artburke

Whoa! That's a lot of information. My circuits are all overloaded! Just kidding! I found the problem. Yes, the functions work just fine. There's apparently a small bug in my RP48. That knob I was using works fine with the FGConfig programming, but becomes balky trying to do what I was doing the IAS speed control. As a test, which I should have thought of before, I went to a different default aircraft, but the same knob and experienced the same failure. Then, I changed knobs. Success! Indications are that the *other* knob has a minor defect. So I changed the knob functions accordingly and all is well. I should have thought of the above testing technique first, but I was accidentally deluded into thinking the button was functioning perfectly. The reason for all the progamming difficulties was that I purchased a couple more GoFlight modules (I now have four of them). From a cost perspective, they are just about comparably priced to the Elite AP2000 I was using, and the GoFlight offers (thanks to their own programming and your FSUIPC module) significantly more flexibility. There are only about ten or twelve buttons on the AP2000 that are progammable and that's only with their software. By contrast, the four GoFlight modules and my joystick have given me something on the order of 50+ buttons! Great stuff. I'll go back and muck something else up now! Thanks again for your wonderful support. Art

Well, the LearJet 45 *is* a default aircraft! At any rate.... I initially set the knob function from the dialog box. It didn't seem to work, so I tried it by putting the code directly in the .ini file. The first attempt was with standard FS control codes. Then I noticed the "fast" commands (1020 in this case) and tried that. Zilch! What's puzzling is that when I find it doesn't work, I open up the FSUIPC dialog box, turn the knob to the left (for both buttons 20 and 21) and FSUIPC tells me correctly what the "buttons" do, but they just won't do it! I'll try it in something like the default B737, B747 etc. Obviously, I can "move" the numbers with the mouse, but I'm trying to pretend I'm in the cockpit! Thanks, Pete. I'll keep playing with it. I *know* it should work! Art

I'm stumped - again! I've programmed one of my knobs on a FoGlight RP48 to increase/decrease the IAS "hold" on the autopilot. I can increase it, but I can't seem to find anything that will decrease it. Here are my "buttons" for the LearJet 45: [buttons.Learjet 45 Limited Edition] 0=CP(+2,0)2,6,C66080,0 1=CP(+2,0)2,7,C66079,0 2=P2,4,C65759,0 3=P2,5,C65758,0 4=R2,2,C65607,0 5=R2,3,C65615,0 6=CR(-2,0)(-2,1)2,6,C65771,0 7=CR(-2,0)(-2,1)2,7,C65769,0 8=CR(-2,0)(-2,1)2,8,C65777,0 9=CR(-2,0)(-2,1)2,9,C65775,0 10=CP(+2,1)2,6,K50,9 11=CP(+2,1)2,7,K51,9 12=CP(+2,1)2,8,K52,9 13=CP(+2,1)2,9,K53,9 14=P175,20,C1020,0 15=P175,21,C1020,0 16=P175,23,C65896,0 17=P175,22,C65896,0 18=P175,8,C65893,0 19=P175,9,C65893,0 20=P175,10,C65892,0 21=P175,11,C65892,0 22=P175,12,C65895,0 23=P175,13,C65895,0 24=P175,15,C65894,0 25=P175,14,C65894,0 Buttons 20 and 21 are supposed to decrease the IAS values. I also tried using C65897. Neither option seems to work. I can use the knob to increase the numbers, but not decrease. I know the knob works properly, because I was using it for something else prior to this arrangement, and it worked properly. But I can't get it to work here. Art

Pete wrote: But why reject out of hand the solution I gave you? All you had to do was cut and paste from my message into your INI file. What's so hard? I don't understand. Why don't you want to make the pitch and mixture inc/decs conditional on neither of your control buttons being pressed? You're absolutely right! I need to adjust my thinking. It appears *my* logic is backwards relative to the way you wrote it. I need to get it through my thick head that your way works cuz that's the way you intended it to be! Back to my plane! Thanks again for being so patient. FWIW, the old adage about politics and sausage is that most people really don't want to know what's in either one!! Maybe it's too American! LOL! Art

