Pete Dowson

Correct. That is because the Axes and Calibrations are always aircraft specific if the aircraft for which they are intended is the one currently loaded. There's no mixing of "generic" and "specific" settings. It gets too cnofusing with axes. Button and keypresses are different. You can have a generic set of buttons/keys for all aircraft and others specific. The specific ones are ADDITIONAL. So, in those dialogues you can elect to view and change the aircraft specific settings or the generic ones. After all, many uses for those switches and buttons and so on are common to all aircraft. You only need to make the differences aircraft-specific. No, because that would destroy this much-used and valuable facility. And in general it is the generic switches which are the greater part. Also, it is made pretty clear whether you are in specific mode or not -- the title bar of the dialogue shows the aircraft name. Regards Pete

Ah, good! Kyle, there's one thing about ALL of the Logs which end in an FSX crash, they ALL crash with the aircraft almost at the same place, every time. Here is the last line from each log, preceded by the last Weather Report request before that: 2723466 Weather Read request (At Aircrft) to area 4: Lat=44.62, Lon=-117.31, Alt=11750.5, Req=2 2728146 WX Received in 0 mSecs, WX request type 1, ICAO=GLOB 2303542 Weather Read request (At Aircrft) to area 4: Lat=45.16, Lon=-118.53, Alt=11770.3, Req=2 2308207 WX Received in 0 mSecs, WX request type 1, ICAO=GLOB 2665948 Weather Read request (At Aircrft) to area 4: Lat=44.67, Lon=-117.43, Alt=11756.0, Req=2 2670613 WX Received in 0 mSecs, WX request type 1, ICAO=GLOB 3541332 Weather Read request (At Aircrft) to area 4: Lat=43.55, Lon=-115.07, Alt=11715.4, Req=2 3542736 Ambient wind: 279/32 (Act 279/32) OKAY 2690986 Weather Read request (At Aircrft) to area 4: Lat=44.67, Lon=-117.43, Alt=11755.8, Req=2 2695510 WX Received in 15 mSecs, WX request type 1, ICAO=GLOB I included the very last line so you can see there's only a few seconds separating that position and the crash. (The altitudes are in metres by the way, in case you were wondering). I am really wondering if there's something up with the scenery in that area that is responsible, so please do any further flights far away if possible just in case. Thanks. I have had a flight continuing from your saved FLT now for 90 minutes. It's still cruising happily at 39000. This is on the PC I just installed SP2 on. No add-on scenery or similar files. I'll do some more such tests tomorrow. There's one other noticeable thing in those logs, as you can see above. The last line in the log in every case is a Received GLOB weather -- except one: that was the time the crash was in WEATHER.DLL instead of NTDLL. Hmm. Suspcious. I am still pretty worried that it is in FSUIPC. Oh, one other possibility -- that it is to do with the Logging itself. On the test I have running at present (which I might leace running all night) I've only got Weather logging and LogExtras=1, not 67. I think you could do the same now. I don't think I'll be needing the complex Smoothing logging any more. You don't even need the weather logging. Maybe if you have success in other areas you could try that on the crash-prone route? Thanks & Regards Pete

Okay. Solved it, I think. And the good thing is that solving it for SP2 enabled me to implement it all for SP1 and RTM too -- the SP2 SIM1.DLL is very similar to the SP1 and RTM versions. So, please try version 4.241, now available. Things to watch out for: 1. Check the start of the Log file, make sure it says the wind smoothing is FULLY installed. 2. The only tester so far doing lots of tests with full smoothing (because of the only-just-discovered differences with SP2) is getting FSX crashes in pretty much every flight, but we currently don't know if this is down to FSUIPC or not. It happens anything from 20 to 60 minutes into a flight, and so far I don't have a clue. I'm about 35 minutes into such a flight with his FLT + WX files, and it's okay so far ... 3. Still getting sudden wind shifts? Does the PMDG 747X heading still drift in turbulence? 4. I don't think the Wind Smoothing thread is doing anything useful now, so I might remove it, but please test with and without. Thanks, Best Regards Pete

