Saitek Pro Flight Switch Panel. Finally more information.

[Nick C]

I have to say I prefer the idea of purchasing the Saitek system, if only because there are distributors in the UK. But I am worried that you can't configure the controls and have to rely instead on the software distributed by Saitek. Also, because I'm on my second X52 pro, which after a short period of time is already showing signs of wear, I do worry about reliability.

 

[Big_Dadd]

Hi Navychief,

It seems like Saitek copied the design from Desktop Aviator's Cessna Avionics Panel. Not the other way around. Desktop been selling the Cessna Panel for about 3 years now.

I do agree with you, I do see similarities to the Saitek product. I guess Saitek knows a good product to copy when they see one.

http://www.desktopaviator.com/Products/Panel/Model_2100/index.htm

 

[Big_Dadd]

Hi,
A small correction to your statement; The Desktop Aviator's Panel can be programmed with FSUIPC but it is also compatible with all assignment functions found with FS2002, FS2004 FSX and X-Plane. FSUIPC just offers more assignments then the FS programs.

 

[Javis]

Hi,

I've just got the Saitek Proflight Yoke and Throttle system plus the Proflight Switch panel ( to be screwed on top of the yoke case, two inbus ( 6 sided ) screws need to be removed first, inbus key is provided but way too small to fit the screws.... nice going for starters, Saitek.... )

Real problem though is that i can't get the throttle to work....

Reading up about it a bit i see that i need FSUIPC to make that throttle work, right ?.... ( no mention what so ever about that in manual, another nice one, Saitek... )

No experience with FSUIPC myself, do i need to buy it or will the freeware version work ? Can it be setup by a FSUIPC noob ?....:redf:

I also noticed that i needed to unhook my AV8R stick for the Proflight yoke to work..... can i keep using both when programmed via FSUIPC ?

Any hints, tips highly appreciated !:mixedsmi:

Cheers,
Jan

 

[Tako_Kichi]

If you are talking about the throttle that came with the Saitek yoke then no you DO NOT need FSUIPC for it to be seen by FSX. Simply plug it into the yoke, plug the yoke cable into the computer and start up FSX then go to the settings screen and assign the axes as you would any other controller.

I did it that way and have absolutely no problems using the throttle in terms of axis operation. As for the buttons on both the throttle and the yoke I used the Saitek programming software to create a profile and use that rather than assigning the buttons within FSX.

Regarding your AV8R stick you should be able to leave it connected with no issues. I have had my X52 and yoke/throttle connected at the same time without any problems, in fact I also have a Logitech MOMO racing wheel connected at the same time too as I use the racing wheel pedals as rudder pedals.

 

[luckydog]

Think I'll pass on any thing Saitek........

 

[Javis]

If you are talking about the throttle that came with the Saitek yoke then no you DO NOT need FSUIPC for it to be seen by FSX. Simply plug it into the yoke, plug the yoke cable into the computer and start up FSX then go to the settings screen and assign the axes as you would any other controller.

Thanks much for your quick response, Larry !

Yes, i figured that would or should do the trick. I have the throttle quadrant plugged into the Yoke ( little green led lights up ) , go into the Saitek control panel, not touching anything it looks like this :

The Yoke's axis and buttons correspond fine, touching any of the Quadrant's levers however doesn't return any movement of the red X,Y,Z tables.

Hitting any of the Yoke's buttons the control panel looks like this :

That's it......

The Yoke works perfectly in FSX including all knobs, switches.

Any idea what could be wrong ?..... ( i have not hooked up the Switch panel yet, this is trouble enough already.... )

Thanks !
Jan

 

[Tako_Kichi]

I just connected my yoke/throttle to check my settings against yours and as soon as I opened the windows control panel I saw the same as in your first shot. All throttle axes were showing mid way even though the actual controls were all at zero. However, moving one axis very slightly made all the axes jump to zero as they should be. I can only conclude from this that on initial start-up the axes are set to the mid point and they do not get calibrated until either one of the axes is moved or a button is pressed on the yoke/throttle (i.e. it requires an input of some description in order to trigger the self calibration function).

