Radar Cursor

[jc1]

Is the radar cursor supposed to move and drift even though I don’t move or touch the microstick on the CH Pro Throttle?

[TeeSquare]

It shouldn’t move on its own. The microstick on that throttle has a lot of wiggle room so I needed to set a large dead zone for it.

[jc1]

I got the deadzone on the X and Y axes set to large, but my cursor moves. Guess I need a repair. How do I fix it?

[Icarus]

You probably need to replace the switch. Same thing happens with the one on the Cougar. They wear out.

[CobaltUK]

It’s a major pain. In my case (cougar) if I wiggle the stick a little iover one spot it usually sticks when I let go. Till next time

[TeeSquare]

When I used that throttle I had to use ch control manager to make the dead zone big enough. BMS dead zone to large wasn’t enough. The microstick has a very large amount of wiggle at center. Hopefully it is just that and that you don’t need to replace it.

[jhook]

I have had this problem in the past and resolved it. It is a conflict with the key strokes and your hotas.

First, make sure you use the std keystoke file. The bms keystroke file created the issue partly because my hotas had a conflict with the cursor key function. Second, map the mini stick within the hotas software. Do not use the hotas mini stick axis in the bms config settings. Third, do not map your hotas mini stick with a 8 point fov as this will conflict with the bms keystroke file.

Give this a shot. It worked out well fr me.

:headb:

[FoxBMS]

Hi boys
can’t get work function SimRadarCursorZero 1001 0 0X35 0 0 0 1 “TQS: RDR CURSOR - Cursor Reset”. If i understand it right it means cursor back to the middle of FCR or HAD etc… I set it to slash (beside right shift) and it doesn’t work, i don’t have it twice there in the key file. Even if i set it to another key (or any key combination) it still doesn’t work. Cursor moving working ok but when i’m in fight i have to put cursor manually back to the middle and it takes too much time when you must quicky lock another target, thx for help

[jc1]

@TeeSquare:

When I used that throttle I had to use ch control manager to make the dead zone big enough. BMS dead zone to large wasn’t enough. The microstick has a very large amount of wiggle at center. Hopefully it is just that and that you don’t need to replace it.

My problem is not wiggle room. The cursor starts to drop to the bottom of the MFD as soon as I start a TE mission.

These are questions from the CH Products rep, and my answers to the CH Products rep:
In which direction does it drift?
1. It drifts straight down during the sim.
Do you see this issue within the calibration screen?
2. No, I don’t see drift in the calibration screen of Control Manager software.
Are you calibrating with Windows, or the Control Manager software?
3. It’s calibrated with Control Manager software
Have you tried to apply a dead zone?
4. Yes, my sim has 4; none, small, medium, large. I tried them all, but makes no difference.

Then the CH Products rep replied with this, but it wasn’t much help to me:
If it does not show up in the calibration screen, then the microstick may not be defective. You may want to check your assignments in the Flight Simulator to ensure they are not duplicated somewhere.
What other products do you have plugged in?
You may also want to try the Pro Throttle on another computer, and calibrate within Windows without the Control Manager installed

Does everybody here that uses CH Products Pro Throttle have the radar cursor drop to the bottom of the MFD as soon as they start a TE mission?

[jc1]

@jhook:

… Second, map the mini stick within the hotas software. …

How did you do that with the CH Control Manager software?

[TeeSquare]

@foxbms.

Cursor zero is for something else. It is supposed to reset cursor slews relative to your steer points when using FCR or TGP. This is currently not implemented in 4.32. Basically your steerpoints move along with your FCR when looking for targets. When done, you need to cursor zero or the steerpoints will all be moved.

[jhook]

@jc1:

How did you do that with the CH Control Manager software?

I am not familiar with CH HOTAS config manager. My G940 is able to map any in game functions. I would think that CH would he able to do the same.

Also look for any key conficts. I.e. any doubled key that has been mapped for the mini stck.

[jc1]

@jhook:

I am not familiar with CH HOTAS config manager. My G940 is able to map any in game functions. I would think that CH would he able to do the same.

