Pete Dowson

What version number is this so-called "latest" version? It evidently CANNOT be the true "latest" version or you'd have no problem. So far you've given no information at all, not even whether you are talking about FSUIPC3 or 4. So many folks come here saying they have the "latest version" and it turns out, when they eventually manage to tell me its number, to be a year or more out of date. By "latest" they seem to mean "the last one I bothered to look for". The oldest supported versions are 3.98 for FS9 and before and 4.60 for FSX and beyond. They are the ones available on the official Schiratti "Dowson" page as documented. The installers for both allow registration for FSUIPC and WideFS on separate email addresses. It is all detailed in the Installation and Registration guide which is within the same ZIP as the Installer. Download and read!!! Pete

You are using an out of date and unsupported version of FSUIPC then. In all versions published this year (2010) the Installer allows different email addresses for FSUIPC and WideFS. The name must be the same, that's all. Pete

Does that also mean you assigned them in FSUIPC? I'm not sure why you mention "rescan" but not "assignment", which is much more important. Ah, that seems to answer the question then. You haven't assigned them in FSUIPC. "Rescan" means nothing on its own. If you have no axes assigned in FSX or in FSUIPC then they obviously cannot do anything. No, you can't have it both ways. In that case it is a simple matter of assigning either in FSX or FSUIPC. There really isn't going to be that much difference as long as, for FSX assignment, you change the sensitivity mode as described in the FSUIPC calibration documentation. I suspect some part of what you don't like about FSX's axis treatment is that by default it is based on time differences not on the direct linear values from the axis. No matter how you assign you can still calibrate in FSUIPC if you wish. There are also two ways of assigning in FSUIPC -- to the same FSX controls which FSX would assign to, or direct to FSUIPC calibration. The latter is more efficient, but I'm not sure you'd notice the difference very much. You sound rather confused, and maybe unable to explain yourself adequately? Please try to be more explicit about what you've actually done -- or if you cannot, show me the [Axes] and [JoystickCalibration] sections of the FSUIPC4.INI file so I can see for myself. Regards Pete

You don't purchase 4.63 but FSUIPC4. That covers all version 4's. There's no version 4.63 as such. The current major user release is 4.60a, but the latest increment is 4.638, available in the download Links subforum. FSUIPC doesn't recognise any Goflight stuff directly. As documented, it depends on the correct GoFlight driver, GFDev.dll, also being installed. If you haven't installed the GoFlight software then that won't be installed in the place FSUIPC expects it to be (in the sdame folder as GFConfig.exe). There is a suitable GFDev.dll available in the Download Links subforum too, if you prefer not to install the GoFlight package as a whole. You can put it in the FSX Modules folder, or into a Windows-accesible place like Windows\System. Regards Pete

No idea why. All FSUIPC does is send your assigned commands to FS, exactly as if you assigned in FS. For panning why not simply assign the hat to "Pan View" in the Axis assignments tab? That gives precise panning all round as far as I know. (I do not use panning or VC cockpits at all as my sim has windows to a projected world and it looks daft if that "pans" ;-) ). Pete

You'd use HIDMacros.SetFSUIPCInt to set the parameter to 0x0D6C and you'd want a SetFSUIPCString to set the string to 0x0D70, but I don't see it in your list. In fact I now see it says "Strings can be only read", so what I suggested cannot be done with HidMacros. You should write in the forum and ask whether a facility to write strings can be added. I do see that HidMacros uses &H to demnote hexadecimal values, not the 0x I'm used to, so where I say 0x0D6C he would have &H0D6C If the facility was provided then the string written to 0D70 would be "VACO:TCAS Display" This is the same thing you'd see if you looked in the FSUIPC assignments drop-down, as I did explain to you. Don't you remember? You don't have any parameters to that macro, so you igonre offset 0D6C. Until HidMacros supports string writing to offsets then the only other way I can see of using it would be to use some of the 512 "virtual buttons" in FSUIPC. You'd program HidMacros to send offset changes to let FSUIPC see the button press, and then program your Macros in FSUIPC just as if you were using real buttons. Best way to proceed with that would be to assign buttons to all the keys on the extra keyboard first, then go through, in FSUIPC, assigning as you wish. It would actually be more flexible this way as you could make the assignments aircraft or profile-specific, which you couldn't very easily the other way. I'm surprised HidMacros doesn't offer the option to convert keyboard presses into joystick button presses. Have you checked? If no, then to use FSUIPC's virtual buttons you need to do something like this (this is NOT HidMacro language, just English explanation): PRESSING BUTTON 64,0 Read the byte (length 1) from &H3340 OR 1 into that byte Write that byte, length 1, back to &H3340 RELEASING BUTTON 64,0 Read the byte (length 1) from &H3340 AND 254 with that byte Write that byte, length 1, back to &H3340 For buttons 64,1 to 7, the value '1' doubles each time: 2, 4, 8, 126, 32, 64, 128 and the value '254' is always 255 minus that value. For buttons 64,8-15 it is exactly the same but with offset &H3341, and so on... you can have 512 buttons. Note that in hexadecimal, the offsets run 3341, 3342 ... 3349, 334A ... 334F then 3350 ... 335F ... etc. But you already have 8 x 10 = 80 buttons in the easy range 3340 to 3349 inclusive. I am sorry, but that's as far as I can go. I do not have time to learn HidMacro programming. For help with HidMacros, UI suggest you use their Forum. I should think the author would be delighted to help. Regards Pete

