WELCOME TO
TQ Throttle ATQ2008A Version 3.0 – October 2009 – for Flight Simulator X Flight Simulator X SP1 or greater is required
INDEX
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INTRODUCTION INSTALLATION CONFIGURING TQ THROTTLE FOR FIRST TIME USE USING TQ THROTTLE DEVICE COMPATIBILITY NOTES HOW TO CONTACT SUPPORT
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Official website for information and support: http://www.flightsimulatorcenter.com
By Luciano Napolitano 1
1 - INTRODUCTION Welcome to TQ Throttle unit for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The throttle device has the followings features: • Plug&Play USB connection and driver for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 (both 32 and 64 bits editions are supported); • Servo assisted throttle levers, speed brake lever and trim wheels, for real time feedback from Flight Simulator autothrottle and autopilot; • Thrust reverser levers; • Thrust levers can be moved while the autothrottle is connected (FSUIPC is required; the levers will return to their original position once released); • Fuel valve shutoff levers; • Autothrottle disconnect and TOGA buttons; • Flaps lever with B737 standard detents; • Motorized trim wheels (for feedback only); • Park brake lever with status indicator; • Gear horn cutoff button; • Backlighted panel; • Optional driver for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and Flight Simulator X; • Designed to work with Microsoft default aircrafts and with most third parties add-on aircrafts; • Compatible with Project Magenta and other glass cockpit software (FSUIPC required); • Customizable offsets for full controls of third parties software (FSUIPC required); • Throttle lever’s behaviour can be customized to control three and four engine aircrafts; • Can be used with multiple aircrafts through custom profiles for each aircraft; • Keyboard emulation for AT disconnect buttons, TOGA button and Fuel valves shutoff levers, to extend the compatibility to most add-on aircrafts.
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2 - INSTALLATION It is recommended to install the drivers before the TQ Throttle is physically connected to the computer. This will ensure that the Plug & Play procedure will work as required. You must have Administrator rights into operative system to ensure correct installation! Make sure that antivirus and other malware software doesn’t prevent the setup program to copy the files as expected (just in case, you may wish to disable them during the setup process) To install the USB and Flight Simulator driver for TQ Throttle, please insert the DVD supplied with the unit, in the DVD drive and wait for upcoming instructions. If the “Autoplay” for your DVD drive is disabled, just browse to the DVD manually and run SETUP. The automated setup will try to auto-detect the Flight Simulator installation folder, but should this operation fail for some reason, please just browse to the correct Flight Simulator folder manually, as directed by the installer.
During the first phase of the installation process, the files for Flight Simulator are installed. These files let Flight Simulator to recognize and operate the TQ Throttle (the window displayed here is for Flight Simulator 2004, but the process is the same for FSX).
During the last phase of the installation process, the USB driver are installed. They let your operative system (Windows XP or Vista) to recognize the TQ Throttle properly, so that the driver for Flight Simulator can work as expected. During this process, a window like the one displayed on the left is shown.
Once the drivers are fully installed, you can connect the power supply cable to the TQ Throttle unit and then connect the USB cable from TQ Throttle to the computer. The TQ Throttle works in COM (serial) emulation via USB, so a fictitious new serial port is added to your PC configuration. In order to use the TQ Throttle, you need to know the unique COM port number assigned to the TQ Throttle by your operative system. To do so, please follow these steps:
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• From Windows START button, run “devmgmt.msc” as a command line program (use START | Run | type devmgmt.msc | click OK in Windows XP or just type devmgmt.msc in Windows Vista as illustrated below):
• The following window will appear, just click “Ports” to expand the tree and get a list of the ports installed in your PC.
• The port belonging to TQ Throttle is listed as “USB Serial Port”. Should you have multiple serial ports with the same name, just double click each of them and check the manufacturer. If the manufacturer is FTDI, then this is the serial port belonging to TQ Throttle. Take a note of the COM port number (4 in the example above), as it will be required by Flight Simulator driver. If you have additional peripherals based on FTDI chip, just disconnect the TQ throttle and take note about the COM port no longer listed. • You are now ready to configure and use the TQ Throttle in Flight Simulator, please see the next chapter.
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3 – CONFIGURING TQ THROTTLE FOR FIRST TIME USE Once installed, the TQ Throttle driver is added to the Add-ons menu of Flight Simulator, as illustrated below.
