Problem with mapping racing pedals to the rudder axis

[Ghostb3D]

Hey there people!
As the name of the thread suggests I have a problem trying to map the Fanatec pedals to use it as a rudder in DCS. I've read a lot of information over the network and on this forums too, and watched a lot of videos on youtube but still I haven't succeeded with the matter.
Firstly I tried to do as it's described in MrVegetableman's video - bind both axes to the rudder and separate it with 50% sensitivity in Y axis and invert one of them. But the thing is the start of rudder axis is not in center but from the opposite ends of it. So basically to have the rudder centered you should press both pedals fully, and only by reducing the pressure on the pedal you can turn the aircrafts rudder.
So after this I decided to install vJoy and UCR as Dan Suzuki's video suggests. But here I've encountered even more ridiculous situation - after doing all as it was told in the aforementioned video I decided to check the newly created Virtual Device in standard Windows game controller properties. Only to saw that both my pedals axis have merged into one axis but it's "working field" takes only left half of the all axis. To better describe the situation let's say that all the rudder axis length is from 0 - 100, and it's neutral (central) point should be placed in 50. So left pedal is 50 - 0 and right pedal is 50 - 100. But in my case the center point of the working field is placed in 25, and thus my left pedal is 25 - 0 and my right pedal is 25 - 50. So in game aircraft rudder always "looks" to the left and only after fully pressing the right pedal the rudder points to the center.
And now after two days of struggle I hereby humbly ask for your help dear sirs ;))) If anybody can point me in the right direction or had the similar experience - please let me know. Thank you everybody for your time, have a nice day wherever you are.

[Baldrick33]

I did this a couple of years ago before getting rudder pedals so my recollection may be a bit sketchy but it did work surprisingly well.

I also used vJoy and UCR. I am not really sure what has gone wrong but it may just be a calibration issue. I use an excellent utility DIView available here https://heusinkveld.com/wp-content/uploads/DIView.zip 

This will allow you to calibrate the vjoy axis by entering the values for start, centre and end. It may be fixable in UCR but as stated it has been a while since I had that installed.

Alternatively you may be able to calibrate using the Windows USB Controller setup.

I also used a modifier (using a button on the HOTAS)  in DCS to switch between rudder and toe brakes which worked pretty well.

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Baldrick33

[Ghostb3D]

1 час назад, Baldrick33 сказал:

I did this a couple of years ago before getting rudder pedals so my recollection may be a bit sketchy but it did work surprisingly well.

I also used vJoy and UCR. I am not really sure what has gone wrong but it may just be a calibration issue. I use an excellent utility DIView available here https://heusinkveld.com/wp-content/uploads/DIView.zip 

This will allow you to calibrate the vjoy axis by entering the values for start, centre and end. It may be fixable in UCR but as stated it has been a while since I had that installed.

Alternatively you may be able to calibrate using the Windows USB Controller setup.

I also used a modifier (using a button on the HOTAS)  in DCS to switch between rudder and toe brakes which worked pretty well.

 

 

Oh man, judging by your description it is exactly what could help me! I hope it’ll do. Anyway, help or not I’m really grateful for your time and response! Thank you very much!

oh and one more thing I started to monitor what’s available on the market of rudder pedals and saw local Ukrainian guys are producing decent looking pedals under the brand Jimmy. Have you ever heard about it? Is it worth looking at? Sorry for offtopic question.

1 час назад, Baldrick33 сказал:

I did this a couple of years ago before getting rudder pedals so my recollection may be a bit sketchy but it did work surprisingly well.

I also used vJoy and UCR. I am not really sure what has gone wrong but it may just be a calibration issue. I use an excellent utility DIView available here https://heusinkveld.com/wp-content/uploads/DIView.zip 

This will allow you to calibrate the vjoy axis by entering the values for start, centre and end. It may be fixable in UCR but as stated it has been a while since I had that installed.

Alternatively you may be able to calibrate using the Windows USB Controller setup.

I also used a modifier (using a button on the HOTAS)  in DCS to switch between rudder and toe brakes which worked pretty well.

 

 

Oh and I’ll definitely gonna write if your method helped me or not. Anyway thanks man!

[jonsky7]

1 hour ago, Ghostb3D said:

Hey there people!
As the name of the thread suggests I have a problem trying to map the Fanatec pedals to use it as a rudder in DCS. I've read a lot of information over the network and on this forums too, and watched a lot of videos on youtube but still I haven't succeeded with the matter.
Firstly I tried to do as it's described in MrVegetableman's video - bind both axes to the rudder and separate it with 50% sensitivity in Y axis and invert one of them. But the thing is the start of rudder axis is not in center but from the opposite ends of it. So basically to have the rudder centered you should press both pedals fully, and only by reducing the pressure on the pedal you can turn the aircrafts rudder.
So after this I decided to install vJoy and UCR as Dan Suzuki's video suggests. But here I've encountered even more ridiculous situation - after doing all as it was told in the aforementioned video I decided to check the newly created Virtual Device in standard Windows game controller properties. Only to saw that both my pedals axis have merged into one axis but it's "working field" takes only left half of the all axis. To better describe the situation let's say that all the rudder axis length is from 0 - 100, and it's neutral (central) point should be placed in 50. So left pedal is 50 - 0 and right pedal is 50 - 100. But in my case the center point of the working field is placed in 25, and thus my left pedal is 25 - 0 and my right pedal is 25 - 50. So in game aircraft rudder always "looks" to the left and only after fully pressing the right pedal the rudder points to the center.
And now after two days of struggle I hereby humbly ask for your help dear sirs ;))) If anybody can point me in the right direction or had the similar experience - please let me know. Thank you everybody for your time, have a nice day wherever you are.

