Pete Dowson

Erthe trim wheel on my Jetliner Console affects the elevator axis input -- there's no separate trim wheel input into my driver. If PFC have revised the Jetliner Console with additional axes, they've failed to inform me of any of the details. Please get back to them and clarify this. I'm rather busy today, then I'll be away from tonight (Tuesday eve) until next Tuesday, 1st November, so it would be better for you to re-check. Isn't the trim wheel a little thumb wheeled pot to the left of the pull/push parking brake switch? Regards Pete

I don't have a web site, only this Support Forum. Possibly you mean the Schiratti web site I referred to? But first, surely, you downloaded FSUIPC.ZIP from the website. If you did, then just read the documentation inside. If not, go and download it. No. That would be silly, because the document is INSIDE the Zip file, so how could it tell you that? This is what it explains early in the documentation. It is part of the reason documentation is written and supplied in the first place! User documents are provided to help users, who are therefore asked to read them. It is a lot easier and quicker that getting confused here is, really! Please just go and take a look, eh? Regards, Pete

You purchase a key, not "a full version of FSUIPC" (there IS only one version). As explained on the site where you ordered the key, you download FSUIPC from any site which carries it, the most usual one being http://www.schiratti.com/dowson. However, this is an odd way to do it -- normally you'd download it, take a look, read the documents, then decide whether you want to part with any money! If you are using Windows XP you don't need to "work with ZIP files" -- Windows will open the ZIP for you, just double click on it. If you aren't using WinXP, then apart from advising you to update soon, you will need to find a free copy of WinZip or similar. Then, the user documentation is inside. Just read the first few pages to start with. Excuse me for asking this, but I'm not sure why you've bought it if you don't know what it is for or how to use it? Are you sure you haven't just wasted your money? Regards, Pete

Sorry, it isn't my area. I don't even know DirectPlay. Maybe someone else here can help, but you may like to check other technical (programming) forums too. I don't think VB has many easy provisions for using the sorts of interfaces FS provides. Regards, Pete

Not using muliplayer, no. You can get user and AI aircraft positions from FSUIPC, but to use multiplayer you have to program to the multiplayer interface, not FSUIPC. I think there's an official Microsoft SDK for it -- check Microsoft's FS website. Regards, Pete

But Version 3.50 is most definitely later than 3.47. The 8/30/05 1220pm is correct for 3.50 The 10/5/05 502pm version is not one I have released -- the most recent one is Interim version 3.505, available at the top of this forum. That is dated 9/16/05 0013am. I certainly released nothing on the 5th October, I was on holiday still then, somewhere in Ecuador! Maybe some program you have changed the date on it. To verify the real details, right click on it, select Properties then Version. Regards, Pete I do not remember doing this before on other versions. Thanks Rocky

Okay. It was easier than I thought, and I was misleading myself with the Debug/Optimising differences. It was, in fact, only differences in the INI file. The problem is simply that if you go into the dialogue and make a change ONLY to a slope (or several slopes), then on confirming and exiting from the options, FSUIPC is not writing the changes back to the INI file. I stupidly omitted to add the slope tables to the things it needs to check on exit. I can fix this quite easily and will do so in the next interim release, but I have some other little things to do first. Meanwhile, there are two solutions for you, both of which are better than going in each time and making the change on every reload: 1. You can simply add the SlopeRudder=n parameter to the relevant INI section manually (n is -15 to 15, as per the number in the Slope display). You can do this for your other axes as well -- currently you have no slopes set. 2. Alternatively you can use the options dialogue but just be sure to change something else too. It need not even be for the same axis. just toggle a Filter checkbox or similar. Go in again and toggle it back if it matters. The slopes will be saved for all axes on any other changes, they are only omitted when nothing else changes. Thanks for spotting and reporting this error, and apologies for the temporary inconvenience. Regards, Pete

