Saitek Throttles

[Merlin216]

Im getting 2 Saitek Throttles (http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-Three-Throttle-Quadrant-PZ45/dp/B000TCEU4Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1260818411&sr=8-1) for Christmas this year. I fly mostly the C-17, so I wanted 4 throttles. I would like to know what people think about them, and I am curious to know if anyone has used one of the levers for trim or spoilers. With the X52, my spoilers are bound to the slider and the trim is on the scroll wheel so since I wont be using the X52 throttle with my Saitek Throttles, I need to find an alternative for trim.

[spotlope]

I have a pair of the throttles, and I absolutely love 'em. The lever length and throw is much better than my old CH throttle quad, and so far (over a year in), they've given me no problems. I have an FSUIPC profile that uses one of the levers as a spoiler for flying jets, and it works great. I assume it would work for trim as well, but I haven't tried it.

[Merlin216]

I have a pair of the throttles, and I absolutely love 'em. The lever length and throw is much better than my old CH throttle quad, and so far (over a year in), they've given me no problems. I have an FSUIPC profile that uses one of the levers as a spoiler for flying jets, and it works great. I assume it would work for trim as well, but I haven't tried it.

Yeah I have a friend whos grandpa has them and the saitek rudder pedals. I really liked the throttles. I havent had to deal with FSUIPC, and I honestly never knew you could do stuff like that with it. I wonder if FSX would pick them up as an axis if I told it to though. I can always put those back on my X52 stick, but I use those buttons for centering my view and zoom levels. I have 2 more modes to play with if I need to though, and I will have a bunch of buttons on the throttles if needed. I would just hate to have 2 levers sitting there without a purpose.

[JamesChams]

Mr. "merlin216,"

I have those Saitek Dual throttles along with this yoke and their great. However, the Trim switch on the Yoke is probably the correct and best use for Trim; because the entire range of the trim is NOT limited by the level Arc travel. So, that you can press continuesly to attain +/- 've trim verses NO more trim when you reach the stopping point of the axis. Also, with the level you would need to use FSUIPC to map the entire travel range of the trim or you'll get dead zones which WON'T give you the correct inputs consistantly. So, you can use it for that but, its not really the best option.

The second throttle is great for use with >2 multi-engine aircraft. I use them all with CS' C-130 along with the CH Pro Throttle which double as Prop/Mixture-controls. I also have both for when the B-52 comes out and I'll need >4 throttle levers. :jump:

So, what ever you decide, its well worth the money for this item.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas! :wavey:

[Merlin216]

Mr. "merlin216,"

I have those Saitek Dual throttles along with this yoke and their great. However, the Trim switch on the Yoke is probably the correct and best use for Trim; because the entire range of the trim is NOT limited by the level Arc travel. So, that you can press continuesly to attain +/- 've trim verses NO more trim when you reach the stopping point of the axis. Also, with the level you would need to use FSUIPC to map the entire travel range of the trim or you'll get dead zones which WON'T give you the correct inputs consistantly. So, you can use it for that but, its not really the best option.

The second throttle is great for use with >2 multi-engine aircraft. I use them all with CS' C-130 along with the CH Pro Throttle which double as Prop/Mixture-controls. I also have both for when the B-52 comes out and I'll need >4 throttle levers. :jump:

So, what ever you decide, its well worth the money for this item.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas! :wavey:

Thats what bothered me about some of the rotary knobs on the X52. I used that scroll wheel because it was easier and more precise. With the rotary I noticed it was very sensitive, and I could practically fly the plane with it. I dont have a yoke, and probably wont get one. 95% of the time I fly the C-17, and IRL it has a stick instead of a yoke. Having the 4 throttles for 4 engine birds will be a huge improvement in ground handling, and overall experience I think.

Thanks for the replies gents.

[scott967b]

I find esp in fsx that trim up/down button works better than an axis. For a 4 engine spoiler/engine1-4/flaps works good on the Saitek. you might need to be careful on the calibration between the 2 units.

scott s.
.

[DB93]

I've got a pair of the Saitek throttles, and honestly can't say enough good things about them. I can't comment on use for spoilers and such as I just have them configured for twin engine props (and just use every other lever for single engines). As already mentioned in this thread, the range of motion is fantastic, and I also love that they have a button below the bottom detent point that can be assigned for reversing throttles when the levers are pushed below the detents. Hope you get as much enjoyment from them as I have. I just love 'em. :)

[IanP]

When I have my full rig on my desk (which I don't right now), I have a total of one yoke and nine levers beside me. The only thing I used FSUIPC for on my previous system was to allocate one of the levers as undercarriage because FS doesn't allow that directly. Using FSUIPC gives much more control over what you are doing, however, than the FS internal systems do, for instance individual engine thrust reverse, the aforementioned gear lever and quite a bit more.

[GypsyBaron]

I have the Pro Yoke and two throttle quadrants as well as
an X-45 stick/throttle setup.

I don't use the yoke ( it hangs on the side of my hutch )
but I use both throttle quads. I have the X-45 throttle
axis disabled but I use the buttons and switches on that
unit plus those on the stick.

I use the 2 Pro quads for throttles and also mixture and
prop pitch on most aircraft. ( I fly propliners alot, the A2A
B-377 being my favorite ).

I also use the switches on the dual quadrants for A/C
systems that I don't have programmed into the X-45.