In order to work, the TQ Throttle must be configured in the proper COM port, as mapped by your system (see previous page for more information). In order to do so, select Add-ons | ATQ Throttle | Configuration menu and input the correct serial port in the box illustrated below:
Restart Flight Simulator when the COM port changes! The TQ Throttle, must be calibrated now. The calibration is done automatically, from Flight Simulator Add-ons | ATQ Throttle | Throttle calibration... The following window appears:
The calibration is used to store minimum and maximum control values and is normally necessary only once, regardless of how many aircrafts are used with TQ Throttle. To perform the calibration, please follow all the instructions STRICTLY as indicated in the above window. During the calibration, the servo assisted levers will move throughout their full range, so it is very important to make sure that they can move freely. Once the calibration is completed, the TQ Throttle can be used normally. The interactive messages regarding TQ calibration are shown in a green window inside Flight Simulator, as shown below:
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The calibration sequence is the following (no user’s action required): • • • •
Throttle and speed brake levers will now move through their maximum range. Please wait. Throttle lever 1 will now move through its full range. Please wait. Throttle lever 2 will now move through its full range. Please wait. Speed brake lever will now move through its full range. Please wait.
Finally, when asked by TQ driver, it will be required to move manually the L/R reverse thrust levers, from minimum to maximum extension. Please move them SLOWLY and multiple times up & down, to make sure that all the actual range is read by TQ driver. The levers range is visualized in the green message window.
When you have finished, press SPACEBAR to complete the calibration process. For your convenience, calibration files are supplied on the installation DVD, so you don’t have to do the calibration manually and you can skip this step in case of any trouble. If you wish to use the calibration files provided by ourselves, please proceed as follows: A) Browse the supplied CD to \calibration\fs9 or \calibration\fsx depending on Flight Simulator version B) Open an Internet Explorer window and, as internet address type %appdata% including both percent symbols, then click Microsoft and FSX or FS9 depending on Flight Simulator version C) Copy the “cmthrcal” file from the CD to the Internet Explorer window D) Once copied, right click the destination file, select Properties and DEselect “Read only” option, otherwise you will be unable to calibrate the TQ manually in future. Click OK. 6
4 – USING TQ THROTTLE DEVICE Once installed and calibrated, the TQ Throttle can be used normally. The unit can be used virtually with any aircraft, including tri and four engines, by configuring the driver properly. Please read below for a reference about each single control present on the unit.
A) Servo assisted throttle levers. They work independently for engine 1 and engine 2. If aircrafts with a different number of engine are used, the behavior of each lever can be customized via Flight Simulator Add-ons | TQ Throttle | Configuration… The throttle levers are moved automatically by servo motors, to match the actual position of them in Flight Simulator, when the autothrottle is engaged. There are several options about how the driver controls the throttle, to ensure better compatibility with most add-on aircrafts on the market, please see later in this chapter. IMPORTANT: do not move the throttle levers manually while they are under the control of servo motors, with autothrottle engaged, otherwise they may be severely damaged. Small manual movement is possible only when the throttle is controlled via offsets by setting the option “Let manual throttle movement when A/T is engaged” B) Engine thrust reversers. They work independently for engine 1 and engine 2. Pull to actuate the engine reversers, push to disengage them. C) Auto throttle disconnect buttons. Push to disconnect the auto throttle. 7
D) TOGA buttons. Push to activate the TOGA mode. E) Servo assisted speed brake lever. This lever is servo assisted, to match the actual position of the speed brake lever in Flight Simulator (for example, it moves to full extended position after landing). Pull gently to arm the speed brake when needed. Continue to pull gently, to extend the speed brakes at various degrees. Push the lever back to armed position, to retract the speed brakes. Continue to push the lever gently, to disarm the speed brake. NOTE: in order for the speed brake lever to move as expected, the engines must be running and you must have some throttle set (do not use with engines at idle on ground). In order to better understand how this lever works, try it with the Microsoft default B-737, engines ON, throttle not at idle and the Throttle Quadrant displayed on screen (so you can cross check on the screen what happens exactly). IMPORTANT: do not apply any opposite force when the lever is under the control of servo motor, otherwise severe damages may arise. F) Flaps lever. Pull up and move the lever to the proper detent, as desired. The detents are the same of a B-737, but the lever will work also with aircrafts having a different number of detents (in such case, the actual flap position will be rounded to nearest detent selected). G) Servo assisted trim indicator. The wheels turn under the control of servo motors, when trim