Hey Ghost,

If you haven't found out how to do already, then here goes.

Open the "Axis Assign" part of Adjust Controls Menu.

Double click on the rudder/yaw control box, in the column of your controller

Assign your left pedal to the Rudder/Yaw by moving the left pedal. Click OK

Double click the same box again, move your right pedal to assign it.

You should now have 2 axis listed as rudder control.

Now highlight that box and click the axis tune button on the bottom.

 

You can now choose between your left and right pedal from the drop down menu, top right

null

Select your left pedal AXIS, you can tell which you have selected by moving the pedals one at a time, if the markers move, you have the correct one. If they don't, it's the other one.

Set up your left pedal as above,
50 Y Saturation,
SLIDER TICKED. 
You may have to invert the axis so the line matches above.

What you are really after is that the BLACK BOX indicator at the bottom moves all the way to the left when you press the left pedal, and returns to centre when the pedal released.

Next select the right pedal from the top right drop down select menu.
Same again
50 Y saturation,
SLIDER TICKED
but have the line looking like this below.
Again, main point, BLACK BOX is all the way to the right when pedal pressed and returns to centre when released.

Again, you may need to Invert the axis to achieve the desired effect.

 

That's it, press OK button, and you should now be able to test your combined axis in the menu.

It looks a little odd at first. You will see half of the axis bar lit up when the pedals are released, but you will see that as each pedal is pressed the bar gets shorter towards the correct side.

 

Left pedal almost all the way down,                                      Right pedal almost all the way down

                                

 

Hope this helps.

Regards
Jon

[Ghostb3D]

Guys, you’re my saviors, you really are! @jonsky7 this is exactly the thing I’ve been missing all the way long. I tried to enter the values I needed into the fields in the left bottom corner but it’s greyed out and non-interactive. Today after the electricity will be turned on I’ll check both methods and I will post if it solved my issue. But it’s definitely sounds like it should.

[ARM505]

8 minutes ago, Ghostb3D said:

....after the electricity will be turned on I’ll check both methods....

Sorry, off topic, but.....another South African spotted?!

[Ghostb3D]

12 часов назад, ARM505 сказал:

Sorry, off topic, but.....another South African spotted?!

nah man.... Ukrainian :))

[Ghostb3D]

В 30.01.2023 в 21:27, jonsky7 сказал:

Hey Ghost,

If you haven't found out how to do already, then here goes.

Open the "Axis Assign" part of Adjust Controls Menu.

Double click on the rudder/yaw control box, in the column of your controller

Assign your left pedal to the Rudder/Yaw by moving the left pedal. Click OK

Double click the same box again, move your right pedal to assign it.

You should now have 2 axis listed as rudder control.

Now highlight that box and click the axis tune button on the bottom.

 

You can now choose between your left and right pedal from the drop down menu, top right

null

Select your left pedal AXIS, you can tell which you have selected by moving the pedals one at a time, if the markers move, you have the correct one. If they don't, it's the other one.

Set up your left pedal as above,
50 Y Saturation,
SLIDER TICKED. 
You may have to invert the axis so the line matches above.

What you are really after is that the BLACK BOX indicator at the bottom moves all the way to the left when you press the left pedal, and returns to centre when the pedal released.

Next select the right pedal from the top right drop down select menu.
Same again
50 Y saturation,
SLIDER TICKED
but have the line looking like this below.
Again, main point, BLACK BOX is all the way to the right when pedal pressed and returns to centre when released.

Again, you may need to Invert the axis to achieve the desired effect.

 

That's it, press OK button, and you should now be able to test your combined axis in the menu.

It looks a little odd at first. You will see half of the axis bar lit up when the pedals are released, but you will see that as each pedal is pressed the bar gets shorter towards the correct side.

 

Left pedal almost all the way down,                                      Right pedal almost all the way down

                                

 

Hope this helps.

Regards
Jon

Thank you for all the information Jon, but, as sadly as it is this thing doesn't work with my configuration. The thing is when I push my left pedal black dot (software pointer) goes all the way from left to the center and when I let go the pedal it get back to the left corner. Here on the first screenshot this is how looks when I fully press the left pedal. And on the second screenshot how it looks when I let go the left pedal. I'm not sure how I can fix it but I'll think I'll try to do something tonight.nullnull

[jonsky7]

@Ghostb3D

What happens if you check the INVERT box for the left pedal?