Did you set the axes correctly in the FSX controls setting window? If not FSX will not read the Saitek throttle quadrant and hence you will not have any function in the sim.

 

[IanP]

It seems that the new Saitek software calibrates the devices "on the fly". I've found that if I move them all through their extremes (without needing to have the calibration window open) before loading FSX, I have no problems at all.

Basically, I do it when I plug them in, or before starting FS if they are already plugged in.

Ian P.

 

[Javis]

.... However, moving one axis very slightly made all the axes jump to zero as they should be.

You are talking about one axis on the *throttle quadrant*, right ?

That's the problem i'm having, i can move any of the quadrant's levers ( or rockers ) but nothing changes in the calibration window.....

Did you set the axes correctly in the FSX controls setting window? If not FSX will not read the Saitek throttle quadrant and hence you will not have any function in the sim.

Yes, that was the first thing i tried after hooking up my new *toy* ..... Didn't need to make any changes to the Yoke's assignments, all there, working perfectly.

Trying to assign the throttle lever to 'engine throttle' , moving the lever to set the assignment the little window stays empty...... nothing happening... Same goes for trying to assign the mix and prop levers.... Nothing, zero, nada....

The only thing that works on the quadrant is the little green led..... Atleast THAT's something ! :friday:

I tried again unplugging the yoke, trying different USB slots, USB Hub, direct computer hubs, unplugging the quadrant's plug, replugging it, etc and so on. All to no avail, there is simply no response from the quadrant what so ever.

I even tried a tip from the Saitek troubleshoot forum, going into to Registry Editor, removing certain items per the description and then replugging the Yoke and Quadrant, also to no avail....

Lots of people having problems with the throttle quadrant so it seems but they all have good respons from the quadrant levers in the calibration window in the first place and that's something i still haven't seen yet.

It very much looks to me now that my throttle quadrant is deffinately faulty and i shall have to return it to the store.

Thanks very much for trying to help me,Larry, atleast i know it's got nothing to do with FSUIPC.

Cheers,
Jan

 

[Tako_Kichi]

You are talking about one axis on the *throttle quadrant*, right ?

Correct.

That's the problem i'm having, i can move any of the quadrant's levers ( or rockers ) but nothing changes in the calibration window.....

Yes, that was the first thing i tried after hooking up my new *toy* ..... Didn't need to make any changes to the Yoke's assignments, all there, working perfectly.

Trying to assign the throttle lever to 'engine throttle' , moving the lever to set the assignment the little window stays empty...... nothing happening... Same goes for trying to assign the mix and prop levers.... Nothing, zero, nada....

The only thing that works on the quadrant is the little green led..... Atleast THAT's something ! :friday:

I tried again unplugging the yoke, trying different USB slots, USB Hub, direct computer hubs, unplugging the quadrant's plug, replugging it, etc and so on. All to no avail, there is simply no response from the quadrant what so ever.

I even tried a tip from the Saitek troubleshoot forum, going into to Registry Editor, removing certain items per the description and then replugging the Yoke and Quadrant, also to no avail....

Lots of people having problems with the throttle quadrant so it seems but they all have good respons from the quadrant levers in the calibration window in the first place and that's something i still haven't seen yet.

This all seems VERY strange as it should see it in both the windows tool and FSX but obviously it is not being seen.

It very much looks to me now that my throttle quadrant is deffinately faulty and i shall have to return it to the store.

Thanks very much for trying to help me,Larry, atleast i know it's got nothing to do with FSUIPC.

OK well here's one more suggestion before taking it back....did you use the drivers that came with it or the latest drivers from the Saitek site? I DL'ed the latest drivers while waiting for my yoke to arrive (I bought mine on Ebay) and used those rather than the ones that came with the yoke. It sounds to me like it could be a corrupt driver that is not reading the inputs correctly. If you did DL the drivers try uninstalling them and re-installing them and make sure all AV software is OFF when you install in case that is interfering with the install process (some AV apps are known to be very aggressive and will cause problems...Norton is very bad for this).

