Pete Dowson

Well, I'm not a hardware designer, but since the main purpose of a motion base is presumably to impart the "feel" of accelerations, attitude changes, and not to actually provide the true attitude, I would have thought you'd need to be reading the assorted Accelerations available. Either read these directly from SimConnect, or via FSUIPC4. See offsets 3060-3088and 31C0-31D0. Ask around in the cockpit builders forum here, and Google for others. Not building anything myself I'm not really familiar with any specific places. Sorry. Regards Pete

So you didn't want to learn how to do it for yourself, but only to have someone do it for you? Is'nt that a bit short-sighted? I did take a lot of trouble trying to make the tutorial on bit numbering relevant and to the point, but you simply ignored it and asked the same questions again. Very upsetting. So, please remind me not to reply to you next time, and I expect Thomas will do the work for you. Regards Pete

The Add-Ons menu is created by SimConnect (a part of FSX) in response to a menu request from FSUIPC. When it doesn't appear it means only one of two things: 1. SimConnect has, for some reason, not actually loaded FSUIPC in the first place, or 2. It has been loaded but then fails to connect. There are few reasons for the former. Although it can happen due to a corrupt DLL.XML file, that would be a consistent problem, not an intermittent one. Just possibly other programs, also being added via the DLL.XML file may be causing SimConnect some problems. This was a symptom of a bug in the original FSX release. The latter reason is probably more likely -- maybe a problem with your firewall or security program settings. If you had Acceleration or SP2 installed that shouldn't arise provided you are using FSUIPC 4.20 or later. So, the thing now is that you've provided no useful information for us to go further. Even basic data is missing, like Version of FSUIPC? Version of FSX (original? SP1? Acceleration? SP2?). Lists of other Add-Ons installed? I'd need to see the Install log and the FSUIPC4.log after a failed attempt -- both are ordinary text files found in the Modules folder. Also, your DLL.XML file -- though the best and quickest thing to do with that to make sure it is okay is to delete it and re-run the FSUIPC4 installer. It will make a good, new one. No, FSCommander is okay. Regards Pete

Oh, I thought you just wanted a way to interface to the program, presumably, as I thought, from buttons and switches. You mean you want to control Squawkbox programmatically? Anyway, I didn't really expect you to find a ready-made answer. Why don't you post your questions there as you have here? After all there will be folks who know about SquawkBox there -- I know next to nothing. The author(s) may even see your questions. If you are into Windows programming you can normally find ways of driving other Windows programs via Windows messaging, menu control, etc. Regards Pete

There's no METAR strings in FSUIPC3. You'd have to read the weather data and build your own METAR string. It isn't hard -- much easier than decoding the things, given all the variations that can occur! SimConnect only applies to FSX, and, yes, FSUIPC4 provides a way of doing it. But that's FSX, not earlier. Regards Pete

Do you mean just the weather data, or an actual METAR text string? FSUIPC3 contains three distinct weather reading (and writing) interfaces: the original FS98/FS2000 fixed global weather offsets, the "Advanced Weather Interface" (AWI) designed to take advantage of the more advanced weather first introduced in FS2000 -- but still global only -- and the "New Weather Interface" (NWI) introduced with FS2002 and which allows individual weather station weather to be read and written. FSUIPC4 includes all these plus a METAR string reading/writing facility too. It is done via SimConnect. The SDK contains all the information on all of these. You will also find little demo utilities WeatherSet (using the AWI) and WeatherSet2 (using the NWI) in the FSUIPC ZIPs. You can play around with those, see what they do. Regards Pete

Yes. Your client installations remain the same for both, but the WideFS7 key unlocks the WideServer part now built into FSUIPC4. Regards Pete

No, sorry. That's actually a potentially dangerous or at least a very misleading thing to do. The system time is used to timestamp files, logs, emails, all sorts of things. I wouldn't want anything I wrote to do such a thing. The proper way to synchronise FS time with your yoke is to use something like FSRealTime -- you want to make the FS Zulu time the same as your System Time, not the other way around. Don't forget all airliner times are based on Zulu time in any case, not local time. If you want specifically to fly in daylight or nighttime you choose the part of the world to suit. Regards Pete

