Pete Dowson

In short, yes. As it says in the FSUIPC documentation, all the user facilities -- that is all the facilities in all the options pages of FSUIPC except "About" and "Logging" -- are part of what you get if you register it. The problem of short battery life is an FS problem, it it not caused either by the aircraft you've loaded or by any other add-on. In actual fact, the battery life is probably quite realistic, what isn't realistic is the absence of ground power when at the terminal, and the total lack of proper APU simulation. I have been hoping and expecting one day for one of these new sophisticated cockpits to actually simulate these themselves, but no, they don't. And of course the battery runs down faster because of the large number of additional drains on it in modern cockpits. Regards, Pete

Hmm. Not sure. But I have a router on my Network, and I have to put its IP address in the 3rd entry -- the one below the Mask, called "Default gateway". I also have to set this in the lower section, "Use the following DNS server addresses". Maybe this applies? Maybe your Internet access PC needs its address here? Otherwise, sorry, I don't know. Maybe someone else who knows about this stuff might chip in and help? BTW, wouldn't it be better for FS to have the Internet access on the 2nd PC in any case? Regards, Pete

This sounds very much like the action of Windows when you have left the IP address for Windows to obtain automatically. Check that you've assigned a specific IP address to each PC. To do this go to Network Connections, Properties, select the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and its properties, and choose the "Use the following IP address" section. Allocate something like 192.168.0.N (where N is up to you, a unique value for each PC) and a mask of 255.255.255.0. If it isn't this then I'm out of ideas already. I would say check what else is running in the background -- virus checkers and memory managers also exhibit this sort of behaviour sometimes. But you said it doesn't happen when there's no connection on the Network, so it seems likely to be something to do with that. Regards, Pete

But there are lots of people using FSMeteo, inlcuding myself, who don't get crashes. I really don't think it is either FSMeteo or FSUIPC. It is almost certainly related to the graphics system. When you don't run FSMeteo for your weather, what do you run. What weather are you using? For some reasonable comparison you will need to run with FS's own dowloaded real weather. Do you do this? Pete

The black screen problem is happening mainly when you change screen modes, right? Windowed to full screen, usually, or minimised to full screen, et cetera? Or possibly views? This has been discussed to death already in many threads here and elsewhere, and is mentioned in my Important announcement at the top of the forum. So far all the evidence points to a DirectX9 problem, and it occurs with other programs as well as FS2004. Please check out all the other threads here and elsewhere on this, and also these references: Games: The Screen Turns Black http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;813712 Black Screen When You Run a DirectX-Based Program http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;184541 Games: How to Troubleshoot Display Issues http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;263039 I have proven it isn't FSUIPC as I can make it happen quite easily with no FSUIPC installed and just one add-in -- Lago's ViMaCore2004.dll, which I have for their Venice scenery. Unfortunately, FSUIPC gets blamed first for everything wrong. :cry: Regards, Pete

Well, I just looked at the FS2004 Forum here, and there's a thread there about crashes with the new PSS aircraft. It may be more common than you suspect, so no doubt PSS will fix it soon enough. Let's hope so! Naturally, if they have any trouble with FSUIPC I will help them if needs be, but I've not heard anything from them. I really would be more likely to suspect their complex new code. Regards, Pete

Not specifically FSUIPC, no. As far as any aircraft panel is concerned, FSUIPC is just an interface into FS. And it is extremely unlikely that any aircraft will be using FSUIPC any more furiusly than many other applications which work well, like Project Magenta. Of course, any program can crash FS by writing wrong things to wrong places through FSUIPC's interface, but I think that is unlikely too. You need to remember, though, than an aircraft panel, especially one as complex as these, has lots of code of its own running inside FS. Why would you think the probably rather small and trivial use it may make of FSUIPC would be more likely to be responsible for your crashes than the huge amount of its own code? Regards, Pete

