Pete Dowson

Because you've not pressed a button it recognises yet. When you do the joystick and button number will appear in the boxes at top and you can then select what you want to do with it. Please take a look at the FSUIPC documentation. Pete

No, you don't need to do that. If you are using a current version you can simply go to the FSUIPC Buttons options page and tell it to reload them all. Each options section (Buttons, Keys, Axes, Calibrations) has a reload facility. Regards Pete

Hey, well done! Actually that gives me enough information too to recognise the rotaries properly as 4 and 8 "buttons" respectively. I see you omitted the 8th on the range -- is that the 5 mile range you've omitted? If I recognise these appropriately in a forthcoming update, you won't mind re-programming them will you? Regards Pete

As far as I'm aware all the past occurrences of error 0x80004005 have been due to firewall problems. Can you tell me what firewall package it is? The default XP one is easy enough to disable or set to allow FSX free reign, but there are some third party ones which seem to need uninstalling, or possibly uninstalling then re-installing with different options. The only other thing I know of to try is repairing SimConnect, as described in the FSX Help announcement above. Oh, one thing: you say "my comp never goes on the web". Could that possibly mean that you have no Network software installed at all? I wonder if the components of TCP/IP needed by Simconnect just aren't installed (though I would have thought these to be default installed by WinXP in any case). Other than that I'm afraid it's Microsoft tech support. Sorry. Regards Pete

I'm afraid this isn't really, er, scientific, enough for me to program to. Are you certain there's no dependency upon SPEED of turning at all -- for switches identified to it as rotary encoders, it operates a timer. We really do need someone from GoFlight to tell us how these switches behave. There's a Flag assoicated with each switch FSUIPC recognises, and Flags can be used in Conditional button programming and also set and cleared by special controls. See the Advanced Users guide. I think we need information from GoFlight. It is the only sensible course in my opinion. Regards Pete

Good. But what, in the end, made the difference? I am left a little puzzled about what it was that was wrong. Regards Pete

Yes, but without the complete log they cannot be identified -- the numbers tie up with earlier entries. I think they are merely the requests for axis data which won't be defined by default in an unregistered copy of FSUIPC4. This is perfectly innocuous, though I did remove those requests in a later version (is this log from using FSUIPC4.065? I can't tell as you chopped the start off). Is there any other information associated with this? FSUIPC4 version? FSUIPC4 log? Other observations? Exactly why are you showing me this bit of a log? Just because you thought the exceptins were significant? Regards Pete

WideFS is WideServer. It is WideServer that the WideFS keys unlock, and I'm afraid the FS9 and FSX ones are different. It is a shame you didn't purchase them the other way around -- there's a good discount for the FSX bundle if you bought the FS9 bundle after April. It might be worth asking SimMarket about that. They don't have email, but you put put the point in a problem ticket I think. The same Clients are used with both, it is the Server which is a completely rewritten program, using SimConnect, for FSX. With FSUIPC3 the Server is a separate module, WideServer.DLL. Regards Pete

Doesn't Elite have its own driver? Apart from the special cases of GoFlight and PFC, FSUIPC will only detect switches which are also recognised by the Windows Game Controller, and therefore also by Flight Sim itself. If you can't assign them in Flight Sim then you can't assign them in FSUIPC either. I'm afraid you need to check the Elite documentation or contact their support. Regards Pete

Another faulty SimConnect install, then. Seems to happen quite a lot. Happy New Year, Pete

SimConnect.xml not being there is a good thing. I said that before in an earlier reply! If there was nothing in the Log after this, then it means that all messages from SimConnect to FSUIPC are being blocked. What about the FSUIPC4.LOG cprrecsponding to this SimConnect log. Did you chaeck? The last log you showed was with FSUIPC 4.06, now I see you are using 4.065 -- that does actually do some retries. You could probably make it get a bit further by setting StartImmediately=Yes in the [General] section of the FSUIPC4.INI file. This makes it initialise things, including the Add-Ons menu, without waiting for the "SimStart" event to arrive. However, it looks like even if it gets that for it won't work. as to operate FSUIPC4 (and any other SimConnect client add-ons) will need to actually receive things from SimConnect. It still seems like a Firrewall problem to me. Have you checked your firewall yet? Regards Pete

Unfortunately not. There's really nothing helpful there, other that to show that SimConnect is simply and definitely not working correctly. McAfee is known to cause severe problems indeed with SimConnect, even when deactivated. I have even heard of cases where an uninstall did not remove all its hooks and still gave problems until the person concerned re-installed Windows. Also, please first try repairing SimConnect. See the FSX Help announcement at the top of the Forum. If nothing helps, please try to get a SimConnect Log, also as described in that FSX Help announcement. Try to keep it sohrt -- i.e. a few minutes of 4 fps, once things settle. If the log is large (and it might be), please ZIP it an send to me at petedowson@btconnect.com. Please colloect all the information you are accumulating and be prepared to submit it to Microsoft via tell_fs@microsoft.com. It may all help raise these problems to the top of the list in the hoped-for FSX bug fix release. Regards Pete

Really? Shows how long it has been since I flew a 'plane which used EPR. In FS2002 and before I seem to remember things being fine. If such an essential value is so much up the creek, why hasn't there ever been any request that I've seen at all in the three years of FS2004? Very strange! There's no way of altering the internal values, but I suppose a methods coud be provided to prevent FSUIPC populating whichever offset it is you are thinking of, allowing other values to be written there for other FSUIPC clients to read. But surely after more than three years of FS2004 now is not really the time to be making such basic changes. Have you checked FSX? Regards Pete