Well, I certainly appreciate your observation and comments, but... While my programming skills may be suspect (thank heavens I don't do that for a living!), it just doesn't seem logical to check for conditional situations when the "0" or "1" buttons are *not* depressed! The conventional use of the joystick is that never more than one button at a time would be pressed. My logic (perhaps incorrect) was that if I "tested" each button condition, there could be more than one function per button, depending on that buttons' "dependency." Therefore, if button '1' is pressed and then button 12 is pressed, we get action #1. Otherwise, if button '2' is pressed and then button 12 is pressed, we get action #2, etc. Of course I'm assuming two buttons are pressed simultaneously. Maybe I misunderstood the examples in the Advanced Users doc. It's convenient to have the repeat function for the mixture and pitch, but it *could* be worked without using the repeat function. This was certainly the first time I was aware of any "safety" factor you had programmed in. Wise on your part I must admit. What's that old adage about knowing what goes into politics and sausage?? I'll go back and play with other alternatives. Maybe pulling out my yoke and avionics stack was a mistake! The thing was so big, it cluttered my desk. The console had a dual throttle quadrant and I'm trying to compensate for its disappearance! Thanks again Pete. Art

Well, I guess I'm even dumber than I originally thought. Here's my ideas: SlopeElevator=0 SlopeRudder=0 [buttons] 0=CP(+2,0)2,6,C66080,0 1=CP(+2,0)2,7,C66079,0 2=P2,4,C65759,0 3=P2,5,C65758,0 4=R2,2,C65607,0 5=R2,3,C65615,0 6=R2,6,C65771,0 7=R2,7,C65769,0 8=R2,8,C65777,0 9=R2,9,C65775,0 10=P2,10,C66244,0 11=P2,11,C66243,0 [Keys] 0=77,24,66241,0 //TAB + M = Toggle Master Battery 1=65,24,66293,0 //TAB + A = Toggle Avionics 2=33,8,66338,0 //PageUp = Toggle Propeller De-Ice This is a snippet from my FSUIPC.INI file. When I first wrote you earlier today, I had statements "0" and "1" working - now, with the update version (v3.30) it won't work any more. I also had some more at the bottom that were conditional programming (button programming of course). They seem to work fine. They look like: 12=CP(+2,1)2,6,K50,9 13=CP(+2,1)2,7,K51,9 14=CP(+2,1)2,8,K52,9 15=CP(+2,1)2,9,K53,9 Statements 0 and 1 are to raise and lower the landing gear conditionally, if button 0 is depressed then buttons 6 and 7 raise and lower the landing gear. It doesn't seem to want to work any more. The last four statements use conditional button-presses. If button 1 (actually button 2 on my joystick) is depressed and button 6 is depressed, it'll bring up the radio stack. These last four statements work. For the life of me I can't figure out why the first two *used* to work, then stopped, yet the last four are just hunky dorey! Art

Well, I'm glad you responded while I was gone. I've read and heard it's in poor taste to answer your own post(s)!! Egads! Well, I downloaded the latest version, got it all working - properly. I suspect now, that my previous problem was cockpit error - pun fully intended! When I checked the "aircraft specific" box, the entire dialog box does indeed grey out. However, once I click a button on the joystick, then I have the option of choosing "FS Controls" or "PM" (I think - it isn't in front of me right this moment. I had to go back and delete my old FSUIPC.INI file - I think all I did was confuse things - I BACKED IT UP!!! I put a couple of quickie tests in the box, checked to make sure the buttons functioned as expected and then exited. Upon checking my .ini file, it is exactly as one would expect! Eureka! The "flight specific" has been "honored" and I'm off and running - err, flying! Now I can re-copy the parts I backed up and use the module the way you intended! Thanks Pete. Get well/better soon. Art

I wasn't originally attempting to do any conditional programming, only set "standard" FS controls for the buttons. Since then, however, I have done (successfully) some conditional programming. A very fun function you've created here - I'm already using 18 functions on a 12-button joystick! I'll copy the .ini file out somewhere else and start with a fresh version. My [KEYS] section of my .ini file is pretty complex at the moment. I'm not running the very latest version, but what I was trying to do was working in the previous version. I'll download the newest and give it another try. In a worst case example, i.e., if I can't figure the darned thing out within two beers!, I can always create .ini files specific to a given aircraft and load the one I need before I fly! Kind of cumbersome but a lot better than not being able to do it at all! Great stuff here Pete, as always. I've been busy with ham radio for a few months and not done much flying. Returned here today to discover you have medical problems. Good luck and God bless. Your health is a lot more important than this! Hope your next operation(s) turns out well. Art

A few months back I did some key programming in FSUIPC so my switch project would work. I had great success making "aircraft specific" assignments in the FSUIPC menu. Now I've bought a new joystick and temporarily removed my yoke and avionics panel. In attempting to make the joystick setting aircraft specific, the rest of the panel options get greyed out when I click the "aircraft specific" checkbox. Am I overlooking something real simple?

