Flaps on a rotary switch.

[Braeden108]

I've built my own joystick out of various joysticks and parts. I wired in a rotary switch, like the one for your cars fan settings. Or the light switches in the A-10. Anyway, DCS A-10 only has settings for flaps up and flaps down, and not position 1 2 3. DOes anyone have any ideas of how I could make it so the first postion on my rotary was position 1 and 2 on 2 and so on?

[paulca]

I think the switch is.

 

UP

OFF

DOWN

 

So, depending on your rotary switch you would set UP to 1, and DOWN to 3. I believe the game expects the UP and DOWN action to be held on and when neither are being held the flaps are in position 1 (7*).

[Braeden108]

Thanks for the suggestion that's how I currently work it. It works but doesn't feel as good but oh well

[SharpeXB]

The flaps control on the A-10C is this switch located behind the throttle

It is a 3-position switch, it doesn't require you to hold it in any position

The three positions are:

UP = 0 degrees

MVR (Maneuvering) = 8 degrees, used for takeoff

DN = 20 degrees, used for landing

 

The key commands "F" (Flaps Down) and Shift+F" (Flaps Up) just toggle you through these three positions. So you could just set up your custom switch as 2-way instead of 3-way. Although that would have to function as a "hold" so you could press it twice like a keyboard.

Edited March 27, 2016 by SharpeXB

[paulca]

It is a 3-position switch, it doesn't require you to hold it in any position

 

Correct, because the switch has spring latches to hold it in any one of it's position.

 

This is completely different than a keyboard control which is a momentary event designed to change something's state. In this sense a keyboard control is a transition event with no state, where as a 3-position switch is a reflection of the state itself not the transitions.

 

The flap switch on the TM Warthog HOTAS is actually modelled as two switches. 21 and 22.

 

UP = 21 on.

MID = 21 and 22 off.

DOWN = 22 on.

 

As to how that is mapped in the joystick assignments I don't know, I'm in Linux so can't look right now.

[SharpeXB]

Yeah a keyboard is a "press and release" button. Maybe there's a way to just do keyboard emulation with the custom switch?

[Fish]

............The flap switch on the TM Warthog HOTAS is actually modelled as two switches. 21 and 22...............

 

Hmm,

On mine its 22 & 23.

 

Also in the config theres a toggle up and toggle down action for the flaps. Both of these put the flaps in the mid (10deg) position, when released, and put the flaps in the 'up' and 'landing (20deg), positions respectively when 'held'. You can do this easily with a dx controller buttons, but it creates all kinds of problems if you try it with a key or key combination, since your 'held' keys will interfere with other keystrokes.

 

There are some usb i/o cards (example here) out there which have digital 'switch' channels, and some have analog channels also, and maybe this is a better approach to controlling your flaps for the A10.

(might not suit if your using it for something like xplane or fsx, or WW2 sims, if you need analog flaps). I'm sure you would get better advise from pit builders.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Fish