Jamie Fox

As far as I know, transponder modes are not implemented in FS2004 (or any earlier version). They are implemented within Squawkbox. Squawkbox 2.3 provides no direct facility to change or access the current mode. Squawkbox 3 provides a facility to control it (along with many other things), using an FSUIPC-based interface. (Joel still doesn't seem to have worked out the different between Dowson and Dawson though.)

Have you registered Squawkbox in FSUIPC using the freeware key listed in the 'Freeware Keys' thread on this forum? That catches a lot of people out, especially non-FS2004 users.

Is there new information available about the TeamSpeak PTT?

When you run WideClient, its title bar should change from 'Waiting for connection' to 'Connected'. Has it done this successfully?

That should be possible just by using the Squawkbox installer, although there might be a problem if you don't have FS installed at all. If so, then you should be OK just copying the Squawkbox directory manaully. Make sure you run SBHost before Squawkbox itself.

Yes, you can do this with WideFS. Yes, you can fix the pausing problem: see the option 'pause on task switch' in Flight Sim (probably in a section with the word 'general' in its name), you need to turn it off; it's on by default.

If you're familiar with GCC you might be happier using the MinGW or Cygwin ports of GCC for Windows, instead of the MS compiler.

That sounds like a firewall blocking incoming ping (ICMP echo request); this is the default behaviour of Windows Firewall. You need to ensure that the server PC (running FS) is allowed to listen on the port used by WideServer (the default is 8002 TCP I think). In Windows Firewall you can do this either by program (SP2 only) or by port. Windows XP SP2 prompts you for this the first time. Post back if you have any trouble enabling this.

The following is quoted from the Free Software Definition: Surely you must be familiar with at least one of the following words: GNU, BSD, Apache, Debian, Linux, Mozilla, KDE, GNOME. No?

I have never heard of any other GPL, although there are several other *PL licences. It would be confusing to refer to any other licence as GPL, although if one wishes to be precise, 'GNU GPL' removes the ambiguity. I guess they probably have, although I haven't heard of it. No, probably quite a good idea actually. Yes, but see below. Yes and possibly yes. When the word 'free' is used in the GPL, it is a reference to freedom, not price. In this context FSUIPC itself is certainly non-free. Technical Issues You could do this using WideFS. Think of it something like this: Flightgear <-FlightGear IPC-> your program <-FSUIPC user library-> (<-WideFS optionally here->) MSFS I don't know what inter-process communication facilities are available in FlightGear. If there aren't any, you could either add some yourself. Alternatively you could integrate the program into FlightGear itself, subject to certain conditions. Legal Issues 1. If you modify parts of FlightGear, then you must either distribute those modifications under the GPL, else not at all. 2. If you wish to link your program directly into FlightGear then your program must also be licensed under the GPL. One of the most controversial parts of the GPL is what constitutes a 'derivative work'. The FSF's stance seems to be that static or dynamic linking counts as a derivative work, but other IPC mechanisms (such as sockets and, in my opinion only, the interface between FSUIPC user library and FSUIPC.dll) can be considered as independent. In any case, if you only want to distribute code that is yours, you can add a 'special exception' to the license text to explictly allow linking to FSUIPC-related stuff. Have a look on the FSF site for for 'special exception' and you should find what you're looking for. I hope that makes sense. I think I've gone on too long. Just one final important question for Pete: Is the FSUIPC_User.lib code public domain? I was under the impression that it is, but I can't find any notice in the code. (Public domain is taken to mean that all copyright holders have explictly disclaimed their copyright.) I guess it must be pretty close, as there are plenty of proprietary programs linking against it.

Are you using FSUIPC_Open or FSUIPC_Open2? Using the external interface (FSUIPC_Open) from a gauge is a very bad idea, for reasons described in the SDK. Keys will only work if you use the correct access method: FSUIPC_Open2 for an internal module or gauge. You can use the box in FSUIPC if you wish, and you need to enter the full filename INCLUDING .gau, with your key. However, a better way is to write "B2AOZMKV9W9Y154_B2_APU_1_3.gau" to offset 0x8001 immediately after opening the link to FSUIPC. This saves your users the trouble of entering the key manually.

I'm not sure that this is the complete solution. I occasionally have a similar problem, but have never been able to reproduce it reliably. Sometimes WideClient saves incorrect position and size information (to the Window= parameter) often involving large negative numbers. When it's restarted, the window exists but is entirely positioned off the screen and is thus invisible. This can be fixed by manually removing or editing the Window= parameter in WideClient.ini. Perhaps WIdeClient is incorrectly saving its position and size information on exit?

This is a problem with Squawkbox and DirectPlay. It has nothing whatsoever to do with any of Pete's modules. (Most users find that this is fixed by upgrading DirectX to the latest version.)

You have two options: 1. Anyone else using your program will need a registered copy of FSUIPC. 2. You can apply for an access key for your application, so that your end users won't need to pay. This is free if your application is distributed free of charge. If your application is distributed at cost then you will have to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with Peter.

Yes, you're right. I hadn't made the distinction and was comparing latitude/longitude with this double float offset as if they were. In the interests of clarity of the thread (I'm not a VB user): does this mean that double floating point offsets (eg 6408) can be read directly into a VB double?

