New X-55 Rhino - Not in System Tray

[SnowTiger]

Hi Y'all

 

I finally got my new X-55 Rhino and I'm currently setting it up (my X-52 was causing some SERIOUS issues when flying the Ka-50 .. at least I hope it was that Hotas !!!).

 

Anyway, I properly installed the Drivers and the New HUD Software (which I will only use to program a couple buttons such as TrackIR Center etc and PTT for TeamSpeak).

In order to do that, I need to be able to Load a Profile and have the HUD software "Minimize to the System Tray &/OR have it Startup with Windows".

 

It might be important to note that I Do NOT leave my HOTAS plugged in all the time. In fact, I only plug it in (both USB's) when I want to Fly.

Currently, I have to double click the Desktop Icon to get the HUD software to load but then I can only minimize it to the Task Bar at the bottom as opposed to having it minimize to the System Tray.

 

The Mad Catz Support Site Knowledge Base says;

 

How can I set my profile to activate when Windows loads?

 

If you want your profile to automatically load when Windows does, this can easily be set via the system tray icon. Click the Eclipse icon and locate the name of your profile in the menu list. Right click the profile name and select 'set as startup profile'. Now when your PC loads, so will your profile. To clear the setting, click the Eclipse icon and select 'clear startup profile'.

 

That said ... I have NO IDEA what the heck an "Eclipse Icon" is ?

I certainly haven't found anything that I can Right Click on and "set as startup profile" !!

 

Furthermore, while there is NO X-55 Profiler loaded on startup (in the SysTray), my System STARTUP Configuration (i.e. accessed by Start/Run/MSCONFIG) says that X-55 Profiler is in the Startup List.

 

Has anyone got a solution for me ? Please !!!

[Blooze]

try looking for the profiler in start/all programs/smart technology and pinning it to taskbar.

[buzz1955]

I did the same searchk and never found a way to do it, they probably mixte x-65 and x-55 response. And good luck to use your x-55 with teamspeak ptt, every time i try to have a button of the x-55 program as ptt my profile for FSx and KA-50 was not fonctionning wright, each time you will try to use the sw or tgl they will always send a bundle of command instead of one,the only solution is like they say in Mad catz support to take off default in the setting and use keyboard and mouse, but the output from x-55 is not seen by ts.

 

Other than that it a very good hotas

[Alkaline]

Im not 100% sure what you want.. Do you want a specific Saitek SST Profile to be loaded on startup, or do you want the actual SST Software to be launched upon startup?

 

In either case, what OS u got?

[SnowTiger]

Hi Blooze - I tried your solution (pin to task bar was all I could find). But its the System Tray where I want the profiler to be.

It might be that I have to restart my computer after plugging Hotas in. I think I will give that a try to see what happens ... especially since it is in my StartUp in Msconfig.

 

Alkaline >> While I prefer to have a specific profile when I start up, having the profiler loaded would be better (again... in the System Tray) so I can load whatever profile I want whenever I want.

 

Currently .. with my X-52, there is nothing (relevant) showing in the SysTray until I plug that Hotas in. As soon as I do that, the older SST profiler loads into the SysTray where I can select whatever profile I want. But it doesn't seem to work that way for the new HUD software.

 

WHILE I'm on the topic of my X-55 Rhino .. anyone know how to get the Throttle to work as the Collective ?

I had no problem getting the X-52's AXIS to be recognized in the DCS Options / Axis Controls. But when I move the RHINO Throttles I get X axis when I move it one way and Y axis when I move it the other. But there is NO X/Y Axis option. Got every other combination but not the one I need. What gives with that ?

 

(combined as one i.e. Locked Together),

[runny]

I bet it's reading one fore and another one aft. Uncouple them and assign one, then couple them again to play.

[Alkaline]

Hi Blooze - I tried your solution (pin to task bar was all I could find). But its the System Tray where I want the profiler to be.

