Pete Dowson

Well, I know about quite a lot of FS stuff, for sure, but not, I'm afraid, about NetPipes nor record and playpack files. I think thast others who've synchronized two or more PCs have either used FSUIPC in them to read and write the data, and put the slave PCs into slew, pause or zero sim rate mode, or possibly managed to do it fast enough to stop FS's sim engine taking over noticeably (not possible anyway before FS2004), or they've used Luciano Napolitano's WidevieW (good for synching views more than actual simulation), or even just the straightforward in-built FS multiplayer facilities with the clients in "observer" mode. Regards, Pete

So? What's playback mode to do with anything? I never mentioned it? You are confusing me! (Not hard perhaps). Are you using record and playback data? I know nothing whatsoever about that i'm afraid. BTW none of this is remotely connected to the software I support in this Support Forum, is it? Pete

Calibrate properly in Windows game controllers and ensure FS sensitivity slider is max and null zone slider is min. Pete

In Options Controls Assignments there will be a drop down list of all the joysticks it sees connected. You select one, make all the assignments on that one, then select the next, make different assignments, and so on. How do you get the idea you can only use one? BTW, this isn't even a recent feature of FS -- way back in FS95 and FS98 I was assigning buttons and axes on the 16 joysticks emulated by the ISA-based EPIC board of the time! ;-) Pete

Where have you seen that? As far as I know there's no small limit on the number you can have. Not directly at present as it doesn't transmit axis values, only button presses. You could write a program to transmit joystick axis values of course. However, I don't see why it is necessary. There are even facilities in FSUIPC for allocating multiple joysticks to the same FS controls for pilot/copilot use. I know they are used successfully. The problems of single joystick devices were in the old Game Port days. The whole point of USB was/is to do away with all those restrictions. Regards, Pete

Only by putting it into slew mode, or pausing it, or setting the simulation rate to zero. Regards, Pete

Are you talking about the user's aircraft or the AI traffic? The AI traffic state is provided in the TCAS tables (for FS2004 only, not FS2002) as documented. There's no "boarding" state. You'd have to pretend they are boarding when sleeping or initialising and getting clearance at the gate. For the user aircraft you'd have to ask the user, or derive it from observing what he's doing with the aircraft. Regards, Pete

I should think it would be on Luciano Napolitano's WidevieW website. Don't you have Google or some other search engine installed? I just tried it and the first entry immediately tells me: http://www.wideview.it. Pete

Okayif you want to show me the [buttons] sections from your INI, I can check them here too. Also, remember, you can make button programming aircraft-specific (you'll get "[buttons.]" sections too then), so one button can do different things with different aircraft. Don't confuse yourself with that, mind! ;=) Regards, Pete

Sounds like the panel in question is getting its keypresses some way other than by intercepting the Windows keyboard messages. Maybe it is "hotkeying" them -- do the keypresses work in the panel even when FS doesn't have the focus, i.e. you've windowed FS and are using some other program? Check that you can use FSUIPC button programming to send keypresses to FS, with default panels. e.g. G for Gear, Z for autopilot. If so, then it isn't FSUIPC but the specific panel which is not allowing this. Regards, Pete

You still don't say what version of FSUIPC you are using. Sorry, what is the point the that huge picture? It shows nothing wrong. What do you mean by "greyed out like the default"? If you want to re-program the button, just press the SET button, just underneath where it shows the currently programmed keypress. If you want to clear it, press the CLEAR button. That is what they are for and why they are named that way. I really don't understand what the problem is that you are reporting. Regards, Pete

Thanks for letting me know! Pete

You aren't getting ANY button presses saved, or just those involving three keys? What version of FSUIPC are you using? I've just tried Shift+Alt+1 here and it is saved fine. If you aren't using 3.48 upgrade, if you are try the Beta release from the announcement at the top of the Forum. If you still have problems show me the FSUIPC.INI file. Regards, Pete

I always start it after FS. I thought the business of running it before was for its initial loading of cloud graphics. Maybe you have it set to use a different set of clouds for each FS session? Maybe that's the reason? Well I'm afraid I still can't really help without information. At a minimum I always need to know the version numbers of my programs, and at least relevant parts of the Log files. Regards, Pete