Also look for any key conficts. I.e. any doubled key that has been mapped for the mini stck.

Thank you, jhook.:D You got me motivated and I found a way to avoid using the microstick on the CH Pro throttle. I wish I didn’t have to, but it was driving me nuts when I had to constantly adjust the position of the radar cursor.

First I went to the BMS Setup/Controllers/Advanced/Avionics Control and changed Cursor X and Cursor Y from CH Control Manager Device 2 to Keyboard.
Then I modified my keyfile with this, which maps to the POV hat on the CH Pro Throttle:
SimCursorUp 304 -1 -2 0 0x0 1
SimDoNothing 305 -1 -2 0 0x0 2
SimCursorRight 306 -1 -2 0 0x0 3
SimDoNothing 307 -1 -2 0 0x0 4
SimCursorDown 308 -1 -2 0 0x0 5
SimDoNothing 309 -1 -2 0 0x0 6
SimCursorLeft 310 -1 -2 0 0x0 7
SimDoNothing 311 -1 -2 0 0x0 8

[jhook]

@jc1:

Thank you, jhook.:D You got me motivated and I found a way to avoid using the microstick on the CH Pro throttle. I wish I didn’t have to, but it was driving me nuts when I had to constantly adjust the position of the radar cursor.

First I went to the BMS Setup/Controllers/Advanced/Avionics Control and changed Cursor X and Cursor Y from CH Control Manager Device 2 to Keyboard.
Then I modified my keyfile with this, which maps to the POV hat on the CH Pro Throttle:
SimCursorUp 304 -1 -2 0 0x0 1
SimDoNothing 305 -1 -2 0 0x0 2
SimCursorRight 306 -1 -2 0 0x0 3
SimDoNothing 307 -1 -2 0 0x0 4
SimCursorDown 308 -1 -2 0 0x0 5
SimDoNothing 309 -1 -2 0 0x0 6
SimCursorLeft 310 -1 -2 0 0x0 7
SimDoNothing 311 -1 -2 0 0x0 8

Your welcome. Any little bit I can do to help.

To truly fix the problem, bms would need to create a configurable shaping axis for the mini stick. Much like in the way the joystick has a axis screen in the config setup. Dont know if this issue will be addressed in 4.33 but it does seem that othe vps are having this issue.

[Moose]

Thanks Gents…. Nice to see that Im not alone with this drifting cursor issue. I now have this issue on both my Warthog Throttle as well as my pit’s TQS.

[Stevie]

It’s really more an issue with the hardware that it is with BMS - the micro-stick doesn’t center/zero/null repeatably…not only on one throttle, but also varies from throttle to throttle. So you have to do some real fiddling with dead zones until you get something that works for your particular hardware. I suppose BMS could provide more complex dead zone shaping or centering translation, but I don’t really see that as a “must have”, IMO.

The best way to fix cursor drifting is to noodle out how the micro-stick output behaves and then program up a way to make it translate into arrow key commands. I’ve done this with a Cougar TQS that I converted with a Bodner board for use with FAF Mac, using a utility called ControllerMate, but you should also be able to do this using Foxy…from what I can make out of Foxy…not sure about TARGET, as I’ve totally given up on TARGET.

[jhook]

@Stevie:

It’s really more an issue with the hardware that it is with BMS - the micro-stick doesn’t center/zero/null repeatably…not only on one throttle, but also varies from throttle to throttle. So you have to do some real fiddling with dead zones until you get something that works for your particular hardware. I suppose BMS could provide more complex dead zone shaping or centering translation, but I don’t really see that as a “must have”, IMO.

The best way to fix cursor drifting is to noodle out how the micro-stick output behaves and then program up a way to make it translate into arrow key commands. I’ve done this with a Cougar TQS that I converted with a Bodner board for use with FAF Mac, using a utility called ControllerMate, but you should also be able to do this using Foxy…from what I can make out of Foxy…not sure about TARGET, as I’ve totally given up on TARGET.

I disagree.

