C172 parking brakes vs toe brakes

[Nick - A2A]

Okay gents - I did a bit experimenting and it seems that an FSUIPC axis assignment is necessary to decouple the parking brake from the toe brakes. The default FSX axis assignment will cause the parking brake to be released when the toe brakes are pressed - however gently.

Horst - this means my earlier suggestion about "bypassing FSUIPC to initially rule out any other issues when troubleshooting" won't help, so apologies!

Rob - If you get an opportunity, maybe you could try assigning your toe brakes axes using FSUIPC and see if this works for you too in decoupling them from the parking brake? (As mentioned above, you'll need to edit the FSUIPC.ini so that BrakeReleaseThreshold=0 to decouple them completely.)

Cheers,
Nick

[MadRobbie1]

OK Nick, I'll take a look at that later tonight and let you know

Cheers!
Rob

[Nick - A2A]

Thanks Rob,

Interested to know if it works with proper toe brake pedals. (I did most of my testing using the slider axis of my joystick which I was considering using to create a kind of "poor man's toe brake" using a multiaxis Lua function. )

I did make one other observation which may be relevant to the OP's issue. Sometimes when I first initialised FSX and loaded a flight, touching the toe brakes (i.e. my slider) the first time disengaged the parking brake if it was applied. However, if the parking brake was then reapplied, it stayed on even when the toe brakes were pressed. Though I'm not sure yet, it seems that if I use the "send direct to FSUIPC calibration" option rather than "send to FS as normal axis" this glitch is eliminated.

Horst - you could try "send direct to FSUIPC calibration" if you don't already and see if it helps?

Cheers,
Nick

[Hossi]

Hi,
Nick, sorry I was to a meeting by the German Alzheimer foundation. Now I am back and will answer to
your Questions.
The pedales will be controlled by USB Controller BU0836, using no special Software. It works with Windows
USB Driver.
The flight Simulator ist the FSX
The Problem with parking brake and toe brake is with the A2A C172 only.

ciao
Horst

[Nick - A2A]

Hi Horst,

Thanks for that and no worries - we all have abandon forums for more important stuff sometimes.

The fact that you only see this problem with the A2A C172 makes me wonder if you have a [JoystickCalibration] profile set up for it, so it's giving different responses to default aircraft. If so maybe try deleting any profile and starting from scratch?

Also, make sure you're not saving a default flight with the A2A C172 as this can also cause issues. Instead, your default saved flight should always use one of the stock FSX aircraft such as the C172SP.

The only other thing I can think of at the moment is using the "send direct to FSUIPC calibration" option when assigning the axes as mentioned above.

Cheers,
Nick

P.S. One thing you made find helpful when troubleshooting brake issues is a little tool which A2A made available a while ago. It's called "Brakes Test.exe" and is a tiny program which connects to FSX to display the live values from left and right brakes as well as the parking brake. I can't find it on the forums any more, but I kept a copy and it can be downloaded here should you wish to use it.

[Hossi]

Hi, Nick,
thank you so much for your patient to find a solution for that brake problem.
But it seems to be nothing will help.
Thank you also for the little tool to test the brakes. I applied the tool immediately with
the C172 and the warbird F84F with this result:
C172 F84F
left brake 100 23 100 100
right brake 100 23 100 100
parking brake 100 0 100 0
I don't know whether the figures are right or not. Can you interpret that result?

The conclusion for my C172 brake problem is like follow:
1. I am using FSUIPC and constuct the axis by axisassignment
2. It is very important not to use Joystick Calibration because the brakes does'nt work with that
3. I got the brake problem also when I am start the C172 not from a default flight.
4. I got the brake problem also when I deleted the brake axis completely in the FSUIPC ini
and construct the brake in FSX
The best thing is like the DO27 or the Aerosoft A319 parking brake and toe brake are
working separat.

Greetings from Kiel/North Germany
ciao
Horst

[Nick - A2A]

Hi Horst,

No problem, though this does seem like a tricky one to resolve and I can't replicate the behaviour you're seeing.