It might be that I have to restart my computer after plugging Hotas in. I think I will give that a try to see what happens ... especially since it is in my StartUp in Msconfig.

 

Alkaline >> While I prefer to have a specific profile when I start up, having the profiler loaded would be better (again... in the System Tray) so I can load whatever profile I want whenever I want.

 

Currently .. with my X-52, there is nothing (relevant) showing in the SysTray until I plug that Hotas in. As soon as I do that, the older SST profiler loads into the SysTray where I can select whatever profile I want. But it doesn't seem to work that way for the new HUD software.

 

WHILE I'm on the topic of my X-55 Rhino .. anyone know how to get the Throttle to work as the Collective ?

I had no problem getting the X-52's AXIS to be recognized in the DCS Options / Axis Controls. But when I move the RHINO Throttles I get X axis when I move it one way and Y axis when I move it the other. But there is NO X/Y Axis option. Got every other combination but not the one I need. What gives with that ?

 

(combined as one i.e. Locked Together),

Oh, you have two HOTAS systems of the same brand? Sorry, I cannot help you anymore im afraid.. I keep my X-55 HOTAS plugged in all the time, and the SST Software (Profiler) starts on startup as normal. It doesnt load a specific profile though, but the actual software is starting.

 

Can't u have the same software for both X-55 and X-52? Like SteelSeries for example. They have the same software (SteelSeries Engine 3) for many mouses etc..

By software for Saitek, aka SST Software, Im meaning the software there u can configure ur hotas and load profiles etc..

 

With collective, do u mean like center of the throttle would be in the middle? Or do u mean that u dont have two different axis'es on the two throttle sliders? My left throttle slider is Joy_Y, and right slider is Joy_X, or maybe it was opposite, but u get what I mean.

[SnowTiger]

HI again

I think Alkaline you were saying basically the same thing as S77th-runny.

 

First of all, while I do have the X-52, it's pretty much euchred from over use. Hence the new X-55.

I have the Throttle Quadrants/Sides Joined Together into 1 Throttle (whereas when I decide to fly something like the A-10, I will probably decouple them to operate them independently).

 

But it sounds like the solution is to select one or the other (left or right side) ... program it and then join them together.

I will try that if what I have already done does not work. What I did was just select the X axis. If that doesn't work, I'll try the Y axis. If that doesn't work ... I'm screwed. At least for tonight anyway.

 

One thing is sure; there are Many Buttons to consider. I don't really care for the Thumb Hats on the Throttle (beside the mouse toggle). It is hard to detect which is up/down/left/right ... versus all the diagonal settings. However, in the HUD software, I know I can change these from 8 way to 4 way ... and hopefully that will simplify programming them in DCS Options.

[Alkaline]

Maybe im just tired, maybe im retarded, but i am so confused right now..

 

Are we talking about X-52 or X-55 Rhino? Why would u want to have 2 almost the same HOTAS systems? Why cant u just pick one if you have issues using 2 HOTAS systems..?

[SnowTiger]

Just an Update:

Actually, I didn't change anything other than simply selecting the X Axis.

That did the trick.

I must say, it really is a HUGE difference using a New, Great Performing Hotas. I was doing some flying like a pro compared to the last few weeks. I cannot believe how bad my last Hotas was.

 

Unfortunately, I am now experiencing some Really Weird stuff.

Now the fact that I cannot seem to set up a TrackIR Centering button is one thing AND the fact that I now don't even see a Column for TrackIR in DCS Options is also Odd, but one thing that has happened on 3 consecutive flights ... each in different Mission Files, is that just when I am starting to have fun flying (for the first time in a long time .. thanks to the new Hotas's performance), I will be amid flight, and all of a sudden the bloody thing starts going through the Auto Shut Down OR Auto Start Up procedures.

This isn't conducive to good flight. In fact, it has resulted in a couple Auto Rotations .. that I have not previously had the opportunity to practice.

 

Anyone else have anything similar happen to them ?