BTW, I do not use the Saitek software for the Pro units as
it can not co-exist with the X-45 software and Saitek never
did come up with a conversion utility.

I program the Pro quadrants through a combination of
the FSX Controls menu and FSUIPC.

Lately I've been experimenting with the macro and lua
programming facilities provided by FSUIPC to increase
the capabilities of the Pro quadrants...mulitple actions
for the same switch based on other switch settings, etc.

As for the quadrants, they have been working fine, although
I did have some noisy pots on one of them.I opened it up
and sprayed the pots with Radio Shack Electronics Cleaner
and that fixed the noisy spots.

I attach mine to an extension of my keyboard tray ( width )
with heavy duty vecro strips as I found the mounting
hardware to be too large/clumsy for my setup.

I can also lift my keyboard and place the yoke there
with the keyboard on top, should I want to use the yoke.
The velcro mounting makes this possible with a minimum of fuss.

Paul

[Merlin216]

Thanks for the replies guys. I was able to look at my friends throttles the other day and liked them very much. The overall feel was pretty nice. Your posts have been very helpful, I just need to look more into FSUIPC apparently. I am a little concerned about my trim still. The spoilers bother me as well, but I dont think they will be as much of an issue since I have alternatives for that. If I am able to set up the trim on the next lever over, I am concerned with how sensitive it will be and what problems will arise when I fly with another person in the plane on MP. I was fortunate with my X52 throttle to not have to worry about neutral trim for online play. Do any of you have any trim alternatives that you use, like buttons or something?

[DB93]

I have a CH yoke, and I just use the thumb rocker buttons on the handles for trim. Before that, I used a hat switch on the throttle of my old x36.

[spotlope]

Yep, I use the rockers on my Saitek yoke for trim as well. Buttons are the way to go, it seems. The spoiler axis shouldn't be an issue for you - works fine for me.

@Ian - I hadn't thought about using one of the levers for a gear handle. Clever! Will give that a go tomorrow.

[GypsyBaron]

I use the Rotary 1 on my Saitek X-45 throttle for elevator
trim. I have it programmed as 3 bands, 0-39%, 40-60%
and 61-100%.

The upper and lower bands are programmed to send NUM 1 and NUM 7,
the FSX default trim keys with REPEAT set up. The center band has no key
programmed so is the neutral position.

I jusy use my thumb to dial in trim and it works quite well.

Alternatively, I could have assigned that rotary as a trim
axis in FSUIPC but since I already had it set up with the
keystoke commands I just left it like that.

I did asign one of my throttle quadrant axis for elevator
trim on the A2A Cub, just as a test, using FSUIPC.
It also works well and didn't seem too sensitive, but then
when you are only chugging along at 60-60 knots the
trim variations don't has dramatic effects :)

Paul

[Merlin216]

Spotlope: With the spoilers, did it just go from 0-100 on the throttle, or did it add in the reverse thrust too?

I have tried the trim on buttons before, and it was kinda nice. I definitely did not prefer it to my scroll wheel on the X52 throttle. If I dont like the trim on a lever, Ill just work out something with the buttons below or perhaps put my X52 throttle on the desk as well. Thanks for the info guys, really appreciate everyones inputs.

[spotlope]

I just used the full lever travel, from 0-100, but not the buttons at the end of the throw. Seems to work well. You might find that you have to reverse the axis in order for it to work the way it does IRL.

[IanP]

The way I did the gear, Bill, was to assign two arcs - one using 100% to 75%, the other using 25% to 0% of the throw. The top arc I set as "on entry, Gear up", the bottom arc I set as "on entry", gear down". T'works for me. Or it might, now, anyway. I won't know until I plug it all in and find Windows 7 drivers.

I had two basic setups for the nine levers, which I just copied and pasted around inside the config file so it selected the appropriate one when I loaded an aircraft:

1 or 2 engine:
throttle x2, prop pitch x2, mixture x2, spoilers, flaps, gear.

4 engine:
prop pitch (blame the A2A B377 for that), throttle x4, not used, spoilers, flaps, gear.

The switches on all devices I kept common so that when I swatted at one in a hurry, I knew it would do what I asked - only the lever assignments changed between the numbers of engines. When flying a single engine model, I moved both engine 1 and 2 assigned levers simultaneously - gives you more to hold onto, if nothing else.

Yup. That lot is something else I have to add onto the reinstall list.

Rebuilding a long established FS installation is a PITA. :sleep:

[spotlope]

Interesting. My thought was that I'd just use the detente "buttons" for the gear; upper detente to raise gear, lower detente to drop gear. The lever throw could be use to just stow the handle up and out of the way. I'll try it your way too and see which one suits me best.

Thanks to the CS monster sale, I've got a new profile to create: 3-engine jet. :engel016:

[GypsyBaron]

Just FYI on axis use, FSUIPC will allow you to 'break' an
axis into multiple segments and assign a FS control to
each segment, independent of the others.

I find the assignment/programming capabilities of FSUIPC
to be excellent, as it the support from the author via his
forum. I highly recommend the registered version for anyone
that has complex controllers and assignment needs.

Paul

[spotlope]

Amen, brother Paul. :applause:

[IanP]

I just use the 4-engine profile for the three holer. ;)

[spotlope]

That's the easy way out. :icon_lol: Hey, it just occurred to me that I can use every one of my six levers for the 727 - three throttles, speedbrakes, flaps, and gear. Now if I could just finish my work for the day, I'd try it out.