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CH flightsim yoke and throttle

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CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby shoes » Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:10 pm

Hi folks, This will be rambling ,my computer and fltgear recognized my yoke and most things work ok, however the rich/lean lever does not work ,when I am on the joystick settings menu and I move the lever the numbers change but the lever on the plane does not. I am not very tech savvy, but any help would be appreciated.
p.s. I know I can assign other buttons but being and old guy and former pilot I want to keep it as real as possible. Thanks ,shoes
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby Michat » Mon Dec 21, 2020 7:28 pm

Hi shoes, welcome to FG. I made some investigation over the xml code that should command your CH yoke in FG.

The file which is called pro-yoke-usb.xml resides in flightgear/Input/Joysticks/CH folder.

Please go to that folder and open the pro-yoke-usb.xml with a code/text editor of your preference.

Once is open you'll see a lot of xml code tags. No worries, just go to line 28-36, and you''l find this code fragment:

Code: Select all
LINE 28
<axis n="2">
  <desc>Throttle</desc>
  <binding>
   <command>nasal</command>
   <script>controls.throttleAxis()</script>
  </binding>
 </axis>

LINE 36
 <axis>
  <desc>Mixture</desc>
  <number>
    <unix>3</unix>
    <mac>3</mac>
    <windows>4</windows>
  </number>
  <binding>
   <command>property-scale</command>
   <property>/controls/engines/engine[0]/mixture</property>
   <offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
   <factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
  </binding>
  <binding>
   <command>property-scale</command>
   <property>/controls/engines/engine[1]/mixture</property>
   <offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
   <factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
  </binding>
 </axis>


Notice that in line 28 the axis is assigned to <axis n="2"> <desc>Throttle</desc>

However, in line 36 the axis mixture is defined but not assigned,to any axis number that
for windows must be <axis n="4"> (assuming you are using windows)

<axis>
<desc>Mixture</desc>
<number>
<unix>3</unix>
<mac>3</mac>
<windows>4</windows>
</number>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/controls/engines/engine[0]/mixture</property>
<offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
<factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/controls/engines/engine[1]/mixture</property>
<offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
<factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
</binding>
</axis>

In short you have to change the code of the line 36 to <axis n="4">

Code: Select all
   <axis n="4">
  <desc>Mixture</desc>
  <number>
    <unix>3</unix>
    <mac>3</mac>
    <windows>4</windows>
  </number>
  <binding>
   <command>property-scale</command>
   <property>/controls/engines/engine[0]/mixture</property>
   <offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
   <factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
  </binding>
  <binding>
   <command>property-scale</command>
   <property>/controls/engines/engine[1]/mixture</property>
   <offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
   <factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
  </binding>
</axis>
 

Then save the file and start FG again, however if FG is running you can go to FG menu Debug, click over reload input checking in runtime.

In my opinion the mixture and propeller pitch are initially not assigned to any axis by default, so the user can decide to use them later. I personally have both mentioned axis not assigned ( CH Eclipse Yoke ), because if for some reason you touch the mixture or prop pitch lever unintentionally you'll probably crash due to engine pan or just engine/prop break down. I recommend using mixture with M m and for prop pitch N n.

Cheers, 29.92, welcome aboard and Merry Christmas shoes.
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby DCQCRanch » Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:48 pm

I see this post went the way of more programming the software (I think, but don't know) than hardware. Please forgive my complete ignorance on all things Flight Sim related. I have a hardware (CH yoke) question, and given the thread's title, figured this was the best place to post my question. If I need to begin a new post specifically for this, please let me know.

The CH yoke my Honey's son loaned us to use has a broken Y-Axis lever, as you can see in the photo. Is there any replacement part for this, or would I have buy a new yoke if I don't like using what remains of the lever?

Okay, nevermind the photo. Can't figure out how to include it here. Any tips on how to do that? I expected a dialog to browse and select a photo from.
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby wkitty42 » Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:13 pm

you have to upload your pics to some server somewhere and then provide the link to the pic using image tags...

eg:
Code: Select all
[img]http://some.site.invalid/pics/foobar.png[/img]


it has to be a link directly to the image, not to the page the image is on... this is done like this so this server doesn't get bogged down having to hold all the images...
"You get more air close to the ground," said Angalo. "I read that in a book. You get lots of air low down, and not much when you go up."
"Why not?" said Gurder.
"Dunno. It's frightened of heights, I guess."
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby DCQCRanch » Mon Jan 25, 2021 3:16 am

Thanks WKitty. I'll see if I can ever figure out how to do that. Nonetheless, the middle Y-Rotation lever on the CH yoke. I'd sure like to fix it somehow. It is minimally workable, depending on how much that lever will be needed of course.