Does anyone have a solution or know why this is happening ?

 

PS> While I was using the HUD Profiler for a couple button setups and during a couple of those weird flights, I actually Closed the Profiler (i.e. NO Profile except that in the DCS Options) and Still experienced the same odd Auto Start/Shut Down during mid-flight ??

What's up with that ?

Am I just going NUTS ?

[SnowTiger]

Sorry Alkaline .. I didn't see your last post until now.

Now that I have the new X-55, I will not be using the X-52 any more.

It is the X-55 Rhino and its Profiler and HUD that seem to be giving me some grief at the moment.

I won't speak of the X-52 any more with hopes of not making this any more confusing.

[Alkaline]

Sorry Alkaline .. I didn't see your last post until now.

Now that I have the new X-55, I will not be using the X-52 any more.

It is the X-55 Rhino and its Profiler and HUD that seem to be giving me some grief at the moment.

I won't speak of the X-52 any more with hopes of not making this any more confusing.

 

Well.. First thing u should try, is to start over. And I higly recommend you to uninstall Saitek's profile software that u used with your X-52. Uninstall the X-52 in Device manager aswell under "Human Interface Devices".

 

Then, install the latest Saitek Profile software from their website, and the drivers of course, and you should be good to go.

[SnowTiger]

I managed to get a couple things worked out. Still having a few issues but getting there.

 

I did reinstall drivers (the SST was already uninstalled prior to the HUD software installation ... but I reinstalled the Drivers and HUD again anyway).

I'm not sure what did it, but the install now has the HUD in the SysTray as desired.

 

I was having a problem where I'd be flying and all of a sudden the dang thing would start going through an Auto Start up .. inevitably shutting my chopper down amid flight.

I think this was due to still having X-52 Settings in my Mustang and Huey Options. So I cleared them both out and I also no longer have ANY X-55 Profiles loaded in the HUD. The downside to the latter, is that I do NOT have any button working for TrackIR Centering and nothing for TS Press To Talk.

So I still have to figure that out somehow.

Furthermore, I have no way of programming the Throttle Wheels (thumb wheels) to do anything using only the DCS Options ...at least I can't figure it out.

 

I can't even get the DCS Options to recognize when I am pressing a Throttle Hat direction.

At least those were working and recognizable when a profile was loaded into the HUD. But the HUD seemed to work against the DCS Options & might have been the cause of the Auto Start Up sequence while flying.

 

If anyone here who has used the X-55 for a while, especially with the Black Shark, I'd be grateful if they'd be willing to get on TS with me and walk me through a few settings or help me eliminate the last few issues.

The same is true for getting a few specific things set up in the Mustang.

 

Once I have done it a couple times for these aircraft, I'm sure I'll be able to set up the rest of my Mod Options myself.

In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at it.

 

PS> Oddly, there are still a few Buttons being clicked .. without me actually clicking them.

For example, I was flying along when all of a sudden, I had the Ka-50's Hud View come up. It took me a while to figure out how to get back out of it. But it surprised me that it happened at all. I DID NOT touch anything. It just did it on it's own.

So there are still a few strange things taking place that I am yet to be able to explain.

[Blooze]

Often times issues are rooted in the Saved games DCS folder. Try this. Go to saved games and re-name the DCS folder to DCS1. Then fly any mission to see if any problems have been resolved. If not, simply delete the newly created DCS folder and re-name the original back to just DCS with no harm done, but at least you can rule that out as a possible source for your troubles.

Another thing that helped me eliminate the potential for mapping conflicts with the X52 pro was to completely eliminate the category for the controller in the DCS control options page. If you are relying on the Saitek profile then that shouldn't be a problem.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Blooze

[Snacko]

Sorry, I don't have time to read all of this, so I'll give you my tips for using the x55.

 

First, get the lastest HUD software and drivers. I am currently using HUD v7.0.33.91 and Driver v7.0.32.81.