change in Flight Simulator . IMPORTANT: this is an indicator only, do not turn the wheel manually, otherwise it may be severely damaged. H) Stab trim indicator. They are for design purposes only and have no function. I) Gear Horn cutoff button. Can be used to silence the gear horn warning. As Flight Simulator has no direct support for gear horn cutoff button, it is necessary to define the hot-spot area on the screen where the gear horn cutoff button is displayed for your aircraft. The TQ Throttle driver will simulate a mouse click over this hot spot area, when the gear horn cutoff button is pressed. Alternatively, this button can be mapped to a key emulation or to custom offsets (if the aircraft that you are using uses one of these methods to reset the warning). Please see later in this chapter for more information. J) These switches are for design purposes only and have no function K) Fuel valves shutoff levers. Pull out, move up & down, pull in to respectively unlock the levers, open / close the fuel shutoff valves, and guard the levers. To ensure proper engine startup sequence, these levers can be used only with twin engines aircrafts. NOTE: Because of a known FSX bug, these levers cannot be used to actually open the fuel shutoff valves during engine startup. For correct engine startup, make sure that both the fuel valves shutoff levers are in the Open position (full up & guarded), then press CTRL+E on the keyboard to initiate automatic engine startup procedure. To shutoff the engines later, just close the Fuel valves shutoff levers, by moving them full down. This FSX bug can be avoided by setting the Fuel Cutoff levers to operate in keyboard emulation mode or via different memory offsets, please read later in this chapter for more information. L) Park brake lever and indicator. Pull and push the lever to respectively engage and disengage the park brake. When engaged, the red indicator illuminates.
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°°° Advanced options are available for full customization of TQ Throttle behaviour, to improve the compatibility with most aircrafts on the market and with third parties glass cockpit software, like Project Magenta and Sim-Avionics. These options are available via Flight Simulator Add-ons | ATQ Throttle | Configure... menu as displayed below:
In this frame, the currently active aircraft is displayed: the settings that you do, are applied only to the aircraft that you see displayed here. If the aircraft changes, you have to configure the TQ driver again for the new aircraft (this is really useful because every aircraft may need different parameters: the TQ driver will store the parameters for each aircraft, exactly as you set them). From here, you can decide if to use the TQ in this aircraft or not, by clicking the provided box. Here you can also set the COM Port where the TQ Throttle is connected (although the TQ Throttle is actually USB, the connection is “seen” by the driver like a “virtual” COM serial port, please refer to the installation chapter to know more). The simulator must be restarted when the COM port changes. °°°
From this frame you decide the input / output behaviour of the TQ Throttle driver and how each throttle lever is used. For Microsoft default aircrafts or for add-on aircrafts fully compatible with Microsoft official specifications (like Ariane 737), select “Flight Simulator official specifications” For glass cockpit software, like Project Magenta and Sim-Avionics, or for Add-on aircrafts not fully compatible with “Flight Simulator official specifications”, use “The followings offsets” option, which gives a smoother and more accurate movement. When this option is selected, you must enter the memory offsets used by your glass cockpit software or aircraft. Pressing “Set FSUIPC offsets” button, sets the offsets automatically for Project Magenta (they work fine also in Sim-Avionics and, probably, in most other glass cockpit software and add-on aircrafts). IMPORTANT: 1) when offsets are used, you are responsible to set them properly, some expertise is unavoidably required and you may need to experiment a lot using a “trial-error” approach. 9
Unfortunately it’s difficult to provide accurate technical support on this, because every software and every cockpit is different, so it would be impossible to replicate the same conditions on our testing computers. Please consult the documentation supplied with you glass cockpit software or add-on aircraft to know how the software interacts with Flight Simulator and what offsets are actually used. 2) Use offsets only when “Flight Simulator official specifications” option doesn’t give the expected results for some reason. 3) Setting the offsets in a bad way, may give very unexpected results, including hard Flight Simulator freezes and crashes. We take for good that if you feel the need to operate via offsets, you are an expert Flight Simulator user, knowing what you are doing. 4) When an offset is used, FSUIPC by Peter Dowson, not supplied with this TQ Driver, must be installed and registered on your computer. Options “Throttle lever 1 commands engine:”, “Throttle lever 1 feedback from engine:”, “Throttle lever 2 commands engine:” and “Throttle lever 2 feedback from engine:” are used to specify what aircraft’s engine (1, 2, 3, 4) the throttle lever 1 and 2 must command (for example, for a B747 the throttle lever 1 can command engine 1 and 2, while the throttle lever 2 can command the engine 3 and 4). It is also possible to specify from what engine each throttle lever takes the position to command the servo motor and move the lever accordingly (feedback from engine). If no feedback from engine is selected, the servo assisted motor for that lever will be disabled and it will work like any other throttle device, not having servo motors. The sample displayed on the previous shot is valid for any twin engine aircraft. °°°
