Configuring CH Products USB Yoke and Pedals...

[Guest byoung]

I am trying to get my CH Products USB Yoke and Pedals configured via the CH Products USB Device Control Manager. I have added the Yoke and Pedals and Mapped them as per the Control Manager instructions.In my control panel under game controllers I have:CH Control Manager Device 1 (Which is my yoke)CH Control Manager Device 2 (Rudder Pedals)So far so good?? When I launch FS 2002, I have lost my toe brakes, and things just don't seem to be configured properly.What am I doing wrong?Do I need to use the CH Delete utility to wipe everything out and start from scratch?Any ideas?Thanks!Barry

[Guest]

Hi Barry,My advice is to not use the CH control panel software at all. You don't need it for FS2K2 and many users have reported problems with it. Also, make sure you are not using these devices on a USB hub as the CH products won't work very well on a hub.I suggest you uninstall the CH software (from control panel, add / remove programs) and start again.When you plug the yoke and pedals in, Windows should detect them automatically (just keep pressing next and then finish). Remember that if you unplug them after use that you need to replug them in the same USB slots that they were in when you installed them.Then go into FS and check that they are both there. If the toe braking doesn't work straight away, check the CH web site as there are instructions there to get it working (mine worked right out of the box but others have had problems).Hope this helps,Andy (YSCB)

[Guest byoung]

Andy,Thanks for the advise...I did have it working that way... But I thought the Control Panel would be better way to go, but I guess not.As far as using the USB hub, it is required because I have the Go Flight gear and need the USB ports for that as well (It works great on a hub).I'll try your way first and if that doesn't work, I will use the CH Delete.Thanks!Barry

[Guest byoung]

Andy,Got everything restored.. But I cannot select the Advanced Sensitivity Settings for my Pedals. When I select Advanced, it highlights the area to change the sensitivities, and I select OK.But when I come back into the Sensivity Panel and select the Pedals, it has reverted back to simple...Why doesn't it set it??Barry

[Guest byoung]

I am going to submit these issues to CH Products as well.Thanks again!Barry

[Guest]

Hi Barry,I'm at work at the moment so I can't check my settings to see what is going on.If you are wanting to set up some null zones etc. I recommend you use the utility FSUIPC. It is a little complicated to do (you really need to read the manual) but the results are much better than what FS can do. If you don't already have it, or have an old version, the latest version (2.87) is available in the file library here.Best wishes,Andy (YSCB)

[Bob Church 0]

What creates a lot of confusion when trying to use the Control Manager with Flight Sim is the way that FS2K2 handles joysticks. There are certain devices that it knows by name. Those are included in the "Devices.cfg" file along with sets of default assignments for the buttons and axes on those controllers. The Devices.cfg file includes default settings for the CH Yokes and Pedals, so when you plug them in and run them in Direct Mode, the assignments get made automatically for rudder, toe brakes, etc. and things generally fall right into place.For controllers not listed in Devices.cfg, FS will fall back to a set of generic assignments (also defined in Devices.cfg). The generic assignments cover 4 axes and 10 buttons and are applied to any device that's not specifically listed in Devices.cfg.The problem comes when you create the map. If you go into Control Manager, "Add" the yoke and pedals to the map, then click the "Activate Map" button, the device names get redefined. As you noticed, in Game Controllers you see that rather than having a "CH FlightSim Yoke USB", and "CH ProPedals USB", you've got "Control Manager Device 1" and "Control Manager Device 2". It's done that way because, in the general case, there is not any real relationship between the physical devices and the devices that the Control Manager creates for Game Controllers. If you had the yoke and pedals combined into a single 6-Axis/10-Button controller for example, calling it by one of the real device names wouldn't really make much sense.When FS sees a "Control Manager Device", it falls back to the generic mapping for both devices. That means that it assigns ailerons to the X axis on both devices, elevators to the Y axis on both, etc. The yoke still pretty much works normally with the generic assignments, but you also end up with the toe brakes (X and Y on the pedals)controlling elevator and ailerons, the rudder action (Z axis)controlling the throttle, etc. It all seems a bit chaotic.What you need to do is to manually make the assignments using Flight Sims Control Assignment options while the map is active. Try creating a map as above, i.e. just "Add" the Yoke and Pedals in the Control Manager, then click the "Activate Map" button. Next go into your Flight Sim folder and rename the FS2002.CFG file, FS will rebuild it the next time you run the sim and that will clear out any old assignment you might have made. You can always rename it back if you want to and get back to where you started.With the map active, start Flight Sim and go to the Control Assignment page. You'll see the two Control Manager devices there and both will all have the same assignments. Basically you want to clear the assignments from Control Manager Device 2 (the pedals) then make the assignments that you actually want to use. For the ProPedals USB, you need to assign the toe brakes to the X and Y axes and maybe check the "Reversed" box in the FS assignments page.Once that's done you should be able to do pretty much whatever you want to with the map. Shifts, characters, whatever. You do need to remember to activate the map before you start Flight Sim or FS will go back to the CH Yoke/CH ProPedals defaults. There's a utility, CHStart, on the CH page that you can run out of your StartUp folder. It will reactivate the current map when Windows restarts, which avoids having to do it manually each time.One note, especially if you're using the 3-lever yoke. FS has a rather odd habit of setting the sensitivity of the prop and/or mixture controls to 0 which makes it seem inoperative. Best to check on that after you get the map in place.Anyway, while you don't necessarily need the Control Manager withFlightSim, it does give you the capability to essentially double up all the buttons on the yoke via the "shift" function, you'll have morecontrols available directly, and upcoming versions of the Control Manager should offer even more programmability. Anyway, maybe this will help sort out some of what you ran into. If you do decide to try it again, be sure to pick up the latest V1.32 version of the Control Manager. It's on the CH site for download.- BobThe StickWorkshttp://www.stickworks.com