 

The HUD Profiler that is in the Systray is not an elypise, it is a little white note tablet, and turns green when a profile is loaded. The current Profile does not automatically load a profile. It's just not coded to do that yet. The old Profiler can do that for the other joysticks, but you probably can't use that AFAIK.

 

There is a Teamspeak bug that causes the x55 to send multiple keystrokes whenever TS is running. Check out

To fix this, go in teamspeak>settings>options>hotkeys> Change in the bottom right hand corner the drop down from "Default" to "Keyboard & Mouse Only".

 

I would keep my x55 plugged in all the time if I was having problems. Once you are confident it is working correctly for a few weeks, then you can try to change things up if you want. At least then you'll know that it does work. I have an x52 plugged in to my rig as well as my x55. I use a software trick and keep it disabled, but can enable it with just a click of an icon. I plan to turn it into a chopper collective this winter and use it.

[SnowTiger]

Thanks Blooze and Snacko. I intend to try all your suggestions (one at a time).

I started by renaming my DCS folder as described and I have already made the correction/change in TS to Keyboard & Mouse Only.

With regards to TS, must I still map PTT key to my Hotas using the HUD software OR is there somewhere to do that in DCS Options ?

I only know of the PTT in DCS Options which "I think" simply refers to getting the drop down for communicating with the ATC, Ground Crew and Flight/Wingmen etc.

 

I appreciate all the help I am getting here.

I have read all of the thread titled "X-55 Rhino Hotas Issues and Problems" which only worried me that I might have bought a lemon. But after some of the changes I made last night, things started looking up. One thing is for sure, when I'm not having programming issues and weird things happening, I can fly the Black Shark WAY better with this new Hotas. I can only hope it all just gets better and better.

PS> I did use a Powered USB Hub for my Pedals at one time .. it didn't seem to like it much.

Both my Hotas Components are currently plugged into the Front of my PC.

[Blooze]

Thanks Blooze and Snacko. I intend to try all your suggestions (one at a time).

I started by renaming my DCS folder as described and I have already made the correction/change in TS to Keyboard & Mouse Only.

With regards to TS, must I still map PTT key to my Hotas using the HUD software OR is there somewhere to do that in DCS Options ?

I only know of the PTT in DCS Options which "I think" simply refers to getting the drop down for communicating with the ATC, Ground Crew and Flight/Wingmen etc.

 

I appreciate all the help I am getting here.

I have read all of the thread titled "X-55 Rhino Hotas Issues and Problems" which only worried me that I might have bought a lemon. But after some of the changes I made last night, things started looking up. One thing is for sure, when I'm not having programming issues and weird things happening, I can fly the Black Shark WAY better with this new Hotas. I can only hope it all just gets better and better.

PS> I did use a Powered USB Hub for my Pedals at one time .. it didn't seem to like it much.

Both my Hotas Components are currently plugged into the Front of my PC.

 

IMO the best way to eliminate potential mapping conflicts between DCS Options and the Saitek profile is to rely on one or the other, at least for starters. I think you would be wise to program your PTT hotkey as well as your Track IR hotkeys in your Saitek profile. You can do it with the DCS options but why complicate things at this point?

[Snacko]

With regards to TS, must I still map PTT key to my Hotas using the HUD software OR is there somewhere to do that in DCS Options ?

 

I have the Right Alt key assigned to PTT in TS. Then I assign the Right Alt key to a button on my x55 using the HUD software. It's always worked fine.