In order to work as expected, the TQ Driver must “be aware” when the auto throttle is active in Flight Simulator, so the servo motors can actuate the throttle levers as required. To let the TQ Driver “know” if an auto throttle mode is active, there are several methods: “IAS, MACH or TOGA is active”. Selecting this option the throttle levers are controlled and moved automatically by servo motors when the autothrottle IAS, MACH or TOGA mode is active. When none of these modes are active, the throttle can be controlled manually. This is the most ideal condition, but requires an aircraft fully conform to official Microsoft specifications, otherwise the TQ Throttle driver will be unable to detect when IAS, MACH or TOGA mode are engaged. If the aircraft that you are using doesn’t work properly with this option, try the next below. “ATS ARM switch is engaged”. With this option active, the throttle levers are controlled by servo motors when the “ATS ARM” switch is engaged in Flight Simulator. When this switch is not 10
engaged, the throttle levers can be moved manually. This option is suitable for most situations, although in some condition it may be necessary to control the throttle levers manually even if the ATS ARM switch is engaged, a possibility not given here. An aircraft conform to official Microsoft specifications is required, otherwise the TQ Throttle driver may be unable to understand if the ATS ARM switch is actually engaged or not (this happens, for example, if the add-on aircraft designer has created a custom ATS ARM switch). Should this option not work fine with your aircraft, please try the next option. “The followings offsets conditions are met:” Auto throttle connection is detected via offsets supplied manually for each auto throttle mode. Pressing “Set offsets for Project Magenta MCP” button, sets the offsets automatically for Project Magenta. If you are using Sim-Avionics instead, you will have to edit the FSUIPC I/O file supplied with Sim-Avionics, to define your custom offsets (then just specify the same offsets here). Users of different glass cockpit software or aircraft, please consult the documentation supplied with the software, to know how to set and test the offsets properly. IMPORTANT: 1) when offsets are used, you are responsible to set them properly, some expertise is unavoidably required and you may need to experiment a lot using a “trial-error” approach. Unfortunately it’s difficult to provide accurate technical support on this, because every software and every cockpit is different, so it would be impossible to replicate the same conditions on our testing computers. Please consult the documentation supplied with you glass cockpit software or add-on aircraft to know how the software interacts with Flight Simulator and what offsets are actually used. 2) Use offsets only when Flight Simulator official specifications option doesn’t give the expected results for some reason. 3) Setting the offsets in a bad way, may give very unexpected results, including hard Flight Simulator freezes and crashes. We take for good that if you feel the need to operate via offsets, you are an expert Flight Simulator user, knowing what you are doing. 4) When an offset is used, FSUIPC by Peter Dowson, not supplied with this TQ Driver, must be installed and registered on your computer. “Let manual throttle movement when A/T is engaged”: If activated, it let you to do small throttle adjustments while the auto throttle is engaged (the throttle levers will then return to their position once released). Activating this option, may introduce some permanent stutters on throttle movement (throttle movement is less smooth). IMPORTANT! In order to prevent damages to the servo motors, do not apply manual force abruptly, but do the movement slowly! “Servo motors are Always ON”. This option works virtually with any aircraft, both default or addon, as the throttle levers are always under the control of servo motors, regardless of auto throttle status. The throttle levers can be still moved manually, as a dual channel feedback between user and Flight Simulator is established. The only drawback is that some extra force is required to move the throttle levers when manual control is required: this may make difficult to do fast actions like rejecting a takeoff (however, you may still configure the Gear Horn button or the A/T Disengage button as a “toggle” for servo motors, to be pressed manually when you no longer want, or want again, the servo motors connected, please continue to read below for further details). This mode may give some extra jitters (movement of the throttle levers not too smooth) while the auto throttle is active, but this is mainly due to inaccurate aircraft’s auto throttle simulation (you will probably see the throttle levers moving on the screen in the same way). IMPORTANT: do not apply extra force to the throttle levers when they are locked under the control of autothrottle, otherwise severe damages will arise. If you need to adjust the throttle manually, disconnect the auto throttle first or make sure that Flight Simulator is not controlling the throttle levers by itself! USE THIS MODE ONLY IF THE OTHER MODES CANNOT BE USED.
