Considering a Steam Deck - as I understand they are programmable buttons that can be mapped to MSFS 2024 controls that are on/off functions, such as landing gear up or landing gear down.
Functions like flaps could be programmed if multiple buttons are allocated to percentage values, such as 20% flaps, 50% flaps.
So pretty much anything that can be programmed to a keyboard key or keyboard macro, with (I think) the advantage of being able to change the color/icon on the key depending on the current status of use. For example “red” for parking brake on, “green” for parking brake off. And would this require two buttons, or just one?
Programming is best done with add on software such as Spad.next, which I just downloaded the trial version.
Or maybe Iʻve misunderstood the subject…
Thanks for any replies.
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Hello 
First things first : everything you said is right.
The Stream Deck looks like a really cool add-on for simulation, and as I own two of it for my setup (the one with knobs, the XL version with 32 buttons) : it is really cool.
I just wanted to jump in to let you know that programming buttons is a bit harder than it seems. Yes, you can just map key stroke to buttons on the streamdeck really easily. But if you want to get deeper, for example by getting from the sim the status of your landing gears, or lights, there’s a bit more work.
Fortunately, there are very cool peoples that have made the work for us. Rather than Spad (which is also a great product !), people are using Axis and Ohs, a program that is less expensive than Spad, but still costs a bit. Axis and Ohs is available on Just Flight. While you’ll be able to do everything by yourself with Spad and AAOs, many of the pre-designed templates that you can find on FS.to are using AAOs.
I have to mention a fantastic dev, FlightPanels, who sell streamdeck pages also, available on FS.to. FlightPanels went for an other solution using FSUIPC, which like Spad.next and AAOs is a solution to read/write variables of your simulator. FSUIPC is less specialized than Spad or AAO, but it has been used for 25 years to create home cockpits (when you see people having an airbus or boeing cockpit at home, you can be 100% sure they’re using FSUIPC somewhere in their setup).
Two things :
- I don’t know your background. You might totally be able to take the files designed for AAOs and make your own way into Spad with it. If you know a bit about it, the big challenge is to find the correct SimVars / SimEvents and map the correct icons. It’s not impossible, but require sometimes a bit of tests and trials, and some computer knowledge.
- Credits to the people who made the fantastics templates available on FS.to and on other sites, what I do it often to download their profiles and “steal” buttons for my own templates; they’ve done the big work of having multiple pages of button, I design my own “cockpit” around it
Hope it helps !
K.
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If you want to do your profiles by yourself you can also use Pilot’sDeck (just google it) which is a very powerfull free open source Plugin for the StreamDeck. I personnally use SpadNext as it is also compatible with my Knobster. In Pilots Deck you could use 2 buttons with a +/- function and a third one as a display of the current state (+ Flaps) (Flap Indicator) (-Flaps). Pilot Deck allows you even to display a state in a gauge. you can have simple, dynamic, Korry buttons and com buttons as well
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Thanks for the replies and information. I decided to test the waters with a Corsair K55 RGB Pro keyboard with 6 function keys that are programmable as Stream Deck keys.
I can see the value of Stream Deck, however I had a terrible experience with the K55 keyboard. The iCue and Elgato software combination was very buggy for me. The keyboard hardware was okay but it kept losing programming after a restart or wake from sleep. I wasted many hours troubleshooting - hours that should have been spent in MSFS.
Returned the keyboard and doubt I’ll purchase a Stream Deck. FYI - didn’t know that Elgato is a Corsair brand.
Thanks!
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