis Flaps Set, Flaps Set, and direct to FSUIPC calibration.

So perhaps you should show me exactly what you've done (the Axes and JoystickCalibration parts of the INI file) and which aircraft you are trying it with, please.

Regards

Pete

[Arismac]

Pete, please find my current FSUIPC4.ini on THIS LINK. Cheers, Mac

[Arismac]

Sorry Pete, should also have said that the I have my seeting up problem with all the P3D packaged aircraft and those that I have ported from FSX although there is only two of those the Brit by JBK and a BAe by PAD. Mac

[Pete Dowson]

Pete, please find my current FSUIPC4.ini on THIS LINK. Cheers, Mac

That's an odd way of providing just this bit of information, which is the only relevant part:(to which I've added annotations):

[Axes]
0=0U,256
1=0U,B,12544,16383,65595,0   ; Flaps Up (same as F5)
2=0U,B,5888,12544,65597,0	; Flaps 1
3=0U,B,-2601,5888,65599,0	; Flaps 2
4=0U,B,-11052,-2601,65601,0  ; Flaps 3
5=0U,B,-16384,-11052,65603,0 ; Flaps Down (same as F)


[/CODE]

You have no other axis assignments, no calibrations, nothing?

You reported that there was a problem with the Flaps Axis, but in fact you are not even using[i] any [/i]Flaps[i] Axis[/i], only descrete controls! I hope you explained this in your report to L-M because they will assume that by Axis you meant Axis! And where you say "only moves between positions 2 and 3" do you mean it only obeys the Flaps 2 and Flaps 3 controls, not the Flaps Up, Flaps 1 and Flaps Down controls? Excepting flaps 1, which presumably may be faulty in 1.4, I find that very difficult to believe -- but I'm testing it now. If Flaps Up and Flaps Down don't work there'd surely be an uproar!

May I ask why you are using this strange method of flaps control? I've never used the Flaps 1/2/3 controls and have no idea what they achieve. For instance if there ar 9 flap positions, which are those? What if, like on the Cessna and many of the P3D defaults there are only 4 or even 3 positions?

Why not use the Flaps axis assignment and calibrate the detentes (if you have them) in FSUIPC? Why such a difficult method which is harldy appplicable to many aircraft?

[LATER]

All 5 controls you are using work fine here. I pasted your exact [Axes] section into my INI file and tested with a Saitek Throttle Quadrant. I dn't know which of the default aircraft in P3D provide the 5 flap positions you are assuming, so I installed the FSX 738. My flaps lever easily and correctly selected Flaps up, Flaps 1=1 degree, Flaps 2 = 2 degrees, Flaps 3 = 5 degrees and Flaps down = 40 degrees.

So, I think you have something else wrong -- probably a conflicting axis assignment in P3D itself. You evidently have not turned off P3D's controllers otherwise the rest of yout yoke wouldn't be of use (you haven't assigned in FSUIPC). If you don't turn off FS assignments they will occur automatically, as they do in FSX.

If you are still doubtful or confused, enable FSUIPC's event logging, operate the lever, and check the log. That may show you what is happening.

Pete

[Arismac]

Thanks Pete. Much of this is way over my head. They were still building aircraft out of canvas and timber when I was born. Fortunately I know a disciple of yours whom I am sure will understand this much better. I will pass your post to him and beg his assistance. I have tried and failed to follow the ducumentation so far, but between us I am sure we will sort this. Thanks again. Mac

[Pete Dowson]

Thanks Pete. Much of this is way over my head. They were still building aircraft out of canvas and timber when I was born. Fortunately I know a disciple of yours whom I am sure will understand this much better. I will pass your post to him and beg his assistance. I have tried and failed to follow the ducumentation so far, but between us I am sure we will sort this. Thanks again. Mac

You never assigned axes in FSUIPC? Wow! That's the first thing most users do and what they purchased it for.

I don't understand how you got into such a complex way of trying to control the flaps first before doing a simple assignment! The use of separate ranges on an axis to send separate discrete controls is really very advanced and hardly ever used except by experts, so I naturally assumed you knew what you were doing.

Please, just delete the [Axes] section for now, go into P3D's controls and assign your axis to the Flaps control. Probably check the reverse option, befause full flaps is towards you unlike full throttle which is away from you. That's really all you need to do. The separate notched methods are really only useful if your lever realy does have notches, but then it is really related to only aircraft with that number of flaps positions.

Regards

Pete

[Arismac]

OK Pete that part I can understand. All I have done in the past, without problems is to go into FSX and/or P3D and assign the Axis that way. I have never used your GUI ( Add-ons --> FSUIPC) to set the Axis nor have I looked at the Axis Assignment window after setting the controls through the Sim interface. But I am leaqrning and that part I enjoy very much, even at my age. You just have to forgive or at least ignore a few "seniors moments". LOL

[Arismac]

Actually Pete, I think I sent you an .ini at my friends suggestion that he had modified for me. My origional .ini does not have an [Axes] section which I noiw realise makes a lot more sense, at least to me. I think Terry added that section in an attempt to over come my problem.

