Pete Dowson

Only in their firmware. The name is part of the ID they supply to Windows, along with their "VID" (Vendor ID) and "PID" (Product ID"). I really don't think there's any other distinguishing thing, unless maybe they provide serial numbers, which I believe is possible. Trouble is that even then I don't think Windows reads it and associates it in the Registry. The way FS identifies DirectInput devices is via a "GUID" (those long numbers like "{DEF00000-9C6D-47ED-AAF1-4DDA8F2B5C03}"). They are actually stored in the Registry alongside the rather simpler Joystick Number I use, so I could use GUIDs too. But do they actually identify the specific device? If you swap the cards' USB connections, does FS still keep the same assignments? If so it must somehow track something it gets from the cards before assigning the GUIDs. Let me know. I can add GUID data when I see two devices of the same name -- but only if it helps. Otherwise it will be a waste. Regards Pete

It won't be down to FSUIPC. That's just a coincidence, probably slight timing differences or memory rearrangements. Black screens are almost always due to video driver problems, so that's the area you should be looking at. If you are using the driver Win7 installed for you, don't, it's no good. Go get the latest or most recommended driver for your card from the appropriate website (try www.guru3d.com. They're pretty good for stocking all available versions). If you mean the question it comes back with after installing almost anything at all, it does that for almost everything. It is only asking you for confirmation that it did install okay. BTW there is a much more recent version of FSUIPC4 available in the Updates announcement in this forum. You might want to update your copy in any case -- the list of changes and fixes is included in the Announcement. A new release is due, really, but I have some stuff to finish first. Regards Pete

You'd need to override the brakes somehow. Maybe by reading the braking value and writing a lower value each time it gets near your desired threshold. The brake buttons operate one of the three FS controls: Brakes (.) Brakes left (F11) and Brakes right (F12), on FS9, and those controls don't give maximum braking immediately, they accumulate by continued pressing or re-pressing, and decay when you stop, so you should have ample time to spot this and apply your limit. Regards Pete

Thanks Bob. Always nice to learn of happy endings! ;-) Pete

Where are you looking? FSUIPC doesn't have any individual flap settings at all, so I can only think that you are referring to the FS flap controls, which of course you can assign to via FSUIPC as well as in FS. Usually folks operate flaps by increment and decrement, but you can use a joystick axis or lever instead if you like. FSUIPC provides facilities to calibrate positions on a lever for the number of flap positions your current aircraft allows. Alternatively, if you want a button or switch position for each flap position you need to use the "Flaps Set" control with the parameter set accordingly. A parameter of 0 means flaps up, and 16383 is flaps full down. The rest are more or less regularly spaced between those two extremes (not by angle, only by flap number). Pete

That's one way, but if your joysticks have different name strings then you can have FSUIPC use letters for each instead of numbers, and it will then keep track by matching the names up. Regards Pete

Okay, and that's where FSUIPC was and still is! Therefore that is where the Log file will be. Regards Pete P.S. It occurs to me that you may need to run Explorer "As Administrator" to see the real FS9 folders -- Vista and Win 7 provide aliassed folders for Program Files, for non-Vista aware programs like FS9.

If there is no FSUIPC log file then FSUIPC is not running. It is that simple. It always produces a log, every time. So does WideServer. It sounds like you've not get FSUIPC installed into the correct place if FSUIPC is not running. It appears your Registry isn't updated to show where your FS9.1 is located. Check the Announcement "Fix for FS installation registry problems" above for a way to fix that. Unfortunately you deleted the important part of the Install log, showing us where it installed FSUIPC.DLL So i cannot help. You'll need to check that it is the correct copy of FS9 -- maybe you still have an FS9 installation separate to your FS9.1? Certainly if FSUIPC.DLL is in the correct place, the Modules folder of the copy of FS9 you are actually running, then there would be a Log file there. There will also be a WideServer.Log file, and that might show why your WideFS link is "freezing". Half of the picture really isn't sufficient. Regards Pete

