Pete Dowson

Maybe the sensitivity is turned way down in FS. Try putting it back up to full for that axis. Also try adding stick_sensitivity_mode=0 to the [Controls] section of the FS9.CFG file. It changes the way all axes are handled, to make them linear rather than time-increment based. I find it makes them all far easier to calibrate well. Regards, Pete

Ah, sorry. The facility was only added in 3.202 and the SDK isn't updated yet. Here's the proposed entry for offset 3365: Regards, Pete

Did you not read the Notes for the most recent FSUIPC Release (3.202), viz: "A flag is provided in the byte at offset 3365 which indicates when FS is effectively frozen because of menu access or modal dialogue action. Full details can be provided to those who need to use this before the next SDK update." Regards, Pete

I don't know VB, but it looks like you are setting the variable Master to FALSE when it is FALSE. Why? Where do you change the Caption to "OFF"? Regards, Pete

Oh, drat! Is that typo still there? Sorry. It should be "PGRMZ". The P is for "Proprietary" and "GRM" is for Garmin. There are other PGRM sentences too but the Z one is the only one I've implemented -- I've no information on others and they don't seem to be needed in any case. Regards, Pete

Sorry, I don't know which fuel dump gauge you are using. I have only heard of the TC fuel management gauges -- I believe Tom Corson, the author, has revised these recently -- the FS9 version is either called TC.FuelStatusCG2K4.gau or TC.FuelStatusPR2K4.gau. I'm not sure what the differences are. But he releases them as Freeware and he has got the FSUIPC access Keys for them. Regards, Pete

Not only that, but it would slow things down too -- the WM_PAINT messages would keep repeating very frequently because the painting is not being done. Windows isn't happy until you've told it you've painted the area which it thinks needs it. That's what the Validate does -- tell it you've dealt with the area in question. Regards, Pete

I am certainly only hooking the main (FS98MAIN) window for this. Maybe you weren't validating the Paint request? Try only hooking the main window but validating the WM_PAINT, thus: { RECT rcl; GetClientRect(hwnd, &rcl); ValidateRect(hwnd, &rcl); return 0; } Regards, Pete

I sent a reply, but I see you used the Lyrco email address again, so it probably won't reach you. What is wrong with sending it to the email address you use here? I will try that now. Regards, Pete

Try also http://www.avsim.com/bluesideup/ which specialises in EPIC stuff. My EPL is not only rusty, it relates to the old ISA EPIC world, not the new fangled syntax used now. Good luck! Regards, Pete

I found that I had a legitimate copy of the PSS-Dash 8 installed in my FS2002 installation. It won't be up to date (I went to the PSS site, but they've changed the system and I cannot see how to update my copy). But it does install into FS2004 and works there, in a fashionthe PSS-Dash8 and PSS-Dash8Q gauges, 25Mb each, are dated 15 DEC 2002. They load up okay and I can operate them, but there's usually one of the dreaded black screen crashes before long. Windows reports the crash as being in G2D, which could mean anything from a video driver problem (unlikely) to anything involved in graphics anywhere. It certainly isn't related to anything FSUIPC does, and I've found it to be quite common for sophisticated non-FS2004 aircraft transplanted into FS2004 unamended, so I'm not reading much into it. However, I ran it with FSUIPC IPC logging enabled, and this shows that it uses FSUIPC access quite considerably, for all sorts of things. PSS does have a license for this and the current versions of the Gauges should have built-in FSUIPC access keys -- they have been issued to them. If the key is not built in or is not sent to FSUIPC correctly, the aircraft continues attempting to read and write stuff through FSUIPC, but all these attempts fail. This could, conceivably, cause it to go into periodic pauses, depending what it was using the information for and how much checking it does. For instance, if it reads a count of aircraft for its TCAS and gets zero (which it will), then if it assumes this is non-zero and counts before checking, it will get into a very long loop. I am not saying this happens, but it is one of many possibilities which may explain what you see. The point here really is -- are those of you having problems with the PSS-Dash 8 using a fully user registered FSUIPC, or not? If it is, then I cannot imagine what is causing the periodic freeze/unfreeze. If it isn't, then it sounds like the Gauge isn't correctly registering access with the correct Key. I should be able to tell from a Log. Another observation, however. When the aircraft is run without FSUIPC installed, it does not complain. However, it must be that many of its functions are relatively disabled -- it is using FSUIPC a great deal, after all. Evidently the programmers just carry on with a subset of the features if FSUIPC isn't there. This does, however, mean that there might be considerable areas of normally used code which simply isn't used at all when FSUIPC isn't installed. Maybe the problems you see are in those areas. When I see one of your logs, I'll certainly take a look, but I don't really think I can take this any further. It's a job for someone who knows the PSS code and can dig his way though it I'm afraid. Regards, Pete

I shouldn't think that would work, even if it was legal -- the validation would be via your email, wouldn't it? I don't know how their system works, but the fact that it uses the email address makes it sound quite involved. Let me look at the Log I will be receiving and I'll go from there. Pete