 

EDIT:

For years, I have always only assigned Axies (sticks x/y, rotaries, and sliders) from within each game. I then map all keystrokes using the Saitek Software. I do this for several reasons. First, I can keep all of my joystick profiles in one place,.. the Saitek Profile Folder. And I can easily back them up. (I don't have to find the settings file for 20 different games to back them up) Second, The Saitek Software let's you program the HOTAS buttons for all 3 modes. If you assign them in-game you can only use 1 mode because games don't recognize Saitek's Hotas modes switch. Third, the Saitek Software let's you program complicated macros. For example, you can program one button to fire a missile, then 1 second later go to fly-by view and watch it fire, and then 3 seconds later go to missile-to-target view. Or you can program a button to send a keystroke 20 times if you want.. to zoom in, or put your manual gear up or whatever. And last,.. I have had several situations where game updates require you to re-map all of your buttons in-game. You don't need to do that if you use the profier software.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Snacko

[snuffles]

you're going nuts.

 

Wish I could help you with your TrackIR problem; it isn't something I find troublesome to correct with FreeTrack + X-65F

[Alkaline]

If you still have the issues that the throttle randomly flicks the switches etc, there is one simple fix. I had that issue too aswell.

 

Just get a external USB hub, which is powered from the wall outlet.

 

Regarding your axis problems. Did u delete the X-55 folders in C:\Windows\Temp\MadCatz?

[SnowTiger]

I have had an external, powered USB Hub here for a while and haven't been using it.

Until recently the only thing ever plugged into it was my Rudder Pedals but they didn't seem to work to well there. So I plugged my Pedals into the back of my PC a while ago.

 

BUT I was skeptical to try using my USB Hub, even after reading several posts (another thread) wherein several people said their Hotas worked better with one.

 

So tonight I broke down and checked it out ... discovering that there are 4 more (never previously used) side USB Ports.

I plugged my stick and throttle each into one; plugged the USB Hub into 1 of the 2 front USB's on my PC Tower where the HOTAS was just plugged in; Presto Bango, Pickle Zingy Pickle Zowy .... It Freaking Works !!

In fact, it works Great.

I can't believe something like that could or would make the difference, especially now that now 1 USB Port is supporting signals from both (2) Hotas USB's.

Thanks for that Alkaline.

[Alkaline]

I have had an external, powered USB Hub here for a while and haven't been using it.

Until recently the only thing ever plugged into it was my Rudder Pedals but they didn't seem to work to well there. So I plugged my Pedals into the back of my PC a while ago.

 

BUT I was skeptical to try using my USB Hub, even after reading several posts (another thread) wherein several people said their Hotas worked better with one.

 

So tonight I broke down and checked it out ... discovering that there are 4 more (never previously used) side USB Ports.

I plugged my stick and throttle each into one; plugged the USB Hub into 1 of the 2 front USB's on my PC Tower where the HOTAS was just plugged in; Presto Bango, Pickle Zingy Pickle Zowy .... It Freaking Works !!

In fact, it works Great.

I can't believe something like that could or would make the difference, especially now that now 1 USB Port is supporting signals from both (2) Hotas USB's.

Thanks for that Alkaline.

Haha no problem mate! :) I didnt believe it either until I actually bought a external USB hub.

[Snacko]

What type of problem were you guys experiencing that plugging your x55 into a powered USB hub solved?

 

I used a powered USB hub 9 months ago to extend the length of the hotas but thought that was causing problems where keys from my Saitek profiles were being delayed. Sometimes they were sent 30 seconds later! Plugging directly into the mb seemed to fix the problem. But there were so many problems back then that I can't be sure.

[Alkaline]

What type of problem were you guys experiencing that plugging your x55 into a powered USB hub solved?

 

I used a powered USB hub 9 months ago to extend the length of the hotas but thought that was causing problems where keys from my Saitek profiles were being delayed. Sometimes they were sent 30 seconds later! Plugging directly into the mb seemed to fix the problem. But there were so many problems back then that I can't be sure.

 

I have explained what a powered USB hub solved several times...

It makes ur HOTAS not to push buttons and shit randomly.

[cichlidfan]

I have explained what a powered USB hub solved several times...

It makes ur HOTAS not to push buttons and shit randomly.

 

Assuming it is a decent quality hub, it also makes sure that the joystick has no shortage of power (which might be contributing to random problems).