PilotEdge Forums

I've found that the PE plugin for x-Plane doesn't like my headset, a Plantronics DA40 that shows up in Windows as a "Generic USB Audio" device. The PE plugin picks up audio from the microphone just fine, but it won't let me select the headset as an output, so I have to direct ATC audio to my speakers instead.

I'm wondering what headsets other people are using, so I can pick up one that is more compatible with the PE plugin.

Thanks!
Mike

Can you tell us which operating system and sim you are using? Don't want to give Windows advice if not using Windows.

What other steps have you taken to resolve? I would certainly think that only an OS adjustment to the device type would put you back into business.

My experience with Plantronics has generally been good with excellent compatibility.

But answer to your question, I'm using a cheap Logitec analog headset and mic with the 1/8" plugs on the front audio jacks.

I'm running Windows 8.1 and X-Plane 10.30. The log.txt doesn't contain any error messages, and I'm not sure where else to look for PE diagnostic information that might give me a hint as to the problem. I tried pretty much every combination of the settings in the Sound control panel but none of them seemed to make any difference. Audacity is able to record from and playback to my DA40 just fine so I don't think it's an issue with the device or operating system. Do you have any ideas for something I can try?

I did try the 1/8" jacks with a standalone mic I have and it worked just fine, so maybe a cheap analog headset is the way to go...

Something is up if you're seeing "Generic USB audio" in the list. The way Audacity is opening the device might be different from the way our audio libraries use the device. I'd check to see if you can download a specific driver for the headset you're using. You could try another USB headset if you can't find drivers for that one. I'm using a $19 headset from Best Buy (Dynex).

I checked Plantronics's website thoroughly and Googled it but didn't see any official drivers mentioned. I've sent a message to their support email just to be sure, I'll let you know what I hear back.

Here is the content of PilotEdge_out.txt when I try to select it in the list of output devices:

Starting up: PilotEdge client, V1.0.9
initVoice with device {0.0.0.00000000}.{3d713dc1-9282-4d83-9401-9ad961c755e3}, returned 0
PilotEdge initialized
Entered deferred startup
completed deferred startup
error #2311 while swapping to playback device #2

Could you post a screen snip of device manager with the audio section expanded? Also want to double check that the drivers are loaded without errors on the driver properties screen.

Is "playback device #2" the USB head set? Has this been set to the "default play back" device?

I have read reports that Win8 handles USB devices slightly different than Win7, At the moment I don't remember what the fix was. I'm assuming that you have deleted the device and let "plug and Play" rediscover.

Will do more research. I also think (as does Keith) that the device type being "generic USB device" is the key to the problem.

error 2311 would be "ERROR_sound_could_not_open_playback_device"

Doesn't tell us why, though.

I finally found a solution: I picked up a Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000. USB connection, passive noise cancellation on the mic, it seems to work fine with PE, and it only cost $20. Problem solved!

Here's some information I found about USB devices not always working on Win8. It talks about how a USB device gets marked in the registry as disabled if moved from one port to another. Or from one port to another on a USB Hub.

There are two methods to fix. A "roll up software update" or a hot fix. IMO the roll up update is the better idea.

Windows RT, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012 update rollup: June 2013
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2845533

Connected USB device is not detected in Windows (hotfix)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2830154

I suspect that the original headset would start working after the fix is applied.