FSUIPC's axis and joystick facilities do provide a analogue way of controlling the airleron and rudder trims -- it does this by writing directly into the FS values for these. If all you want to do with buttons is to zero these values, I think you could do it with the "Offset dword set" controls FSUIPC provides. You'd need to send two such controls for each as the values are actually 64-bit floating point (a Dword is only 32 bits). Aileron trim offset is 2EB0, so write zero to 2EB0 and 2EB4 Rudder trim offset is 2EC0, so write zero to 2EC0 and 2EC4 To get one button to send two controls (or 4 if you want to do it all with one button), assign one the easy way, in the Buttons options, then edit the FSUIPC.INI file, reproducing the line for the same button, just changing the option (and the entry number). Formats for the parameters in the [buttons] section are given in the Advanced Users guide. Regards Pete

That's the way they look to FSUIPC then. They did? They did ask me if I would support it. I said it is difficult with no Goflight gear, and they even mentioned something about sending one. But I also replied that maybe some information about how they work would halp, but I never heard anything fursther. I'd need to know how those rotaries wortk if they are a different type of encoder -- I would have expected them to be simply multiway switches. Don't they have detentes/latches? A rotary encoder merely tells me whether you've turned it right or left, and whether fast or slow. Presumably you'd need to assign these two pairs of button readouts to Offset Byte (or Word) Increment and Decrement controls, to operate the relevant PM offsets. What have you tried that doesn't work? Regards Pete

ErDidn't you test BEFORE reinstalling Norton? Surely that's the main thing to do, to prove whether it is that or not? Have you checked your firewall? Have you managed to get a SimConnect Log yet? Regards Pete

No. If it could wouldn't you be upsetting all the other users, maybe forcing them suddenly into night? No. Are you talking about FSX? If so, from what I've read from complaints by Beta testers, this is a function of the way Multiplayer works. You'll need to send a request to Microsoft (to tell_fs@microsoft.com) to ask for an option to force the user's time on the local machine (only). You can never expect a local user to be able to change host settings, that wouldn't make sense. Regards Pete

What do you mean by "current" FSUIPC? Where have you ever seen an "Aileron Trim Set" or "Rudder Trim Set"? FS2004 doesn't provide any such controls, only the Left and Right controls. Pete

No, not in any way that any such value won't get immediately overwritten by FS's simulation engine on the next computation frame. It is a result, not an input. No, I don't know that? Where is this published? What is the error? Why not write your own gauge to replace the one in your favourite aircraft, then? If this is a well-known fault in FS, why haven't the competent aircraft makers fixed it in the gauges? The gauge code doesn't have to use the value exactly as provided, it can do as it wants. Regards Pete

Erunfair I think to pick out FSUIPC4 specifically. There are problems with FSX and pretty much any and all add-ons at present. Three things: 1. Is the weather the same without ActiveSky as with? You need to check whether it is simply the numbers of clous levels and extra weather which is hitting the performance. 2. What about FSUIPC4 without ActiveSky? There is currently a known overhead, usually about 10-15%, from just installing FSUIPC4 -- this is part of the current SimConnect performance problem we are hoping MS are working on. Some have reported as much as 40% but I am pretty sure these are down to anti-virus and other programs like that which, although deactivated, still have inefficient hooks embedded in the TCP/IP path. 3. If all these are running on the same PC, are you sure it isn't merely that ActiveSky and FSX represent just too much load on your PC, with the settings you havve in FSX? Sorr,y you mean *without* ActiveSky running? If so, then I can only suggest trying to deinstall both your firewall and anti-virus program, as a test. Just deactivating sometimes doesn't help -- it seems to varyt depending on the program. Also check the firewall hints provided by Microsoft. Regards Pete

Thank you. Happy New Year to you! PMDG aircraft tend to do their own thing as far as their autopilots are concerned. If your assignments work with the default aircraft (try the 737) but not in PMDG it will be because those functions are implemented in PMDG's own code, separately and differently to the similarly named facilities built into FS. Check to see if PMDG have already provided keystrokes for those functions. Otherwise, if they've made them a mouse-only operation, to use the keyboard you would need to use something like Luciano Napolitano's "Key2Mouse" program. Regards Pete

Thank you, and a Happy Christmas to you and yours too! The option does not exist in FSUIPC4. There is no need to "uncheck" it as the action you are stopping isn't implemented. It was a fix for bad behaviour in some default and add-on aircraft in FS2002 and FS2004 using the default AutoPilot, I'd hope it was not needed in FSX. I don't carry over fixes for old versions of FS unless and until it is determined that the bugs they fix still exist. Do you know that FSX's default autopilot still exhibits the bug? If all you wan't to do is disable the 'fix', there's no need as the fix isn't implemented and won't be unless the bug is proven. Regards Pete

Something is blocking messages. Check your firewall settings both ends. Regards Pete

Thanks! You too! Pete

Thank you Frank. Of those three nice wishes, the first has zero chance -- but stem cell and other generic research may eventually help my grandchildren, if not my children (for the condition is heridary), the second is, well, okay at present though I think a lot will now depend on what Microsoft does to deal with FSX problems and performance, and, as for the third, well, that is most certainly an ambition and I will be making a Resolution to have at least one fun flight a week, if not one per day! ;-) All the best to you, Pete