But what control did you assign to the axis? You are reading this where, in the Axis assignment, or in the Calibration tab? What are the numbers you set for minimum and maximum? Do not even think about setting any detentes until you have it working without. Anyway, the detente setting is aimed at folks with actual detentes on their hardware flaps control lever, for instance cockpit builders. Do you have such a lever? If it is an ordinary joysticvk axis there is no point in defining the detentes. If you don't know what you are doing, always check things out and get them working with a default aircraft first. I cannot untangle for you what is to do with FSUIPC and what is to do with your add-on. The number of detentes is totally irrelevant if you are not using the detentes facility. Please clarify. Detentes can never be "points". They are regions of the axis. After calibrating the minimum and maximum values and making sure that works correctly, you need to proceed to detente calibration and for each position you must define a zone -- there's a lower limit and and upper limit for each detente. It is impossible to guarantee the exact same readings each time, and the more "wobbly" the readings the wider the zones need to be. It is no use showing me pictures of your Add-on panel. More appropriate would be the sections relating to Axes and JoystickCalibration in the FSUIPC INI, which would show me what you've done. I suggest that you delete everything and start again. Please do do run before you can walk. Regards Pete

I don't think there's much to read or learn. If the Macro file is in your FS Modules folder at the time you run FS, the macros in it will all be listed in the FSUIPC drop-down assignments list for keys and buttons. You just assign as you want. You will see them all starting with the name of the file. The macro file was made by following the directions in the mouse Macro section of the User Guide. That's the place to start if you want to understand what was done and what others are doing to create macros for other various add-ons. You really do need to read the User Guide. It isn't hard. Mouse macros do NOT record the position of the mouse. When being constructed they use your mouse click to work out where, in the code for the gauges, the mouse click goes to to action your request. What is then stored is a code location. Once created and tested to work the macro doesn't even need the graphic for the gauge on screen. The screen and mouse have absolutely nothing more to do with it! Note that mouse macros only work on the specific code and version of the add-on's gauges they were made with. And they don't work at all for XML gauges or those not written to Microsoft gauge SDK methods (like, unfortunaytely, most of MS's own default aircraft). Pete

U= Unsigned, S = signed, Word = 16-bit value. There's no point in using a cyclic command with a lmit equal to the capacity of the storage. Just inc and dec would do. If you add 1 to 255 in an unsigned byte you get 0. If you subtract 1 from an unsigned byte which is 0 you get 255. It is never allowed to go below 000 or above 360. Those are its limits! The limit is 360 for both! There's no such thing as a limit of 0. The DEC limit tells FSUIPC what value to go to when you decrease at 0. Telling it 0 doesn't tell it anything useful! How does it know to get to 360? Yes, it should be 359 really. FS is a bit odd. Comes of being a programmer for 47 years I suppose! ;-) No, mainly because all that stuff is intended for programmers. You are only forced to resort to even thinking about them because of the shortfalls in some add-on programs. Aircraft makers should really consider hardware users -- those building cockpits or those using hardware exclusively, not resorting to the mouse on screen stuff. But the majority of the market they aim at are just using keyboard, mouse, and maybe a simple joystick. so they don't provide the controls needed. Regards Pete

I don't use it myself, but that particular aircraft is one of those where you can use what are called "mouse macros", and in fact the macro file for the overhead is provided with FSUIPC as an example. It is the "737 OHD" macro file. You must have missed where it tells you this in the FSUIPC Installation guide AND the User Guide? Pete

