Using sidewinder FFB as collective + two running at once?

[Sephyrius]

Just picked a second MSFFB2, so now I don't have to worry if one ever breaks.

 

Question 1 :

 

Sick of using a throttle for a chopper,so I'm thinking of running an MSFFB2 + SimFFB to simulate the collective, using its trim button function to lock it in place.

 

Do real heli collective controls use a similar 'unlock' button or do they use friction to keep it in place?

Accidentally nudging the collective seems both plausible and disastrous in flight. I know the KA50 uses its collective brake lever, but it might be an oddity.

 

Question 2 :

Does anyone know if running two MSFFB2's at once causes conflicts?

[Ranma13]

As long as one axis is bound for a device with FFB, DCS will send force feedback commands to all devices with FFB, regardless if they're bound to an axis or not. Also, FFB is only supported for the primary X and Y axes (cyclic/flight stick), so it won't work for any other axes such as rudder pedals or the collective. This means that if you bind one MSFFB2 to X and Y, then leave the other one plugged in but unbound (or bind it any other axes), they will both move in sync with each other. So unfortunately, you won't be able to simulate a collective brake.

 

Note that it's not impossible to do code-wise. Other sims will send FFB commands to only the device that the axis is bound to, and there's nothing that prevents multiple FFB devices from receiving different FFB commands. It's just that no sim to date (that I know of) actually implements it for anything but the X and Y axes.