Active FSX window while managing FSUIPC settings?

[Kermit_70]

Hello Pete (and others),

this might sound silly, but is there a way to keep FSX running and visible (to see the airplane from outside or its virtual cockpit) while I calibrate my axis in FSUIPC?

Currently, I am accessing FSUIPC from ALT/AddOns within FSX, and as soon as the FSUIPC window appears, FSX in the background goes black.

 

I have latest FSUIPC update, purchased version, and I am running FSX with A2A aircraft and Saitek controls.

 

The reason for this is that I would like to see the ailerons and surfaces move while I set my "Delta" or Centre Set (central null zone) during axis assignment & calibration.

Does this make sense?

 

Many thanks!!

[Pete Dowson]

this might sound silly, but is there a way to keep FSX running and visible (to see the airplane from outside or its virtual cockpit) while I calibrate my axis in FSUIPC

 

No. FSUIPC cannot be changing stuff in its tables whilst they are also still in use interacting with FS.

 

Currently, I am accessing FSUIPC from ALT/AddOns within FSX, and as soon as the FSUIPC window appears, FSX in the background goes black.

 

That's a function of FSX. It didn't go balck in FS9 and before. But it doesn't really matter because FS is frozen whilst in any modal dialogue, including its own.

 

The reason for this is that I would like to see the ailerons and surfaces move while I set my "Delta" or Centre Set (central null zone) during axis assignment & calibration.

 

Why? First of all unless you are using home made devices with extra special precion, or very low precision, there should be no need at all to change the delta value. The default gives as many Fs-distinguishable steps as any commercially available device.

 

Second, the idea of calibration is to adjust the values being sent to FS to suit the positions of the lever on the device. The values FS needs are fixed -- max - centre - min are always the same values. It's the device values which vary (and the amount of travel or free space you want to allow), not what FS does with them.

 

Pete

[Kermit_70]

[...]

Why? First of all unless you are using home made devices with extra special precion, or very low precision, there should be no need at all to change the delta value. The default gives as many Fs-distinguishable steps as any commercially available device.

 

Second, the idea of calibration is to adjust the values being sent to FS to suit the positions of the lever on the device. The values FS needs are fixed -- max - centre - min are always the same values. It's the device values which vary (and the amount of travel or free space you want to allow), not what FS does with them.

 

Pete

 

OK< thank you Pete. All much clearer, now.

One more thing: could you please tell me where the Delta=256 default (isn't it?) comes from? 

[Pete Dowson]

OK< thank you Pete. All much clearer, now.

One more thing: could you please tell me where the Delta=256 default (isn't it?) comes from? 

 

The total range FS accepts is -16384 to +16383, so 32768 values altogether. Steps of 256 therefore provide 128 discrete different settings, which is about as much as FS will notice, generally. The lower the delta the more messages are being sent through FS's main processing loop, causing performance degradation. And many devices jitter (i.e. provide slightly different values on each scan), which would make things worse.

 

By all means try a lower value if you feel you'd get better control, but probably the only control where it might matter is trim, assuming you use a trim axis rather than simply increment/decrement controls. And you'd need are really stable axis for sensitive trim.

 

Note that all of the control surface Inc/Dec controls, used when flying with keyboard only, have an delta of 256 too, I think (can't remember now).

 

Higher delta values are needed for badly behaving devices, in order to reduce jitter, though there's also a filter facility for this too. Neither are desirable if it can be avoided -- they reduce either sensitivity or responsiveness.

 

Pete

[Kermit_70]

The total range FS accepts is -16384 to +16383, so 32768 values altogether. Steps of 256 therefore provide 128 discrete different settings, which is about as much as FS will notice, generally. The lower the delta the more messages are being sent through FS's main processing loop, causing performance degradation. And many devices jitter (i.e. provide slightly different values on each scan), which would make things worse.

 

By all means try a lower value if you feel you'd get better control, but probably the only control where it might matter is trim, assuming you use a trim axis rather than simply increment/decrement controls. And you'd need are really stable axis for sensitive trim.

 

Note that all of the control surface Inc/Dec controls, used when flying with keyboard only, have an delta of 256 too, I think (can't remember now).

 

Higher delta values are needed for badly behaving devices, in order to reduce jitter, though there's also a filter facility for this too. Neither are desirable if it can be avoided -- they reduce either sensitivity or responsiveness.

 

Pete

Excellent, this is gold information, thanks.

 

So I guess I will try to keep delta=256 for my yoke and rudder (Saitek), but will experiment lower delta for trim wheel (Saitek). For example, while I cannot have FSX running while I adjust FSUIPC (hence the post), I can still run Saitek Control Panel, where I have a graphical view of signal transmitted by wheel (a red bar that goes up and down). I noticed already that one step of the red bar (it does not move smoothly) correspond to about delta=100 in FSUIPC, but that varies a bit... Obviously I would like trim control to be smooth in the aircraft, and that is why I also use a "slope" that is flatter in the middle (where I want it to be less sensitive and more precise) and steeper at ends. I am wondering if a smaller delta would make sense, here...

 

I guess the same reasoning would apply for lever to control throttle, prop and mixture (Saitek). I will experiment with smaller delta for those as well, just to make the control as smooth as possible (especially important for throttle, I find).

 

But I understand the overall sense of your answer, and I am not tempted anymore to go crazy with small delta! It is also good to know that the range is always made of 32768 values, so that I can pick a delta that gives a discrete  number of steps:

Delta = 256 --> steps = 128

Delta =128 --> steps = 256

Delta = 64 --> steps = 512

 

Many thanks for your help. Top customer service!

 

Cheers