Ah, yes, I use VSPE too. I didn't know it could link ports over Ethernet too. I use it to make pairs of ports, for instance so i can use the WideFS facilities to send GPSout data to a networked PC, and have WideClient send it to flitemap via a pair of virtual serial ports on that PC. Sounds similar to what you are doing except I'm using WideFS as the network link. Ah ... another new one on me. I've been using Flitemap Worldwide Corporate edition for many years. I just updated it recently (I only do that every 2 or 3 years as it's so expensive!) Have you tried enabling all of the sentences available, and if that works, remove them one by one. A sort of process of elimination? One other thing to play with is the "PosTo6Decimal" parameter in the INI file. Try No if set to Yes, or vice versa. It simply controls the number of decimal places provided in the Latitude and Longitude. seems some things like 4 , others 6. Regards Pete

Sorry, I didn't delve as far as looking at their examples, but I assume they will be just about reading and writing offsets? To invoke a macro (any FSUIPC macro, not just a "mouse macro") all you need to do is write offsets as follows: First write the parameter value, if there is one, to offset 0x0D70. Write this as a normal integer (it might be called a DWORD -- it is 4 bytes long, or 32 bits. The parameter is whatever value you would put in the 'parameter' field in the FSUIPC key assignments. Then write the complete macro name as a string to offset 0x0D70. This is the same as the name yuo see in the assignments drop-down, consisting of the MCRO filename, then a '.' then the macro name inside the file. Lua plug-ins can be run the same way. Regards Pete

No, because of two reasons: 1. All the current FSUIPC keyboard support entails is intercepting the KEYDOWN and KEYUP messages which FS would otherwise receive. If they aren't programmed in FSUIPC it simply passes them on. 2. As far as I am aware ALL keyboards on a Windows PC are just THE keyboard. There's certainly no way I know of differentiating between them at normal application level. Maybe a special driver would be able to separate them off and somehow deliver different messages as a result, but if anyone went to such lengths they'd be better off treating them as a full HID device like a joystick or other gaming device with buttons. Sounds like the sort of driver I just suggested. ;-) And what does it tell SimConnect? [LATER]I just Googled HidMacros, and it appears it deals with FSUIPC too now? Here's what it says about the release two days ago: Interesting program! Thanks for pointing it out to me! Regards Pete

Yes, all buttons and switches on the GoFlight EFIS are assignable in FSUIPC, provided the GoFlight software (or at least its GFDev.dll) is installed. In case only the GFDev.dll is missing, or out of date, a very recent one which certainly works with the EFIS, is available in the "Useful Additional Programs" topic in the "Download Links" subforum. Regards Pete

But all F2 does, by default, is send "Throttle Decr" controls. But if they do their own throttle operation by intercepting the Axis ThrottleN Set controls, ignoring the older ThrottleN Set controls, they do not have axis-based reverse. Only the ThrottleN Set controls go from 0 to +16k for forward, with -ve values for reverse. The Axis ThrottleN Set controls, as assigned in FS itself by default, work -16k idle to +16k full thrust. In other words no reverse thrust on axis. Props normally do reverse thrust by reverse pitch, don't they? Not throttle? i.e negative Prop Pitch values? But that wouldn't be F2 then. Sorry, I've never really messed with Props. I fly a Piper Arrow for VFR on my Aerosoft (Oz) panel, just for fun. And there's no reverse of one of those. Regards Pete

Virtual serial ports connected by Ethernet? That's a new one on me. What program do you use for that? Sorry, I don't understand. The program's Setup says it works, but the program says it doesn't? How much sense does that make? Sounds like a question for Flitedeck support. Who makes it? I Don't know it. Maybe it needs different NMEA sentences, not just RMC, GGA and GSA? But if so why would its setup says it's okay? Strange. Regards Pete

Usually you have to get to idle (zero thrust) before reverse will engage. So when changing the use of your throttle lever, send a zero value, or maybe easier the THROTTLE CUT control (as assigned to F1 by default). With some FS9 aircraft I found then sending the THROTTLE DEC control (same as your F2) ensured success. So, when changing to reverse thrust mode, send Throttle Cut and Throttle Decr, just the two. When changing back, send Throttle Cut, Throttle inc. I think you'll find that works well enough. The rest of the operation will be okay on the lever. Regards Pete