:( :( I thought that, having grasped what the term "bits" meant, and how they are numbered and converted, all that would be easy? The names of the added FSUIPC controls for offsets are surely clear enough? What is the problem? Take a look. There are three types of operation provided which affect only selected bits: SetBits, which, interestingly enough, SETS bits to 1 ClrBits which clears selected bits, i.e. sets them to 0 ToggleBits which toggles selected bits. i.e. changes 1 to 0 and 0 to 1. Don't you think those names rather suggest the actions they perform? It was to help you work that out that I went to all that detail last time. The value of the parameter gives the value computed by adding the values of all the bits you want to change! Why did you think I explained it all in such detail? It seems to have all been a waste of time! :( :cry: :? :cry: :roll: :roll: :roll: I went into great detail as to how you can select one or more bits to change. I really cannot see how I could explain in any more detail or at any lower level. That previous reply was rock-bottom basics. You said you understood that and really didn't need it, but evidently you do need it and don't understand! :-( To change bit 0 use parameter 1, because bit 0 is worth 1. To change bit 1 use parameter 2, because bit 1 is worth 2 ... To change bit 7 use parameter 128 because bit 7 is worth 128 To change several bits just add their "worth" up to compute the correct parameter. Please please please go back and read the previous reply. You seem to have missed most of it! I seem to be wasting a lot of my time otherwise. Pete

Well, not all that. On FS9 and before it uses the multiplayer interface to FS, not FSUIPC, to create the other aircraft you see. I think it only uses FSUIPC to read your aircraft's position, and to get your COMM radio and Transponder settings. The FSX version does (or will?) use Simconnect directly for AI creation and probably all the other functions too. Regards Pete

Sorry, I don't know. It depends whether SquawkBox uses FSUIPC for its option control. If not, then it depends on whether it needs mouse actions (not supported by FSUIPC) or can be operated from the keyboard (in which case you could program the keypresses). Possibly you might get the definitive answers from the Squawkbox or Vatsim support areas? I'm a bit useless in this area, never having used Squawkbox (or any other on-line flight program). Regards Pete

No, sorry, neither of these things is possible except by using the Latitude/Longitude position and looking it up in an airport database. Microsoft even forgot to provide such an obviously useful facility in the SimConnect interface for FSX. If you want a ready-made database, which can be generated from a user's scenery installation, take a look at my freeware MakeRunways utility, downloadable in the Announcements above or on the Schiratti page. The Latitude/longitudes for an airport are generally some central point within its boundaries. You can't match that directly, only find the nearest. If you load a flight plan then the source and destination airport details may be available through the GPS information (check offsets 6000-61BF). However, I don't think all that stuff works consistently (I've had conflicting reports). The documentation for those was supplied by another user. Regards Pete

Not sure where you'd find out about bits except in an elementary book about computers -- look up binary numbers and logic. Try Wikipaedia first. But it is easy in any case. Look: In decimal each higher digit is worth 10 of the previous one -- 1, 10, 100, 1000 etc. Right? Each one ten times the previous. In BINARY, each is only worth 2 of the previous. So in binary 1 is same as decimal 1 10 is same as decimal 2 100 is same as decimal 4 ... 10000000 is same as decimal 128 (work it out). Now each of those binary digit positions is a "bit" and each "bit" can be 1 or 0 only -- it can't be more than 1 because that would make 2 and that's the next higher digit position. Right? There are 8 bits in a BYTE. We number the lowest bit, worth 1, as "bit 0", and so on, until the top bit in a byte (the 8th) is "bit 7". The worth of a bit in a byte is as follows: Bit 0 = 1 bit 1 = 2 Bit 2 = 4 ... Bit 7 = 128 You will also see that for any bit number, n, the value is 2^n ("2 to the power n", or 2 multiplied by itself n times). bit 2 = 2 x 2 = 4 bit 3 = 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 etc. Now I think you should be able to work out the parameter values for single bits, knowing the bit number. Right? If you want to set or change multiple bits, just add the values of the separate bits together. So, for example, Bit 0 and Bit 2 = 1 + 4 = 5. Regards Pete

It doesn't NEED converting. It's simply interpretation! If you read it into an unsigned variable, it will appear unsigned. If you read it into a signed vaariable, it will be signed. The actual pattern of bits, the way it actually appears in the hardware, is unchanged. No, no no! Only read BYTE values into Bytes. Read signed 32-bit values into an integer variable (i.e. a normal signed number in most languages)! You appear to be missing the entire point. In other words, there's no "chBank" wanted at all. Read it into a variable such as int nBank; Then your conversion is simple: double db = nBank * 360.0/ ( 65536.0* 65536.0); Pete