Which file is that? You need to be a little more specific, please. Calibrated in Windows' Game Controllers? That is the place to start. And "too touchy" means too sensitive I assume? Turn down the sensitivity in FS. You could also try putting this parameter into the [Controls] section of the FS CFG file: stick_sensitivity_mode=0 This makes FS treat the axis inputs more sensibly, in linear mode. Since FS2000 it has defaulted to a time-based mode which I find too twitchy as well. I always recommend this parameter. Some of that may be down to the aircraft modelling. The rudder effectiveness parameter in the aircraft file is sometimes too high. Try another aircraft, see if it is specific. As for the null central zone, the facility in FS for this isn't terribly accurate. You could try calibrating in FSUIPC if you have a full user registered installation. The centre can be set precisely there, and you can make the null zone in the centre as big as you like. But before you do this, get the best Windows calibration, and also set the FS sensitivity to max -- otherwise, if you have reduced it, when you calibrate in FSUIPC it will return to full sensitivity, but it will be coarse not fine because some of the range will be lost. One of the other things which may be causing problems may be CH's own control software, if you are running that. Some folks seem to have success with it, but I have heard of a lot of problems too. Regards, Pete

You can send it ZIPpped up please to petedowson@btconnect.com. I did look but the thread is rather long and winding. Could you perhaps cut and paste the relevant details into a covering message for your Log attachment? Without a decent description I won't really have a clue what I'm looking for, even assuming there is anything relevant in the log. Did you enable IPC read/write logging? Regards, Pete

Ah, interesting! Seems that the indicators give misleading results with no power? Did the gear actually deploy/retract? Regards, Pete

Please check things out using FSInterrogate. What does that show? Try it with different aircraft. Pete

GPSout can only relay the information it gets from FS. I don't notice this sort of "error" when using moving map type programs -- e.g. Jeppesen FliteMap -- which is what GPSout was designed for (i.e. to emulate a GPS rather than provide simulated input to one). I think the error is simply a function of the GPS, entirely, and probably a result of some algorithm intended to deal with temporary losses of signal -- as in cars when passing through tunnels or through tree-lined avenues. It simply refuses to believe that the aircraft can suddenly stop dead. Understandably. Regards, Pete

The check for a duplicated module has been in FSUIPC, unchanged now, for around 2 years. There's really no difference in any of the versions as far as this is concerned. Somewhere, somehow, you have either FSUIPC duplicated or a close look-alike which has the same ID. Or you actually have FS still running someplace -- that would generate the same symptom. You said "I took out the old module. Gone. Dead. No more", but why ever bother? FSUIPC is called "FSUIPC.DLL" and Windows only ever allow one copy of a file with the same name in any one folder. All you have to do to upgrade from one version of FSUIPC to the next is to copy the new version into the FS Modules, folder, exactly as it says in the instructions. Windows may ask you if you really want to replace the file with the same name, and you confirm "Yes", and that's it, job done. Please re-check. Look at ALL of the Modules, the DLLs, in the FS Modules folder. Aren't there any there that don't look right? Also see if there's a copy of FS lurking, unseen, running with no windows. If you are using WinXP do this by CTRL-ALT-DEL, check the processes list. If it is there, elect to end the process. If you still can't fgure it out, let me know and I'll send a little BATch file with lists the DLLs to a text file so I can check it for you. Regards, Pete

Did you receive the test version of FSUIPC with the cowl flap facilities added? I sent it on Saturday. I think it should all work well, but I could do with some feedback in confirmation, when you've got time, please. Regards, Pete

I sent you a test version on Saturday and have been waiting anxiously for feedback, as it may also affect WideFS. After three full days I got this back: This presumably explains why I've not heard from you! :( Can you please let me have an email address which works? Maybe I can send it to you using the email address you use to come here? Would that be okay? Regards, Pete

Go to http://www.simmarket.com and open your account there. According to all reports you can then retrieve your Key without any problems. Pete

Well, short of writing a separate program to read the FS menus and reproduce them on a client PC, and be able to impose the correct keystrokes to active the selections made remotely afterwards, no, I've no idea. I can see that possibly a remote menu system could be devised, but it is a rather substantial project and certainly outside what I would consider the realms of fSUIPC. In fact it would probably need to be a separate EXE in both the FS PC and Client PC in any case, just using spare offsets to communicate -- FSUIPC cannot handle FS menus because it is effectively not running when the menus are in operation. A separate program sending the keystrokes directly to FS is not so inhibited. If you rather meant somehow finding a handy procedure someplace inside FS which loads a specified Weather Theme just by calling it with the filename as parameter, much like the one I do know of to load a flight, then, sorry, but that would involve a lot of work disassembling and analysing yet more FS code, something which takes many hours and may prove useless even then. I just don't have time to consider such things at present. Determining the filenames of possible weather themes you could load can of course be done directly by you -- just look in the FS folder "Weather\Themes". The files are those with the .wtb filetype, but the .wt ones contain the titles and descriptions for the menu. The BMPs are simply for display only. I think there's also an official Weather Themes SDK from MS which you may find useful. Regards, Pete

Well, if I had a copy of the Dash 8 and some better description of the problems I could have a look and maybe advise PSS what their problem is, if it is indeed anything related to things I understand. But if PSS have stopped support there's maybe not a lot of point. They were pretty good at one time, and even sent me aircraft to check out. Ah well, nothing good seems to last these days. :( Regards, Pete

Was that when you had the autopilot on without realising it? Something you only do once, though. But a real A/P would (should?) disengage if you move the controls enough. At least I think they do. Regards, Pete

FSFK? I'm not familiar with that acronym. Ah -- it looks like their uninstall isn't so good then! Seems that they arranged for their program to be loaded by FSUIPC but didn't remove the inserted parameter when it was uninstalled. You'll need to edit the FSUIPC.INI file (in the FS Modules folder) and remove the line in the [Programs] section which tells FSUIPC to run it. Do this when you are NOT running FS. Regards, Pete