 

[Javis]

Yes, after having no luck with trying to solve the quadrant problem initially i DID download and install the latest drivers from the Saitek site as well. As you can imagine it didn't help...

I do indeed run Norton 360 and did not deactive it while installing this new drivers... ( i never do that when installing stuff, never a problem, so far... ) But i will happily try your suggestion to uninstall the drivers and reinstall them without Norton running. That is, if i only knew *how* to uninstall these drivers...... I know all about removing drivers for video cards and such but i have no clue doing that for this Saitek Proflight stuff....

Any tips ?....

Btw, running on XP/SP3 and i tried the Saitek Yoke/Quadrant both in FSX and FS9 with the same results, Yoke works fine, Quadrant does nothing.... ( apart from that green led, of which i think it's way too bright and unrealistic looking, i have a piece of tape ready to cover it..... wish it was the other round ! :mixedsmi: )

Thanks for your continuous support, Larry ! ( lots of questions pertaining to Saitek peripheral trouble remain unanswered at the Saitek forums.... )

Cheers,
Jan

 

[Tako_Kichi]

Yes, after having no luck with trying to solve the quadrant problem initially i DID download and install the latest drivers from the Saitek site as well. As you can imagine it didn't help...

I do indeed run Norton 360 and did not deactive it while installing this new drivers... ( i never do that when installing stuff, never a problem, so far... ) But i will happily try your suggestion to uninstall the drivers and reinstall them without Norton running. That is, if i only knew *how* to uninstall these drivers...... I know all about removing drivers for video cards and such but i have no clue doing that for this Saitek Proflight stuff....

Any tips ?....

Well....I just looked through my settings/system and even checked the Saitek forums and can't find any way to remove the drivers! I would guess there must be a way but I can't find one at the moment. I guess at this point a re-install over the top is the only option.

Btw, running on XP/SP3 and i tried the Saitek Yoke/Quadrant both in FSX and FS9 with the same results, Yoke works fine, Quadrant does nothing.... ( apart from that green led, of which i think it's way too bright and unrealistic looking, i have a piece of tape ready to cover it..... wish it was the other round ! :mixedsmi: )

Thanks for your continuous support, Larry ! ( lots of questions pertaining to Saitek peripheral trouble remain unanswered at the Saitek forums.... )

Sorry you are having these problems Jan and I hope you get it sorted soon as the unit is very nice when it is working. Re. the Saitek response time it is the weekend and I think they only man the forums during office hours. When I had a problem a couple of years ago with a X45 they were very helpful.

 

[Javis]

Well....I just looked through my settings/system and even checked the Saitek forums and can't find any way to remove the drivers! I would guess there must be a way but I can't find one at the moment. I guess at this point a re-install over the top is the only option.

Thanks for the trouble, Larry. Actually i have very little hope that it's a driver thing. Called the shop today, they had one more good tip which i didn't think of yet: try it on another computer. Still have my old rig so i tried it on that with exactly the same result, Yoke calibrates fine, Quadrant stays dead as a doornail...

I'm going to box up the thing and return it to the shop tomorrow. They have various FS setups ( including a complete FS based Boeing 737 cockpit... :isadizzy: ) so they can easily test this quadrant. I picked the box from a whole wall of these things, just my luck i must've picked the wrong one....

Will be interesting to see what's going to happen when they'll test the quadrant from another one of their Saitek Proflight batch.... I will be sure to ask for that before i take it home again.

Sorry you are having these problems Jan and I hope you get it sorted soon as the unit is very nice when it is working.

I'm sure, Larry, certainly haven't give up on it. I could try the Saitek Proflight Yoke using the throttle of my AV8R stick and i liked the feeling of it very much. Much better than the CH Yoke i also have ( very 'plasticy' feeling )

Re. the Saitek response time it is the weekend and I think they only man the forums during office hours. When I had a problem a couple of years ago with a X45 they were very helpful.

Oh, i'm sure ! I just happen to notice quite a few posts without any replies. I like my Saitek AV8R stick very much, no problems at all. Before that i had their EVO stick which i liked too and i also had the first edition of their X Hotas serie which worked fine as well. This Proflight Quadrant thingy is the first Saitek product i'm having a problem with.