So, what have you changed? I can't do anything at all without information I'm afraid. First off, what versions? If not 6.47 at least, update first. Try the Beta versions available at the top of this Forum. Secondly, both WideServer and WideClient produce logs telling you what they are doing. Check those. I notice you have a VERY off start up sequence in any case: ASV needs Wideclient and FS running. Why not have WideClient load up automatically in your Client PC (place a shortcut in the StartUp folder), and have it load ASV when FS is ready, via "RunReady1= ..."? Then you only need to switch the Client on and leave it alone -- all the rest would be automatic when you start FS. I don't know what "autostart on FS" means. Pete

Interesting. I wonder what it actually does? The Beta version of the GPSout package provided in the Forum (see top announcement) includes a little freeware virtual serial port link program which may do the same job, if it is onlya port problem. It works well with the new option in WideFS to distribute GPSout data around a Network. Regards, Pete

An aircraft initialisation failure is normally recoverable. It means it tried loading the aircraft specified in the default flight set by your FS9.CFG file but couldn't because some essential part was missing. FS will then simply revert to the default flight. The default aircraft installed include a Skyhawk 172 but I think it's the 172SP not the 172R. When you uninstall FS I don't think it uninstalls the personalised bits like your saved Flights (in your "My Documents\Flight Simularor Files" folder), or the main FS9 configuation file, FS9.CFG. For a clean, initial-state, FS9 you must delete the FS9.CFG file before you boot FS9. To do this, find it in Documents and Settings//Aoolication Data/Microsoft/FS9. In fact if you really want a completely clean install, delete that folder before installing FS9 again. No, FSUIPC paid registration has been in operation for over two years now. Six months ago in FS2002 you must have been using a two-year-old unsupported version of it. Regards Pete

ErI don't really understand this question. FSUIPC does not come with FS, it is a separate module which I produced originally for FS2000 but continuously enganced for years to keep it useful with each FS version. It is not installed when you install FS, and there's not a different version for each FS. I don't actually have a site -- this Forum is the closest. My FS programs are distributed to over 50 websites, but not all of them put them all up -- the one I refer folks to most is Enrico Schiratti's website as he puts all of my programs on one web page. Where did you get that message? FSUIPC doesn't issue any such message. An unregistered message may warn you if you try to use an unaccredited program with it, but nothing more. Perhaps you simply mean the text on the firsdt page of the Options? None of the programs you need to run for Vatsim need you to register FSUIPC. They are all free and all have a free access key for access to FSUIPC. Paying for and registering FSUIPC will make no difference to any of that. You only need to pay if you want to use the extra facilities in FSUIPC shown in the documentation. Yes, that is best. I have no idea, sorry. I don't fly on-line. Some installers do install FSUIPC but the better ones should check whether you already have a later version installed. The docs that come with SB3 should tell you, because if it doesn't install FSUIPC it would tell you to do so. No. You can't have two files with the same name in the same folder. Windows doesn't allow that. Do not rename FSUIPC at all. But all recent versions of FSUIPC check for duplicates even with renaming and you would get an error telling you this. The only thing which can go wrong is if any add-on DLL gets placed in the main FS folder as well as or instead of the Modules folder. It seems FS can sometimes load those too. Okay. Yes, do let me know if you do find anything, or, better, sort it out. There's nothing I can think of adding because it isn't a symptom that anyone else has ever reported that I can remember at all. Regards, Pete

If they ONLY act up with one particular aircraft, then it probably won't really be anything to do with the actual joysticks or drivers. If they act up with all aircraft then it seems more likely that either the joysticks are playing up, or the driver is. But all you've described is that you can't calibrate them? Have you checked the USB side of things? I seem to remember that some folks have had trouble with USB devices losing connection because Windows is set to "save power" by switching off the USB devices if they are not active for a while. You might just need to switch the power saving option off somewhere in Windows. Regards, Pete