It isn't talking about settings, but steps -- how much to increment or decrement the spoiler axis on each use of the added controls to increment and decrement it. It the step was only of size 1 there'd be 16384 steps, because spoilers full down has an axis value of 0 and full up has a value of 16384. If it took 16384 button presses to raise the spoilers fully I don't think anyone would use the added controls! The idea of Increment and Decrement controls are to increment and decrement a value. FSUIPC just allows you to set the step value being used, and by default it sets it to 512 so that it takes 32 repeats to go full down to full up or vice versa. With a joystick axis assigned you'd normally have more steps than that, unless it is a very poor joystick! Most will give 50 to 100 or more. Yes, it turns them all off, but that doesn't necessarily mean the settings are lost. They may come back as they were if you re-enabled the controllers later. I don't really know whether turning the controllers off resets all of the settings to defaults. Sorry, I've never really looked to see. No it won't!! That is the very problem. They will both be active and cause you confusion and chaos will likely reign! So: do NOT assign a button or an axis in both FSUIPC and in FS. Only in one place or the other. This has nothing whatsoever to do with FSUIPC calibration, on the Joysticks tab, which is entirely independent of where you actually assign things, as I explained. I think this is where you are getting yourself so confused! Regards Pete

Yes. Actually that's a good idea. Thanks! I'll do the same for FSUIPC4. Regards Pete

I've added this to the latest interim updates (3.975 and 4.592, in the Updates announcement now): Regards Pete

Okay. You might wish to update to the latest interim version from the Updates and other goodies announcement above. It fixes a few problems found since 3.96 was released. Regards Pete

That is it, and it checks out fine. There is nothing wrong with your FSUIPC4 installation. I don't know what Air Hauler is complaining about, so you'll have to ask them. I notice that it says "FSUIPC not found in FS installation" rather than not being able to talk to it, so maybe it is looking for the FS path and finding the wrong one? Maybe you installed it for FS9 not FSX or something like that? I don't know why it would need to find the file itself, that's something you'll need to ask there. I'd still recommend that you replace the FSUIPC4.DLL with the update in the Announcement I mentioned. Regards Pete

And what number is this "last one"? "Last one" means nothing useful. Many folks simply mean "the last one they saw and downloaded" and have been found to be using a year old version or worse. ALWAYS tell me the version number please! It isn't hard to find - it is in the Log, on the screen, and in the DLL's "Properties - Version" tab. If you've made your own PFD and ND panels, then I hope you have added FS controls to allow you to operate it. Then you can simply assign to those controls. The KEY2MOUSE program converts keystrokes into mouse clicks. If you want to program a button or rotary knob, just assign to the keypresses you are using in KEY2MOUSE. If you look in the buttons tab in FSUIPC you will notice thast you can assign keystrokes on the left-hand side! Regards Pete

No, that's the INI file with your FSUIPC settings saved ("configuration settings"). It seems like you have Explorer set to hide the filenames from you for files of known types. The log file (called "FSUIPC4.log") is probably seen in that silly mode as "FSUIPC" with type "text file" or something similar. I see you are using 4.57. You might find the update available in the Updates and other goodies announcement at the top of this forum better in the long run. Regards Pete

The FSUIPC4 log file is in the same place as FSUIPC4 and its INI file -- the FSX Modules folder. Sounds like you aren't looking even in the main FSX folder, but the documents folders. Regards Pete

Thank you for eventually being honest and owning up! Regards Pete

For which aircraft in which flight simulator, using which version of FSUIPC? Most default ND gauges aren't controllable by any means other than mouse clicking. To my knowledge only the default FSX 738 and A321 EFIS switches can be controlled -- that's by specially added controls in FSUIPC for those aircraft, using local gauge variables. Regards Pete

Is that as far as the log goes? Where's the WideServer log file, please. The client is only half the story. There are two ends to every link! ;-) No, it would only come up with a failure if there is one. not connecting might be perfectly legitimate -- as for when FS or WideServer isn't running on the Server, for instance. That's okay. Just the Server log missing now, then ... Regards Pete