I have now returned to the origional .ini which does not have an Axes section and rebooted P3D. This has returned me to the origional situation where the quadrant lever only initiates the flaps from position two to three. To clarify, presume full travel from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. I can only move the flaps between 30 degrees and 60 degrees and back.

This applies with all aircraft in the P3D sim. The FSX sim is fine. I have exactly the same .ini file installed in both sims. This is why I was quite happy to accept the "P3D bug" theory.

Cheers, Mac

[Pete Dowson]

I have now returned to the origional .ini which does not have an Axes section and rebooted P3D. This has returned me to the origional situation where the quadrant lever only initiates the flaps from position two to three. To clarify, presume full travel from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. I can only move the flaps between 30 degrees and 60 degrees and back.

How have you assigned the flaps axis?

This is actually starting to sound like the Saitek problem which needs a Registry fix. Have you calibrated the levers in Windows' "Game Controllers" at all? Does it show full movement there? Because it seems the entire problem is that your flaps lever simply is not providing a full range of values.

This applies with all aircraft in the P3D sim. The FSX sim is fine. I have exactly the same .ini file installed in both sims. This is why I was quite happy to accept the "P3D bug" theory.

Well I cannot find any problem with P3D's flaps axis, nor the discrete controls, here. They all work as expected, and as in 1.3 and before. The fact that when you had discrete controls assigned, as in the INI you showed me, you had a similar problem indicates that it cannot be P3D's axis inputs at fault, but the values provided by your lever. Why that should be different in FSX and 1.3 I don't understand, unless there are other differences you aren't telling me.

See if a flaps axis assignment to another lever works.

Pete

[Arismac]

Last things first, Pete. I have double checked everything and all settings both through the P3D interface and the FSX interface are identical. I double checked this with P3D v1.3 as well and in that case the two sims responded identically to the quadrant. Having acheived that result I have basically used FSX as the template settings for P3D. This worked fine in v1.3. The fact that you have established the fault does not lie with my .ini file is good news.

Unfortunately I am not brave enough to do a P3D install because if the fault vanishes I shall die wondering. Not my style at all. LOL

What I will do however is retrack everything I have done since the upgrade and report back tomorrow. I can't thank you enough for your patience, Pete. We oldies greatly value that. I will report back.

Cheers, Mac

[Pete Dowson]

We oldies greatly value that.

"We oldies"? I'm 69 tomorrow. Does that make me a "Youngie"? ;-)

Pete

[Arismac]

A very, very happy birthday young man. Many thanks for your great contribution to my very best reason for staying alive these days. Mac

[ddeboer]

Pete - I am having serious problems configuring FSUIPC in P3D 1.4 with WARTHOG HOTAS and Saitek Pro rudder pedals. I will download the version of FSUIPC that you just released and try that but in the meantime do you have an idiots guide to configuring FSUIPC. I am having trouble translating the users manual from tech speak to Kiwi speak. Thanks

[Pete Dowson]

Pete - I am having serious problems configuring FSUIPC in P3D 1.4 with WARTHOG HOTAS and Saitek Pro rudder pedals. I will download the version of FSUIPC that you just released and try that but in the meantime do you have an idiots guide to configuring FSUIPC. I am having trouble translating the users manual from tech speak to Kiwi speak.

By "Kiwi" speak do you mean Maori? Because I've been to NZ and everyone I met there speaks English quite well.

No idiots guide to assigning buttons or calibrating axes is needed. The documentation is complete, but it is all intuitive in any case. Try it on a default aircraft, it is really easy. 99.99% of all users find it so. Maybe the difficulty lies with this WARTHOG thingie? Doesn't it come with any documentation?

Pete

[Arismac]

Pete, you don't look a day older. Others have come out of the cupboard at P3D with exacxtly the same problem except with a different axis. P3D are looking into it. Cheers, Mac

[Arismac]

They "hacked" it over at the P3D forum by setting the Sensitivity to 127 and the Null Zone to 1. Case closed from my stand point, Pete. I expect fis from LM with the next upgrade.. Cheers, Mac

[Pete Dowson]

They "hacked" it over at the P3D forum by setting the Sensitivity to 127 and the Null Zone to 1. Case closed from my stand point, Pete. I expect fis from LM with the next upgrade.. Cheers, Mac

Well those sliders should be at max and min respectively in any case as I recommend in the documentation -- but they are surely only relevant if assigning through P3D, not via FSUIPC because it is FSUIPC then reading the values from Windows, not P3D.

Regards

Pete