streakeagle

My preferred solution for using maintained switches in DCS World is to edit the input LUAs to the aircraft in question. In the case of a two-position switch, like landing gear, refueling probe, etc. I duplicate one of the existing commands intended for two inputs, i.e. one button for lower gear and one button for raise gear, and modify that command to also provide the opposite function when the switch is off. This setup accomplishes three things: 1) I get the ideal case of the switch position matching the in-game switch/lever position. 2) Before starting a mission, the in-game switches do not flip to undesired states. Note: I have the DCS Synchronize cockpit controls with HOTAS controls option unchecked for just this purpose. So, in the case of a landing gear lever, if I start the sim on a ramp/runway with the mapped toggle switch in the gear up position, the in-game lever does not jump up when I start the mission. I do have to toggle the switch down before I can raise the lever, but once this is done, the real switch and the virtual lever remain in sync. Most of the time I flip all of my throttle switches to their "off" states before starting a mission, which means they will either work first try like the landing gear lever from a ramp start or will get synced first try like the landing gear lever during an air start. I never have problems caused by inadvertent switch positions, especially when I have done a quick "off" state preflight check. 3) LUA edits mean I don't have to mess with custom joystick/throttle configuration software like Target profiles. Whenever I get a new module, I have to decide what controls are going to use maintained switches and if the developer doesn't provide the command I need, then I have to customize that aircraft's LUA. But these days, a lot of the third party mods include the type of mapping needed to support maintained toggle switches for in-game two position switches and some even support three positions with the center state being off, such as flap levers. There is one annoying disadvantge to my approach. Every DCS patch resets all of the LUA files back to defaults. It is easy enough to find my latest custom LUA versions in the backup folder, but it is dangerous to just past them back over the new ones. ED and the third parties provide new mappings and/or fix bugs in old ones, so I open each LUA and do a file compare before pasting in my custom lines. On a good day, the developer has provided a new command that makes my custom script unnecessary, but there are not many good days. So, I get tired of constantly having to update the LUAs after patches, but I love monitoring the control mappings for changes. Many times, something I wanted was fixed/added and I would not have even known about it if I had not kept doing file compares with the joystick input LUAs between the current patch and the last one. Here are some of my edits for the DCS F/A-18C Hornet joystick input default.LUA, including the Battery Switch, which has three positions and therefore uses two of the custom commands to cover the center state as the off position for the other two commands: --------------------------------------------- -- Alt Commands for Warthog Throttle -------- --------------------------------------------- { down = iCommandPlaneGearUp, up = iCommandPlaneGearDown, name = _('Alt Landing Gear Control Handle - UP/DOWN'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}}, { down = extlights_commands.LdgTaxi, up = extlights_commands.LdgTaxi, cockpit_device_id = devices.EXT_LIGHTS, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt LDG/TAXI LIGHT Switch - ON/OFF'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}}, { down = gear_commands.AntiSkidSw, up = gear_commands.AntiSkidSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.GEAR_INTERFACE, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt Anti Skid Switch - ON'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}}, { down = elec_commands.BattSw, up = elec_commands.BattSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.ELEC_INTERFACE, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt Battery Switch - ON/OFF'), category = {_('Right Console'), _('Electrical Power Panel')}}, { down = elec_commands.BattSw, up = elec_commands.BattSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.ELEC_INTERFACE, value_down = -1.0, value_up = 0.0, name = _('Alt Battery Switch - ORIDE/OFF'), category = {_('Right Console'), _('Electrical Power Panel')}}, { down = gear_commands.LaunchBarSw, up = gear_commands.LaunchBarSw, cockpit_device_id = devices.GEAR_INTERFACE, value_down = 1.0, value_up = 1.0, name = _('Alt Launch Bar Control Switch - EXTEND/RETRACT'), category = {_('Left Vertical Panel')}},

