Pete Dowson

It is possible, using some versions of EPICLINK and EPIC.VXD. But it depends upon having the EPIC.VXD installed on both PCs, and most folks have Windows XP installed on their new (ISA-less) PCs. It is then impossible -- NT/2k/XP do not support VXDs. The only other answer for EPIC users is to change over to the USB version of the EPIC. You do gain a lot more power and programming capacity then, but it does also mean some re-programming. The new EPL is quite a bit different. Regards, Pete

If the 737NG programmers have made their own autopilot with no provision for external control and igniring the normal controls then there is no possibility. A "new" FSUIPC and FS2004 has nothing to do with it. It is really up to programmers of aircraft to consider those with home-built cockpits as well as those with ready built controls like PFC. If the 737NG programmers have provided an interface for external control, as, for instance, Project Magenta did, then by all means I will consider adding support for it to the PFC driver. But this is nothing to do with FSUIPC or FS2004, and I will certainly not have time to consider it until well after FS2004 release. Have you asked the PMDG folks? Is it documented? It sounds as if you need to use their fine model (visual and flight) but substitute a standard FS panel/autopilot so that you can use the controls. If you find out otherwise, let us know. I am always interested in good 737 models, especially NG, even if I won't have time to deal with them for a while. Regards, Pete

Yes, there are offsets which can be specifically reserved for individual applications, as mentioned in the table in the Programmers Guide. You would need to work out your needs and let me know. I would register them to you and the project name. Try to keep your request down to as small an area as is adequate for your needs -- some multiple of 64 bytes (64, 128 or 256 fr instance). Pete

Ah, I see. I'm afraid I know nothing about multiplayer. Really this forum is about my own modules, but I hope someone here knows enough about it to help you. Possibly the MP system itself is not designed to go into that level of detail? I wouldn't be surprised. After all, there would be performance considerations -- it was designed to be used over the Internet, eg on MS's game zone. Regards, Pete

In FS2002 and later it needs FSUIPC installed too, to fix some changes in FS. Sorry it doesn't say so in its documentation -- it wasn't discovered till a long time after. Most folks were using FSUIPC in any case. Pete

Is this a question about WidevieW? I don't have any programs designed to link two copies of FS across a LAN. You are presumably either using WidevieW by Luciano Napolitano, or FS's own Multiplayer? Regards, Pete

You vary the vertical speed (07F2), part of autopilot I told you about, to control the pitch, monitoring the IAS and adjusting V/S accordingly. How else do you think it can be done? You said you were trying to use offset 3460 (AUTOPILOT AIRSPEED HOLD CURRENT, not supported) which would have been only the autothrottle airspeed setting -- the same as the one at 07E2, as I clearly pointed out. The A/T does not control pitch, it controls throttle -- if you set too high a climb rate the A/T will fail to reach its set IAS. If you dive then the A/T cannot hope to reduce speed unless you assist with speed brakes. If you are programming your own A/P then do it by use of elevator, aileron and throttle inputs. If you want to use the FS one you have to use the controls provided. The only one controlling pitch in altitude acquisition is the vertical speed value. You should really be able to control this by setting "Vertical Speed Hold", but the way the FS A/P is written I think you have to set Altitude Hold mode and set a target altitude (which you can keep changing of course -- or set 65000 feet for climb, 0 feet for descent). Regards, Pete

No, it isn't a conflict. It sounds very much like the bug in the 767PIC code which for some insane reason sends "full deflection" messages now and then to FS. This does actually occur regardless of whether you use PFC controls or not, but the scanning of the normal joystick inputs usually overrides it, so what you see are short-lived "flickers" to maximum deflection. These can still play havoc, however. The main fix for this is in FSUIPC. Go to the Technical page in the FSUIPC options and enable the "control spike elimination" for all three main controls. Those facilities were, in fact, deliberately added to FSUIPC for 767PIC users. Even the earlier releases of 767PIC exhibited some tendency to lock the rudder full over. In 1.3 the elevator was also a big problem, often locking full up This occurred without PFC.DLL, it is not actually a conflict with it. Also you need to remove all normal control inputs to FS from the game port or USB connection otherwise you will tend to get interference in any case. Assuming you have no other joystick inputs to FS than PFC, disable joystick in FS itself. Otherwise go into the assignments and delete the ones also present on the PFC device (though this may not be permanent --FS has a habit of reconfiguring itself next time you load). You should probably really also check the "suppress possible interference from game port throttle assignments" on the main page of the PFC options. Regards, Pete

Sounds like OnTop uses a different protocol, like Elite perhaps? Did you specify you wanted it for FS when you bought it? What do PFC say -- their support should be able to help you. On the other hand if you've installed FSUIPC and PFC DLLs correctly into FS, and told PFC.DLL the *correct* COM port (on the first page), then if the Throttle Quadrant is actually sending any stuff at all to the COM port then you should see something on the Test page even if it is rubbish (i.e. wrong protocol). I think your first recourse has to be to PFC. BTW please ALWAYS give version numbers -- they are essential. Both for FSUIPC and PFC modules. See the details at the top of this forum, and go to http://www.schiratti.com/dowson for the latest if you haven't got them. The version of FS would also be needed (FS98, 2000, 2002, 2004?). Regards, Pete

It sounds like there's a memory addressing problem and something is trashing something else. Modules are loaded in the order they appear in the folder's directory, so, each time you copy them in, the loading order changes. Can you list all the non-FS modules you have installed? Maybe it's one of the new ones, maybe it is something else. Can you get a Dr Watson dump? (Look in the FSUIPC User Guide, the section "If FS crashes ..." near the end will tell you how). If so, ZIP it and send it to me. I'll see if I can spot the culprit. Regards, Pete

