MarkB
03-27-2009, 05:16 AM
Last week I bought the Saitek Pro Throttle Quad. I already had throttles on the CH Yoke but wanted to expand for twin engines plus add reverse thrust for the Twotter for the icefield missions. I thought as the Saitek is only £45 I'd buy one to test, and if happy I'd buy a second when funds permit.
Hardware:
The way you can mount it to the desk is like a G-Clamp and allows for different orientations, even above your head (if you have shelf or similar to clamp it too). You can also configure it to mount on top of the desk or in front of the desk. I opted for in front. It gives a better more realistic feel to the position plus you're not reaching for them.It also comes with extra throttle, Prop and Mixture knobs for configurations and a 'bar' type to connect all three levers together as one.
Setup:
It took me a while to set up, the first disappointment was that the reverse thrust are actually switches under the throttle levers. So, when to bring the level to zero you push them past the stop and they hit a switch. Unfortunately in FSX there is no way to assign a switch to reverse thrust! I found a work around of assigning the switch to Decrease Thrust in the assignments with a repeat. Now when I push the lever passed the stops and the switch engages and the thrust decrease and enages the reserve thrust. THis works rather well and the reverse thrust comes in gradually and you can push the lever forward (disenging the switches) at the required amount.
There are also 3 rocker switches on the front of the throttle allowing 6 extra swich assignments. I've assigned these to engine starters for twin engine aircraft but not sure what to assign the remaining 4 too.
The second issue I had was USB ports. When I tested the throttle I only had that plugged in. My mother bought me the Saitek Pro Panel for Christmas but it was still in the box unused...This was the time to set it up! Big problem being that with the TrackIR, CH Yoke, CH Pedels, Panel, mouse and now throttles I'd run out of USB ports.
Luckily I had bough a USB hub from a £1 shop the week before and pulled them in. Problems where:
Panel needs the 5v from the USB, the hub doesn't supply this
TrackIR wouldn't work through it (device not recongised)
The Z axis on the throttle was reading as the X axis, so the mixture and prop lever where one and the same
So, tip of the day, don't buy cheap USB hubs. I now have a better 7 port powered hub that cost me £20. Everything fitted and work fine.
Conclusion:
I'm going to buy another throttle when I have the money. It's well built and easy to set up once you know about the switches. I have bought a full version of FSUIPC though to allow me to set it differently for different aircraft. EG I have it set for T,P,M on the Cessna and T,T,P on the Twotter. The extra 6 switches allows more expansion and combined with the Panel I hardly touch the keyboard for funtions.
Hardware:
The way you can mount it to the desk is like a G-Clamp and allows for different orientations, even above your head (if you have shelf or similar to clamp it too). You can also configure it to mount on top of the desk or in front of the desk. I opted for in front. It gives a better more realistic feel to the position plus you're not reaching for them.It also comes with extra throttle, Prop and Mixture knobs for configurations and a 'bar' type to connect all three levers together as one.
Setup:
It took me a while to set up, the first disappointment was that the reverse thrust are actually switches under the throttle levers. So, when to bring the level to zero you push them past the stop and they hit a switch. Unfortunately in FSX there is no way to assign a switch to reverse thrust! I found a work around of assigning the switch to Decrease Thrust in the assignments with a repeat. Now when I push the lever passed the stops and the switch engages and the thrust decrease and enages the reserve thrust. THis works rather well and the reverse thrust comes in gradually and you can push the lever forward (disenging the switches) at the required amount.
There are also 3 rocker switches on the front of the throttle allowing 6 extra swich assignments. I've assigned these to engine starters for twin engine aircraft but not sure what to assign the remaining 4 too.
The second issue I had was USB ports. When I tested the throttle I only had that plugged in. My mother bought me the Saitek Pro Panel for Christmas but it was still in the box unused...This was the time to set it up! Big problem being that with the TrackIR, CH Yoke, CH Pedels, Panel, mouse and now throttles I'd run out of USB ports.
Luckily I had bough a USB hub from a £1 shop the week before and pulled them in. Problems where:
Panel needs the 5v from the USB, the hub doesn't supply this
TrackIR wouldn't work through it (device not recongised)
The Z axis on the throttle was reading as the X axis, so the mixture and prop lever where one and the same
So, tip of the day, don't buy cheap USB hubs. I now have a better 7 port powered hub that cost me £20. Everything fitted and work fine.
Conclusion:
I'm going to buy another throttle when I have the money. It's well built and easy to set up once you know about the switches. I have bought a full version of FSUIPC though to allow me to set it differently for different aircraft. EG I have it set for T,P,M on the Cessna and T,T,P on the Twotter. The extra 6 switches allows more expansion and combined with the Panel I hardly touch the keyboard for funtions.