If you fly the F-14 frequently enough, the AIRIO commands become 2nd nature. I keep a printout of them next to me in case I need to review some old commands or learn some new ones prior to entering VR. But after flying the F-14 almost every day for two weeks, I haven't looked at the print out for a while. The only problems I have are when Voice Attack doesn't recognize my speech correctly or the odd times when it crashes or gets hung "waiting for further input". As for the original topic, put me in the camp of not wanting to fly without VAICOM. I was already using an old, free speech recognition tool called Shoot 1.6. I had Shoot programmed really well. But VAICOM integrates and updates with DCS World in ways Shoot never could. VAICOM keeps up with new commands and new modules, such as adding AIRIO. VAICOM also has lots of extremely useful/powerful options such as integration with SRS/VoiceChat, hiding text/muting own pilot speech, etc. If you value immersion, using realistically mapped push-to-talk buttons with speech recognition that accounts for radio types and capabilities is as much of a game-changer as VR. When integrated with something like SRS that does the same for voice chat as VAICOM does for talking to AI, the experience becomes super-immersive as there is little difference between talking to people and AI other than needing to speak in a distinct pattern with particular phrasing for the speech recognition to work well. Human or AI, you have to choose the correct radio and have it tuned to the correct frequency. Though you may find practicing the same patterns and consistent phrasing improves communication with real people, too.

$350 is a really good price. It is the price I paid for my original Warthog HOTAS quite a few years ago. I might not have ever gotten one for the original $500-$600 pricing I frequently saw back then and would still be flying with my old, but still fully functional X-52 Pro. Of course, now I have two Warthogs because I couldn't wait a few months for a replacement board for my throttle to return to stock. I paid about $400 including shipping to get my 2nd one from Germany because the supply and prices were otherwise back up to $500 at that time. The real deal is when they go on sale for $300. Dell has done that more than once, usually around Christmas time. Given that for the time being, I rely on the throttle so much, I should have stocked up when the price was so low rather than waiting for a critical failure with no spares available to force me to do so. Now, I have repaired the original and have two complete fully functional Warthogs, so unless one fails beyond repair or the price goes ridiculously low, I won't be buying any more. I just clicked the Amazon link and that price does not include shipping. So the real price is $429. Not bad, but I paid less to get my 2nd one from Germany in 2017. Looking at the current market, there is a shortage, so the prices are in the $600+ range right now. $429 from Amazon looks really good compared to present alternatives.

From the first post, originally: But later on: I am using Rift S. Does anyone have this working with the Rift S?

So, I really like the F-14 stick, but the DLC thumbwheel axis is unique to the F-14. Most other aircraft that are compatible with this grip (i.e. older aircraft that don't have more than one hat switch) tend to have a thumb hat in this position with fwd, aft, and center depress functions. The button on the side provides the center depress, but out of the box, there is no way to model the fwd and aft buttons. The VKB Device Config tool provides very simple but powerful Axes2Buttons mapping function. The DLC thumbwheel can use this function to provide the forward and aft positions as well as a button that tells you when it has returned to center. All you need to know is which axis the DLC thumbwheel uses, then go the that axis on the Axes2Buttons tab and program it accordingly: 1. There is a checkbox for enabling the entire Axes2Buttons capability. 2. Go to the row that corresponds to the axis number that will have buttons programmed. In this case, the DLC Thumbwheel is axis 4, so I need to make my configuration changes on the "4." row. 3. Set the type. I tried "Edges1" and "Edges2", but didn't get the behavior I wanted, so I went with "Zones". 4. Set the number of zones. I wanted 3, fwd, ctr, and aft. 5. Set the hysteresis. This is a way of stabilizing the signal when crossing the boundaries between the zones. Since there are only three zones and plenty of axis travel, there is plenty of room to use any setting you like. Based on my experience as an industrial controls engineer, I can tell you that 0% is the worst option. Given the precision of VKB's products, 1% is probably more than enough. But again, my real world control experience tells me never to expect analog signals to have less than 2% error/noise, so I went with 3%. 6. Set the first button of the range of buttons to be used. I chose three zones so I will be using up three contiguous button assignments. The next available number was 17, so I chose 17, meaning that the buttons will be 17, 18, and 19 for the three zones. 7. Press the "Set" button to flash the new config in the stick. 8. Go to the button test screen and verify the results. As an added bonus, I normally never use the twist-rudder axis. I love having the option for a variety of reasons, but I currently don't need it for anything. So, I identified the twist rudder as axis 5 and gave it three zones, too: 20, 21, and 22. That's two more momentary buttons for a total of four more on a grip that needs all the buttons it can get! I wish I had taken the time to do this sooner, now I can leave the F-14 grip on for quite a few more aircraft while maintaining the required/desired control capability. This is especially hand for multiplayer where I might want to change aircraft but I am limited by the grip I am currently using. I would either have to quit out of the game to swap grips or always used the MCG Pro for maximum flexibility while my other grips collect dust.

