So some planes like the Grand Caravan have a lot of three position switches like for the fuel pump.
I am curious - how do you guys solve binding those switches ? It seems whatever option I choose within MSFS, it only seems to be made for 2 position switches. there are usually no bindable options for all three positions and Toggle leaves out one position. Set doesnt seem to work either.
I dont want to touch my mouse while in the cockpit so I am a bit at a loss.
Any input and inspiration would be much apprechiated.
The only way I know to do it is with SPAD.neXt (or a similar program). You can bind whatever switches, toggles or pots you have, as soon as they are recognized as a joystick. At last it’s what I’m using for a C208 cockpit.
How does that work in regards to Spad ? I mean, as far as I understand it, there ARE no proper bindings in the game itself. Not empty ones, not non-functioning ones. They just dont exist. Or in case of the toggle, it just skips one position on a 3 position switch.
This really depends on how far you want to go. The first thing to do is ditch using the default in sim bindings because they are often limited and not even available. I use Air Manager to control the cockpit items so no mouse is required. I can add actual 3 position switches if I want. There are other apps that allow a similar level of control using either an existing game controller, additional hardware or a soft control. Air Manager can do all three on top of its core function as an instrument panel generator.
The external control for all apps uses sim connect. The in sim bindings only use a subset of what’s available over sim connect.
Well, in the case of 208 and Spad, for example the Fuel Boost Switch, I have this in off position:
“MSFS:ELECT_FUEL_PUMP1_SET” Value=“0”
“MSFS:ELECT_FUEL_PUMP1_SET” Value=“2”
Center of the 3 pos switch does nothing, and On is:
“MSFS:ELECT_FUEL_PUMP1_SET” Value=“1”
“MSFS:ELECT_FUEL_PUMP1_SET” Value=“2”
I’m not a master on Spad, you could check his Discord channel, a lot of information. And you can try the software for free.
The centre of the switch does do something. I don’t use SPAD but that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Perhaps it’s a quirk of SPAD. I just set 3 different values for the 3 positions IIRC.
When I say does nothing I mean my real toggle in the center position in this case is the
same as in the one in the virtual cockpit, so sure it does something, but I do not bind to any value.
Ahhhh ha. I am beginning to understand I think. So you guys are saying that MSFS has a lot of functionality that is not covered in the simulators own keybindings but CAN be used with something such as Spad ?
So like, the sim could have a fuel pump switch with the settings LOW, MID, HIGH but would not have the keybindings for it. But Spud would allow you to.. connect ? Hook up ? Stream ? .. that function and allow you to assign it to a key in your peripherals ?
Did I get that right ?
How complicated is all that to learn and use ?
Yeah, more or less as you say. Easy? no, it takes a while to understand all that is capable that software, but you will find a lot of information on youtube and at the Discord channel, with a lot of people that will help you. Good luck.
There is a definite learning curve with SpadNext, Air Manager, FSUIPC and most others. I have bn using them for years and still just scratching the surface. If making a switch do what u want it to do makes you grin ear to ear then this is for u. The support forums are huge. Every day I learn some new.
Air manager is more for making 2d panels like we did back in the FSX days. Sliding those panels over to a tablet makes everything touch. Adding a Knobster makes it as real as it gets.
SpadNext was designed to program Saitek hardware panels. You can make them do anything, not just what the sim default controls do. SpadNext has evolved to all kinds of hardware now opening a whole world of imagination.
I can not startup my sims without having these guys doing their magic.
Yeah, thats me. I am a button pusher, I love an elegant and complex cold start sequence. So it seems Spad is the way to go.
Thank you all for your help and input !
If you want to get into SpadNext, I recommend watching Les’s videos first:-
https://www.youtube.com/c/LesOReilly/videos