My gaul is to buy a second Saitek throttle quadrant ( once the first one is working.. :mixedsmi: ) and set them both up for four throttles, mixture and proppitch to fly 4 engined prop aircraft.

With any luck i hope to have a good working quadrant tomorrow. I'll keep you posted !

Thanks much again for all your help ! :ernae:

cheers,
Jan

 

[Javis]

Larry, Ian, happy to tell you that i got my new Proflight Yoke & Quadrant today and i found everything to be working perfectly right away ! ( tested in the store first of course )

I spent some time with the guy in charge of the flightsim stuff. When i gave him my box he put it next to a line-up of about 20 of these Proflight boxes sitting on a shelf in the office. I asked " it's not like these are all faulty, are they ??... " "Oh,yes, all waiting to be returned " he said, " it's not that bad, we sold hundreds of 'em already... "

Anyway, Quadrant is now working perfectly too. Only the mixture lever didn't want to cut the engine but that was easily solved by shoving the sensitivity slider all the way to the right.

Pretty happy camper now, already forgat the aggrevation. Now to try out the switch panel....

Thanks again for your help, guys !

Cheers,
Jan

 

[IanP]

There was a known issue with the early yokes that caused random spurious button presses - most of the "broken" ones probably just need to go back and have their PROMs flashed with the later firmware.

I currently have three quads strapped to my desk. The yoke itself is down the side while I play with my latest toy, a CyborgX stick which works well, although the base is a little light and the top of it looks like something out of HR Giger's imagination!

Glad it's sorted Jan. It's a very good set up once it is working.

Ian P.

 

[Javis]

There was a known issue with the early yokes that caused random spurious button presses - most of the "broken" ones probably just need to go back and have their PROMs flashed with the later firmware.

Yes, i've read about that too.At the shop we also noticed that there's a difference in the size of the inbus holes of the screws atop the Yoke case. Mine had bigger holes than the one i've got now.... That's why the provided key didn't fit.... I suppose the bigger holes belong to the earlier version.

I currently have three quads strapped to my desk. The yoke itself is down the side while I play with my latest toy, a CyborgX stick which works well, although the base is a little light and the top of it looks like something out of HR Giger's imagination!

So i see ! Maybe he had something to do with it... You sure no slime is dripping from the top ??..... :costumes:

Too bad he didn't get to finish that magnificent Alien movie !

Didn't know about that Cyborg X stick ! I suppose it's brand new, right ? Kinda like it ! :mixedsmi: I have the Cyborg
EVO but somehow it got very 'sturdy' along the way that's why i bought the AV8R.

Glad it's sorted Jan. It's a very good set up once it is working.

Indeed! I might add another Quadrant now that i know it can work perfectly. I flew our Dakota to test the Proflight, just begs for another quadrant.

Merry Xmas, mate !

Cheers,
Jan

 

[forgeknight]

I have 2 saitek throttle quads, yoke and panel switch and so far have had no problems. True the panel is a pain in the ass when you cant program it for other flight sims and the inabilty to isolate the starter for 2 engines is a pain but it works. The yoke is much better then the CH I have, and the throttles add a lot to the flight sim experience. I have found that when the throttle quad is plugged into the yoke, the button setup is under the yokes tab, doesnt list it seperate just says the yoke has lots of buttons.

 

[IanP]

The quad that comes with the yoke is, indeed, part of the yoke and assigned as such. Secondary (tertiary, etc.) throttle quads are connected by USB rather than the mini-DIN connector on the first one, so they are assigned and controlled separately.

Jan: The CyborgX is even more adjustable and configurable than my old Cyborg Gold was. Unfortunately the ageing Gold stick won't hold calibration any more and has been retired (it's been abused like mad for years, so deserves a rest). Another advantage of the new one is that the large "T" shaped base folds away to a teardrop shape, allowing a smaller footprint for storage. However, that does by default mean more to go wrong as well...

Ian P.