I can reproduce the problem with rudder. I'll double-check the other axes. You say the slopes are working on those, BUT there appear to be no slope values stored in your INI file. the slopes are NOT given by that /n value -- that value represents a set of flage for the other options, like filter and reverse. Slope parameters are like this: The problem appears to be that the "SlopeRudder" parameter isn't being written. [LATER] No, that isn't it either! I'm not sure what is hapening there. It is rather odd. I recompiled FSUIPC in Debug mode so I could trace through what was happening, and then it works okay! There's some difference between the optimised issued code and the debug code. I hate that sort of problem, it is very difficult to isolate. And I've not got a lot of time this week. I'll see what I can do, but it may have to wait until next week (i.e. November). Sorry. Regards, Pete

Hmmm. Oddthere's no different treatment for any of the axes, it is all the same code. I'll double check here. Can you first check with the interim release version of FSUIPC available in this Forum, and also show me the complete section from your INI file, please? Pete

Hmmm. Oddthere's no different treatment for any of the axes, it is all the same code. I'll double check here. Can you show me the complete section from your INI file, please? Pete

Any or all of the Shift keys (Shift, Ctrl, Tab, Windows and Menu, also ALT, but not recommended due to its effect on the menu) or none of those, plus any "ordinary" key (graphic/function/arrow/numpad keys). Without ALT that adds up to something over 6000 combinations I think (rough estimate). However, that far exceeds the number of individual assignments currently allowed -- the limit is 1024 entries (though that can be a different 1024 for each aircraft, if you want aircraft-specific allocations). No. No. In both examples you have multiple "active" keys. FSUIPC detects the 5 or 6 keys it treats as "shifts" or "modifiers", which you hold down first, then as soon as you press one of the others the action/allocation is registered. Please see the Advanced Users documentation in the FSUIPC Zip package. It gives you more detailed information Regards, Pete

Ah, so you are forced to switch to IVAP. From what I have seen, that is a good program too, so you should be okay! Good flying Pete

I'm afraid you wil need to contact SB support. This is not related to FSUIPC or WideFS. Regards, Pete

Does SB3 work with FS2002 as well as FS2004? Regards, Pete

But many messages ago you said: Anyway, I don't understand at all. As I said, the only version which is "too old" as far as Error 7 is concerned is one which is older than 1.998e, which would date it to about 5 or 6 years ago I think! Regards, Pete

Actually it says here "Incorrect version of FSUIPC, or not FSUIPC". Looking at the code it gives error 7 on Open (only!) if the version number is older than 1.998e or if the validity check word at offset 330A is not equal to hex "FADE". It means that the Open has sent a message. There will be entries later in the log saying more, expecially if you enabled IPC read/write logging as I asked. Please just run the program, then close down FS show show me the complete log, not just your chosen snippets. I have no VB program sources other that the one in the SDK, which works as far as I know (at least with a user registered FSUIPC -- but it certainly will not fail error 7 even without). To check your installation of FSUIPC simply try FSInterrogate, or any of the free little programs I supply in the FSUIPC ZIP, such as TrafficLook and WeatherSet2. Regards, Pete

This is most certainly a question only Enrico can answer. Possibly he is using his own invented location for ADF2, in lieu of the one not supported by FS until FS2004. You can use FSUIPC Monitoring (right-hand side of the Logging page) to keep an eye on the FSUIPC ADF2 offsets and see when they change and so on. Maybe you can use FSInterrogate to find PM's offsets for the same. [LATER] Bingo! A search on "ADF" in Enrico's PM offsets list shows: Try monitoring that too. Possibly Enrico hasn't yet gotten around to updating it for the new provisions in FSUIPC for FS2004? (I have no idea what he would do in FS2002 though). Regards, Pete

Not necessarily. Really unless you show me the log and start using the tools provided to help you, I don't see how I can give any further advice at all. Please, to start with, simply look in the FS Modules folder, find the FSUIPC.LOG file, and see what it says. That's the first thing to do always. Second, assuming that part's okay, is to use the IPC logging and possibly verify your installation with FSInterrogate. These tools are provided to HELP YOU and to save everyone a lot of time. Regards, Pete