Okay. One thing you should be sure to check is the setting in FS of the sensitivity and null zone sliders -- Options-Controls-Sensitivities. It seems FS has a rather nasty habit of setting sensitivities to zero when it sees new joysticks! With zero sensitivity you'll get no response. If you do wish to calibrate the axes in FS you are best setting all sensitivities to maximum (slider furthest right) and all null zones to minimum (slider furthest left). Regards, Pete

WHY on Earth do you think this? What possible cause have you to believe that? FSUIPC does not calibrate joysticks! It can optionally (upon your instructions only) do final tweaking of the internal FS controls that result from joystick inputs, but to calibrate a joystick you need to use Windows Game Controllers. FSUIPC actually knows nothing whatsoever about joystick axes, and doesn't even touch any of the internal axis values unless you tell it to. If you've been messing about in the Joysticks tabs of FSUIPC options and don't know what you've done, and you don't understand the documentation, simply delete the Joystick Calibration sections from the FSUIPC.INI file (or delete the whole INI file) so that FSUIPC has nothing whatsoever to do with it. Regards, Pete

Since FSUIPC is a freestanding DLL that interferes with absolutely nothing else in FS, or even in your Windows system, you have something else going on there. Maybe whatever is using FSUIPC? Why did you install it? What is using it? You need to look at such things. There is absolutely no way simply having FSUIPC in the FS Modules folder will stop uninstallation -- all that will happen is that, as with any add-ons, the uninstaller will tell you it couldn't remove everything, so you just then delete the add-ons separately. With the default settings FSUIPC makes FS2002 actually run faster. On FS2004 there is no measurable effect of having it installed. I'm sorry, I don't know what you've done. Either something you've installed is using FSUIPC and it is that which runs slower when enabled, or you have something badly corrupted somewhere. Is there anything in the FSUIPC.LOG file? Have you looked? See the FS Modules folder. Als just delete your FSUIPC.INI file so it makes a new one -- maybe you have something scrambling it. You haven't got any add-in DLLs in the main FS folder too, have you? Not another copy of FSUIPC there too? Why did you buy it? Was it installed before you bought it? Did it make a difference just registering it? Why automatically assume it is all FSUIPC's fault? But FSUIPC is not doing anything then. In fact it never really does anything until it is asked to do so. It really sounds like you have something else installed which is responsible for these things. Please show me the FSUIPC log. You should try uninstalling each add-on you have, on at a time, till you find the problem. Merely uninstalling FSUIPC will tell you nothing as that will simply stop absolutely everything that uses FSUIPC from operating correctly -- so you will still be none the wiser. There is only ever one currently released and supported version of FSUIPC, and that is 3.48 at present. There is a Beta version available above, and this will be released as 3.50 shortly. But SB3 will work with 3.48 fine. Many are using it. Regards, Pete

That needs a complaint to PFC. Please write to them. No, but the extract I quoted above is right near the beginning. I'd hope folks would at least look at the first page or so -- the rest is only for reference. Should I split it into a one-page "read this first" and then have all the rest separate? This has certainly not been necessary so far, in the four or five years it has been published. Please just delete the PFC.DLL and its PFC.INI file, and discard the documentation and be done with it. ;-) Regards, Pete

Moved here from private message area, for continuity: The only time you'll get a PFC tab from anything I've written is if you install my PFC.DLL into the FS modules folder. This is a driver for a serial port connected digital control system made by PFC. It is not a standard joystick driver. Please refer to the documentation for the PFC.DLL. Right near the beginning you will find this clearly stated: A free-standing USB yoke is a standard joystick as far as Wnidows and FS are concerned. The driver for that is accessed via Game Controllers in Windows. Assignments in FS are handled by going to FS's "Options-Controls-Assignments". Didn't it come with any instructions at all? What made you install my PFC.DLL? Regards, Pete

Can you tell me any more? When you say "yoke buttons work with FS", where are these shown where are they assigned? I believe the PFC yoke, as a freestanding purchase, can be connected via game port or USB as a standard joystick connection, in which case nothing of mine has anything to do with it. Is your yoke connected via a digital throttle control system or Cirrus console or Jetliner console, and thence to the PC via a serial cable? If not then my PFC.DLL driver has nothing to do with it. Please clarify. Not everything made by PFC is connected to FS through my program! Regards, Pete