katana control stick oscillations

[yankeegolf 0]

Hi,

I've just bought (one day before the sales, ) the katana and I am discovering it. Unfortunately, it does not start well. When I touch my yoke it generates control stick oscillations for a few seconds. I have FSUIPC but not for the yoke axis so I use direct FSX control. If I switch to another aircraft, there is no problem so it is specific to the katana.

The other problem that I have is that when I select prop control with FSUIPC, the lever remains stuck. here again it is specific to the katana. I don't know if it is related.

I don't know what to do. Any idea.

Thank you because at present I cannot fly the katana

[Snave 466]

First, there is a SPECIFIC forum for the Katana X, if that is what you are referring to?

Next, congratulations on purchasing the most sophisticated GA addon for FSX. What you are experiencing is symptomatic of not reading the manual, not obeying the persistent damage modelling, not selecting the correct settings, failing to pick up something on the walkround - or simply flying the thing like an eedjit..!

Thirdly, the correct forum specifically mentions prop control and FSUIPC, as does the manual. Please read.

Probably best to actually read the instructions before criticising, as you've now probably picked up some damage from incompetent usage and now need to fix it before attempting to correct the technique. And you MUST Read the Fine Manual for that.

But you are correct that you at present cannot fly the Katana! Now you've learned of consequences, it's the time to avoid them by proper implementation of flying techniques required for this aircraft! I don't know how you have failed to learn this lesson if you are the same Yankeegolf from the A2A forums? Surely you have learned by now that sophisticated addons demand sophisticated self-education?

You WILL learn to love it. But first you must learn, to love it.

[yankeegolf 0]

hi,

Thank you for you reply

I am sorry I did not scroll down enough in the forum, I jumped on the FSX aircraft section. Shame on me! but that was my first visit

I will checkout the proper forum.

I am the same yankegolf as in the A2A forum. I have the B 377 and the B 17 so I am used to flying sophisticated aircraft.

That is why I have not flown the katana yet because I do know that I have to read the manual thoroughly before even starting the engine. I was just siting in the cold and dark cockpit reading the manual when I experienced the oscillation issue. So your assumption is biased...and severe.

How can you tell I criticised the product? I did not criticise the katana in any way because I do know how easy it is to make mistakes with a new aircraft. there was no doubt in my mind that I could be the one to blame.

[jcmmg 14]

Hi YG

Based on your description I have the same problem and I think it is related to FSUIPC. I have Katana's latest version and I manage to accumulate more than 50 hrs before this happened.

I suspect that my FSUIPC has been corrupted or damaged after I've installed some addons, so my advice is to check your FSUIPC first. One way to do it is check your “addon” menu and test other complex addons that relays on FSUIPC to work properly.

For some reason in my case I noticed that FSUIPC doesn't appear on the "Addon" menu. I would like to help more, but I didn't have the time to sit down and test my hypothesis then. If you manage to resolve it first please let me know!

Good luck,

Julio

PS: I'm going to be able to work on it next week.

[Tigerclaw 31]

I doubt it's FSUIPC to be honest, as he's NOT using it for his yoke. I would strongly encourage the course of action that snave has rather forcefully intimated, read the manual thoroughly. There is a section in there about setup, and is dedicated to the way you set up controllers. I would start there.

Because I too use FSUIPC for some controls, and FSX for others, I had to select the right settings on the Katana settings screen for how my controls were set up.

Just to be thorough, I would also suggest checking the FSUIPC.ini file for any dual entries, or conflicts and other potential problems. That is assuming you are using the payware version of FSUIPC, and can assign buttons and axis.

[jcmmg 14]

I finally got time to do some test and find a solution. What I'm goin to do is to explain a bit more about how I got this problem and how I've found a solution:

First: My problems started after I installed 5 addons in a row. (not a good idea)

Secund: I couldn't use my Katana at all, all the controls were stuck, they only vibrates after any joystick input. I've tried to repair the plane, and nothing happened. In other words, similar to what you have described.

Third: FSUIPC Module was missing (Hence my first replay).

Fourth: I manage to recover the FSUIPC Module. The problems persist, as Tigerclaw said, the Katana is not linked to it...

Fith: Problem solved!. I spend almost an hour looking at the fsx.cfg file looking for anomalies, but since I couldn't find anything, I decided to delete the fsx.cfg and leave FSX to create a new one. Then my Katana started to work perfectly again.

Hope it is not too late to help and hope that others can use this information in the event of something similar happening....

Best wishes to all,

Julio

[MarcelFelde 527]

Thanks for the feedback Julio!

[yankeegolf 0]

hi,

The problem had gone away (I don't know why) but is back now for no reason. I am back to square one after more than 10 succesful flight hours. Thank you Julio for the suggestion but If I create a new fsx.cfg file, will I loose something elsewhere?