How can you tell if you aren't checking the error on the Open? According to the code snippets you show you never check the return or the result of the Open call! NO!!! FSUIPC runs in FS, in the Modules folder. It is not used directly by your program at all. Have you used FSUIPC Logging -- there are options to log all IPC calls, both reads and writes? It will also log the identity of any program connecting to it. Additionally FSInterrogate is supplied in the FSUIPC SDK. Please use that to check the things you are trying to read. All these tools are provided for a purpose -- to help you develop and debug your programs. I'm afraid I know nothing about VB and the VB parts are not my work (though derived from it) -- but you are in excellent hands with JD's help. Regards, Pete

Two questions. First, you are not checking the result of the Open. It is only on the Open call that an FSUIPC_ERR_VERSION error can be returned -- unless someone has messed up the VB version of my code compared to the C version I wrote. There is nowhere in the FSUIPC_Read code nor the FSUIPC_Process code that sets this error. Second, how is it that you need "VarPtr" for one variable value being returned, but not for the other (dwResult)? In C terms there's no difference in these, both a pointers to memory and both get written to by the code. Incidentally, you also fail to mention wether you are getting this error on the Read or on the Process. But you should check the result of the Open, not simply "Call" it. Regards, Pete

Is it searching for the multiplayer connection? If so then I'm afraid I can't help at all. Neither WideFS nor FSUIPC are at all involved in the Multiplayer side of things. It sounds quite likely that you have a firewall setting blocking things. On the other hand, it just occurred to me: isn't 127.0.0.1 always the current PC, i.e. the one you are running in? I should think you would need to give SB the IP address of your FS PC -- don't you think so? Regards, Pete

There are two threads going on here about this -- please check the other. The answer appears to be that the Panel does NOT use the normal Spoiler on/arm/off controls (the ones allocated to the / key), but the axis control -- very odd considering that they only set full on or off and don't provide continuous settings. They should simply use the on/arm/off controls which then wouldn't interfere with your axis settings. FSUIPC's spoiler calibration will change the values they are sending, and that is why you have the problem. Your suggestion to them is actually irrelevant and impossible since it is their code originating the spoiler axis controls and FSUIPC which is manipulating them. They don't see that. There's no "logic" as such in FSUIPC for spoilers in any case. Calibration is merely that -- matching of values according to the extremes of your external axis to match the extremes used in the Sim engine. All you need to do is disable FSUIPC's spoiler calibration for that aircraft. Use the latest version and make that change aircraft-specific to the ERJ145 -- this way you will still have a properly calibrated spoiler axis for other aircraft. Seems very odd, then, that no one mentioned it here till yesterday? Regards, Pete

It certainly will -- KEY_SPOILERS _SET is the Axis control which you are asking FSUIPC to calibrate. It is odd that, considering they only set full or no speedbrake they use the continuous axis control instead of the on/arm/off controls (the ones associated with the / key). You will have to reset FSUIPC's calibration of spoilers and use no axis for speedbrakes with that aircraft. Luckily, with recent versions of FSUIPC you can make joystick settings aircraft-specific, so just do this for that particular aircraft. Regards, Pete

One thing you can try to glean additional information is to enable both Axis logging and Control logging -- see FSUIPC's Logging page. The two types of controls are individually selectable there. FSUIPC will log each and every event, so the log may get quite large, but it should then be easy enough to search for spoiler events to see what sort of interaction is going on. You could monitor the spoiler value at the same time -- the right-hand part of the Logging page is used for this. Offsets 0BCC (Arm flag) and 0BD0 (spoiler setting), both type U32. Check the option to have these go to the FSUIPC log, in the check boxes below. Regards, Pete

Once you click "Reset", so that the button reads "Set", FSUIPC no longer does anything at all with the spoiler axis. The same principle applies to all of the Joystick 2Set/Reset" buttons -- they merely set or clear a flag which tells FS whether to bypass such controls or not. Reloading should most certainly not be needed. With recent versions of FSUIPC you can make joystick settings, including which are set and reset, aircraft-specific. It sounds like you have multiple sections in the INI file dealing with general and specific aircraft, and this is confusing the issue. Please take a look at your INI file. Regards Pete