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From this frame, you decide how the Horn Cutout button behaves. Please be aware that the gear horn is not supported natively by FSX, but it’s normally provided by an add-on aircraft or by glass cockpit programs. You can let this button to work as expected, by several different methods: “Simulates a click on screen, over Gear Horn button” this option can simulate a mouse click over the Horn Cutoff button displayed on the instrument panel of the add-on aircraft that you are using (Microsoft default B737 doesn’t have this button!) To define where the Horn Cutoff button is displayed on the screen, click the “Save & define an hot spot area” and follow the upcoming instruction. Once done, every time you push the Horn Cutoff button on the TQ Throttle, a mouse click is simulated on the hot spot area that you have defined. “Inhibit gear warning by setting the following offset:” If the glass cockpit software or the add-on aircraft that you are using has a dedicated offset used to reset the aural gear warning, insert it in the provided box. If you are using Project Magenta (pmSounds), click “Auto set for Project Magenta”. IMPORTANT: 1) when offsets are used, you are responsible to set them properly, some expertise is unavoidably required and you may need to experiment a lot using a “trial-error” approach. Unfortunately it’s difficult to provide accurate technical support on this, because every software and every cockpit is different, so it would be impossible to replicate the same conditions on our testing computers. Please consult the documentation supplied with you glass cockpit software or add-on aircraft to know how the software interacts with Flight Simulator and what offsets are actually used. 2) Use offsets only when Flight Simulator official specifications option doesn’t give the expected results for some reason. 3) Setting the offsets in a bad way, may give very unexpected results, including hard Flight Simulator freezes and crashes. We take for good that if you feel the need to operate via offsets, you are an expert Flight Simulator user, knowing what you are doing. 4) When an offset is used, FSUIPC by Peter Dowson, not supplied with this TQ Driver, must be installed and registered on your computer. “Inhibit gear warning by keystroke” If the glass cockpit software or add-on aircraft that you are using supports aural gear warning reset through a keystroke, insert here that keystroke (click Shift, Ctrl, Alt as appropriate and enter the keycode, for example 65 for ‘a’ --- to know more keycodes please click “Get a keycode” button). “Configure the Gear Horn button to toggle throttle servo assisted feedback” If you are not interested in having a Horn Cutoff function (perhaps because your software doesn’t support it at all), you may configure this button as a kind of “panic button” that disconnects the throttle servo motors instantly, regardless of any condition (click the button again to re-connect the servo motors). May be useful to reject a takeoff quickly when “Servo motors are Always ON” option is selected.
