Saitek X52 programing SST woes

[Guest BillTheSlink]

Serious problems fellows,I just bought the X52 (not pro) and went to the Saitek site and downloaded the proper drivers and the new Beta SST all for Vista 32 bit, expecting with all those button not to have to fiddle with a keyboard.#1 None of even what I know (or think I know) to program in is working right. The only problem I think I might be having on my end is knowing when to do a macro and when to do simple key presses. For instance, we go to controls/buttons and for example it might say engage auto throttle Ctrl T (this is just and example) and then I might go to assign buttons in FSX to turn on pitot heat H+P . Notice the plus sign in H +P but not Ctrl T. Now are both programed into the SST software in macro?#2 There is a command in the buttons menu of FSX to select heading bug, but no way of inputting a command sequence to turn it. Also I want to select my altitude bug and throttle bug. There is a command for Mach hold, but the throttle bug would have to be set by hand and there is nothing about altitude except "altitude hold" which holds you at your current altitude, independent of your bug. How can I select the bugs and engage the respected autopilot commands? Someone hinted I can do this with FSUIP and it would be in the documentation with it's install on my computer, but I can't find FSUIP in my computer directory, but I do have it as it is an option in FSX. I did a search for FSUIP documentation on Google, but all I turned up was very old and had nothing to do with key commands. Do I need to pay for FSUIP for it to work this way? I do have the latest version.I don't know where else to turn. I have posted to the Saitek forum, but it doesn't seem to get much traffic.Any help would be greatly appreciated!Bill Sinkhorn

[lensman 0]

Hi Bill,You asked:

For instance, we go to controls/buttons and for example it might say engage auto throttle Ctrl T (this is just and example) and then I might go to assign buttons in FSX to turn on pitot heat H+P . Notice the plus sign in H +P but not Ctrl T. Now are both programed into the SST software in macro

I'm unclear about where you are in this paragraph. controls/buttons is a tab in FSX's Settings. If you want to have it programmed in the X52, you would program it in the Profile Editor, and make sure there were no conflicts with FSX's programmed commands in Settings/Controls&Buttons. I'm going to assume that you are setting the engage auto throttle in Saitek : "engage auto throttle" command is ("ctl+shift+G") in FSX . I have "engage auto throttle" on button E. I don't have that as a macro, although it certainly could be done that way. In your second example, "turn on pitot heat" ("shift-h" in FSX) you are replacing a single keystroke in FSX with three keystrokes. That you would want to do as a macro, because H and P are both FSX commands. You'd pick a button on the X52, set it to send "H + P", then go into FSX Settings>controls/buttons and change the assignments of "shift-H" (pitot heat toggle), and "p" (pause). Usually, though, most Saitek profiles I've seen just program a button/toggle/slider to send a FSX command. You also asked about

There is a command in the buttons menu of FSX to select heading bug, but no way of inputting a command sequence to turn it. Also I want to select my altitude bug and throttle bug. There is a command for Mach hold, but the throttle bug would have to be set by hand and there is nothing about altitude except "altitude hold" which holds you at your current altitude, independent of your bug. How can I select the bugs and engage the respected autopilot commands?

You'd set an available button to the "set x bug", then use the "increase selection" (shift + +(plus sign) and "decrease selection" (shift + - (minus sign). It's probably easiest to select buttons for heading, throttle, altitude and then program the slider on the Saitek throttle to be your increase selection and decrease selection. The Saitek documentation is pretty slim. When I was trying to figure all this out, I just grabbed as many X52 profiles as I could and looked them over.

Someone hinted I can do this with FSUIP and it would be in the documentation with it's install on my computer, but I can't find FSUIP in my computer directory, but I do have it as it is an option in FSX. I did a search for FSUIP documentation on Google, but all I turned up was very old and had nothing to do with key commands. Do I need to pay for FSUIP for it to work this way? I do have the latest version.

It's in the payware version. The money spent on FSUIPC is the best money you will spend on FS9 or FSX. The number of things you can fix (jittery inputs from throttle and joysticks, changing keys, arranging a throttle to have a "reverse", it's impressive. AFAIK, the full docs only come with the payware version. If you want to see my X52 and AV8R profiles, send me a PM with your email address and I'll send them along.Hope some of this helps,dan