Alpha Yoke: Heading and FLC increments of 10 bug + trim sensitivity SOLUTION

If you use an alpha yoke, you are ware of the issues with the key switch not starting planes, the heading bug jumping 10deg’s, FLC changes in increments of 10, and the overly sensitive trim. There are a number of (complicated) solutions posted in AVSIM, but I found another that was very easy to set up, and FREE.

DISCLAIMER: I do not take credit for this, just sharing for others.

Original Link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kIJlzjDzELPxd2LpRxzlTmZsuqmXHB4F

Summary of actions needed:
#1 Download vJoy and Joystick Gremlin
#2 Setup vJoy to have 35 buttons (Axis’s you can if you like, but not needed)
#3 Start JoyStick Gremlin and create a new profile. (File → New Profile, Name and Save)
#4 Now map the buttons #13 - 35 in JoyStick Gremlin. These represent ALT through Key Start.

Button Mapping in Joystick Gremlin

  • Start with Button 13, find and click it in the list.
  • On the right, top Choose REMAP, then ADD from the left-most dropdowns.
  • In the window below, click add an action (red circle below) It will show up as a pause, click it, then make the changes listed below
  • Under action settings, choose vJoy, vJoy Device 1, then Button 13 + PRESS
  • add again, change pause time to 200ms (0.200)
  • add again, change to same as first but with release.
  • Name the action description at the top.

If you need to check which button # is assigned to which switch, click tools → input viewer. From there can you quickly figure out which button # is which switch.

Repeat this for all buttons on the panel (MASTER, AVIONICS, LIGHTS, MAGNETOS)


Key Switch Settings:

For Button 35, START, extra settings are needed to compensate for the extra time needed to start a plane. I am using 3.5 seconds and it works great.

Once complete, make sure the profile is saved and activated (Green GamePad)
Start MSFS2020

image

In-Game Settings.

  • Switch to default profile for Alpha Yoke
  • Make a copy of it with the preset manager, name it something (I use GA Aircraft Default)
  • Clear EVERY KEY BINDING for keys 13 through 35.
  • find your vJoy Device, and create a new profile as you did above.

Mapping vJoy in Game:

By default, the game uses SET (action) vs ON or OFF. We need to use each botton to call ON or call OFF vs SET.

For Example, LANDING LIGHTS ON = 23. LANDING LIGHTS OFF = 24.
Continue doing this for all buttons, except BCN, TAXI, and NAV.

There is another bug where ON/OFF commands don’t work for some reason, workaround is to set both keys to on and both keys to off as below. Just make sure you ALpha Yoke switch positions represent the desired state before you start the flight. E.G. Cold and Dark should be OFF.

When finished, should look like below:

image


MAGNETOS:

There is another bug here where if you set they’s keys to a specific mag (MAG 1, 2 etc) you get this rapid toggling behavior. I am not sure why. If you use the MAGNETOS (plural) options, it works great. Set those to look like below:

Fire up a plane, and give it a test. All buttons should work and your heading / FLC control should be factor 1 vs factor 10. Trim speed is reduced as well, so its easier to trim out planes now too.

If you find you need more time @ Start (E.G. Bonaza Realism mod) change your key timing as you see fit.

These settings have been tested with xCub G36, B36, 152 and 172 so far, zero issues.

I hope this helps those who are having issues here, and I really hope Asobo fixes this with the BRAVO work. If you have not submitted a ticket, please do so!

5 Likes

Thanks for this, trying it now.

1 Like

This has been working well for me so far. Going to switch over my axis inputs as well so I will have more control over senstivity curves. E.G. X-Plane type adjustments.

Did this stop working for anyone? Has stopped working for me and I cant figure out why…

Tried to do this today and it turned into a big fail. One of the two pieces of software locked Windows from being able to handle my X52 which I’m using for the throttle still and my Logitech Rudder pedals from being able to be controlled in Windows game controller settings. That also causes issues like the LCD display on the X52 going dark. I don’t want to set everything up all over again through these softwares, just the switches on the Alpha yoke ugh. Ended up removing them and then had to remove and reinstall the X52 and rudder pedals (remove device in devices & printers then unplug/reconnect) in order for Windows to see them properly again.

Okay managed to fix this. When I first tried to install Vjoy it hung at the very end and Google search showed suggestions to unplug controllers while installing. So I killed the install, unplugged controllers, and ran the install and it worked. Rebooted, plugged back in, problems happened. Just now I tried again, but unplugged everything first, rebooted. Each controller I plugged in, Windows installed again then asked for a reboot. Afterwards each controller is still working in devices & settings with Vjoy and Gremlin installed. So I guess I’m off to start configuring finally. I can only assume the first hangup with Vjoy maybe corrupted something with the install of the devices or something for Windows.