So, you thought it was "free"

[Guest BC_KBOS]

Howdy all,I wasn't going to do this, but do any of you remember where the FSUIPC setup was going to have a deal where previous payware stuff that required FSUIPC would have a crippled version that would allow that particular item to work, for free?This from PFC:"Note: Regarding the release of the next PFC DLL and FSUIPC for FS20041. We will not be releasing any BETA drivers.2. When we have a release version of the PFC DLL and FSUIPC, and it has been tested with all of our equipment it will then and only then become available.3. PFC DLL and FSUIPC will require a small fee. (Please don't be upset, I'm sure you had to purchaseFS2004.)4. Keep an Eye on this page for updates."Um, WHAT?"Please don't be upset, I'm sure you had to purchaseFS2004"Yeah, and I spent nearly TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS for their console!They got the gonads to further charge me for Pete's work? Do you not think they could absorb that charge?Pete most definitley deserves to get paid, but this is bizarre.They call me on a regular basis with "specials". Wait for the next call... heh hehAnd no, I am not worried about 10 or 15 bucks, would buy it anyway, but the NERVE!BC

[E 0]

I'm not familiar with this $2000.00 PFC DLL you speak of. But I can tell you that when you spend that kind of money on a flt sim addon, the company that sold it cannot understand that you may have stretched your budget to do it. They assume if you have that kind of money to burn... (the opposite of the "if you have to ask" phenomenon *grin*) I ran into this when a company I bought a fiberglass cockpit shell couldn't understand that I didn't have an extra $2000.00 laying around to get a projection system (long story on the effect of their assuming that I was going to get one right away).

[1mikel151 71]

That bites! Sounds like they are a little P.O.ed they will have to spend some money to get their products to work correctly in the new sim."Please don't be upset, I'm sure you had to purchaseFS2004" - What an attitude!!How about "please don't be upset, I am sure you miss sponging off pete dawson all this time!" LOLRegards, Michaelhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VAwww.calvirair.comCougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviationwww.cgrmtnhelos.com

[Guest jase439]

For the short term, I think this strategy will pay off for Pete since so many applications depend on FSUIPC. Long term, I think vendors will eventually get fed up with their dependence on this product and will devise their own "grubby hacks" into FS. Of course, that means there will be 150 different flavors of FSUIPC installed on our system at some point. Eventually, I think FSUIPC will be s-canned entirely. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if someone was already working on its replacement.J

[someone 0]

I passed on buying an Elite throttle quadrant because it required a special module and FSUIPC to work. What gets me is the thing is USB, so why couldn't they make it work as a standard USB joystick device.I guess I'm just going to have to build one myself.

[pbenoit 0]

BC KBOSGood grief, this is getting scary. 4 months ago I bought $900+ worth of PFC Yoke and throttle consoles ... WELL .. I guess it's either fork over the $$$ for the nes .DLLs or stay with FS2002 .. Off this topic, I would appreciate it if you might answer a ? for me. I find that the PFC throttles (I have the single and the double) are extremely NOISY .. for example .. on the Cessna 421 Golden Eagle, with the Mag Gauge and Prop Gauge having double needles .. one each for right and left engine respectively, the GD needles NEVER stand still .. at times the little a/c yaws because of the difference in engine speeds. Similar things happen of course, regardless of aircraft. Same things with condition and prop levers. I have used the keyboard, a CH Products USB Yoke (not installed on new PC) and Logitec joystick and have not experiences throttle jumpiness or noiseWhen using the throttles for reverser and spoilers .. same thing again.I have configured over and over, have set null zones at the top and bottom, have done what I could think of .. read the doc over and over.I wrote to PFC Tech support .. whose answer was to uninstall any other joystick drivers, that's it! My config is Dell 8250, P4 2.56ghz, 1 GB Ram, Radeon 9700 pro w/128mb Ram .. Win XP PRO at latest fix level. I am running the PFC gear on the serial port.I use a Logitec Extreme Wingman II when flying A320 .. but unplug this when not in use. When I got my new PC, and plugged in the Logitec joystick, Windows installed drivers for it ... and I have never installed Logitec's drivers. Looking in the hardware device config, I can see no indication of the logitec device or drivers to "uninstall"Sorry for being long winded .. but obviously you have expended a great pile of $$$$ as have I ... and I am wondering if you have similar experiences and if so what you have done to fix???I would be most appreciative of any help, comment, pointers, fixes from any one in the FS community regarding the PFC gear.Please contact me on my email indicated in the profile if easier or more appropriate.Thanks very much!!! and

