Saitek - Gear Up and Gear down

[Guest acolvard]

I just received a new Saitek yoke to replace my CH yoke. It is a newer serial number. In the very short time I have used the yoke it appears to be working excellent. The spring tension is great and it centers perfectly. I love my CH yoke but wanted to compare it to the Saitek.The problem. I recently found the change to make the CH yoke gear toggle up and down independently using the following modification to the file standard.xml. It worked perfectly.- 4GEAR_UP- 5GEAR_DOWNI have attempted to configure this on the Saitek joystick with one of the throttle quadrant toggles (I think 16 and 17) but it does not work.I beleive I used the appropriate index numbers. Any ideas?

[Guest RonB49]

Make sure that you are editing the correct copy of Standard.xml. You want the one under C:Documents and Settings etc etc. not the copy in the FSX root directory. R-

[Guest acolvard]

I have the right file. Has anyone else tried successfully? I may have use the wrong index number, I will need to check.On a simular note, GEAR_UP and GEAR_DOWN are not normally documented controls. Is there any place to get a complete list of controls that are not available through the control assignments page in FSX?

[Illegitimi non carborundum 4]

AccolvardPete Dowson publishes a list of FSX controls with his FSUIPC4 package and Bob Church at www.stickworks.com has published this guide:"FSXCTLS2.ZIP contains FSXControls.DOC, a WordPad file that talks about the format of the control assignments files and how they are used by FSX, etc."May help youPeter Hayes

[BigH 0]

I tried to set this up the way you suggested and could not get it to work either. I think the problem may be that FSX and FSUIPC are seeing the 2 left buttons on the throttle as 14 and 15 but the Saitek yoke sees them as 15 and 16. Button 14 is on the front of the yoke and is used for timer reset. So something is wacked. Unfortunately I don't have time tonight to mess with it anymore. Forgot to mention I have the same yoke and throttle and love the setup. If I find anything I will post it.Harald

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Even on the CH Yoke, the cfg file starts counting buttons at zero.ie Button 1 is 0 in the file, 2 is 1, etc

[scott967 62]

software engineers start counting 0,1,2,...hardware engineers start counting 1,2,3,...scott s..

[rpowers 5]

I've been debating about replacing my CH yoke with the Saitek.Just from reading about it I can't see what I will gain by doing so.Please post or email me your comparisons.Thanks,Ron rpowers46@sbcglobal.net

[wardp 19]

I've set the right rocker switch on the throttle quadrant, buttons 19 & 20 according to Saitek but 18 & 19 in the controls.xml file as follows 18GEAR_UP19GEAR_DOWNwhich works OK on mine but make sure you edit the correct entry in the controls.xml and not the one listed under 'Slew'.Phil

[Guest acolvard]

I got it to work. I do not why, but I used a saved version of the original settings and then made the mod and it worked. I think I used 16 and 17.Anyway, the yoke appears to very smooth when making pitch and roll changes. This is the main reason I wanted to try the yoke. The CH yoke is very sticky making changes feel a little jerky and it does not center well. Of course you can adjust the null zone to reduce the centering problem, but that feels a little wierd. The Saitek centers perfectly every time, so far. My CH never felt this good (I may have spent as much money on different lubricants as I did on the yoke). I feel the Saitek more closely resembles the expensive yokes on PCATD's. If you want more realism and every bit counts then it appears to be worth it. In most of the planes I fly there is a little resistance when changing pitch from its trimmed position and the Saitek has this feel. The spring tension is near perfect for me. The Saitek also come with a little whiteboard. It would be great for jotting clearences except it mounts on the base of the yoke and is a little hard to reach between the yoke handles. The instrument panel gauges that Saitek will release in February look good although I do not see much use if you fly instruments becuase they would distract your scan. I have not used their peddles.I really like the CH yoke and pedals. It was light years ahead of anything available at that price 1 year ago. I used this yoke to earn my help insturment ticket along with ASA's IP Trainer and struggled a little with the yokes stickiness. The Saitek appears to be another notch above. For single engine planes I personnaly prefer the location of the throttle quad on the CH because it take less desktop space and it works well. For Jets and turbo props the Saitek throttle is much better due to the longer throw of the levers. It gives you more adjusment range, and the integrated throttle 'button' function for reverse thrust is a huge plus. For single engines you may be able to use these 'buttons' to turn of the mags, shut off the battery, etc to simulate normal shutdown. I own a 2 Goflight modules but have a hardtime laying down $300+ for the Cessna type SECM to simulate engine shut down.Currently I use a Logitech G15 keyboard and map my audio panel functions to the F keys, mode 1 G keys for miscellanous systems, mode 2 G keys for GPS and Mode 3 G keys for the G1000. I use the Goflight GF-166 for nav/comm, GF 46 for ADF, DME, Autopilots, Instrument settings, transponder, and the RP-48 for radio selection, course setting, OBS settings and autopilot funtions. This works very well and limits the space required. I have four montitors, all Samsung. One 22" wide screen in the middle with 2 19" on each side for normal VC veiw using a Triplehead2go and SLI Nvidia 8800GTX's running 3840x1024(?). Size wise they match well and the image is not distorted at all, basically the 22" proivide the cockpit view and the 19"'s provide peripherial vision. I use a 17" widescreen on a Nvidia 8600 below the 22" for GPS display. I plan to change it to touchscreen soon to eliminate the need for programmed button usage.I may need to adjust the sensitivity down a little on the Saitek. I am a private pilot and the first takeoff I made with this yoke I pulled up to hard, pushed to level and ended up going straight into the ground. I hope I never make that mistake in a real plane!

[rpowers 5]

WOW! You have quite a setup!Thanks for the critique.1 question.I see the Saitek has a mode button.On my CH I have 1 button for cycling view mode forward and one for cycling backward.On other words,cockpit,external etc.Then I have a toggle assigned to cycle thru these views bakward and forward.Cockpit,VC,rt vc,etc.I hope I am using the proper view terms here.I see the mode button on the Saitek so that would be to cycle view mode forward.Is there one I can use to cycle backward?It doesn't appear to have as many buttons as the ch .Thanks,Ron

[Guest acolvard]

I have not used the mode button/switch/wheel yet. However, the mode wheel (as I see it) has three positions and maps to button 12, 13, and 14 in the windows control panel. It appears you should be able to assign this to back, front, spot, etc. I do not know. The intention was to use the Saitek configuration software (like CH configuration manager) to tripple your controls. I would prefer not to use the software since I already run Logitech config software. I use Track IR so I do not need it for views but I may use it for something else, like mag position.

[rpowers 5]

I'll have to back and look.I did not see a wheel.I have trackIR too so when I say cycle thru views I mean different cockpit and external views.Going to Saitak's website for another look.

[Guest acolvard]

Thanks Peter for the key command lists, very helpful. Unfortunately, I was hoping to see the commands to map the clock select and control fuction to the Saitek yoke. I guess I will need to keep looking. I do not have the register FSUIPC.

[Illegitimi non carborundum 4]

AcolvardYou are welcome. Its a pity that you do not have FSUIPC4 as it is very easy to set gearup/down with this program and any key/button stroke in FSX. Try the FSUIPC forum on SIMFLIGHT as FSUIPC solved quite a few issues with the EARLY Saitek Yokes.Peter Hayes