But the winds were changing, I hope. Not fixed, the same for the whole flight? That would be a tad too smooth! ;-) Pete

No, it's a separate log which is always produced when FSUIPC is actually running. The fact that it isn't there means that FSUIPC has never actually been loaded by SimConnect. You really do not have to post those huge pictures here. I believe your words, I don't need pictures. It is just that previously you contradicted yourself and said there was no log file, when in fact there is one. Just not the one indicating that FSUIPC has ever run. However, having posted a big picture of your C:\Documents and Settings\Haleem\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX\ folder, I see you have something very wrong there, indeed. How on Earth did those SimConnect files get in there! They are likely to mess things up! Did you copy them there from somewhere, or installed something else that did that? The ONLY place those files should be is in the Windows WinSxS folders, so that the side-by-side library system works properly! What is the file obscurely called "SimConnect Security Catalog"? What is it's actual filename? I think you should delete all three of those SimConnect files and try again. You ought to try and work out what put them there, because it is wrong. Regards Pete

I think you might find the LevelD 767 does its own thing with the DH, as it does with the A/P and many other functions. You need to check out what you want to do with a default aircraft as only those are guaranteed to only use internal FS features. Regards Pete

Yes, I think I might default the Smoothing Thread off. I don't think it'll be needed now. Yes, please. I am most concerned about this. If it is my smoothing hacks causing the crash then, ultimately, they aren't releasable. I must get that nailed down one way of the other. When I've sorted out the SP2 implemetation and there are more testers actually using the whole facility we should find out pretty quickly. On that front I think I've found the right places in the SP2 edition of SIM1.DLL. Not only that, but that version is so similar to the SP1 and RTM editions than I think I can make it work on all FSX versions -- provided I can sort out the crash, if that is me. Are, maybe I'm not leaving it long enough then. I see if I can run much longer tests tomorrow. I'll need to set it up on another machine. Well, except that they seem to both point, at the log end (which is where I assume the crash occurred) to the same geographical area, almost precisely. Yes, please do ZIP and send them. You never know, I might spot something. Well, a crash in WEATHER.DLL is at least more easy for me to look at than buried deep in NTDLL like the others. Thanks. I'll have a quick look, but there's not much to go on. I do have to repro it here. Thanks, Pete

Well, they were found for FS2000, and may or not have been okay later. Many of the offsets in the main list did start there and got moved over as "supported" offsets when folks proved they worked and were using them. It doesn't mean they aren't there for other versions. Isn't the value 100 correct? How do you change the DH in a default FS aircraft, and how is it used by those aircraft? I know all about DH in add-ons (I use Project Magenta), but I didn't think FS did anything with it. Pete

Yes, thanks. You are already good to go with 4.239. Maybe the only one other than myself at present! ;-) Oh, sorry to hear that. Don't over do it. Best to rest up and get better first. Regards Pete

No idea. I'd have to search the list. Did you? There's an unsupported offset labelled "Decision Height" in the list, at 5428. Have you tried that? I've no idea if it works or not I'm afraid.Does FS actually do anything with it? Regards Pete

Whilst FSInterrogate makes a good investigative and checking tool, it isn't a good reference. Best to refer to the offset lists in the documentation. Being documents they are easily searched, and they contain a lot more information and tend to be kept up to date more. You can use my freeware "MakeRunways" tool to generate databases containing runway lat/lons and a lot more. Available from http://www.schiratti.com/dowson. Pete