Scott, In your very first post in this thread you said "Note: I am a registered user of v3.06." Did you really mean this? I am suspecting that your FSUIPC is not registered. One glance at a Log would show me one way of the other. I tell you why I think this: 1. You complain of a slow down when running the PSS aircraft. I mentioned I found that, where an aircraft gauge persistently attempts to link to an unregistered FSUIPC, the retries are costly in performance terms. I have improved this action in 3.09, which was ready to go out tomorrow, but there's no change I can make to a registered FSUIPC because the retries don't even occur then! So it does seem as if your FSUIPC 3.xx is not registered from that standpoint. 2. You complain that the PSS Dash-8 is not acquiring heading (and NAV) hold correctly. In fact, from my experiments here, it looks like it uses FSUIPC's interface to manipulate this, and, of course, with an unregistered FSUIPC it isn't able to do so. I've just tried this. I removed my FSUIPC.KEY file, ran the exact same test as I mentioned in my previous post, andthe aircraft tends to turn away from the selected heading, not towards it. It certainly cannot lock to it. I logged what is actually does with a registered copy. It actually controls the aileron and elevator through using FSUIPC facilities! It cannot do this with an unregistered FSUIPC! Soall your symptoms seem to add up to an unregistered copy of FSUIPC 3. Which I would have suggested in the first place had you not specifically said that you'd registered it! Can you please, please clarify? This matter is driving me nuts. I have folks waiting for 3.09's release, so I think I shall have to assume my diagnosis is correct and go ahead. If you think you registered, but aren't sure, I can easily check from a Log file. Regards, Pete

URGENT Okay, I've found my PSS Dash 8 (I had it in my archives), and I've installed it inot FS2002. I've not flown it before, and being very used to glass cockpits Boeing style these days, I must admit to having got very confused trying to get the autopilot set up. I note that it does its own thing to some extent, not using the FS one. Fair enough. Now you said this: I've got the Dash 8 cruising now in heading select mode. It acquired the heading I set smoothly and is holding it well. This is with FSUIPC 3.08 (well 3.08 and a bit, actually -- it's the 3.09 I would have been releasing tomorrow and still might if we can resolve this quickly). Now, how do I make it exhibit this alternate banking please? Is there something else I need to set? I really do need to reproduce it to find it, as at present I've no idea whatsoever what could do this, especially with an aircraft which has its own autopilot, which FSUIPC can't even participate in. Perhaps you can get the Dash 8 into such a state on your PC, please, then save a Flight, ZIP it up (with your FSUIPC and PFC.INI files please), and send it to me at petedowson@btconnect.com. I'd be very grateful. This needs resolving, and at present, even with the PSS aircraft here on my PC, I am completely at a loss. Thanks, Pete

No conversion is necessary. The values are 32-bit floating point values, which are supported as standard on all Intel type PCs. They already are latitude, longitude (both in degrees) and altitude (in metres), as described. You should read them into variables declared as float (for C/C++) or whatever the equivalent is in the language you are using. If it is not C/C++ please look up in your programming book to find out about floating point numbers and how to declare them and use them. Regards, Pete

First, if you are still getting that terrible slow down, even with the registered copy of FSUIPC, then my fix for this in 3.09, which I was planning to release tomorrow, won't work. So I need an FSUIPC.LOG of when this is occurring, including the part, some time into it please, where pressing "register" and cancelling out appears to fix it. If you could enable IPC read and write logging first it may also help. I also need to know which actual "Register" button you press. Second, I will need to be able to reproduce that odd Dash 8 a/p behaviour to see what is going on. I don't think a log will help there, but I could do with seeing both your FSUIPC.INI and your PFC.INI files please. You can ZIP and post everything to petedowson@btconnect.com. Thanks. Why do they tell you and not me? :? Regards, Pete

The NWI, like the AWI and the old FS98 weather interfaces are all covered in the FSUIPC SDK. So, it looks like a graphics thing then. Well done, and thanks for posting the solution. Regards, Pete