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From this frame, you decide the behaviour of the A/T Disengage buttons (how the TQ Throttle driver communicates to Flight Simulator that the button has been pressed). It can operate in the followings ways: “via Flight Simulator official specifications”: this is the simplest way, but works only with Microsoft default aircrafts and compatible add-on aircrafts (like Ariane 737) “via keyboard emulation”: assign a key combination to the A/T Disengage button, letting it to work in keyboard emulation mode. Click Shift, Ctrl, Alt and insert the appropriate keycode, to define exactly the same key that your aircraft or glass cockpit software uses to disconnect the auto throttle. In case the aircraft or glass cockpit software that you are using doesn’t support A/T disengage via keyboard, you may still define a key via Flight Simulator “Controls...” or via FSUIPC Key Presses facilities, and then set exactly the same key in the TQ Throttle driver. “via the following offset:” if the aircraft or glass cockpit software that you are using has an offset dedicated for A/T connection, insert the offset address and bit. If Project Magenta is used, click “Auto set for Project Magenta” to set the offset info automatically. If you are using Sim-Avionics, you will have to define a custom offset into FSUIPC I/O file supplied with Sim-Avionics and then set the same offset here (please consult the documentation shipped with Sim-Avionics to know more). IMPORTANT: 1) when offsets are used, you are responsible to set them properly, some expertise is unavoidably required and you may need to experiment a lot using a “trial-error” approach. Unfortunately it’s difficult to provide accurate technical support on this, because every software and every cockpit is different, so it would be impossible to replicate the same conditions on our testing computers. Please consult the documentation supplied with you glass cockpit software or add-on aircraft to know how the software interacts with Flight Simulator and what offsets are actually used. 2) Use offsets only when Flight Simulator official specifications option or other options don’t give the expected results for some reason. 3) Setting the offsets in a bad way, may give very unexpected results, including hard Flight Simulator freezes and crashes. We take for good that if you feel the need to operate via offsets, you are an expert Flight Simulator user, knowing what you are doing. 4) When an offset is used, FSUIPC by Peter Dowson, not supplied with this TQ Driver, must be installed and registered on your computer. “Pressing A/T disengage button toggles (OFF/ON) servo assisted feedback” If activated, toggles the servo motors (OFF/ON) regardless of the other conditions. May be useful when “Servo motors are always ON” option is engaged and you need to do prompt actions, like a takeoff reject.
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Here you define how the TQ Throttle driver communicates to Flight Simulator that a TOGA button has been pressed. Can work as follows: “via Flight Simulator official specifications”: this is the simplest way, but works only with Microsoft default aircrafts and compatible add-on aircrafts (like Ariane 737) “via keyboard emulation”: assign a key combination to the TOGA button, letting it to work in keyboard emulation mode. Click Shift, Ctrl, Alt and insert the appropriate keycode, to define exactly the same key that your aircraft or glass cockpit software uses to command a TOGA. In case the aircraft or glass cockpit software that you are using doesn’t support TOGA via keyboard, you may still define a key via Flight Simulator “Controls...” or via FSUIPC Key Presses facilities, and then set exactly the same key in the TQ Throttle driver. “via the following offset:” if the aircraft or glass cockpit software that you are using has an offset dedicated to command a TOGA, insert the offset address and bit. If Project Magenta is used, click “Auto set for Project Magenta” to set the offset info automatically. If you are using Sim-Avionics, you will have to define a custom offset into FSUIPC I/O file supplied with Sim-Avionics and then set the same offset here (please consult the documentation shipped with Sim-Avionics to know more). IMPORTANT: 1) when offsets are used, you are responsible to set them properly, some expertise is unavoidably required and you may need to experiment a lot using a “trial-error” approach. Unfortunately it’s difficult to provide accurate technical support on this, because every software and every cockpit is different, so it would be impossible to replicate the same conditions on our testing computers. Please consult the documentation supplied with you glass cockpit software or add-on aircraft to know how the software interacts with Flight Simulator and what offsets are actually used. 2) Use offsets only when Flight Simulator official specifications option or other options don’t give the expected results for some reason. 3) Setting the offsets in a bad way, may give very unexpected results, including hard Flight Simulator freezes and crashes. We take for good that if you feel the need to operate via offsets, you are an expert Flight Simulator user, knowing what you are doing. 4) When an offset is used, FSUIPC by Peter Dowson, not supplied with this TQ Driver, must be installed and registered on your computer.
