Vikki,
Concerning "joysticks.xml" for your Saitek.
I decided to go ahead and make a "joysticks.xml" file for this joystick
and try it out. This file is set up for 1 or 2 engines and it includes
buttons for flaps, propeller pitch, mixture, elevator trim, external
view cycle, and the "hat is set up to the standard 8 quadrants. Ran out
of buttons, so you must use the keyboard "g" key to raise and lower the
gear. In "README.Joystick" from the ../FlightGear/Docs/ directory, you
see the precedence: ".fgfsrc" in your /home/user directory, then
"system.fgfsrc" in $FG_ROOT (usually something like
/usr/local/FlightGear or /usr/local/lib/FlightGear, depending on the
switches used to configure fgfs). Then comes joystick.xml (in
$FG_ROOT). Copy the attached file into which ever $FG_ROOT you are
using. You may wish to save the original "joysticks.xml" file. Make
sure you move any ".fgfsrc" or "system.fgfsrc" to different names, or
fgfs will use the earlier precedence file instead of "joysticks.xml".
The comment at the top of the file should allow you to see which button
does what. If you don't like where I assigned things, just exchange the
button numbers. Also, you will need to change the line
<js n="4">
to
<js n="0"> or whatever is the right number.
Concrning "jscal".
In the last several Red Hat distros, it is part of a joystick utilities
RPM. It resides in /usr/bin/jscal and there is a manual page for it. I
am running RH7.3 updated to kernel 2.4.18-4. Your kernel is even newer.
The RH RPM is "joystick-1.2.15-11". It also includes "jsattach" and
"jstest" that you may see references to in the documentation. Mandrake
uses RPM's right? Can't you just get the RH RPM and install it?
Hope this helps. You are really closer to success than you think.
Been there, don't give up!
Dave
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
Joystick binding definitions for Saitek Cyborg 3D Gold USB joystick.
This file is included by preferences.xml, and uses the context of its
inclusion point; that means that you need to prepend "/input/joysticks"
to all property names.
This file defines primary flight-control bindings for a simple
three-axis, three-button joystick, as follow:
axis 0 (left-right): aileron
axis 1 (forward-backward): elevator
axis 2 (twist left-right): rudder
axis 3 (slider): throttle
axis 4 (hat left-right): look left or right
axis 5 (hat forward-back): look ahead or behind
button 0 (trigger): brakes
button 1: (left of hat) reduce RPM (constant speed prop)
button 2: (below hat) external view cycle
button 3: (righ of hat) increase RPM (constant speed prop)
button 4: (F1) trim nose down
button 5: (F2) retract flaps
button 6: (F3) trim nose up
button 7: (F4) extend flaps
button 8: (>>) mixture rich
button 9: (<<) mixture lean
hat left look left
hat right look right
hat back look behind
hat forward look forward
hat diagonal look diagonal
-->
<PropertyList>
<js n="4">
<axis n="0">
<desc>Aileron</desc>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/controls/aileron</property>
<squared type="bool">true</squared>
</binding>
</axis>
<axis n="1">
<desc>Elevator</desc>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/controls/elevator</property>
<factor type="double">-1.0</factor>
<squared type="bool">true</squared>
</binding>
</axis>
<axis n="2">
<desc>Rudder</desc>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/controls/rudder</property>
<offset type="double">0.0</offset>
<factor type="double">1.0</factor>
</binding>
</axis>
<axis n="3">
<desc>Throttle</desc>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/controls/throttle[0]</property>
<offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
<factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/controls/throttle[1]</property>
<offset type="double">-1.0</offset>
<factor type="double">-0.5</factor>
</binding>
</axis>
<axis n="4">
<desc>lateral view</desc>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/sim/current-view/axes/lat</property>
<factor type="double">-1.0</factor>
</binding>
</axis>
<axis n="5">
<desc>longitudinal view</desc>
<binding>
<command>property-scale</command>
<property>/sim/current-view/axes/long</property>
<factor type="double">-1.0</factor>
</binding>
</axis>
<button n="0">
<desc>Brakes</desc>
<binding>
<command>property-assign</command>
<property>/controls/brakes[0]</property>
<value type="double">1.0</value>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-assign</command>
<property>/controls/brakes[1]</property>
<value type="double">1.0</value>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-assign</command>
<property>/controls/brakes[2]</property>
<value type="double">1.0</value>
</binding>
<mod-up>
<binding>
<command>property-assign</command>
<property>/controls/brakes[0]</property>
<value type="double">0.0</value>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-assign</command>
<property>/controls/brakes[1]</property>
<value type="double">0.0</value>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-assign</command>
<property>/controls/brakes[2]</property>
<value type="double">0.0</value>
</binding>
</mod-up>
</button>
<button n="1">
<desc>Reduce RPM</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">true</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/propeller-pitch[0]</property>
<step type="double">-0.01</step>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/propeller-pitch[1]</property>
<step type="double">-0.01</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="2">
<desc>External Views</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">false</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>view-cycle</command>
<step type="double">1</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="3">
<desc>Increase RPM</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">true</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/propeller-pitch[0]</property>
<step type="double">+0.01</step>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/propeller-pitch[1]</property>
<step type="double">+0.01</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="4">
<desc>Elevator trim down</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">true</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/elevator-trim</property>
<step type="double">0.001</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="5">
<desc>Step Flaps Up</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">false</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/flaps</property>
<step type="double">-0.34</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="6">
<desc>Elevator trim up</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">true</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/elevator-trim</property>
<step type="double">-0.001</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="7">
<desc>Step Flaps Down</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">false</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/flaps</property>
<step type="double">+0.34</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="8">
<desc>Richer Mixture</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">true</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/mixture[0]</property>
<step type="double">+0.01</step>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/mixture[1]</property>
<step type="double">+0.01</step>
</binding>
</button>
<button n="9">
<desc>Leaner Mixture</desc>
<repeatable type="bool">true</repeatable>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/mixture[0]</property>
<step type="double">-0.01</step>
</binding>
<binding>
<command>property-adjust</command>
<property>/controls/mixture[1]</property>
<step type="double">-0.01</step>
</binding>
</button>
</js>
</PropertyList>
<!-- end of joysticks.xml -->