Thanks. I *did* discover that capability after I built my switch panel. Of course, it helps to keep it documented as well. I've found a couple of times I've had "programming" in more than one place and end up with somewhat strange results. caveat programmor! I sometimes get what I deserve! It's been fun learning all this stuff, but it takes away from the flying sometimes! LOL! Art

The GoFlight programming doesn't allow as many functions/controls as FSUIPC! There are many options, but I like the flexibility offered by FSUIPC. I misunderstood part of the operations and am gradually learning the ins and outs. Thanks for your input. Art

I just got a couple of GoFlight modules (GF-46 and RP48) myself and I'm having a similar problem, but not relating to the throttle quadrant! I programmed the RP48 via FSUIPC. Each of the four knobs mimics four different buttons. The first knob, for example, mimics buttons 8, 9, 10 and 11, - 8 and 9 to the left and 10 and 11 to the right. I initially programmed button 8 to decrease the altitude setting on the AP and button 11 to increase altitude. It seemed really slow, no matter how fast I tried to spin the knob. I went back into FSUIPC and set button 9 to decrease and button 10 to increase, so now there are two positions for increasing and decreasing respectively. I can detect no change in speed. I did similar programming with one of the knobs to control the heading indicator. That one is *really* slow - tediously so. Am I overlooking something quite obvious in the programming? Art

Thanks Richard. I've bookmarked that reference and will check it out. I appreciate the info. Art

Yes and No! I built my switch panel to use with the DC-3 - twin engines obviously. The switches designated for the two starters have the "hold down" commands in the config file. Next to those switches are two other switches used to turn on the fuel boosters (one for each engine). When I fly the C-130, there aren't any fuel boosters, so I thought I would use these keys as starters also, but, and here's the rub, it takes a separate, new configuration to make those keys "held" as well. Otherwise, they will never get the engines started. C'est la vie. I was *hoping* to be able to use FSUIPC to act as sort of an "add-on" config and let me "hold" those keys when flying a specific aircraft. Obviously, that can't be done without some exhaustive programming (your or mine!). Loading a different config file isn't all that bad and that's what I did last night. FSUIPC *was* able to solve part of the problem for me anyway. I just added a line to the code used for starters (and something similar for the generators) in the .ini file. Then, when I started engine number 1, the next line issued the same key structure, but an FS Control command to start engine number 2 at the same time. Obviously, then, the same thing for the engines on the right side. That worked, but I wanted to make it look really nifty and have a starter control and generator/alternator switch for *each* engine. (When we play at this we sometimes play hard huh?) What the hey. The different configuration file works like I/we hoped it would. At least with our dialog, I learned a couple of new things. Thanks and have a good weekend. Art

Well, the place where I was hung up was on starters. You can hold the mouse against the starter switch until the engine winds up and fuel flow begins. A simple "toggle" doesn't work - the key must be held down or repeated with some kind of command. I was hoping your programming would give me a way to do that on the fly - thereby allowing me to institute "changes" dependent on a specific aircraft. My attempt to create a second (different) configuration file specifically for that four-engined monster was successful. Unfortunately, the attempt at a batch file wasn't! Since it doesn't occur very often, I guess it isn't too problematic to just process the file(s) normally, since the options available for the DC-3 work with just about any other twin-engined craft. One last question - is the chip(s) that makes a joystick "do its thing" something easily purchased and wired? I cannabalized a couple of joysticks. One of them wasn't too trivial a task, but the other one was. What chip(s) is the "heart" of the joystick system? If that's an easy question to answer, please do. If it starts getting complex, either steer me in an appropriate direction, if possible, or just smile and I'll go away! Art