Here is a photo of the broken lever on the yoke: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5vwUhxTpLePH4GyJ9
What I needed to look up to identify the proper name of the lever: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rKrB4F5XRBBZZ4WW9

Thanks again wkitty for the photo tip. :) Google photos made it very easy to do.
I sure hope someone knows how I can fix this lever.
Chuck
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby wkitty42 » Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:25 pm

so here how your first photo link would look when editing/writing your post...
Code: Select all
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dQvqlUbToqZTSx6tq9mZFH7Uu7Y3rTAOC-5ytbumBpA_oPT9UhaPJdDzYKV8XIe9wSt9vBwaew07W53tu3L92k61VHBMagBlBYzhhJf-3r3-03td-a9qFBllmP5rdOJtqr2e1EQv33xu1ZtLbGRYcC=w1347-h1011-no?authuser=0[/img]

i got this link by clicking on the one in your post above and then clicking on the image to see it fully... then it was a simple right click and "copy image location" which i then pasted within the image tags as shown...

and here's the results...
Image
"You get more air close to the ground," said Angalo. "I read that in a book. You get lots of air low down, and not much when you go up."
"Why not?" said Gurder.
"Dunno. It's frightened of heights, I guess."
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby wkitty42 » Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:34 pm

to fix that lever, the only three options i can think of are:
1. try to super glue the broken one back on.
2. try to make a total replacement and fit it in place of the broken one.
3. buy a proper replacement and install it.

1 would be the easiest but likely the one to fail easiest.
2 and 3 means taking apart the device so you can get inside it and take apart the lever assembly... it might be that you can buy a new lever assembly and just replace all three and the board they may be attached to...
worst case scenario, just replace the device... a quick search and i can easily see that being somewhat painful to the wallet, though... so i thought about it a minute, adjusted my search, and came up with some videos and possible repair solutions... perhaps they will be of assistance to you? https://www.google.com/search?q=ch+flightsim+yoke+throttle+repair
it looks like you can get a lever from digi-key for like $4US... then it is just a matter of taking apart the device and fitting it... the videos should help with that, i think...
"You get more air close to the ground," said Angalo. "I read that in a book. You get lots of air low down, and not much when you go up."
"Why not?" said Gurder.
"Dunno. It's frightened of heights, I guess."
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Posts: 9148
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Location: central NC, USA
Callsign: wk42
Version: git next
OS: Kubuntu 20.04

Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby V12 » Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:52 pm

Some years ago I repaired similar lever on son's toy with this steps :
I drilled holes with 1 mm diameter into the lever parts, used needle as connecting peg and ofcourse superglue. Repair was sucessfull, but
son broke the lever again, but on another place...
Last edited by V12 on Mon Jan 25, 2021 7:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Fly high, fly fast - fly Concorde !
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby tom_nl » Mon Jan 25, 2021 4:59 pm

Another thought on repairing it - if you know someone with a 3D printer and who is handy with a 3D CAD program, if you take the yoke apart and get the piece out, they could probably draw up and print a replacement for you.

The other alternative could be to get a Logitech/Saitek quadrant (https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/product ... 00032.html) and use that instead for the engine - the two working levers on the CH would make good trim and flap levers.

Tom
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Re: CH flightsim yoke and throttle

Postby Michat » Mon Jan 25, 2021 7:46 pm

I personally have both mentioned axis not assigned ( CH Eclipse Yoke ), because if for some reason you touch the mixture or prop pitch lever unintentionally you'll probably crash due to engine pan or just engine/prop break down. I recommend using mixture with M m and for prop pitch N n.

My recomendation is don't repair it, because is better not to used fo the reason I explained above. Yes it's looks hole. But is not needed at all. The left throttle lever is the only needed.

With that yoke and a pair of pedals the user experience is 100 % satisfactory. Mixture with M m and for prop pitch N n will give you unmatch accuracy that the lever doesn't.

29.92 and welcome to FlightGear.
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