You don't live near the UK, but you emailed me anyway. I replied at 09:22Z yesterday, and my reply has just been returned undelivered because the email address you used is not accessible, or so it seems. If you want me to re-send please use a valid email when you write to me. Regards Pete

The Offsets Status document for FSUIPC4 is included in the SDK addendum currently only supplied in the FSX Downloads announcement above, as with FSUIPC4 interim updates et cetera. The Offsets list there is up to date for FSUIPC 4.20 and includes the MGW. I'll add the MGW to FSUIPC3 (for FS9 only, probably) in January. I've had a look and it is easy enough. Regards Pete

Okay. I assume you've checked the value in offset 08F4? It isn't in the same units of course. In that case the values you require are ones I never found, or possibly did find but was never asked for before. Considering FSUIPC has been without these offsets for all of its 8 year life, I am surprised that it is now requested, but I shall add it to my list and look to see if I can add it early in the New Year. It is too late this year now. I am away for Christmas and won't be starting new development now till January. I'll only be doing it for FS9 and FSX. If you don't see anything by mid-January, remind me -- if that happens then either I've not been able to find it, or I've lost the list. Regards Pete

It is actually possible that this is correct. A zero prop pitch creates maximum resistance to the engine and an idle throttle setting may not generate enough torque to prevent stalling. There's no reverse prop pitch on either the Baron or the Goose. And this is confirmed by checking the "prop_reverse_available" parameter in the Aircraft.CFG files. If you want to try something with a prop reverse facility you'll need to try the King Air. Regards Pete

You don't need to register FSUIPC to use WideFS, but if you want to use the FSUIPC facilities, just purchase a Key for it as you did for WideFS. There's full details in the FSUIPC User Guide, including links to the place to pay for the key. Regards Pete

"token variables" are accessed by Gauges through the FS Gauge interface, not via FSUIPC. Most useful values are available through FSUIPC, but possibly under a different name. I think the torque ones are only applicable to helicopters in any case, but search the offsets list for the word "torque". It uses an ealry inefficient and unsupported interface into FSUIPC. You should be looking at FSLook2 (which uses FSUIPC offsets normally and works with all versions of FS), or, better, at the FSUIPC offsets list in the Programmers Guide. Regards Pete

Yes, as you need such to program buttons. Otherwise use the other (older) facility which only works if you keep the keyboard focus on the WideClient window (which of course you'd otherwise probably have minimised or hidden). Pete

Yes. Please check the WideFS Technical document. There are two ways, one by "SendKeyPresses" (WideClient has to have keyboard focus), and a more recent, better, alternative called "ButtonKeys", where keypresses on the Client appear as Buttons in FSUIPC, and can then be programmed for FS controls or keypresses. Please see the section about ButtonKeys in that document. Regards Pete

I don't have a site, but it is available (and always has been) inside the AdvDisplay Zip, as I said. I assumed you already had AdvDisplay, as you mentioned "as you could with AdvDisplay in FS9". But if you've lost the ZIP just get it from the Schiratti page where all my stuff is. Regards Pete

Sorry, could you please elaborate? I have no idea what you are talking about at present. Is that aircraft using something in FSUIPC for its autopilot, and if so what? Most of the values provided by FSUIPC are simply pass-through's from SimConnect. It doesn't "cause" anything by itself. Also, versions 4.2xx use the SP2/Accel version of SimConnect, if installed, whereas 4.1xx used at most the SP1 version. Are you using SP2/Accel or just SP1 with FSX? And have you tried the latest update, 4.208, from the FSX downloads above? Before doing any such testing I'd need to know a lot more. If you are the programmer of the autopilot and wish to discuss this problem in more detail, please write to me at petedowson@btconnect.com. Regards Pete

Yes, because (-33873150 * 360.0) / (65536.0 * 65536.0) = -2.8392146, as you can see with FSInterrogate, or check on an ordinary calculator. You need the FSUIPC SDK. Follow the examples for your chosen programming language to use FSUIPC_Read and FSUIPC_Process. Read 4 bytes at that offset into a signed integer. Then apply the documented formula, as used in the example above. Read it directly into the appropriate type, or use a cast (in C/C++). I expect other languages have equivalent methods, though I believe you could struggle to have unsigned values in Basic. (Ugh). Regards Pete