Not exactly "to FSUIPC". THe FSConv offsets are allocated to that program so that it can offer whatever they are used for to applications. Are those the terms used in the FSConv documentation? I should think the S and the U prefix refers to Signed and Unsigned, respectively. If something merely says Word, whether it is signed or not either doesn't matter or they don't know. What are you using to change it? If you are using Offset Byte Cyclic Inc then you can't go past 255 as that's the maximum number you can store in 8 bits. I thought you said you knew the difference between Byte and Word? If you use Offset Word Cyclic Inc/Dec, you simply set the limit in that control to where you want it to cycle. That's why those controls are called 'cyclic', otherwise they'd be simple inc and dec controls. You don't want it to "go past the limit". When it gets to 359 the next should be 0 again. There's only 360 degrees in a circle! Sorry, you provide insufficient information for me to help. Are you asking for help with things defined by FSConv, or about facilities in FSUIPC? If about FSConv you need to ask the author. I don't know the program, never seen it. Pete

Ah, good. Not I. SimMarket are my sole agents. Check their terms. Regards Pete

There is never any change to the key checking. You are making a mistake. All three parts must be correct. Paste from the original if you cannot remember how you spelled your name or email address. All optional, individual taste. Pete

Someone may be able to help with Delphi. Sadly not I. However: You should do all of the Reads first, THEN one process. Every Process call you make stops your program whilst control is handed over to FS/FSUIPC to get the data. It is very wasteful. The whole reason for the Process call being separated from the Reads and Writes is to allow a complete set of read/write requests to be formulated for dealing with in one efficient exchange, once per timer cycle. that looks better, except that it won't work like that because your values won't appear in your "Valeur" variable until AFTER the Process call (obviously?). Why not read directly into where you want them to go -- i.e. "TabOffset[i,2]". What's the point in putting them in "Valeur" then trasferring them? Pete

Reinstalling successive updates to FSX without running it between each can easily lead to problems, but I don't think these would be with SimConnect. Overall the business of uninstalling and reinstalling FSX is a mess. Most all of the problems I hear about have this as one of the probably causes. Pete

Really? Aren't the subForums all shown at the top, before all the general posts like your own? They are here. I don't know if there are different display options. Okay. This installer does find all of the SimConnect DLLs themselves, in the WinSxS folder, but they are not correctly linked in the Registry, so cannot be used. I have a similar problem but only with builds 60905 and 61242. Luckily, as I said, the SP2/Acceleration version, 61259 did re-install okay. I suspect you have the situation now worse than before you tried uninstalling and reinstalling. I notice you said you were on WinXP, which might make it easier to recover. If you delete the three SimConnect related folders in Windows' WinSxS folder THEN try repairing FSX (reinstall or repair, whichever options it gives you), you might get the SimConnect parts to remake the broken links. First, though, a possibly easier course. As you have FSX Gold, then you should be able to install the FSX SDK. Inside the SDK folders, in the Core Utilities Kit folder, you will find the Simconnect SDK. Within that, in "lib" there's a SimConnect.msi foile. After deleting those folders in WinSxS, try running that msi file. That should reinstall the latest SimConnect. Do that and try the FSUIPC4 installer again. If that works, then for other programs needing earlier versions of SimConnect, you could try going to the "LegacyInterfaces" folder and finding the RTM and SP1 SimConnect.msi files and running both of those. Regards Pete

Okay. I'm afraid that, on the face of it, it is pretty bad. It isn't that there's a broken SimConnect, more that FSUIPC isn't able to find ANY SimConnect, a major part of FSX! I've actually never seen such an occurrence before! I have no idea what a "jar" file is -- probably Java, so it's some sort of setup program or interface. The fact that it's named SimConnect is probably not relevant to your problem. The latest version of FSUIPC4's installer no longer uses "Probe Manifests" and might tell us more. Please go to the Download Links subforum above, Updated Modules thread, and download the Installer for 4.638 you'll see there. Try that. If it doesn't work, please, again, show me the Log. Regards Pete

The FSUIPC installer produces a Log file. All the information I need is there. You'll find it in the FSX Modules folder. Please cut and post it here. Often doing that turns out to be the worst thing you can do -- SimConnect doesn't uninstall properly, and when you try to reinstall it gets corrupted somehow. I have two PCs where I've managed to reproduce this -- one with winXP and the other with Win7, and I've not yet figured out any way of fixing the problems without reinstalling Windows itself from scratch. Luckily, in my case, the latest (SP2) version of SimConnect did re-install correctly, so it hasn't prevented use of FSUIPC, only programs needing the SP1 or Base version of SimConnect. In general it is NOT a good idea for separate add-ons to try using their own copies of Simconnect. What are the exact filenames of those files? Regards Pete