The VKB F-14 Combat Grip is outstanding for me. 1) Buttons: I have two real B-8 grips that are 100% milspec. They are the benchmark for firm springs and making a strong click that you can hear and feel. In fact, the buttons are so stiff on one of the grips, that it almost hurts my fingertips to press them. Among all my various grips, the VKB F-14 buttons are probably the softest and quietest. But stiffness and sound level aside, you can definitely feel a solid click when you press them and they feel precise. TM Warthog and Hornet grip buttons feel almost milspec in stiffness, but are just as quiet as the F-14. The MCG Pro buttons are about the same stiffness as the F-14, but they click much louder. The SCG Pro buttons are stiffer than the MCG and F-14 and louder, too... but not as stiff af the TM Warthog and Hornet grips. 2) DLC: It uses a fairly light spring, which allows precision that is useful when landing, but it doesn't feel very impressive. It mostly feels like the thumb hat switches that normally occupy that position on other sticks, but with more travel. TM Warthog and Hornet thumb hats in that position are much stiffer. 3) Weapon selector: It works great and feels solid. I don't know what the real switch feels like, but this feels milspec. It is fun to use. 4) This is a very comfortable grip. My favorite grips for flying in DCS World are the TM Hornet and the VKB F-14. However, I spend more time flying with the MCG Pro than any other grip because its vast number of buttons/switches allow it to emulate the grips of any aircraft in the game, allowing me to switch aircraft at will without having to quit to the desktop while changing grips. The limit of the F-14 grip is that the real grip it replicates doesn't have nearly as many control options as later grips. So you have the buttons you need to fly, but there is no room for extra funcitons I typically map on the MCG Pro such as kneeboard navigation and "show pilot". If you are a fan of the F-14 and fly it all the time in DCS World, I strongly recommend the VKB F-14 grip. If you have a lot of airplane modules and switch between them all the time, a grip with lots of control options, like the MCG Pro, is a much better choice.

I now have been using "Radio Frequency" in place of "Radio Tune" and have been able to get fairly consistent results. I still have to be careful about the pacing of the numbers. Sometimes pausing between digits works better, sometimes running them together works better depending on the particular frequency.

I really enjoy flying the F-5E in DCS World. This is a really cool article by a former F-14 and F-5 pilot whose views on the real F-5 parallel how I feel about ED's F-5. It is a simple, fun airplane to fly, and very capable despite its technology and aerodynamic limitations compared to more modern fighters. https://theaviationgeekclub.com/former-vfc-13-adversary-pilot-explains-how-you-can-fly-and-fight-in-the-iconic-f-5-tiger-ii/?fbclid=IwAR2wH1JMsU4EzlRDc_9hj8IXkDQuWrUe_kYn6QUnK70Q92-lDRACGlTK-Sw

I continue to have problems with how Voice Attack interprets what I am saying when trying to use this command. The pacing of saying the numbers can produce various results. Saying 2 5 0 decimal 0 5 0 gets interpreted many different ways depending on the pacing: 250.050 2 5 0 decimal 0 5 0 250 decimal 0 50 two five zero decimal zero five zero and countless combinations of the above. If it doesn't see the one it expects, the command is not recognized. The word "two" causes problems for me in other commands, too. "two", "2", "to", and for me "tune" all tend to come up as "two" when trying to say a command.

I found another reason why it was failing. I have to put a pause between each number. If it sees "radio tune 327.00" it fails. If it sees "radio tune 3 2 7 . 0 0" it succeeds.

I have also had a ton of difficulty with getting "radio tune" recognized. It tends to think I am saying "radio two". I did some training, but it still had a very hard time differentiating "tune" from "two". So I made a duplicate command with radio freq, but spelled it "radio freak". Works every time.