2. It is very important not to use Joystick Calibration because the brakes does'nt work with that

This is odd. I calibrated the toe brake axes using the standard Joystick Calibration setting and it worked fine. The setting in the FSUIPC.ini "[JoystickCalibration]" section was as follows:

LeftBrake=-16380,16380/8
RightBrake=-16380,16380/8

The numbers you report above from the Brakes Test.exe don't mean much I'm afraid without knowing what your control inputs are. The values of 23 seem a bit odd though: how was your controller set at this time?

I'll also repeat the suggestion I gave above:

I did make one other observation which may be relevant to the OP's issue. Sometimes when I first initialised FSX and loaded a flight, touching the toe brakes (i.e. my slider) the first time disengaged the parking brake if it was applied. However, if the parking brake was then reapplied, it stayed on even when the toe brakes were pressed. Though I'm not sure yet, it seems that if I use the "send direct to FSUIPC calibration" option rather than "send to FS as normal axis" this glitch is eliminated.

Horst - you could try "send direct to FSUIPC calibration" if you don't already and see if it helps?

("Send direct to FSUIPC calibration" is an option in the FSUIPC 'axis assignment' tab.)

One other thought is that if you've ever reinstalled the product, it may not have updated properly when you subsequently run the updater. To 'force' an update, manually delete this folder...

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\A2A\Cessna172\Update_fsx

...Then re-run the updater you downloaded from here: http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtop ... 23&t=41279.

If I can think of anything else, I'll let you know. Otherwise, maybe someone else with more experience of toe brake assignment in FSUIPC4 will be able to suggest something.

Cheers,
Nick

[Hossi]

Hi,Nick,

This is odd. I calibrated the toe brake axes using the standard Joystick Calibration setting and it worked fine. The setting in the FSUIPC.ini "[JoystickCalibration]" section was as follows:

maybe it is odd. But it is like it is. Sorry I am not the big IT expert. It is like I reportet, only.
When I start the Joystick Calibration in FSUIPC for the C172 and I am leaving the page the Brakes working as differencial Brakes only.

Her are the figures from the axis in axisassignment
16383 -16384 right
16382 -16351 left
I don't like to take the figures from the Joystick Calibration page because after leaving the page I can make the
FSUIPC ini new because the brakes won't work.

("Send direct to FSUIPC calibration" is an option in the FSUIPC 'axis assignment' tab.)

In my system the brake are working with "Send direct to FSUIPC calibration" only. The other points don't work for the brakes and other axis.

The update was a big Problem. The C172 wasn't flyable. There was a big chaos. It gave one way only, uninstall and install new. Now the C172 works properly.
Don't know why the update makes Problems.

Sorry Nick, I hope you understand what I mean. My english knowledge are not the best. It is a hard work to create
postings in engslish language.

[Nick - A2A]

The update was a big Problem. The C172 wasn't flyable. There was a big chaos. It gave one way only, uninstall and install new. Now the C172 works properly.Don't know why the update makes Problems.

This sounds like it could be related to the issue Horst. It seems like you're not running with a properly updated version.

I'd recommend a clean install as follows:

First uninstall the A2A C172 using the standard MS Windows control panel 'uninstall a program' feature (in Win 7 anyway).

Then manually delete these three directories if they're still there:

...My Documents\A2A\FSX\Cessna172 (You should back this one up first if you want to save your Hobbs/tacho hours.)
...Microsoft Flight Simulator X\A2A\Cessna172\Update_fsx
...Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes\A2A_C172

After doing so, restart your PC then install the Skyhawk using the original file you downloaded at purchase.

Finally, download and run the latest updater linked above.

Thanks,
Nick

P.S. Your English is much better than my German! I hope my postings aren't too hard to understand either.

[Hossi]

Hi, Nick,
that is exactly what did today.
I uninstalled C172, I deleted all directories which belongs to A2A, I used a cleaner to clean the registry.
After that I installed the purchased Version from C172.
That update from yesterday ist stored So I can start install the update.
OK, I will report later on whether it works.

ciao
Horst

[Nick - A2A]

Okay - good luck!