How can you disagree with a statement that says that a registered 3.xx SHOULD work as 2.9xx did in FS2002? That was/is my aim, it is up to me to say whether it SHOULD work or not, isn't it? How can you disagree with that? :cry: This has been reported already, and is fixed in FSUIPC 3.09 (released tomorrow), but it should only apply to an UNREGISTERED copy of FSUIPC. The problem is entirely due to the continuous retry attempts being made by part of the PSS panel to obtain data which it cannot from an unregistered copy. If you still get such a problem with a registered copy, please send me the FSUIPC Log file. Yes, and I wrote back, the same day or the next, that I had found the reason and am fixing it in the next release, which is imminent. Okay. this is a problem that most certainly has not been reported before. And it needs to be looked at and fixed, for sure. If you don't report it and simply backtrack to a year old version of FSUIPC instead, then how on Earth can it ever be fixed? If everyone did that I might as well close up shop and stop right now! This is why I asked you for details! Version 3.xx should NOT make such a difference. In fact it should not be getting anywhere near any autopilot by itself. But you said you had to use 2.95, which is much older, from last year in fact?! I'm getting confused now. :? Oh, dear. When you changed to version 3.xx of FSUIPC, did you also change to the latest version of PFC.DLL? If not, that is almost certainly the reason. I updated all my modules together in that period, and they are very interdependent! If you are going to swap back and forth please remember to do so with PFC and FSUIPC drivers together. Let me know please. I really do need reports and details of problems if there are problems. Merely saying "this only works with 2.9 blah blah" and not allowing things to be checked out and fixed is really very upsetting for me. :cry: Pete

[quote name="DavidSolinger I have been able to read from 0BB2 and also to write to certain other variables' date=' but a write to 0BB2 does not seem to affect something. [/quote] It and the other control surfaces are certainly working okay for writes. Possibly you had the FS autopilot engaged, or did not diconnect the joystick input as mentioned, so it was overridden? In FS2000 and before these locations actually affected FS directly. Since FS2002 it is FSUIPC which sees the writes and converts them to control inputs using standard FS controls. Regards, Pete

FSInterrogate isn't the best reference. The fsi needs a bit of an overhaul. I maintain the Programmer's Guide tables with all the information I have, but the FSI is too much work :( . The document itself should be your first reference. But I don't know of any distance travelled value. Maybe the new GPS provides such information? It would have to be a GPS function if anything -- there are no traditional instruments which could measure that as far as I know. Regards, Pete

With a registered version 3 .xx there should be no difference whatsoever between it and 2.95 (which is from last year!) as far as FS2002 and your aircraft are concerned! Going back to an older version (expecially 6 or 7 versions before 3.00!) helps no one. Can you please identify exactly what the problem is so it can be investigated? Who tells you to use version 2.95 and why? Regards, Pete

Oh, that's a shame. I've no idea what the problem is in that case. How strange. Hmm. I'll get to it in a few days. Regards, Pete

Ahin that case it will be the weather I should think. Are you sure its the "scenery" reloading? Does the message box come up with a progress bar, or are you just seeing a hesitation and clouds redrawing? Does it happen in clear weather? If it is the clouds, try setting the cloud sliders (Options-Settings-Display-Weather) full right, especially the 3D one which should be at 100% If the SIMWX is resetting the weather every 30-60 seconds then it might need revising to use more subtle ways of injecting the weather. The engine in FS2004 is very different from previous releases. Perhaps the author might want to take a look at the "New Weather Interface" I devised for FS2004, which allows much more sophisticated localised control of the weather. The old "one world one weather" methods used in FS2002 and before don't seem to be very good with FS2004. Regards, Pete

I just had a quick look. I spotted what might be the reason for the problem, assuming it was me messing it up making it work properly on FS2004. I've really not got time to set it up on FS2002 and test it here, so I attach it (Esound 2.571). Can you please try it and let me know? If it is okay, I'll release it properly. If not it'll have to wait a week or so. Okay? Thanks, Pete esound2571.zip