Ok, having read the above, for the first time ever I got the command recognized. I want 327.000, but I have to say 3 2 7 decimal 0 0

I can get Voice Attack to recognize "Radio Tune 3 2 7 decimal 0 0 0" as "Radio Tune 327.000" but it says it is an unrecognized command and does nothing with it, despite the command being listed where the documentation says to find it. It has never once accepted and applied the command.

If you want to go with CH Products, eBay has the fighterstick as low as $120 with free shipping and Amazon Prime has it for $100.

Back to the original question: if the choice is between the X-52 and the X-52 Pro, no doubt the Pro is the better choice. My X-52 Pro is one of the original production batches when Saitek was still Saitek. It still works. The only problem is the twist rudder pot is dirty. If I took it apart and cleaned it, then my X-52 Pro would be back to working as well as new. I understand the MadCatz years were not kind to Saitek. I was hoping Logitech would make the Saitek controllers respectable again, but Logitech couldn't even properly support their own G940 force feedback HOTAS. The X-52 Pro's setup is still really good for complex flight sims like DCS World if you don't get bit by their quality control issues. I preferred the rudder paddle on the throttle of the X-36 and X-45 to the twist stick rudder, but I bought Saitek rudder pedals when I bought my X-52 Pro, so it was never a problem for me. My X-52 Pro sits under a computer desk collecting dust. My son used to use it to play Mech Warrior 4, but as he got older, he stopped playing any kind of games that needed any kind of stick or HOTAS. No more flight sims either. He just plays shooters :( If I were going to buy a mid-range HOTAS right now, my choice would be the Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS FLIGHT PACK. It is a complete stick/throttle/rudder setup for a fair price. I got my X-52 Pro for $100 which was a crazy low price by gogamer.com (RIP, they had really good deals all the time) considering it was brand new and retailing at $200, so I used the $100 I saved to get rudder pedals. That was in 2007. So to be getting equivalent or better gear (HOTAS plus rudder pedals) for less than $300 in 2020 is a pretty good deal (Best Buy lists this stick/throttle/rudder pedals combo for $260).

But it can't work for me until it is in the keyword list. I can't figure out how to get it to show up there. Presumably, it must be in your keyword list. I wonder what is the difference between my install and your install?

I see the Radio Tune command listed in the "Extension Packs" category when you edit the VAICOM Profile for DCS World, but I do not see it in the keywords list and as such it is an unrecognized command. I have tried everything to get it listed in the keywords to make it recognized including a clean install of Voice Attack, VAICOM Pro and the AIRIO extension exactly per the readme and help files. This includes pasting and saving the keyword list into the profile after enabling the extended command set. TACAN Tune is listed. Why did TACAN Tune show up in the keyword list while Radio Tune didn't? I found at least one other person had the same problem on this forum, but no one answered his question. So, does anyone have the "Radio Tune" command working with AIRIO, and if so, did you have to do anything special to get it to show up in the keyword list and make it work?

This is similar to the effect of vibrating seat pads. The pads cannot replicate actual g forces, stall effects, etc. But they provide a useful, cost effective way to perceiving these effects. They increase immersion despite the fact that it is not realistic. Once you get used to having physical feedback, it is hard to fly without it!

I can play DCS without this software, but why would I? I was already using voice command software before I got VAICOM and had it programmed adequately to permit all of the comms I normally used. But the ability to suppress the pilot voice and text are pretty cool as well as the way the inteface can mix with the controls for the different types of radios and intercoms. AIRIO is the icing on the cake. I wouldn't want to fly the F-14 without being able to talk to my RIO. There have been numerous problems that have popped up each time DCS is patched and the single thread almost always had the answer I needed, but sometimes it was buried in with all the questions/comments. So, this subforum is really nice to have!

The problem isn't getting an F-16 stick, it is finding a modern throttle for a reasonable price. TM really missed the boat in not making an updated Cougar throttle using lessons learned to make a competitive product with decent tech and quality at a competitive price. They also should have made a product improved version of the Warthog throttle reconfigured to match their Hornet grip. Missed opportunities! At some point, I will probably buy the Winwing Hornet HOTAS just to get their combined throttle/control panel assembly while the stick collects dust. If TM offered decent F-16 and F-18 throttles at reasonable prices, I would gladly buy them, because together they would still be cheaper than the Winwing and give me exactly what I want/need instead of having to buy a stick I will rarely if ever use.

