Momentary Toggles and 3-position switches

[bigdave32]

I have a Virpil CM3 and have built my own button box add-on that uses the same type of momentary toggle switches that the Virpil has on the bottom left.

I am trying to figure out how to code/bind these switches to operate things like the master arm or autopilot in the A-10 cockpit.  I am still new to toying with default.lua but I see the Flaps Up and Flaps Down work in a way that it raises or lowers the switch, not worrying about triggering a set position, just adjusting it up or down 1 position.

The master arm and autopilot switches don't have this functionality in the bindings.  I'm coming from the F/A-18C which has options like this using what looks like coding for ctrl_commands for moving a value up or down, regardless of it's current state.

Is it possible to set up a momentary toggle to move the master arm switch up or down independent of whether you want Train, Safe, or Arm in the A-10?

[jaylw314]

3 hours ago, bigdave32 said:

I have a Virpil CM3 and have built my own button box add-on that uses the same type of momentary toggle switches that the Virpil has on the bottom left.

I am trying to figure out how to code/bind these switches to operate things like the master arm or autopilot in the A-10 cockpit.  I am still new to toying with default.lua but I see the Flaps Up and Flaps Down work in a way that it raises or lowers the switch, not worrying about triggering a set position, just adjusting it up or down 1 position.

The master arm and autopilot switches don't have this functionality in the bindings.  I'm coming from the F/A-18C which has options like this using what looks like coding for ctrl_commands for moving a value up or down, regardless of it's current state.

Is it possible to set up a momentary toggle to move the master arm switch up or down independent of whether you want Train, Safe, or Arm in the A-10?

Not that I know of. You could program that sort of thing in Joystick Gremlin, or probably in your Virpil programming software, but not in DCS.

[avigdorlado]

4 hours ago, bigdave32 said:

I have a Virpil CM3 and have built my own button box add-on that uses the same type of momentary toggle switches that the Virpil has on the bottom left.

I am trying to figure out how to code/bind these switches to operate things like the master arm or autopilot in the A-10 cockpit.  I am still new to toying with default.lua but I see the Flaps Up and Flaps Down work in a way that it raises or lowers the switch, not worrying about triggering a set position, just adjusting it up or down 1 position.

The master arm and autopilot switches don't have this functionality in the bindings.  I'm coming from the F/A-18C which has options like this using what looks like coding for ctrl_commands for moving a value up or down, regardless of it's current state.

Is it possible to set up a momentary toggle to move the master arm switch up or down independent of whether you want Train, Safe, or Arm in the A-10?

For a normal 3 way switch, it only sends signals at up or down positions. In DCS you should look for bindings sometimes called special for joysticks like "Up action A else action B", "Down action C else action B".

Unfortunately there is no standard binding structure in DCS and it tends to vary from module to module, official and third parties. If you can't find the binding the suits your switches, you can always try wishlisting them.

[jaylw314]

I looked in https://github.com/Munkwolf/dcs-community-keybinds and there aren't any Master Arm keybinds that function that way either

[bigdave32]

18 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

Not that I know of. You could program that sort of thing in Joystick Gremlin, or probably in your Virpil programming software, but not in DCS.

I've used joystick gremlin before to manipulate the way a gamepad functions, giving it's D-pad button assignments.  How would I use it to make the momentary toggles work?

[jaylw314]

2 hours ago, bigdave32 said:

I've used joystick gremlin before to manipulate the way a gamepad functions, giving it's D-pad button assignments.  How would I use it to make the momentary toggles work?

Bind 3 vJoy buttons in DCS to Master Arm OFF, ARM and TRAIN.  then for your joystick, you'll have "UP" and "DOWN" buttons you want to assign. Then for "UP" have the remap to the vJoy button for OFF if TRAIN or none of the vJoy buttons is held down.  Also assign the vJoy button to for ARM if OFF is currently held down.   I assume you'll also need to turn off the 3 vJoy buttons if you assign a new one, too.  Basically, whenever you press UP, if the Master Arm TRAIN is being held down, it'll change it to OFF, if OFF is held down it'll change it to ARM (and if none is being held down it'll set it to OFF).

Mind you I haven't tested this out, but it seems like it should work

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by jaylw314

[LeCuvier]

On 3/19/2023 at 4:08 AM, bigdave32 said:

Is it possible to set up a momentary toggle to move the master arm switch up or down independent of whether you want Train, Safe, or Arm in the A-10?

No. These commands require a switch with 3 stable positions, if you want full "realistic" functionality. You should have equipped your button box with a few maintained 3-position switches.
Personally, I never use the "Train" position of the switch. With that usage philosophy, the momentary toggle switch is fine.