Er, that doesn't make sense. You must have seen the Install log there because you posted its contents earlier, if you recall. First check again, because if you don't see any log at all then the FSUIPC installer couldn't have worked, which contradicts your earlier posting. If the Install log is there but no FSUIPC4 log, then FSUIPC4 isn't being loaded by SimConnect. That either means the DLL.XML file is bad or SimConnect is broken. As a next step, then, check the DLL.XML file. According to your (non-existent?) Install log that will be here: C:\Documents and Settings\Haleem\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX\ It is a text file so you can paste it here. Regards, Pete

Yew, the Aircraft On Ground flag at offset 0366. Only if you know the lat/lon of the airport. That's not something FS or FSUIPC can look up for you. If you do have it, it's a matter of spherical trigonometry, though for short distances you could simplify by assuming a flat Earth! ;-) Regards Pete

No need. I've just installed SP2 on another PC, and seen that its SIM1.DLL is nothing like the Acceleration version! Aaaarrrggghhh! It is more like SP1. I'll have a look, but I don't feel good about this -- I failed miserably to find the routines I need to hook on SP1. Meanwhile I'm afraid that most of the work I've been doing for smoothing only applies to Acceleration users. Have a break from testing, but keep an eye out on the FSX downloads announcement in case I crack it. Regards Pete

Aaaarrrggghhh! The SP2 SIM1.DLL and the Acceleration SIM1.DLL are not the same beast! Oh dear. I've got some work to do now to work out whether I can cope with the SP2 version. This is terrible. I'm sure Microsoft said that the actual FSX program was the same in both. The SP2 version is: 10.0.61472.0 ... which is weird, because Acceleration was out first yet has a much later build number! It is only 797,760 bytes long (798,720 on disk). For a moment I thought it might still be the SP1 version, but that is build 61355 and only 796,568 bytes. But it doesn't bode well for the smoothing. I couldn't find the code I need to hook in the SP1 version, and it looks like this SP2 version is not much different. I'm out tonight but I'll work on this over the weekend. Meanwhile, testers who are NOT using Acceleration, please give it a rest for now. Thanks! Regards Pete

Something else has come up. At least two testers are getting this reported at the beginning of the FSUIPC4.LOG file: Running inside FSX (SimConnect Acc/SP2 Oct07) Module base=61000000 Wind smoothing fix is only partially installed That "partially" means that most of the work on smoothing I've been doing is not actually being applied -- you are getting the same results as an SP1 or RTM user! I don't understand why this should be. Looking at the logs received so far, Bill's and Al's have had this problem. Only Kyle's logs are from a fully-working smoothing installation. (This makes his FSX crashes more suspiciously linked to FSUIPC! :-( ). I am now concerned that there might be more than one version of SIM1.DLL floating around for SP2 / Acceleration, not the one as I had always assumed. I have Acceleration installed on my test machine, but I will go install SP2 on a PC which has currently only got SP1 installed. Can each tester tell me whether he is using SP2 or Acceleration, and check the Version number on his SIM1.DLL, please? (Right click on it, select Properties-Version). Mine is: 10.0.61637.0 and it is 669,408 bytes long (892,928 on disk), dated 26/09/2007 15:09 (though that may just be the install date). Thanks, Pete

That's what you get if you aren't using FSX SP2 or Acceleration. FSUIPC cannot patch the places it needs to in SIM1.DLL. The wind smoothing doesn't then work so well -- you get a nasty ratcheting on the ASI, and possilby with the altimeter too if you use QNH smoothing. If the patch can be fully applied (because the SIM1.DL is the SP2/Acceleration version) then the message would say "fully installed". OuchI just noticed that in the Log you sent me. no wonder you are seeing all those odd Ambient Wind changes --- FSUIPC4 isn't dong full wind smoothing on your system. It apparently cannot patch your SIM1.DLL in memory, even though the Lg does show Running inside FSX (SimConnect Acc/SP2 Oct07) That is worrying. Can you check the version nmuber of the SIM1.DLL in your main FSX folder, please? Right click on it and check 'version'. Regards Pete

4.239 nowwell, in about 30 minutes. Please see my other "IMPORTANT" message. ;-) Regards Pete