Nick

[Hossi]

Hi, Nick,
it seems to be with my PC-System is something wrong. But I don't know what it is.
Now I uninstalled the A2A C172 and installed it completely new three times. That
update doesn'work. Without the update the C172 is flyable with that little problem only.
The brake Problem.
But with update the C172 is not flyable at all. After take off it starts chaos. The stallwarning
sounds steady, the control by aileron, Elevator and rudder is a big Problem. The Autopilot
can't control the plane at all. It is taking a long long time until the needle from the oil Temperatur
is coming into the green section. Last but not least the Garmin is missing.
Now I installed the purchased Version again without update.
I have no idea for that odd behaviour.
Nevertheless the A2A C172 is the best plane for the flight simulator I ever had. Very realistic, well designed, and
flyable like the original. Without update
With greetings from Kiel/North Germany
ciao
Horst

[Nick - A2A]

Thanks Horst,

Yes, it does sound as if there is a problem with your host simulator (provided you're manually deleting the A2A files as described above when reinstalling). I've never heard this issue described before. When the updater runs, does it seem to complete the process successfully, or does it stop part way through the update?

I don't think you mentioned in your earlier replies: is it the original disk edition or the newer Steam edition you use? If the former have you checked it's updated with SS1 and SP2, or that you have the Acceleration expansion or the 'all in one' Gold edition?

Although ultimately it sounds like you may need to do a fresh install of FSX, there are some things you could try first.

- Eliminate FSUIPC from the set-up by moving the FSUIPC4.DLL from the 'MODULES' directory in FSX to a different folder then restart the sim.

- Check to see if you have any other add-ons or software which could be interfering. For example, do you have security/antivirus software which could be 'quarantining' some of the installed files. It's usually recommended to exclude the FSX folder from antivirus software checks.

- Try the procedure for reinstalling SimConnect as described in the C172 FAQ thread. Look for the "How to fix SimConnect" section.

If this doesn't help, it sounds like you need to try reinstalling FSX unless Lewis or any other forum members can think of other troubleshooting steps.

Cheers,
Nick

[Hossi]

Hi, Nick,
i would give short answers to your questions

When the updater runs, does it seem to complete the process successfully, or does it stop part way through the update?

Sometimes coming Little Windows with questions. I can't say something about the Content.

I don't think you mentioned in your earlier replies: is it the original disk edition or the newer Steam edition you use? If the former have you checked it's updated with SS1 and SP2, or that you have the Acceleration expansion or the 'all in one' Gold edition?

I have the all in one FSX Gold Edition

Although ultimately it sounds like you may need to do a fresh install of FSX, there are some things you could try first.

Oh dear, that is the ultima ratio. It will be a lot of work because there are lot of things to do. Many AddOns, an Airbus complete with
Hardware.

Eliminate FSUIPC from the set-up by moving the FSUIPC4.DLL from the 'MODULES' directory in FSX to a different folder then restart the sim.

I did it last week. It makes no different.

Check to see if you have any other add-ons or software which could be interfering. For example, do you have security/antivirus software which could be 'quarantining' some of the installed files. It's usually recommended to exclude the FSX folder from antivirus software checks.

I didn't notice something problems with the antivirus Software. I don't know how to exclude the FSX from antivirus, there is no menu where I can do that.

Last but not least I put the original FSX DVD in the PC for repair FSX. But there was no different.

Try the procedure for reinstalling SimConnect as described in the C172 FAQ thread. Look for the "How to fix SimConnect" section.

I did have a look at it. But I Need more time to read it and make the right work.

Thank you so much again for your help

With greetings from Kiel/North Germany
ciao
Horst

[Lewis - A2A]

Hey Guys,

for the update issue you are experiencing can I please request you start a new thread so its easier to follow and we can start troubleshooting with you.

thanks,
Lewis