[Ghostb3D]

@jonsky7It goes up top and the pedal starts from the right corner and get back to the right corner too when fully depressed. Must be some strange Fanatec specific pedals thing.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Ghostb3D

[jonsky7]

Ok, I have been trying too, and can see that it doesn't seem possible to invert 2 axis setup like above.

Shall we give UCR and vJoy another try?

From your first post it seems like you have UCR and vJoy installed.

vJoy is at least present in your windows game controllers, correct?



If so, on we go

Open UCR, Click on create profile, you should be presented with this window.

Give your profile a name, for input device select your pedals, output device is vJoy

null

 

Click on Axis Merger (1), you will be prompted to add a name for your axis.

2. Click on the Axis High Input, press your left pedal to bind it
    Click on Axis low button, press your right button to bind it.

3. You have to select an output Axis using the 3 ... button, I have X here, but Axes Z is a good one.

The mode should be Average

We will have to test the output, and maybe have to come back to change the Invert High, and Invert Low options

4. Press the play button >

The profile should now be running.

Go back to windows games controllers, select vJoy and select properties. Test your output by pressing each pedal in turn.

 

This is where you may have to go back to UCR and play with the invert settings. 

You will need to close the above window when you make changes because it stops working.

When you make changes in UCR, press the stop button [] 4, then press play again >.

If inverting the High and low still doesn't work properly,

Switch the left and right pedals between Axis high and Axis low (step 2)

 

 please work

Edited January 31, 2023 by jonsky7

[jonsky7]

I've just watched Dan Suzuki's video, and can see what he did is the same as I wrote above.

So I'm not sure what is happening with your pedals.

When you look in windows game controllers for your pedals, do you have a full axis for each pedal?

And with no press do they both at least sit at the top or bottom like my Z-axis and Z-rotation do here?

 

(this is my twin throttle, but I would have thought your pedals should do the same) top picture throttles all the way back, bottom picture throttles all the way forward.

 

[jonsky7]

Ok, I have seen something else!

If your pedals sit opposite each other like this (or opposite), when they are both released.

You might have to select "SUM" as the Mode in UCR

Edited January 31, 2023 by jonsky7

[Ghostb3D]

Hey @jonsky7 thank you for your idea to look on my pedals in the windows controller properties page. This is how it looks. Apparently the thing is that there are two controllers one for throttle and break (vertical and horizontal axes on the X/Y axis rectangle. And my clutch is the Z axis separate thing on the right from the rectangular thingie. I'll try to install other version of the Vjoy and try to repeat all the steps you shared with me here, maybe there was something not ok with my previous install of vJoy. At least that's the last thing I can hope on.
But no matter what would be the end result - I am super grateful for all your help and I want to thank you for this. It is super rare thing when somebody trying to help that much to the person he never even talked before.

p.s. and of course I'll post here all the updates on my situation no matter whether I'll be able to fix it or I won't.null

[jonsky7]

1 hour ago, Ghostb3D said:

Hey @jonsky7 thank you for your idea to look on my pedals in the windows controller properties page. This is how it looks. Apparently the thing is that there are two controllers one for throttle and break (vertical and horizontal axes on the X/Y axis rectangle. And my clutch is the Z axis separate thing on the right from the rectangular thingie. I'll try to install other version of the Vjoy and try to repeat all the steps you shared with me here, maybe there was something not ok with my previous install of vJoy. At least that's the last thing I can hope on.
But no matter what would be the end result - I am super grateful for all your help and I want to thank you for this. It is super rare thing when somebody trying to help that much to the person he never even talked before.

p.s. and of course I'll post here all the updates on my situation no matter whether I'll be able to fix it or I won't.null

I'm dissapointed we haven't solved this problem yet  

I may have never met you, or talked to you before, but you are already my DCS friend . 

It is also very nice for the help to be appreciated.

So you are very welcome.

I wait with anticipation of a successful outcome!

 

 

[Ghostb3D]

Well, it looks like this journey is over now. Thanks to @jonsky7 I made my Fanatec CSL Load cell pedals work as an aircraft rudder. Though it did required some specific moves to make it work. Basically I did everything like in the vJoy+UCR step by step guide provided by @jonsky7. But it didn’t work with vJoy 2.2.1 neither with 2.1.9, it required me to download version 2.1.8 of the vJoy software. And second required step - in the guide I initially used (the one by Dan Suzuki) it was stated that even Virtual Stick with one X axis would suffice. But in my case that hasn’t worked. I think that the problem is the first two axes of the virtual controller isn’t the sliders as required for rudder but a full stick axes (though it’s only my guess, nothing more). So I have to bind my pedals to the first slider axis - Z axis. 
Anyway I’m happy that everything worked out in the end and I’ll be able to master the Ka-50 and Mi-24 I have bought recently.

Once again I want to thank everyone who tried to help me with this issue and especially Jon who haven’t gave up and helped me all the way. Thank you good sir!

[jonsky7]

Wohooooo,  

[Baldrick33]

Good news, great community, simply amazing help from @jonsky7