Er, sorry, I'm confused now. Where in that thread is there a better explanation or example? Pete

I had a minor brainwave this afternoon, and went looking for wind values in FSX through a different path. I found the three Ambient winds (X, Y, Z) in m/sec (the others were in ft/sec) and it looks like these are the source of the ones I've been changing, so I've now made some more changes to FSUIPC4 to deal with those first. It looks good here, but, then, I never managed to get all of the weird wind problems reproduced here, so it needs testing (of course) by those who have seen the wind problems and can get them to occur. So, please ignore version 4.238, which was yesterday's changes uploaded earlier today, and get 4.239 when it is available, soon. Please note the changes remarked in the downloads Announcement -- please change the Logging parameters, otherwise this version will clobber your performance. There are four things still outstanding, needing testing: 1. Does the PMDG A/P heading hold still drift when in tirbulence? 2. Are there still those nasty wind shifts at some levels? 3. Does this version cause FSX to crash at all, ever? 4. Is it better or worse, or no difference, with the Wind Smoothing thread enabled (as it is by default) or disabled (via "WindSmoothingThread=No")? I think this is about as close as I'm going to be able to get, so I do hope it is okay. Thanks & Best Regards Pete

Thanks. 4.238 is up, but skip that and go straight to 4.239 in less than an hour .... Regards Pete

Okay, thanks. The installer log looks perfect. What about the FSUIPC4 log? Please make sure FSX is closed before posting it. Regards Pete

There's not an "offset" for each flaps setting. There are offsets for the flap handle positon, for the flap indicator, and for assorted flap angles (outer/inner, left/right, leading edge/trailing edge. See the table in the Programmers Guide (FSUIPC3) or the Offsets Status documernt for FSX. The easiest one to use if 0BDC, which runs from 0 (flaps up) to 16383 (flaps full down). That's divided roughly equally between the number of notches, so for a 737 with 9 settings you'd get roughly 2048 between each setting. Obviously your "flaps 30" is going to depend on the aircraft, whether 30 is full flaps or one of the intermediate settings. If you are only interested in "full flaps" then simply check if 0BDC is over 16000. It should be equal to 16383, but it is always dodgy assuming such things. You can Monitor 0DBC (as a type U32) on the FS window in real time, using the FSUIPC monitoring facilities (right-hand side of the Logging tab). Then you can get the right value specifically for your aircraft. Regards Pete

They are doing no more with FSX. There won't be any fixes till FSXI, and even then it depends on priorities. Evidently the wind shifting problems in FS9 weren't bad enough for enough folks to complain to get it fixed by FSX -- maybe that's partly my fault for offering a third party fix that worked. If you want things fixed in FSXI get complaining nowtell_fs@microsoft.com. I've done all I can with my contacts in Microsoft. They know there is a problem, but the WEATHER stuff is very complex and the re-write needed very costly and error prone, so it has to be a problem they can see folks are really concerned about. Their priorities tend towards performance and graphics (eye candy), because that's where users shout about things more. Serious fliers needing proper weather and realistic flight characteristics are in a minority and are not vocal / verbal enough. Regards Pete

Where are you reading about renaming folders? That's nothing to do with it! As the link points out (it references parts of my FSUIPC documentation), unless every aircraft has a COMPLETELY different name (very very unlikely) you merely use a shortened form, or a part of the name, common to each one but different from your other aircraft. For instance, if all those aircraft were named "Majestic DH8-300 ..." you could just shorten the name in the INI to "Majestic DH8-300", and set "ShortAircraftNameOK=Yes". Alternatively, for all "DH8"s change it to "DH8" and set "ShortAircraftNameOK=Substring". This is all just simple editing in the FSUIPC INI file, nothing changes in your aircraft files! Please read the documentation and tell me why you don't understand it. I've not met such confusion about such a simple thing before. Why is it confusing, please? Pete