Besides if I do that, I don't see why it will prevent this problem from happening again. The real fix must be elsewhere I am afraid

Thank you

[Snave 466]

How true. How very true.

[yankeegolf 0]

Here is what I have found:

starting point: Ailerons and elevator are controlled by FSUIPC (send to FSUIPC calibration) and not by FSX

Now If I unselect the joystick in the FSX menu, I have the oscillations

then I unselect the ailerons in FSUIPC, the ailerons don't move which is normal but I still have the oscillations with the elevator only

then I unselect the elevator in FSUIPC, nothing moves and no oscillations.

At this point the conclusion is that the oscillations are there when the ailerons and elevator are controlled by FSUIPC

Now that the ailerons are controlled neither by FSUIPC nor by FSX, nothing moves which is normal

then I use the FSX menu to control the ailerons and the elevator , and the oscillations are back (even though FSUIPC does not control the ailerons and elevator)

There must be a conflict somewhere but I have yet to find where. The problem is there only with the DA 20, all my other aircraft work fine.

It is annoying because I can no longer fly the DA 20.

Help appreciated . Thank you.

[MarcelFelde 527]

Please try the simple mode. Same problem here?

[yankeegolf 0]

Please try the simple mode. Same problem here?

thank you marcel for replying

unfortunately it does not change anything. The rudder pedals oscillate too as soon as I touch them, like the joystick

When I first had this problem I don't know what cleared it. I did nothing I can remmber of. Then I flew for a few weeks without any problem. At my last flight I used the control lock before leaving the aircraft. The next flight the oscillations showed. It may be a coincidence but I give you as much detail as possible with the hope that you will find a solution.

Is there a way to disable the flight control damage, just for investigation purpose?

Thank you again.

[Snave 466]

At no pint have you provided system and hardware specifications. Nor what you have done with null zone settings. Nor what have set FSUIPC with (individual aircraft setting? generic? null zones?)

I have previously written HOW to set up the controller to ally reasonably with the virtual controller. Did you follow that instruction?

This all seems to be nothing more than an error in null zone caused by the controller set up, but I won't offer any further assistance as you seem intent on demanding a wholly unnecessary patch from a developer for a home-brewed `issue`.

BTW I use FSUIPC exclusively set for control setup in the Kat X and have none of the issues you have noted. I did however, have a similar issue with another complex addon, and a simple adjustment to the null zone, and recalibration of the yoke for that specific aircraft under FSUIPC fixed it in under twenty seconds.

[CoolP 24]

Is there a way to disable the flight control damage, just for investigation purpose?

When you backup your current data file, to keep the hours and the status, and then use the reset tool you should get a fresh plane on the next start.

So if the behaviour was related to any system status, it should have vanished.

If you think that FSUIPC plays a role, through corrupted settings or something, maybe download a fresh installer and run it. Moving the ini file away or deleting it gives you a fresh FSUIPC installation. Maybe that's helpful for your testing.

[MarcelFelde 527]

The Katana only influences the controls if there is a fault. In simple mode this isn't the fact. So I think it is a conflict with the hardware. Keep in mind, profiles in FSUIPC can be assigned aircraft specific...

[CoolP 24]

The Katana only influences the controls if there is a fault. In simple mode this isn't the fact.

Oops, right you are of course.

Is there a way to disable the flight control damage, just for investigation purpose?

Then, yankeegolf, use the simple mode, as advised by Marcel.

To rule out FSUIPC as a cause, one could run FSX without the dll getting loaded.

If you backup your current dll.xml and then delete the FSUIPC entry, your FSX will start without any FSUIPC influence.

If you still get the control error, Marcel is once again right with the pointing at the hardware itself. But it should then fail at other planes too.

[Tigerclaw 31]

unfortunately it does not change anything. The rudder pedals oscillate too as soon as I touch them, like the joystick

Dirty pots in the controllers. I get this from time to time. Snave already said to recalibrate, and check null zones. I agree. Load the Katana, then bring up FSUIPC and go to the calibration tab. Without touching any controllers look at the numbers and see if they are constantly changing? If they are steady, move the controllers and let go again. Are they still steady, or they constantly changing? If they are constantly changing from the beginning, or after you move the controllers, then you DO need to recalibrate and check the null zones. Personally I would tick the "Aircraft Specific" box, recalibrate and check null zones anyway. This will set up a specific calibration for THAT particular aircraft paint. You may need to do this for each paint, or if you are adept at editing config files, check out the FSUIPC manual for how to use the "ShortAircraftNameOK" facilities so the same calibration will work for ALL the Katana paints.

You can also move your controllers in "full circles" several times, or for several minutes, to clean the pots. This may help.

[CoolP 24]

If it turns out to be a hardware problem, I must say that it's a shame that some hardware still uses 'pots' on the main elevator and aileron axes, instead of e. g. Hall Sensors, which aren't too expensive. However, if this is hardware related, it should show up at other planes too.