I read in the other thread someone is using the throttle forward detent for WEP and the back detent for engine off... Does that have to be set up using the Saitek software, I assume?
I haven't yet had a chance to experiment with the new stick, so I'm not sure what I'm getting into as far as getting things programmed... I really like the idea of the forward throttle detent for WEP though... I would love to save that button for other uses.
Yes, you can do that through the SST software. I'll put in every step just in case someone isn't that familiar with mapping things.
Launch the SST profile editor, load up the profile you use and then scroll down to "Throttle" and set it as "Bands". Now select "Edit Bands" and add three band dividers by clicking on the white window. You'll now have four separate bands but don't worry about their exact position yet. Starting at the top band, map it as "P" (for WEP), leave the second band unmapped, map the third is "E" (for engine start/stop) and then leave the bottom band unmapped. Now slide the upper divider up to 10%, the second divider down to 90% and the third divider to 91%. Now save the profile, load it, and start AH.
Pull up the clipboard and go to options/controls/map controllers. Select your Z axis and make sure it's mapped to "Analog Inputs Throttle 1." Now select Advanced and move your throttle so that it's somewhere between the upper and lower detent. Select "Calibrate Axis" and calibrate your throttle but ONLY move it between the upper and lower detents, don't go all the way forward or back, move just till you first feel the detent resistance. What you're doing is telling AH to give you 100% of your throttle movements between the detents. Now accept the calibration, pick a plane and start up.
You should have normal throttle control from idle to full power as you move the throttle between the detents. Once you push past the upper detent (forward) you should get WEP. When you pull the throttle back through the detent and bring engine power down WEP will be automatically deselected. When you move the throttle down past the second detent you'll be momentarally hitting the "E" button to shut the engine down and then when you move it forward you'll hit the "E" button again which starts the engine up.
Depending on your throttle you may have to play with the position of the bands in SST and the throttle calibration a bit to get things working smoothly and reliably. You want to make sure you're getting full power just below the upper detent as WEP will not work if the throttle calibration doesn't give you full power before selecting WEP. If this is a problem then recalibrate or move the upper band up a little bit. You do the same with the third band and move it down some if you keep accidentally shutting the engine down inadvertently.
It takes a little while getting used to this set up and it doesn't work well if your detents are worn and weak as you may not feel them in the excitement of a fight. I've used this with the X52 and X52Pro and like it a lot but I had to disable it when my detent broke on the Pro. That's the biggest drawback to the X52. Saitek doesn't make them to last forever but it's a good system for the price.