[Guest JeanLuc_]

I Someone,I'm not starting a flame war, but if a company sold you a product which is supposed to do a task for what you already payed, there shouldn't be any valid reason they enforce to have you pay an additional fee, which is in fact an additional fee to a third party vendor. This sounds highly unfair to me: they first sell you a product, with the clear and agreed fact on your purchase that it requires an additional software component which is free. Then you have no choice than to pay an additional fee once you are a customer, in order to keep your purchase working. I would have imagined the extra fee is at their expense, because if business decision was made not to invest in development in house and instead rely on a third party program, then this is their business problem to ensure they can have all their customers run their hardware even though the third party program they relied on is no longer available or compatible...does not sound right a music to my ears...Pretty much like: hey you can purchase this DVD, but it requires this player. But don't worry, it is free. Then, past a date, the DVD player does not work anymore and you can't watch your movie, unless you pay an additional fee...would you have purchased the DVD in the first place knowing this would happend? By the way, given the price ratio between the payware FSUIPC and the hardware, it may still be less expensive for the manufacturer to pay for the fees instead of hiring developpers to do so in house...Gosta, you are always full of good insights about these subjects. What is your opinion?Jean-Luc

[E 0]

>I'm not starting a flame war, but if a company sold you a>product which is supposed to do a task for what you already>payed,There it is right there. The company sold a product that does do a task that was paid for. I believe it is working with FS2002, which is what was paid for. What it doesn't do is a new task... work with FS2004.Having said that, I believe he got the short end of the stick. From a consumer point of view (and that's the one that will do them in) ...for $2000.00, that company should give away any and all required upgrades for free for AT LEAST one FS upgrade. Bad publicity for those guys.

[Guest BC_KBOS]

Well, I'll get to the jaggy throttles in a bit.To all others, well, when PFC first delivered their product, it wasn't exactly aimed at FS. They had their own executable to make the product run from the serial port. It worked with FS, but it was dodgy. About the time I thought it would be a good idea to introduce them to Pete Dowson, they got it figured all by themselves.Great.We are all happy.There were still problems with control spiking and after consultation with PFC, we determined that the pots were bad. Those are the sliders that equate control movement with something the sim can see.PFC mailed me a new set of pots and I installed them and no sweat.Tech support is great. But you have to tell them you have exhausted all the obvious stuff.You also have to be wary of the warranty. I replaced my pots only after confirming that my opening of the case would not void the warranty. It's not a big deal, but if you open your case, you better know what you are doing.The chase.Clean the pots. Get an electrical parts cleaner that leaves no residue and spray down those pesky throttle pots. Either through the holes where the pushrods go through, or warranty voiding, open the case and spray them directly.If you elect to void your warranty, take a look at the conections to those pots and ensure that they are actually solid. PFC likes spade connections, which can get loose. Direct solder is better.An opinion.I hold no enmity towards PFC, they are a business. I just thought it was a bit cheesy that they would pass on the FSUIPC charge to its customers in such fashion, considering that it has been bloudcasted that payware products would be supported etc, etc.BC

[Guest cw1011]

Mr. Dowson charges PFC for a dll to make their stuff work - they pass on the charge to you. It's going to happen all over the flight sim world for a lot of products, not just the Precision Flight Controls.PFC does tend to be a bit arrogant, though. They never came out with a fix to make all of their buttons work with XP - not thier responsibility they said to keep up with operating systems. They make good stuff - but it would be good if someone out there gave them some competition. Colin Ware

[Gridley 257]

>It wouldn't surprise me in the least if someone was already>working on its replacement.I'm surprised MS hasn't got it in there already...or DO they? ;)