When powered ON and then connected to a USB mini B cable (USB 2.0 Mini B), the Taranis can be set to
USB Joystick mode, making a direct connection as a game controller.
This guide describes the setup for a full 8 axis.
If you have already installed vJoy, installed Joystick Gremlin, and made
a virtual joystick, then skip the block below and start with
making a model in memory on your transmitter.
Install vJoy
This makes a virtual joystick for SeligSIM (or for anything else).
Unplug all USB gamepads, joysticks, TacCon, and other “R/C” controllers.
Download and run vJoySetup.exe.
This downloads from github.
You set up vJoy (image below) one time. This completes your vJoy Device setup.
vJoyConf configuring a virtual joystick with 8 axes, 0 buttons, and 0 hat switches.
This is vJoy Device #1 indicated by the light green tab labeled “1”.¶
Remaining Instructions
The remainder of these instructions include using Joystick Gremlin
to remap your controller inputs to vJoy.
A four channel model was made using the model wizard in OpenTx on the
transmitter. Then four more channels were added and assigned the
switches below. The SeligSIM channel names were then input as shown. The
ordering below is how they appear on the transmitter monitor screen.
Depending on how you define your OpenTx model in memory, it may be the
same or different than the table below.
Joystick Gremlin is used to create the remapping. Joystick Gremlin
forwards your control inputs to vJoy which is what you will select as
your USB interface in SeligSIM.
The vJoy axis numbers are the final outcome after remapping.
FrSky Taranis X9D Plus
Control Inputs
Monitor
X9D
Axes
SeligSIM Function
vJoy Axis
mapping
Sticks
CH1
X Axis
Throttle
5
Sticks
CH2
Y Axis
Aileron
8
Sticks
CH3
Z Axis
Elevator
7
Sticks
CH4
X Rotation
Rudder
6
2-Pos Switch (“SF”)
CH5
Y Rotation
Gear
4
3-Pos Switch (“SC”)
CH6
Z Rotation
Flaps
3
3-Pos Switch (“SB”)
CH7
Dial
Reset-To-Home /
Reset-In-Place
2
3-Pos Switch (“SG”)
CH8
Slider
Flight Modes
1
Do not create any mixes, expo, dual rates, etc. You will use the
programming (“Computer Radio”) inside SeligSIM.
To enter USB joystick mode, first connect your USB cable to your computer.
Then turn ON the transmitter, wait, and then connect the USB mini B cable to the
back of the transmitter. OpenTx
will then prompt you to accept starting in “USB Joystick (HID)” mode.
Press the “ENT” button on your transmitter to accept. Depending on your
version of OpenTx and changes to the transmitter design, your own
connection method may be different (see the
Open Tx Manual for reference).
When successfully connected, the name will appear in the Windows Game
Controller gadget. When making this guide, the name was found to be
“FrSky Taranis Joystick” as shown below. All sliders should move in
response to your controls (i.e. inputs listed in table above). The
buttons will not be used here.
JG’s top row has tabs for USB controllers, your keyboard, and the vJoyDevice#1 that you created. Generally, the USB controllers are the
inputs to the output that is the virtual joystick vJoyDevice#1
which is used by SeligSIM. The keyboard appears, but it will not
be used here. Other USB controllers will appear if you have others
plugged into your computer. Disconnect any extraneous USB controllers
for this setup.
Tip
When you are finished remapping, follow these steps to use the controller:
In Joystick Gremlin, click the gamepad icon to change it from black to green so that Joystick Gremlin
is Activated. Use JG’s
Tools->InputViewer to confirm that your inputs are going to the vJoy Device joystick
as you expect.
When running SeligSIM, select the vJoy Device virtual joystick that you created.
Do not select the FrSky Taranis Joystick.
Before running SeligSIM, it is recommended that you run the Windows Game Controller gadget
to see that vJoy Device is indeed active, responding to your controller inputs.
Each section below remaps a single control to one axis for SeligSIM, starting with Ailerons.
First, you move a control to select an input.
It will gray highlight on the left side of JG’s main window.
Then you will define where that control is mapped using the right side of JG main window.
Then you can test each axis mapping with the JG-viewer window to see that it is correct.
To create your remapping to the standard axes order for SeligSIM,
these steps are performed in JG’s main window.
To start, the JG gamepad icon should be black (not green).
If it is green, click on it.
In JG’s main window, click on the tab: FrSkyTaranisJoystick .
The left side of the window lists the FrSkyTaranisJoystick axes and
buttons being driven by your Taranis.
The last moved axis or button will be highlighted gray.
The right side shows what each axis and button does (what will define the remapping).
This right side is initially blank.