FSUIPC doesn't even have to be Registered to use Air Hauler. It is licensed to use FSUIPC in any case. Your thread title says "FSUIPC not recognised by FSX", but that cannot be true if there's an FSUIPC entry in the FSX Add-Ons menu! Are you perhaps running FSX "as administrator" and Air Hauler not, or vice versa. Different privilege levels will certainly stop them talking to each other. If that's not it, close FSX and show me the FSUIPC4 log file (not the Installer log), which you'll find in the FSX Modules folder. Regards Pete

Sorry, I don't know APIC. I just looked at their website (http://www.approach-systems.com/ for others reading this) and it looks interesting. I use Jeppesen's FliteStar. It also works with several normal map programs (not just specifically aviation ones) -- like Autoroute and Memory Map Navigator. And the DeLorme map programs if they are still available. A lot of folks seem to use them with real aviation-equipped GPS's too. Regards Pete

Where do you find 32 settings for spoilers? I'm intrigued. What on Earth would you use them for? I think you must be talking about something else other than anything I have produced or written. It certainly isn't FSUIPC! The normal easy way to use FSUIPC's facilities is to leave all the assignments in FSX, except possibly for those buttons you want to assign to do things FS does not allow for. Well, I'm not sure they'll actually be lost: they might be, I don't know, but they most certainly won't function any more. Why would you want to do that in any case? You most certainly do not have to assign anything in FSUIPC in order to use its joystick calibration facilities. In fact the calibration facilities have been in FSUIPC now for over ten years. The axis assignments came much later, and were originally intended for more ambitious users such as cockpit builders, or those needing automatic changing over of controls for different aircraft types -- jets, props, helicopters, each with their own joystick type, for instance. There's no mention anywhere that you have to give up assignments in FS! Why would you assume such a thing in the first place? Certainly you should not assign the same button for different things in FS and in FSUIPC. Nor should you assign joystick axes in FSUIPC if you have them assigned in FS. But you may certainly mix everything else as much as you like. I really don't understand where you come across the misunderstandings you reveal in your post. Would you care to enlighten me? If you want to use the joystick calibrations just go ahead and do so. Read that chapter in the user guide. Ignore the axis assignments chapter if you don't want to use it! It is as simple as that! FSUIPC is a toolkit, a lot of different things like a Swiss Army Knife. You don't have to use it all just because you have it! Pete

It may be that you are using FSUIPC 3.96 or 4.57 and the joystick performance is just a little slower than I allowed for in the safety timeout I incorporated then. Please download a replacement DLL from the Updates and Other Goodies Announcement near the top of this forum. Hmm. It sounds like FSX with FSUIPC 4.57. FSUIPC4 uses direct input for the Axes which isn't subject to the same rigorous timing checks as I incorporated for the buttons which used the older joystick interface, as in FSUIPC3. It is always worth checking the Announcements to see if a fix for a problem is already available. I think you'll find this sort of problem described in the list of fixes incorporated, in that Updates announcement. Regards Pete

What version of FS? I'm pretty certain the BGL variables aren't accessible in FSX, and only one set is usable in FS9. The types of variables are irrelevant to the FSUIPC interface at the "FSUIPC_Write" level, because all the interface actually deals in is bytes -- or unsigned characters if you like. If the variable is a 2-byte value then your source could be a WORD or a short or simply the lower 16 bits of a 32-bit integer, and so on. Up to you really. Regards Pete

No. You are mixing up two completely separate methods. The "mouse macro" is a way of allowing a button or keypress to do the same as a mouse click by making FSUIPC actualiy call the C-coded routine in the C-coded gauge directly. That is not possible with XML gauges with no C-code nor even in C-coded gauges which don't abide by the structures Microsoft laid down for mouse rectangles -- as, in fact, in most Microsoft-written gauges. You CAN use normal (not "mouse") FSUIPC macros to write to named L:variables though. This is described in the FSUIPC "Advanced Users" guide. Please look in the contents list. it is actually mentioned explicitly there. The actual information is towards the end, page 41 in my copy, but check your contents list. You should note that writing the correct value to a local variable will change it, but whether the gauge takes any notice of that change is another matter. In many cases the variable is merely saving the state of the switch and not actually instigating the action associated with it. Generally you'd be better off asking questions about using FSUIPC over in my FSUIPC Support Forum. I don't come here so often. Regards Pete