I don't know, but if it was the same as C the whole snippet I posted wouldn't be necessary. The VB code I posted comes straight from the FSUIPC SDK and appears to be posted as a workaround for VB's apparent inability to handle 64-bit numbers. I'd guess VB's 'double' is maybe 32 bits? lnMiles=lnMiles / (10001750# * 65536# * 65536#) You don't need this line. It was in the example because the example offset used needs conversion to the right units. Your data is already in the right units, although if you want it in miles you need to divide by 1852, as Pete said.

Oops: my SDK was a couple of versions behind AND I was looking for the wrong offset. I now see the new FS2004 GPS offsets. (Pete has been very busy!) Offset 6048 is correct and is specified in the SDK as a 8-byte floating point double. 8*8=64 bit double. I've just had a look in the VB section of the SDK and found the information about handling 64-bit numbers in VB. Dim Fake64Bit As Currency Dim dwResult As Long Dim Latitude As Double If FSUIPC_Read(&amp;H560, 8, VarPtr(Fake64Bit), dwResult) Then ' "Read" proceeded without any problems If FSUIPC_Process(dwResult) Then ' First we need to multiply the fake64bit number held in the currency VAR by 10,000 ' to remove the decimal point - remember to force the double (#) to avoid overflow Latitude = Fake64Bit * 10000# ' Now convert from FS units to degrees, again forcing the double to avoid overflow Latitude = Latitude * 90# / (10001750# * 65536# * 65536#) Else ' Unable to "Process" lblStatus.Caption = "Processing: " &amp; ResultText(dwResult) End If Else ' Unable to "Read" lblStatus.Caption = "Reading: " &amp; ResultText(dwResult) End If

I'm not familiar with VB, co apologies if any of this is incorrect. Dim gpsData As As Byte As as byte? Should that read As Byte? If FSUIPC_Read(&amp;H6048, 8, VarPtr(gpsData(1)), dwResult) Then If FSUIPC_Process(dwResult) Then Does the gpsData array have 8 elements? If so, it doesn't make sense for there to be a 0th and an 8th element. The indexing either runs from 0 to 7 or 1 to 8. There are nine values there. Furthermore, I've just looked in the FSUIPC programmers guide and I can't find any reference to offset 6408 (hex). Is this the correct offset?

The words pot and kettle spring to mind.

Pete's attitude has consistently been that your key is for you, not your computer, and you can use your FSUIPC key on as many computers as you have, provided that it is for your own use (ie installing on a friend's computer is not covered!). I should think they'll be 'official' confirmation soon :) I haven't checked, but I don't think you can run WideClient on a computer while FS is running. (FSUIPC would then get confused which to connect to.) You shouldn't need to, because any application on that computer can connect to FSUIPC directly. On any non-FS computer, WideClient connects to whichever computer you specify in the WideClient.ini file.

Before you load Squawkbox you need to run SBHost.exe which opens an external window in which Squawkbox will display. If you'd rather have Squawkbox inside your FS session, you need HostSB.dll which you put in your modules folder (in the same way as FSUIPC) and then you can load Squawkbox into that. Sorry about the reference to SBRelay; I misread your post and thought you were using FS2004. (SBRelay is required for FS2004 only.)

What do you mean 'nothing happens'? Once you have put FSUIPC in your modules folder, you should see 'FSUIPC...' in your FS Modules menu. Click on that, and it will bring up the FSUIPC configuration dialogue box. Click on 'register an application program', and enter the program name Squawkbox and the key as you've got there. When you click OK FSUIPC will either tell you the key is incorrect (in which case read these instructions again!) or will tell you that it has been successful. That's all you need to do. This procedure is already detailed in Peter's excellent documentation, and also in the readme for SBRelay.

So much so that you originally offered to 'help out' anyone who needed assistance in hacking into FSUIPC. If you genuinely wanted to report the security problem to Peter, wouldn't it be better to do it in private away from dishonest eyes? That's fine by me, but don't be surprised when somebody publicly posts details of how to bypass the security measures. After all:

It's idiots like you that would stop Pete developing FSUIPC for good, which leaves us without FSUIPC, freeware or otherwise. Unless of course you're volunteering to make your own free alternative, in which case please get on with it (which on many occasions Pete has said he would welcome). As I understand it, Pete continued development when Adam stopped (he went in to the employment of Microsoft, I believe). He did not 'steal' the concept. Furthermore, all of the 'FSUIPC concept' that you refer to is still free in FSUIPC. The functions that Pete is charging for are all things which were never in FS6IPC, so how he 'stole' those in order to charge for them I don't know. We are now three FS versions on from FS6IPC (FS98). If you'd ever read Pete's reasons for making FSUIPC into a commercial product - which I suspect you're either too stupid or lazy to do - you'd know that this was done as a last resort when Pete had to choose between that and stopping development completely. I don't see any free alternatives to FSUIPC, now nearly a year since the announcements. Pete went to great lengths to make the 'FSUIPC concept' part remain free. The whole thing came about because of the failure of the donations scheme. Presumably you donated?

Think of FSUIPC in two parts: 1. An interface which allows other applications to communicate with FS. This is still free at the point of use. 2. A useful menu with lots of fixes and features for FS, such as weather tweaks, joystick calibration, button assignments, etc. This is the part of FSUIPC you have to pay for yourself. Don't get confused between the 'key' that you can buy for FSUIPC, and the key that each application has. Each application has its own key to indicate that it is 'accredited' and is allowed to access an unregistered FSUIPC.