I know you posted this a few months ago but I only just came across it today. I love your solution for delineating the forward and reverse thrust using a hinge. Would it be at all possible to post a picture so I can get an idea of how to implement a similar solution with a couple of my Saitek throttles? I often find it frustrating not being able to get able proper physical feedback that could tell you what positions your various throttles were in. I know it's a bit much to ask for after this amount of time, but I'm always looking for innovative and preferably cheap ways to add the functionality you need to any piece of hardware, but especially Flight Sim hardware of course. 

Well, here's hoping......

 

Paul

 

Hi Paul,

 

Here the high tech setup...

 

Hinge folded allow full range of throttle for the reverse 

 

 

And Hinge open limit the minimum position of throttle. FSUIPC range do the rest.

 

 

Best,

Hi Paul,

 

Here the high tech setup...

 

Hinge folded allow full range of throttle for the reverse

 

Hey Pierre,

Thanks so much for the extremely prompt reply, and for going to trouble of taking the photos. They definitively fully grasp how you were implementing the hinge. And I love it- simple, elegant and most importantly it functions as you intended! Like all the best ideas☺ And, more over, with a hobby as relatively expensive as he one, its wonderful to hear that it only cost you a couple of dollars.

I'm currently working on a solution that will give such sort of minor tactile feedback as you move a throttle from one quadrant the next. This would be very helpful where you had confugured distinct parameter variables for each quadrant, or say if you weren't configuring a throttle as an axis, but using each quadrant to perform a certain action with only 4 separate distinct values. Anyway, I'm sure you're riveted by a project that will probably involve thin strips of a durable rubber or similar màterial, or very soft plastic strips! We'll see how it goes.

So, I've take up enough of your time this evening and. thank you once again, although I hope you don't mind if I steal your idea ! No bigger compliment could I pay you! Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Chat again sometime.

 

Best wishes,

Paul

Hey Pierre,

Thanks so much for the extremely prompt reply, and for going to trouble of taking the photos. They definitively fully grasp how you were implementing the hinge. And I love it- simple, elegant and most importantly it functions as you intended! Like all the best ideas☺ And, more over, with a hobby as relatively expensive as he one, its wonderful to hear that it only cost you a couple of dollars.

I'm currently working on a solution that will give such sort of minor tactile feedback as you move a throttle from one quadrant the next. This would be very helpful where you had confugured distinct parameter variables for each quadrant, or say if you weren't configuring a throttle as an axis, but using each quadrant to perform a certain action with only 4 separate distinct values. Anyway, I'm sure you're riveted by a project that will probably involve thin strips of a durable rubber or similar màterial, or very soft plastic strips! We'll see how it goes.

So, I've take up enough of your time this evening and. thank you once again, although I hope you don't mind if I steal your idea ! No bigger compliment could I pay you! Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Chat again sometime.

 

Best wishes,

Paul

My pleasure,

 

Let me know how you develop your feedback device, this is indeed interesting especially when flying turbine where the turbine speed is delayed due to spool up or down time.

 

Best,

 

Pierre

Oops.. it seems I never even answered this thread...

 

Sorry, my bad

 

Thanks to everyone for their input, LOTS of great and useful information!

 

One last question. I know of the value of this tool, PLEASE don't preach on how it's worth every penny, that you would even pay more, etc. I already know this. But as any budget conscious simmer, as I plan out my future purchases and budget accordingly, I need to know the straightforward answer (yes/no) to the following question:

 

Has FSUIPC, *ever* been on sale?

I was wondering the same thing as the OP.

 

If I understand correctly, the main reason for buying it is for the programming ability for controllers, if you need that capability.  It appears that everything else that is needed is available in the free version.

 

Is that correct?

I was wondering the same thing as the OP.

 

If I understand correctly, the main reason for buying it is for the programming ability for controllers, if you need that capability.  It appears that everything else that is needed is available in the free version.

 

Is that correct?

This may be a bit out of date but this is what you get, according to the official publicity, if you pay:

• Facilities for joystick calibration, some fancy assignment capabilities, and button programming, all with aircraft-specific assignment capabilities so that you can do different things with the same controls on different aircraft.

• Key press programming facilities, also aircraft-specific if desired.

• A few frills like facilities to load Flights or Plans from any folder in reach of Explorer, keeping the FS time in sync with the system clock, pausing automatically after the flight is restored following a crash, extending battery life, throttle syncing, allowing intervening actions during pushback without losing direction selection, and others.

• Assorted weather filtering options—the most useful one probably being the wind smoothing, which helps to fix those disastrously swinging winds FSX still seems to be capable of delivering.

• AutoSave options—to save a Flight regularly, as a background task so you can resume from a few minutes before in the event of a crash or a need to reproduce some problem.

• GPSout facilities: optional output of NMEA or AV400 sentences to mapping programs either via a serial port (COM) connection, or via WideFS.

• Full adaptability in myriads of ways via Macro files and Lua plug-ins. Lua is a very capable scripting language which is well supported in a Registered install of FSUIPC.

If I understand correctly, the main reason for buying it is for the programming ability for controllers, if you need that capability.  It appears that everything else that is needed is available in the free version.

 

Is that correct?

 

No. The only facilities provided for "free" are the interface to external programs (the original reason for FSUIPC in the first place, dating back to FS98 days), and logging facilities which allow programmers using that interface to debug their work more effectively.

 

ALL of the other facilities (the "user facilities", as opposed to "application interface") are only available after purchase and registration.

 

Pete

No. The only facilities provided for "free" are the interface to external programs (the original reason for FSUIPC in the first place, dating back to FS98 days), and logging facilities which allow programmers using that interface to debug their work more effectively.

 

ALL of the other facilities (the "user facilities", as opposed to "application interface") are only available after purchase and registration.

 

Pete

Hey, who better than the author himself to answer my question!

 

Has it *ever* been on sale? (Again fully appreciativeof it and know it's worth every penny. Just being a budget conscious simmer and we all hate when wemiss a deal! )

This might help a bit ...

 

Has it *ever* been on sale?

 

FSUIPC3 and FSUIPC4 have always been "on sale". If you mean has the price ever been reduced, I think only for a period for those moving on from FS9 (FSUIPC3) to FSX (FSUIPC4).

 

However, that side is all done by SimMarket and I don't really keep an eye on it.

 

I really doubt they'd ever need to make a special offer on it, as it has always been near or at the top of their best-seller chart.

 

Pete

FSUIPC3 and FSUIPC4 have always been "on sale". If you mean has the price ever been reduced, I think only for a period for those moving on from FS9 (FSUIPC3) to FSX (FSUIPC4).

 

However, that side is all done by SimMarket and I don't really keep an eye on it.

 

I really doubt they'd ever need to make a special offer on it, as it has always been near or at the top of their best-seller chart.

 

Pete

Ok thanks for the clarification. For the record that's not what I meant.. "On sale" does not have *one* meaning (maybe "for" sale does). For those of us accustomed to US english, "on sale" means it is at a discounted price.

 

Thanks!

Thanks for the explanation, Pete, and thanks for the video, Taz, it was most informative. 

 

After reviewing everything, it looks like the free version meets my current needs.