Nice collection of helis and a drone. I have one more heli stored in a box and four little drones my son and I have gotten as gifts over the years. It is nice to reach a point in life where you can afford to have a variety. I like to try out the hardware and find out was is best for me. Not what is cheapest nor most expensive nor what is best for someone else. I am extremely happy with the VKB and have a lot invested in grips for it, so I held back on the temptation to try the Virpil stick. For me, the Virpil stick has two key advantages: 1) Native compatibility with the Thrustmaster Warthog and Hornet grips. 2) A grip loosely modeled on the classic B-8. But I got lucky and managed to get two VKB adapters, which allowed me to use both Thrustmaster grips without having to swap bases. I also have a cheap base model VKB SCG grip that I am going to gut to convert a real B-8 grip into a VKB grip. So I don't really need the Virpil since the VKB is already going to deliver everything I want. With VR, I really enjoy matching the grip to the aircraft I am flying. I only wish I could match the rest of the cockpit controls as well. I would really like to build a sim pit frame that would support quickly and easily swapping out left/right consoles and front main panels along with the ability to adjust angles, weights, and widths to match the geometry of various cockpits. Just a matter of time and money :) My next big target is possibly the Winwing F/A-18 HOTAS. I am not really interested in the stick. I want the throttle plus the control panels around it. If I end up building a dedicated Hornet pit, I might even try the stick. But I already have two Gunfighter 2 bases (updated to Gunfighter 3 standards), so it would be better to use a VKB with the Thrustmaster Hornet grip and be able to swap to any of my other grips as desired.

Oculus Rift S looks fairly good (much better than the original Rift now collecting dust) and runs fairly well on my setup. Regular 1080 on an old i5-4690K overclocked to 4.4 GHz.

The Leo Bodnar boards are incredibly easy to use. Other boards may have greater potential in I/0 counts and programmability, but you have to know how to program them to access that potential. Whereas the Leo Bodnar boards pretty much work the way you would want them to work right out of the box. The only problem I have with the Leo Bodnar boards is that they don't have the resolution and filtering options of high commercial products like Thrustmaster and VKB. But if you can get a clean signal to the 12-bit analog inputs of the Leo Bodnar boards, you will be hard pressed to know the difference.

This is the kind of software that can take the stretched single screen output and correct the warping for various screen layouts: https://www.immersaview.com/display-software/ It is meant for projectors, but it should work okay with conventional flat panels, too. It is just a matter of programming the screen geometry and the desired correction correctly. I would contact this company and explain what you are trying to do and see if their cheapest solution can solve your problem and determine if a single PC with a strong enough multicore processor can run the sim on some of the cores and warp the image on others. This might not work, or it might be too expensive, but you won't know unless you ask.

The C-101 has three channels available: VHF, UHF, and ICS. These correspond respectively to TX1, TX2, and TX5, which are listed as available for the C-101 as well as TX6. If I map a single button to all available channels, VAICOM shifts to a single TX1 by default (but can be adjusted by the user to use any desired TX channel) and automatically decides which radio should receive the message. For the C-101, what I would want is for VAICOM to still show all available TX channels despite all of them being mapped to the same input. When you key the mic switch, then only the channel selected by the position of the in-game mode switch would light up, rather than having VAICOM show only one TX channel and then automatically deciding which channel gets the voice command. There are two buttons, one on the throttle and one on the stick. Both perform identical functions, so it should be possible to map two or more buttons to the same function. i.e. TX1 could be triggered by a button on the throttle or a button on the stick. Presently, you can only assign one button at a time. In this case the problem is doubled, because the back seat also has two mic buttons that perform the same function. So you could need the ability to map two inputs for the back seat mic and connect the backseat voice command to the backseat's selected mic channel. The final result being that the front seat should be able to use either his joystick or throttle button to talk on his selected channel while the backseater uses either his joystick or throttle button to talk on the channel his backseat mic mode switch has selected.