Please check my announcement at the top of the forum. I can send registration details and details of testing to developers. Pete

WideFS is the only one I am always charging for. FSUIPC in its use purely as an interface to FS will be free to users -- please go and read something about it all before you criticise. I shouldn't have to keep repeating the same information Regards, Pete

I have no site. I do not run a web site. This forum is as close as I get. How does FS2004 say these things? Doesn't it know 2.9 is only an internal Beta release? Or are you referring to a person? FSUIPC version 3 will support FS2004, and it will be released on or a little before the same time as FS2004 is released, which is the 29th July as far as I've been informed. If it is much earlier than that I'm afraid FSUIPC might be a little later than FS2004. How did you get FS2004 so long before its release date? I'm on the Beta team and I've had it less than a week and I still therefore have a lot of work to do! Pete

Please read the announcement at the top of the forum. It is all there. You could also follow all the very detailed questions and answers, some much more clearly worded than I could possibly provide, in the thread entitled "FSUIPC Payware, I support it". It's long, but you'll find it quite amusing in places! Regards, Pete

I'm afraid I don't know anything about Squawkbox or Roger Wilco, and I certainly wasn't aware that RW "autoloads" -- how does it do that? What loads it? It won't load itself unless it has some background process or driver running to do this for it. If SB has a facility to load RW, then of course it cannot when SB is not even on the same PC. The same may apply to this switching of frequencies -- I don't know any "ATC directory" (is this in SB?), but if SB feeds frequencies to RW, it won't find it if it's on the other PC, now will it? None of this is anything at all to do with WideFS or FS. Roger Wilco is NOT an FS Application as such, it doesn't interface to FSUIPC or WideFS, it is an entirely separate program. Only FSUIPC client applications can communicate via WideFs, and then only if they are programmed to do this. Regards, Pete

737NG uses FSUIPC. Maybe you have an old version, or maybe their installation installed an old version? Check. Make sure you have FSUIPC 2.975 and WideServer.dll 5.50 or later. Right click on them in Explorer and check the Properties-VersionInfo. If this isn't it you'll need to wait for their response. There's no relationship at all between any aircraft and WideServer, so they must be stomping on something. Regards, Pete

In XP, Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Information, then select Hardware Resource-IRQs. Also check Conflicts/Sharing while you're there. Pete

Okay. Sorry. Well, I do have the software so I can take a look. But I am going to be pretty busy now till late August, what with the imminence of FS2004. could you perhaps ask me again then? In the meanwhile, perhaps you can see if you can get any details from Garmin. If the protocol they are using is proprietary then it may also be "secret". I really wouldn't want to start trying to work it out without any information -- it would be far cheaper to buy you a different program! Same applies if it is too complicated -- I know some of their stuff is really so different from NMEA that I wouldn't want to go there with the simple freebie GPSout DLL. Regards, Pete

Oh .... that's good. Thanks! Still, I don't like the maps, compared to many other programs. Now, now, there's no need for sarcasm! Apologies for getting it wrong. Regards, Pete

Yes, yes and yes. Please make sure you are using the latest released versions of my modules (see announcements at the top of this Forum). Pete

What version of FSUIPC do you have installed? The current one, the only one supported at present, is 2.975. TrafficLook certainly works with that. If everything is correct and you have FSUIPC installed (in FS go to the Modules menu and check), then the only other possibility is a corrupted program. Try downloading the ZIP again. Regards Pete

If it isn't for sale, if you don't make any money out of it, it is the same as freeware and gets a free key -- if you need one (see below). I'm only asking for a contribution from those who earn money using my work, and even then it has to be agreed as fair by both parties. On the other hand, if you license FSUIPC as a user then you don't need keys for any add-ons anyway. That's going to be cheap enough and could be useful if you also want the extra (non-application interface) facilties in FSUIPC too. Regards, Pete

I use Mapsource as well, but it is NOT a moving map program. It can plot routes for you to download into your GPS ready for a trip and it can upload the routes you followed afterwards so you can see where you went, but in no way is it a useful moving map. If you have a map display facility on your Garmin GPS it can even download map segments into the GPS so that it (the GPS) can be used as a moving map -- this is what I use it for when I am on holiday trips, for instance. Even if it could follow things in real time, which it can't, its maps are really pretty awful compared with real map programs like Autoroute, and more expensive in any case. No, there is nothing in real time to support. I think you misunderstand its function. Sorry. Regards, Pete

None of the variables in the 2nd table of the programmers guide should be used if there's an alternative method -- because they were found and mapped "by fluke" in FS2000 and cannot be guaranteed in anything later. I state this at the head of that table I think. That particular offset (3460) is clearly marked as NOT supported for FS2002 (see the "No" in the rightmost column?). It isn't needed in any case. ALL the autopilot controls and read-outs are mapped in their FS98 compatible places, 07BC through to 0810. I'm surprised you even wanted to look further afield! The airspeed value is at 07E2. Of course you also need the autothrottle armed (0810) and the airspeed hold selected (07DC). If you have difficulty finding things, try using your viewer's search function. It would be nice to have an index, I know, but there's not enough hours in the day! Regards, Pete

You can have a program interfacing to FSUIPC (or WideFS, on another PC on a Network) which can detect pretty much everything about the state of the user aircraft in FS -- certainly ground/airborne, flap settings, gear states, and so on are easy things. The FSUIPC SDK (on http://www.schiratti.com/dowson) gives all the details and can be used by VB, C/C++, Delphi or even MASM programmers. Pete