SeaQuark

Thanks, good to know this is in consideration! The more options the better, I say, even if it does mean the control menus get rather crowded.

In general the control mappings are pretty limited, and make life difficult for anyone who wants to use real USB buttons and switches. I'm very much hoping this is temporary and will be fixed soon. The "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" approach to rotaries is particularly troublesome. A 4-position switch should have 4 discrete position keys, plus a single toggle key for those limited to a keyboard. With just "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" it's impossible to actually map this rotary to a real USB counterpart on a joystick or switchbox. Also, there are not enough Axis controls available. Radar range & tone volumes would be perfect to control with a USB knob or lever, but currently must be operated by only "UP" and "DOWN" buttons.

Hey there, I just got a GoFlight device (GF-EFIS) and am using GF Keys with it. Works well so far, but is there any way to get my GF toggle switches to be recognized through the "Synchronize Cockpit Controls with HOTAS controls" option in DCS? So that when the mission starts my toggle positions match the ones in-game.

Ahhh, you know what, I did and didn't see any difference. But I just went and double-checked it and realized it worked after all; I just didn't recognize it because of the slow travel of the wheel in-game. Thanks!

Hi, hope you don't mind another question from a newbie like me. I can't get my Saitek throttle quadrant lever to work properly as a trim wheel for the P51. I select "elevator trim" in the Axis menu, it sees the axis. But when moving the lever up, the trim wheel starts sliding continuously ALLLLLL the way up, and vice versa; so to stop the trim at any particular point I have to keep the lever perfectly in the center. It's incredibly awkward. I just want to map it as a straight-forward axis where it stays at the position I place it in, like the throttle lever. How can I achieve this?

Awesome, thank you! I didn't know that existed. I'll try that out with my ON/OFF and multi-position switches, see if it works.

Sorry, maybe I'm not communicating this properly. I've seen that thread, that's not what I'm getting at. I'm asking "what's your personal preference?" If you have A) a panel with a bunch of momentary two-position switches, your switch will never be in the "wrong position" compared to the state of your virtual plane. At any time, you just push "UP" and the in-game switch goes up, or "DOWN" and the in-game switch goes down, and your physical switch resets to center. But if you have B) a panel with a bunch of two-fixed-positions ON/OFF switches, then you have to worry about what your switch positions are before you load up your mission. For example, if you crashed or quit your game during your last flight, you have to remember to set the Generator switch to OFF before loading your new game, just so you can flick it back ON again during a proper engine start-up. A) Seems more convenient for flight sim purposes, but I guess B) is more realistic in a tactile/visual sense. So which do you prefer? I haven't seen any other threads about this.

Not sure if I understand that right. So editing this code in just makes the ON position of your switch only flip the cockpit switch ON instead of reading it as a toggle command for both ON and OFF? I don't think that really addresses my question, though.

Question for all you pit-builders or anyone with their own control panels & switchboards. When using physical ON/OFF switches (that flip between two fixed-positions) with a flight sim, do you guys find it a pain to have to re-set these switches to proper positions every time you restart a game or re-spawn? i.e. let's say you do an air-start, you'd have to memorize what the default air-start switch positions are for that plane, and make sure your physical switches are set for those before you start the game. Otherwise your switches might say "OFF" when they're really "ON" and you have to flip them twice. If you had your druthers, would you use all momentary toggles instead? So at any time you could press the switch ON or OFF and not have to worry about this? Or do you prefer the realism of having an ON/OFF toggle just like the one in a real cockpit? Just curious! Might influence what panel I buy in the near future.

That's definitely badass, but yeah, without a rotary switch or additional toggles the Cessna is more useful for my purposes. Very cool, though. Is it yours?

I think the ones I mentioned above give a good indication: Desktop Aviator Cessna panel Saitek Pro Flight Switch Panel I found a place called GoFlight that makes very nice ones but they're quite expensive. GoFlight Single Engine Start module My goal is to have all engine-start-up and most-used flight functions at my command on physical toggles. My joystick and throttle have most of that covered, just need one more small panel with 5 or more switches. Any of these would do the trick. One rotary switch in addition to on/offs is ideal. I'd like to spend under 100, but am willing to go over that for something that looks awesome and/or has lots more switches. I'll probably go with the DA cessna, but stumbling on that OC panel made me wonder if there are other cool ones out there.

Thanks, yeah, I did read those links and it's just too beyond my skill level / desired time commitment right now. Like I said I just need something that looks nice with 5 or more switches and I'm good to go. Desktop Aviator makes a simple cheap one I was considering: http://www.desktopaviator.com/Products/Panel/Model_2100/ All I'd need to do is re-label the switches. Saitek makes a panel too, I just wasn't crazy about its aesthetics. I liked the OC one 'cause it looked super cool, but if it's too crazy to connect I'll pass. Thanks for the warning. Open to other plug-and-play recommendations.

Hmmm. OK, good to know. That'd be a shame, I'd probably get it even if just the switches worked. I emailed them, I'll post here if I hear back from them. Re: building my own, I realize that's an option, but I really just want some small, simple units I can use on my desk, no plans to make a serious pit or fully custom board. If I had a switchboard like the one above, between my joystick and throttle I'd have all my plane's key functions without ever needing to use a keyboard.

I just discovered opencockpits.com, and noticed they have some impressive plug&play USB control panels like this: http://www.opencockpits.com/catalog/general-simulation-panel-p-137.html?cPath=22_64 I imagine all the buttons will function properly, but what about the landing gear and flaps LEDs? How can I get DCS to send input to this? Specifically, DCS P-51, since that is the only module I play currently.