The left side’s labels for the axes (e.g., X Axis, and so on) are
the Windows terminology for joystick axes and buttons and not meaningful to SeligSIM.
Yet, the left side names will be used in the instructions here.
Map the Aileron Stick to vJoy Axis 8
First you may need to move the sticks around to ‘wake-up’ the main
JG window. It can go into a “sleep” mode.
Again, the last moved axis or button should highlight gray as you move each control input.
Move the aileron stick (conventionally, for Mode 2, the right stick, horizontally).
In JG, the left side’s highlight jumps to YAxis .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Ailerons”.
On the right side, next to the first dropdown (it will have Remap selected), click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown from XAxis to Dial (vJoy Axis 8).
See image below. Click to enlarge.
Test your mapping:
At top left, click the JG gamepad icon (“Activate”) to change it from black to green.
Move the aileron stick.
Now JG-viewer’s vJoy Axis 8 reacts to that movement.
Your first axis remapping is complete.
Click the JG gamepad icon to make it black again.
Click to make it green to review your mapping at any time.
This screen shot below also shows results of the remaining instructions. Click for full size image.
Map the Elevator Stick to vJoy Axis 7
Move the elevator stick. The left side’s highlight jumps to ZAxis .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Elevator”.
On the right side, next to Remap , click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown to Slider (vJoy Axis 7).
Below the Remap box, change the dropdown Remap to ResponseCurve . Click Add .
Within the Response Curve box, click on Invert to reverse the axis.
Map the Rudder Stick to vJoy Axis 6
Move the rudder stick. The left side’s highlight jumps to XRotation .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Rudder”.
On the right side, next to Remap, click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown to ZRotation (vJoy Axis 6).
Below the Remap box, change the dropdown Remap to ResponseCurve . Click Add .
Within the Response Curve box, click on Invert to reverse the axis.
Map the Throttle Stick to vJoy Axis 5
Move the throttle stick. The left side’s highlight jumps to XAxis .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Throttle”.
On the right side, next to Remap , click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown to YRotation (vJoy Axis 5).
Below the Remap box, change the dropdown Remap to ResponseCurve . Click Add .
Within the Response Curve box, click on Invert to reverse the axis.
Map the Gear Switch to vJoy Axis 4
Move the top left side 2-position switch labeled “SF” (see table above).
The left side’s highlight jumps to YRotation .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Gear”.
On the right side, next to Remap , click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown to XRotation (vJoy Axis 4).
When the gear switch is pulled forward (toward you), the gear will retract.
Map the Flap Switch to vJoy Axis 3
Move the flap switch labeled “SC”. The left side’s highlight jumps to ZRotation .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Flaps”.
On the right side, next to Remap , click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown to ZAxis (vJoy Axis 3).
When the flap switch is pushed up, the flaps will be retracted.
Map the Reset Switch to vJoy Axis 2
Move the front left 3-position switch labeled “SB”. The left side’s highlight jumps to Dial .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Reset”.
On the right side, next to Remap , click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown to YAxis (vJoy Axis 2).
When the reset switch is up/middle/down, the model will reset-in-place/fly/reset-to-home, respectively.
Map the Flight Modes Switch to vJoy Axis 1
Move the top right 3-position shoulder switch labeled “SG”.
The left side’s highlight jumps to Slider .
On the right side, into Action Description type “Flight Modes”.
On the right side, next to Remap , click Add .
Inside the gray Remap box, change the lower dropdown to XAxis (vJoy Axis 1).
Below the Remap box, change the dropdown Remap to ResponseCurve . Click Add .
Within the Response Curve box, click on Invert to reverse the axis.
When the flight mode switch is pulled forward (toward you), it will be
the “low” rates flight mode (and pushed away, “high” rates).
However,
the specific descriptor when running SeligSIM does depend on the
airplane in SeligSIM.
Save Your Work
From the menu, File->SaveProfileAs and give it a name, e.g. My-Taranis-X9D.xml .
After you have saved it once, you can File->SaveProfile at any time, of course.
Activate and Test
When the JG gamepad icon is green, the JG-viewer window should
show all vJoy axes reacting to your Spektrum controls defined above.
Finally, your Spektrum transmitter inputs mapped to vJoy should match the standard axes order
below which also shows the axis directions (via showing the result of
full stick and switch throws in the specific directions).
The mapping order, generally, was discussed here.
In this diagram, the “Axis 1” for vJoy is “1. Flight Modes” (“FM”) for SeligSIM, etc.
When you finish this guide, return back to the last part of Getting Started: Part I to continue your
setup and run SeligSIM.
Click image to enlarge.
Standard axes order in SeligSIM with sliders at full deflections for the controls indicated.