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From here you set how the TQ Throttle driver commands the fuel shutoff valves. Several methods are available: “via Flight Simulator official specifications”: this is the simplest way, but works only with Microsoft default aircrafts and compatible add-on aircrafts (like Ariane 737). NOTE: Because of a known FSX bug, these levers cannot be used to actually open the fuel shutoff valves during engine startup. For correct engine startup, make sure that both the fuel valves shutoff levers are in the Open position (full up & guarded), then press CTRL+E on the keyboard to initiate automatic engine startup procedure. To shutoff the engines later, just close the Fuel valves shutoff levers, by moving them full down. The other methods below are useful to bypass this Flight Simulator bug. “via keyboard emulation”: assign a key combination to the Fuel Cutoff levers, letting them to work in keyboard emulation mode. Click Shift, Ctrl, Alt and insert the appropriate keycode, to define exactly the same key that your aircraft or glass cockpit software uses to command the Fuel Cutoff levers. In case the aircraft or glass cockpit software that you are using doesn’t support the Fuel Cutoff levers via keyboard, you may still define a key via Flight Simulator “Controls...” or via FSUIPC Key Presses facilities, and then set exactly the same key in the TQ Throttle driver. “via FSUIPC offsets 3590 - 359C (fuel valve)” : uses dedicated FSUIPC fuel valves offset. Should work well with most aircrafts and glass cockpit software. IMPORTANT: although you cannot see the fuel valves moving on the instrument panel on the screen when they are moved on the TQ Throttle, internally in Flight Simulator the valves are actuated and work as expected. Please don’t worry about this behaviour. “via FSUIPC Engine Mixture offsets (lean to close; full rich to open)” : uses generic FSUIPC mixture offsets. Should work well with most aircrafts and glass cockpit software. IMPORTANT: although you cannot see the fuel valves moving on the instrument panel on the screen when they are moved on the TQ Throttle, internally in Flight Simulator the valves are actuated and work as expected. Please don’t worry about this behaviour. “via the following offset:” if the aircraft or glass cockpit software that you are using has an offset dedicated to command the fuel shutoff valves, insert the offset address and bit. If Project Magenta (pmSystems) is used, click “Auto set for pmSystems” to set the offset info automatically. If you are using Sim-Avionics, you will have to define a custom offset into FSUIPC I/O file supplied with Sim-Avionics and then set the same offset here (please consult the documentation shipped with Sim-Avionics to know more). 15
IMPORTANT: 1) when offsets are used, you are responsible to set them properly, some expertise is unavoidably required and you may need to experiment a lot using a “trial-error” approach. Unfortunately it’s difficult to provide accurate technical support on this, because every software and every cockpit is different, so it would be impossible to replicate the same conditions on our testing computers. Please consult the documentation supplied with you glass cockpit software or add-on aircraft to know how the software interacts with Flight Simulator and what offsets are actually used. 2) Use offsets only when Flight Simulator official specifications option or other options don’t give the expected results for some reason. 3) Setting the offsets in a bad way, may give very unexpected results, including hard Flight Simulator freezes and crashes. We take for good that if you feel the need to operate via offsets, you are an expert Flight Simulator user, knowing what you are doing. 4) When an offset is used, FSUIPC by Peter Dowson, not supplied with this TQ Driver, must be installed and registered on your computer. “Disable Fuel Cutoff levers (useful for non twin-engine aircraft)” can be used to disable the Fuel Cutoff levers and is particularly useful for non twin engine aircrafts or if your aircraft doesn’t work with any method previously explained. °°°
These are special parameters for special purposes only, it’s not necessary or recommended to change them, except under the guidance of our technical support department.
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5 – COMPATIBILITY NOTES COMPATIBILITY WITH ADD-ON AIRCRAFTS The TQ Throttle driver uses official Microsoft Flight Simulator SDK to create a link to aircraft panels. While it should work virtually with any add-on aircraft on the market, full compatibility is factory-guaranteed only with add-on aircrafts conform to Microsoft SDK specifications. Advanced options are supplied into TQ Throttle driver configuration, to exclude switches and levers on the TQ Throttle unit in case they cannot be used for some aircrafts, while different autothrottle linking behaviours are available to ensure throttle levers compatibility in any really situation. In any case, a special keyboard emulation mode is provided to ensure the compatibility with Project Magenta and with most Add-on aircrafts.
COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER DEVICES If you are using other devices having the same controls present on the TQ Throttle (for example flaps or spoiler lever) you may disable the duplicate controls on the TQ Throttle or on the other device, to make sure that no conflicting controls exist.
COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER ADD-ONS If you are using AdvDisplay, please disable it, otherwise it will not be possible to read output messages coming from the TQ Throttle driver. Check your Flight Simulator Modules menu to see if AdvDisplay is installed.
NOTE: should you get unexpected behaviours, like for example flaps not moving or parking brake not responding, the aircraft that you are flying may require some logic to complete, for example, you must have enough hydraulic power. Alternatively, check the other game controls connected to the computer and make sure that no conflicting controls exists.
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6 – HOW TO CONTACT SUPPORT To contact the support team, check news and download latest drivers, please consult the official TQ Throttle website at the following address: http://www.flightsimulatorcenter.com
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