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eslader

Need some ideas. I don't know if this is hardware or a bug.

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I've been having a bizarre problem recently. So far it's only happened in the stock F22, which I tend to use when I want to check out new scenery quickly.

Everything is normal unless I extend the spoilers, slow below 200, then extend the gear. Then, probably 50-70% of the time, the throttle starts moving up until it hits 100% and stays there. Moving my hardware throttle doesn't do anything. Retracting the spoilers sometimes restores throttle control and sometimes does not. Interestingly, if I cut the fuel switches, they turn themselves back on instantly. If I hold control-shift-F1 you can see the engines switch off and relight several times per second. Reloading the aircraft has no effect. 

I looked at the FSUIPC control monitor, and it's not seeing any input from the throttle control, which makes me think it might not be hardware unless the sim has temporarily decided that some other control is the throttle axis. But I've moved every switch, toggle, rotary, and linear axis on the stick and it doesn't do anything. Usually the only way to stop it is to quit the sim and restart, which also makes me think it might not be hardware, because if it were the problem should manifest immediately upon reloading the sim. 

I did notice when carefully observing myself that sometimes when I roll the spoiler's rotary, I brush the mode toggle switch and the M1 light flickers until I pull it back into place. But I tested in modes 1-3, and also intentionally putting the switch between modes, and the problem remained. The mode switch doesn't work under the default Windows drivers anyway, and even if it did, I never used it, so it shouldn't be a control configuration change anyway.

This problem just started happening yesterday. The only change to the sim was that I installed Flightbeam's KIAD and KSFO, but I can't see why that would screw with airplane controls. 

It's a creaky old Saitek X45 which is usually pretty solid except when the default Windows drivers go crazy and throw an axis hard-over, but I verified that this isn't happening here - else I'd see control inputs in the FSUIPC monitor.

Anyone have any inkling as to what's going on here?

Thanks.

Specs: P3D4.3/Win10/Saitek X45 under default Windows game controller drivers (because the Saitek ones no longer work properly on Win10, at least not for me)

I'm getting close to giving up and buying a new HOTAS setup, but I'm reluctant because there's nothing on the market that ticks all the boxes the X45 does for anything approaching a reasonable price, especially since I hate twist-stick rudder controls.

 

Edited by eslader

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It's been a long, long time since my x45 days, but I remember a tiny little chip in the throttle that (I think) was responsible for holding key commands, that could intermittently go wonky. I remember stepping up to the next x (and it had twist that I locked stationary) maybe you could find one used on ebay or similiar. None the less, it is a pain. hope you can find relief. 


Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700F CPU @ 2.90GHz (8 cores) Hyper on, Evga RTX 3060 12 Gig, 32 GB ram, Windows 11, P3D v6, and MSFS 2020 and a couple of SSD's

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Yeah, I'm looking at the X52 which you can still get new. The biggest problem is that I'd need some sort of rudder control because for the next couple of years my niece is living in my sim room, so my usual yoke/quad/rudder setup isn't available. I'd go to a twist-rudder system if I had to, but...

I know the aux switch on the throttle is locked on repeat, but I make sure nothing gets assigned to the three inputs it represents, so unless you're talking about another chip I'm not aware of?

 

Thanks for the reply!

 

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It's not a switch it is a microchip inside. Back in the day, there was lot of discussion and troubleshooting on SimHq website (don't even know if this is still operating). Anyway, I barely remember having to take it out. It is very small (probably less than 1/4 x 1/8th inch) I remember it laying on my desk for about 1/2 a year, finally it gave out completely and I got new stick. I can see in crystal ball, you will be upgrading, just continue being nice to your niece!  


Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700F CPU @ 2.90GHz (8 cores) Hyper on, Evga RTX 3060 12 Gig, 32 GB ram, Windows 11, P3D v6, and MSFS 2020 and a couple of SSD's

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1 hour ago, eslader said:

Yeah, I'm looking at the X52 which you can still get new. 

 

The X52 is a great stick & throttle combo, I highly recommend it.

Better yet, if you can afford it get the X52 Pro, you won't be sorry...

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1 hour ago, jimcarrel said:

I can see in crystal ball, you will be upgrading, just continue being nice to your niece!  

Yeah, I know I'll be upgrading too. I was just hoping to wait it out until hopefully some more options come to market. The gulf between the $100 sticks and the $500 sticks is pretty wide, and there isn't much in between. But trying to keep the old X45 running is starting to make sim time irritating rather than educational.

 

Quote

Better yet, if you can afford it get the X52 Pro, you won't be sorry...

I keep waffling back and forth on that. I see a lot of reviews that say it isn't worth the extra money, and probably an equal number that say it is. Hard to know which side of the fence to come down on. Why do you like the pro over the regular? The build quality that much better?

 

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21 minutes ago, eslader said:

Why do you like the pro over the regular? The build quality that much better?

 

Having owned both I would have to say yes, the build quality is better on the Pro. The regular X52 just seems a bit more "plasticky", the Pro has a number of metal switches and knobs, where they are all plastic on the X52. The Pro stick is also more tightly sprung, which I prefer, but some might like the looser feel of the standard X52. The all black look of the Pro also appeals to me more, so all things considered it's worth the extra cost IMO, but only you can decide if it's worth it or not.

Either way, you can't go wrong, and the standard X52 is a fine stick & throttle combo in it's own right.

They are both great, you'll love either one..

Edited by SunDevil56
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If I remember right, I chose the pro over the other because it was bit better built (heavier - a little). Biggest problem I had eventually was when I went to win 10, the drivers were a real pain. I don't know if that has changed at this point in time, ( I saved and saved and finaly got a Warthog stick and throttle , it's real heavy and I like it, but did have to sand down the gimbal on the stick to fix roughness ) 

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Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700F CPU @ 2.90GHz (8 cores) Hyper on, Evga RTX 3060 12 Gig, 32 GB ram, Windows 11, P3D v6, and MSFS 2020 and a couple of SSD's

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4 minutes ago, jimcarrel said:

If I remember right, I chose the pro over the other because it was bit better built (heavier - a little). Biggest problem I had eventually was when I went to win 10, the drivers were a real pain. I don't know if that has changed at this point in time, ( I saved and saved and finaly got a Warthog stick and throttle , it's real heavy and I like it, but did have to sand down the gimbal on the stick to fix roughness ) 

Interesting.... 

Windows 10 64 bit here, I never installed a driver for the X52 Pro, to be honest i'm not even sure it came with a disk, though I suppose it probably did, and is still in the box somewhere.. lol

At any rate, I've never had a problem of any kind, P3D recognized it, and it works perfectly, custom assignments and all...😎

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Well, just to report back, I figured out what was happening. Somehow the autothrottle toggle got mapped to that stupid mouse stick on the throttle, and because of how my hand moved when configuring for landing, I'd brush it. Unmapped, and problem solved.

Still, this has been a helpful thread because I do think the X45 is on its last legs. I even disassembled it and cleaned the heck out of the throttle pot, but I've still got a decent sized dead zone from about 20-50% travel. It's helpful to have some reviews of interim sticks I'd be considering before going back to my regular setup, so thanks very much for that!

 

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