Control setups - One joystick, two throttle units for helicopters/jets

[MattWales 10]

Morning all,

This may seem like a bit of a weird question, but I figure I'd ask anyway;

I'm looking at a little DIY project of turning a standard "push-pull" PC throttle unit into a Collective control for ArmA 3 - the idea being, the throttle is set into a frame which is then rigged up on the side of the chair, so when you pull the collective lever up, provided the control scheme is configured correctly within the game (just a question of reversing the axis if needs be), the throttle increases and the helicopter goes up. I can then extend out the wiring from the buttons in the original throttle module so I can assign them to whatever is suitable.

I intend to get a 3D printed handle for the end of the collective, within which I will mount the buttons. The frame will be made from MDF wood, with a mix of PVC plastic piping and MDF.

It will remain a USB-connected device.

Obviously, using a helicopter collective to control a fast-jet is going to be a bit of a pain in the backside, as "throttling up" by pulling the lever up is counter intuitive for a fixed-wing aircraft - you push the throttle forward to increase thrust. So, instead, I would have a seperate throttle module on the desk that I would use for fixed-wing.

My question is, will there be any issues with having TWO throttle modules and 1 joystick connected via USB, or will I only be able to use one throttle module at a time? Would I be able to use a USB input switcher, and would this require me to leave the game in order for the newly selected throttle set-up to work? I understand I can set up different buttons and axis for different things on different vehicle types, my question is, can I have seperate 3 seperate inputs - One joystick, two throttle modules?

Cheers for any help on this!

Matt.

[EDcase 87]

I think you will NOT be able to use a switcher. You will need to have all controllers plugged in at one time.

As for using two throttles, not sure but it might work with both. Do not use analogue input for them. Just assign power up and power down to the appropriate direction for each one.

I think it will work with 2 throttles as long as you only use one at a time.

[MattWales 10]

Okay, so by my understanding, I could have two joysticks plugged in (as, from further research, it appears that most of them, despite sometimes being seperate modules, are actually connected via a single USB port. Im not tech-savvy enough to start playing with electronics that much!) and assign different inputs from those two joysticks to different controls for each vehicle.

So, what I intend to do:

HELICOPTER COLLECTIVE CONTROL MODULE: 1 cheap USB joystick, chop it up, use the buttons from the joystick and the throttle lever but not the actual "X/Y" axis inputs of the joystick; just the throttle lever and buttons from the joystick. Effectively, the collective module is one whole joystick system, (and therefore 1 USB input), but I am only using a handful of the actual available inputs.

HELICOPTER CYCLIC CONTROL MODULE : Seperate USB Joystick on desk, which would be used for X/Y inputs, as well as using some of the buttons/hat switches.

This effectively means using two seperate joystick modules together, one providing some control inputs, the other providing the rest.

Then...

FIXED WING THROTTLE: Standard joystick throttle module on desk, with inputs assigned to the correct vehicle controls in the options on the game.

FIXED WING CONTROL COLUMN: The same joystick used for the HELICOPTER CYCLIC.

In effect, I am only ever using one throttle at any time.

I suppose the easiest way to sum this question up; If I plugged in two USB joysticks, could I use half the inputs of one and half the inputs of the other at the same time?

RE: Anologue control - the throttle would need to be analogue - most if not all USB joystick throttles are analogue, how would this affect the game/control inputs?

A helicopter doesnt fly so well with either 0% or 100% throttle!

Many thanks

Matt.

[EDcase 87]

Yes, you can plug in multiple controllers and assign functions to the buttons and use them at the same time.

ARMA analogue input does not work properly (last time I tried)

So even though the collective should be analogue, you have to assign it to power up and power down. It still works as analogue so you can hover in the middle.

[MattWales 10]

Awesome, thank you!