Yes, I realise that -- it was a problem which I thought I'd fixed. Ah, yes. Now you mention it, the previous person reporting this was using FS2004. I don't think I re-tested on FS2002. Maybe the fix I made for FS2004 actually mucked it up for FS2002. I'll put it on my list to take a look. It may not be for a few days though. Sorry. Pete

Sorry, there is no way I know to force scenery reloads. I suspect you may well get texture reloads though -- if you change the time, or simulation rate. Moving in slew mode may well do the same, I don't know. It seems like experimentation is in order. With FS2004 it is actually possibly to set the aircraft position and so on in flight mode as well as in slew mode. That wasn't possible in previous versions -- except by pausing first, or setting a Sim Rate of 0. I think you will need to experiment with different ways of controlling FS2004 -- it probably isn't the same as FS2002, for which I expect the PS13 program was written? There's nothing in FSUIPC which will help by itself -- in this case it is being used purely as an interface into FS, it doesn't control this stuff. If you aren't the programmer of the interface then I suggest you get in touch with him and see if there's any work likely to be carried out to make it work well with FS2004. I think Luciano Napolitano may also be interested, as his WidevieW will presumably need the same solutions. Regards, Pete

Both AWI and NWI are documented in the latest FSUIPC SDK, but remember the NWI is only applicable to FS2004. It covers local and global weather. The AWI is applicable to FS2000-FS2004 but only deals with Global weather, and it is a command+data based system not memory-mapped, so it isn't so easy to program. It's been documented in the SDK for three or four years now! There are clear Weather commands available in both the AWI and NWI. For FS98 type weather commands FSUIPC tries to clear the weather as soon as the first such command arrives. However, typically when the weather you ask for doesn't become visible it seems to be down to it not clearing properly first, which is why I suggested clearing it manually. Also, the automatic clearing by FSUIPC is, in fact, an option -- it is defaulted on, but possibly it is turned off in your FSUIPC.INI? This is why I suggested trying it manually. Regards, Pete

Ah, you are using the FS98 interface. In that case FSUIPC should clear the weather for you when you start. You can check that in the FSUIPC Log. However, using the FS98 interface you must always set lower layers before upper. You should not try to set the Upper Cloud layer before setting a Lower one. If there's only one then it is "Lower" --- unless it is a thunderstorm, in which case you set that layer fiorst. In FS98 you could have three layers only provided the lowest was a thunderstorm. FS2000-FS2004 are not saddled with these restrictions, but the FS98 interface you are using was designed to maintain compatibility with FS98. Since FS2000 I provided the AWI (Advanced Weather Interface) which allows better advantage to be taken of the improved weather facilities in those versions. For FS2004 there's also now the NWI (New Weather Interface) which is more powerful and also allows local weather reading and setting. I don't expect this explains why you don't see the clouds, but just in case, before you run your program, clear all the weather (you can assign a hot key for this in FSUIPC's Hot Keys page). Do it twice to be sure -- the first time FSUIPC re-instates any previous FS98/AWI weather. Regards, Pete

I did provide a lengthy reply to this -- two in fact, one promising to check it and the second publishing the results. Both got lost along with the thread when SimFlight had to restore the database. I found that the repeat doesn't work at all for me, except on PFC buttons. I think this got screwed up some time ago, so I'm surprised you even found it repeating for 1 second (I can't even make it do that!). Anyway, I have fixed it here and it will be okay in the next version of FSUIPC (3.09) which I would expect to be released either this weekend or some time next week. Apologies for the inconvenience! Regards, Pete

That's the latest version of Esound, and I think it may need FSUIPC 3. Try 3.08. I update all my modules and try to maintain compatibility between them as I go, but I don't backdate them and don't re-test with old unsupported versions, only the current listed ones. Sorry. Regards, Pete