Saitek/Logitech Switch Panel not recognized by P3Dv4

[bbuckley 133]

I just bought & installed the switch panel. I also have Saitek Pro Flight Yoke, throttle quad and rudders. I’m pretty good with IT in general and FSUIPC and Lua scripts. So i’m very happy with my FSUIPC profiles  I have been playing with a trial version of SPAD.neXt but I’d really rather just use FSUIPC. I don’t have the radio panels. 

I downloaded the Logitech plug in (P3Dv4) and panel test software but I can’t get P3D to recognize the switch panel. When I run the test software the LEDs and all switches work so I know Windows is recognizing the panel. I’ve looked at the Device Manager and initially there was an unrecognized USB entry which I think I’ve resolved. In the HID section there is the yoke and rudder entries but just a USB entry that I believe is the panel. Is there a trick to getting P3Dv4 to see the panel without using SPAD?  Any help appreciated. 

Bruce

[tamsini 278]

Unfortunately, the Saitek software is a flawed product that just does not mesh well with P3D. I believe you will have no choice but to bite the bullet and use SPAD.neXt. I went through the exact same, painful process a year ago.

[MarkDH 234]

2 minutes ago, tamsini said:

Unfortunately, the Saitek software is a flawed product that just does not mesh well with P3D. I believe you will have no choice but to bite the bullet and use SPAD.neXt. I went through the exact same, painful process a year ago.

I use the radio panels with P3Dv4 and the Saitek plugin. This suggests the Saitek plugin is compatible with P3Dv4 and hence I would expect the switch panel to work too. In the situation you describe, what seems most likely is you are not actually running the plugin. It is supposed to launch from exe.xml but sometimes the appropriate entry doesn't get installed. You can test by running the plugin manually after starting P3D. It should be in the same directory as the test program. If that works, you will need to manually add the appropriate section to exe,xml.

You can't use FSUIPC to program the switch panel because it is not a HID.

[FreeBird(Josh) 314]

SpadNext is the only way to go with the Saitek panels. Its really easy to use and much more powerful than the generic Saitek plugin. As the poster above said FSUIPC wont see the panels so you have no other choice but to use spad next. There are plenty of profiles for different airplanes that you can download or share if you want. you can even program your controllers there too. I actually find it easier to use than FSUIPC but I do use them both.   Josh

[bbuckley 133]

Thanks all. I’ll start learning SPAD.neXt. 

[fppilot 4,336]

On 1/8/2019 at 11:37 PM, bbuckley said:

Thanks all. I’ll start learning SPAD.neXt. 

Spad.Next is a good choice. It is complicated and will require a learning curve.  In the meantime, go back into Control Panel, Device Settings, HIDS's and check each of your Saitek USB devices's properties.  Look for Advanced Power Management and if set for any  of the devices then unselect it.  Then also do a web search for "SaitekUSBFix.zip" or an equivalent app.  It will remove Windows Advanced Power Management from the Registry for each Saitek device it finds.

Windows Advanced Power Management started with Windows 7 and it and Saitek devices have never liked each other.

[MarkDH 234]

All I would say is, save yourself undue hassle by making sure you are fixing the right problem. For me that starts with establishing definitively that the official Saitek plugin doesn't work for the switch panel. Look here for someone who appears to have established that it does work.

However, if you feel you have done this there is reportedly a third-party increment (v0.7) of the original SPAD (which is nothing to do with SPAD.neXt) that makes it compatible with P3Dv4. I have not tried it, but you can get it here and try it for yourself. I wouldn't spend time fiddling with the USB power management until you have symptoms that are consistent with this being a problem.

[bbuckley 133]

@fppilot  Thanks, I have done all the USB and power management procedures.  I'm a longtime Saitek yoke pro, throttles and rudder user.  No joy.  But no worries. Thanks.

@MarkDH Thanks also. For all my worries it only took me a few hours to become proficient in SPAD.neXt since I was already fluent in FSUIPC, LVARS and Lua Scripts.  After playing just a bit, it was pretty easy to create 3 or 4 profiles for different aircraft types and everything is up & running like a charm. I don't mind purchasing SPAD.neXt (or any good product), and I will shortly (I still have 10 days of my free trial).