This has a lot to do with how bms shapes the cursor so to speak. And, using your HOTAS to assign the keyboard commands (up, down, left, right) neutralizes automatically. In other words, if I move my cursor to the upper left on my FCR, it will stay there and not drift. That is the problem with the current bms “mini stick” function IMO. The axis can not be shaped for this. It needs to read/see when your throttle “mini stick” is “centered” and when it is full up, down, left and right. Much like how the joystick centering is in the “set up” menu. Once bms can do that, then any input from the throttle (or any other device with a shaping axis) can be configured for the “mini stick”.

[CobaltUK]

Oddly for me the dead zone setting made in setup/controller does not survive a fresh start of bms. At least not for the microstick. It DOES for x,y pitch axis. A drifting cursor can totally wreck an AG mission.

[Stevie]

@CobaltUK:

Oddly for me the dead zone setting made in setup/controller does not survive a fresh start of bms. At least not for the microstick. It DOES for x,y pitch axis. A drifting cursor can totally wreck an AG mission.

Yes - I’ve discussed cursor drift a bit with RedDog and it really is due to the microstick being a poor choice of hardware…I have three Cougar TQSs and a CH throttle with a microstick and no two of them behave the same - the CH throttle is a particularly bad actor. As jhook points out, when you use the arrow keys as a work around they null automatically - this is exactly why this workaround (mapping the microstick to the arrow keys) works so well. You can look at microstick calibration and position raw data directly using a utility and see just how poorly this device returns to and/or holds center…and as the unit wears it’s RTZ only gets worse.

I’ve been considering a few mods to the Cougar TQS to try and solve this behavior - one is to come up with some sort of collar - foam or rubber - to put under the button to force the microstick to a more repeatable zero. The other is to replace the microstick completely with a pointing stick - the little mouse-nub that is found in the keyboard of some laptops. This unit is a force sensor like the SSC - and more like the real cursor switch in the jet. I think I’ve found one of these with a Z axis, so I can use that for CAGE/UNCAGE, as well as the X/Y function to move the cursors.

Since both the pointing stick and the microstick behave as a mouse (which I discovered wiring it to a Bodner board to convert one) it should be a direct wire in replacement - if you are going to map either to arrow keys the trick is to figure which quadrant the device is in and assign the appropriate arrow key or keys, which is what I did to map it with ControllerMate for Mac use…works very well - I still had to fiddle with dead band, but I have my converted Cougar TQS cursor control rock-stable.

[Wilkotaz]

Hey guys.

I wonder if you may be able to help me with my Thrustmaster Cougar throttle. I bought it as new off ebay about 8 months back and with a bit of foil, grease and tinkering with antenna pots (as explained at cougarworld), managed to make my throttle perform a lot better than stock standard. The microstick which controls the radar has on a couple of rare occasions been ‘spiky’ enough to cause the radar cursor to move on its own accord across my FCR. However, with gentle movement it generally returned to centre.

The other day I learnt how to lock targets up with the HMCS in TWS mode (my god why didn’t I know about this before!!) but unfortunately when I click on my mfd button to switch from SLEW mode to BORE mode in order to make this possible, it switches straight back to SLEW mode within half a second. I figured out this is because in BORE mode if at any time you touch the radar cursor/microstick the jet will automatically switch you back to SLEW mode (makes sense). I now realise that my microstick pot is spiking ever so slightly and causing this to happen. It is so slight that I cannot even see the cursor move on the screen but if I fiddle with the stick a little and keep clicking the SLEW button it eventually allows me into BORE mode (well after whoever I was trying to lock up has flown off into the distance…).

Does anyone have any suggestions? I figured I could clean the pot but haven’t found any instructions on how to do the microstick pot specifically. Is buying a new pot still an option? I’ve read somewhere Hall Sensor pots are much better than the standard ones but again unsure where to look or if they are very difficult to install. Or perhaps another option, as some of you have suggested I could play with the microstick dead zones but I am a little unsure how to do this? Is it an option in windows game controllers setup? (been a while since I installed the throttle via one of Realsimulators TUSBA TQS R2 adaptors).

Cheers in advance!