Raildriver & Throttle Percentages

[miata54]

I note that throttle advancement vary from loco to loco. On a first key press of letter "A", some jump to 7%, some to 13%. I suspect this is what the author(s) have built into each model. Just wondering if using Raildriver allows a progressive advancement of the throttle starting at 0%, 1%, 2%, 3% and so forth upward or would the first notch of throttle engagement be what the author has coded into the model?

[Machinist]

Raildriver has a Calibration Tool: as much recent the calibration is, as much sensible lever is. My console is 6 years old (8K hours played), so I don't know if newer devices are more acurate than mine. What I can say is that at the first initial level the notch goes directly to 6-7% or 10-12%, and then in 5-7% step increments, it always varies according to the loco. But over 30% notches go in 3-5% steps. Resuming: is not continuos 1-2% progressive notch.

Anyway is far more immersive and funny use Raildriver instead of keyboards (or F4 Virtual Console).

A tip: You also can set RailDriver switchers to cruiser control of ICE (keyboards "y" and "c") and to the gear notches of some Switcher Locos ("e" for gear up, and shift-"e" for gear down) like SW1200. Let me know if you are interested in these programing tricks. ;)

Cheers,
Lisboa.

[miata54]

I'm starting to drop hints to my better half for a Raildriver for Christmas.

[Machinist]

I'm starting to drop hints to my better half for a Raildriver for Christmas.

Each simulator deserves its appropriated console, huh? For (racing) car and truck sumulators: steering wheel and pedals; for Flight Simulator, any and many Saitek devices. Keyboard is for typing texts, or playng first person shoot games...

Furthermore, the F4 Virtual Console (because it blocks much of driver's vision), does not let you fully feel the new cab sway stuff.

[miata54]

I just discovered that by placing your mouse pointer on the throttle control in the GUI, then holding down the left mouse button, you can inch the throttle control upward in very small increments to give you 1,2 or 3 % increase. If you let go of the left mouse button, the throttle will jump to the next closest set increment (if modeled).

[GeorgeT93]

... My console is 6 years old (8K hours played), so I don't know if newer devices are more acurate than mine. What I can say is that at the first initial level the notch goes directly to 6-7% or 10-12%, and then in 5-7% step increments, it always varies according to the loco. But over 30% notches go in 3-5% steps. Resuming: is not continuos 1-2% progressive notch.
...
Cheers,
Lisboa.

I just wanted to confirm that this is exactly how mine behaves, and mine is brand new (it just got here on Wednesday). It really is a great unit, and I'm very happy I got mine. It definitely adds to the immersion. :)

-George

[Kali]

I note that throttle advancement vary from loco to loco. On a first key press of letter "A", some jump to 7%, some to 13%. I suspect this is what the author(s) have built into each model. Just wondering if using Raildriver allows a progressive advancement of the throttle starting at 0%, 1%, 2%, 3% and so forth upward or would the first notch of throttle engagement be what the author has coded into the model?

This is because some prototypes have notched throttles, and the model author correctly simulates this.

[Shortliner]

I may actually buy a Raildriver next instead of a new graphic card that can handle TS2012.

[GeorgeT93]

Well one thing I would like to say about the company (PI Engineering), for anyone considering making a purchase from them, and that is that I'm extremely impressed with their customer support. I had an issue with the throttle lever on the first RailDriver they sent me, and going through email support, not once did I get a 'canned' reply. The customer service rep that was helping me (Keith), most definitely read my emails, and his responses were never just copied and pasted (except for sections of the script that he was helping me modify, to try and 'tweak' the problem out of the lever). He helped me try a few things on the software side of things that I hadn't tried already, and when we determined the lever was indeed faulty, he set me up with an rma.

They got my old one last Friday, and my replacement was shipped out the same day, arriving here this past Wednesday. He even removed the custom labels that I made up for my button rows, and packed them in with the manual of the new unit, so that I wouldn't have to reprint them! Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with the service and support that I got from them, and as a result, am extremely satisfied with the company as a whole. :)

Just wanted to throw that out there.
-George

(Note: I am not employed by, or affiliated with them in any way. I'm just a happy customer.) :)

[Machinist]

Hi George,

I second your words. I own RailDriver more then 6 years long, and P.I.Engineer never (I repeat, never) failed with me, whenever I needed support.

Actually Keith is trying to fix some issues with new locos (P42DC, AEM-7 and 4CIG), which are not fully functional due to the new stuffs (like cruise control) but it depends of RSC and Asset's Creators. Is missing a bit of interchange talking between RSC and Raildriver Team. Keith hopes to make all functional till the end of current year, and will start as soon as TS2012's lauching phase (fixing bugs) goes...

I'm not RailDriver employee also just a very happy 6 years long costumer

Kali, as usually, is correct. Some engines have 1/8 fixed notches, this explains why some starts on 13%. Some, like 4CIG (I guess), has only 4 notches, throttle increments each 25%.

I'll post soon the tip for ACE's cruise control, and gear.