Pete, you may not still have it perfectly, but you have the gist of it. I may still have not done a very good job of explaining, but I think you're definitely on the right track! Yes, the "responsibility" of the encoder is to handle the "holding" (in this case I'm creating the "holding" effect by repeating the keystroke). Again, if I were pushing joystick (either real, pseudo or faking a button!) buttons, the programming you've provided for buttons would do everything I want to do. However... I'm experimenting now with loading separate configuration files for the encoder, dependent on what plane I want to fly. That means I can't change planes at whim, but that's certainly not the end of the world. With the approach, I can do exactly as you suggest and handle just about everything from the encoder programming. Again, FSUIPC *still* bails me out (thank you very much!) by being aircraft specific. In a worst case, I can have differing entries for everything in my hangar, if need be. I've learned more from the dialog and have a couple of potential ideas. With the GoFlight modules (thank heavens I don't need the throttle quadrant - there appear to be some difficulties there) I think I can ultimately solve just about all my cockpit needs (with the assistance of FSUIPC!). After I win the lottery I'm going to build one of those monstrous cockpit thingies with five big-screen TVs - then I'll get to use even more of your modules! Thanks for the feedback and assistance. Keep up the good work. Art

I'm sorry, I am completely lost. Keys are keys. Why would you want to program a key from a key? All FSUIPC is doing is trapping the WM_KEYDOWN and WM_KEYUP messages and using them to issue an FS Control. Are you saying it should be able to take a WM_KEYDOWN and convert it to another KEY for some reason? And then discard the WM_KEYUP, so the Key stays pressed all the time? That will mess up things for sure. Okay, my apologies. I was afraid of providing too much detail and erroneously provided insufficient detail instead! I built the switch panel using the keyboard encoder. To "start" the engines, I set those two switches (left and right engine for the DC-3) to be "held" in my configuration file. That actually takes place by telling it to "repeat" as long as it's in the ON state. However, when I fly the C-130, there are four instead of two engines. I would like to use a couple of other switches that are not used in the C-130 (specifically, the electric fuel pumps) as starters for the other two engines. However, I can't tell the keyboard encoder to "hold" those keys as they are generally either ON or OFF only. My temporary workaround is to have FSUIPC start the right side engines with one starter and the left side engines with the other starter. As a further example: The switch I use for Propeller De-Ice is TAB + PageUp to toggle it on and TAB + PageDn to toggle it off. Then, in FSUIPC, I put some codes in "aircraft specific" for those same keys to (a) arm the Auto-Throttle (in the BAC 1-11) and (b) turn on IAS Hold. This allows me to use the switch for Prop De-Ice in the DC-3, but use it for IAS Hold in the BAC. Does that make sense? However, since I can't (at least not in the practical sense) program in a "holding sequence" for different aircraft, using my keyboard encoder, I was hoping to find a way to "fake" the "held key" in FSUIPC so I could assign other keys as starters when flying the C-130 or whatever. If I were using some kind of cannabalized joystick, i.e., something FSUIPC recognizes with *buttons* I could get the job done with conditional programming in the buttons section. Technically speaking, I *could* use the switch panel for more than one plane, with all kinds of different coding, but that would require loading different configurations for each differing plane. Thanks to my beloved Windoze XP Operating System (can you smell the sarcasm from there?) I can't load the config file through the keyport - it has to be via the serial port. Guess I just need a switchbox and little quickie program that sees what plane I'm going to fly..... Did that make a little more sense? Thanks for your patience and indulgence. If you hadn't made such a great utility I wouldn't have the opportunity to challenge your thinking! I think I'm on the verge of buying a bunch of GoFlight modules and the programming capability of those devices may eventually render my quest moot. For the moment, I'm having fun with the DIY concept. Art

I am also using a Hagstrom Encoder (KE-72) and built an external switch panel - 34 switches so far. I got everything started without using FSUIPC initially, but it didn't take too long to figure out the FS world gets vastly expanded with the keystroke programming available in FSUIPC. The only keys I'm currently "holding" with the encoder are the ones I use for engine starts. I use the "repeat" capability in the configuration file to accomplish this. If you would like to discuss this further (since it's technically nothing to do with FSUIPC and might bore others here) feel free to contact me at aburkefl at comcast dot net and we can discuss it offline. Art

Afer about 10 years of simming, I've finally gotten into the "cockpit-building" stage! Previous expenses now seem trivial! At any rate.... In button programming, FSUIPC permits numerous "actions" including holding a key down until the button is released. I would dearly love to see the same capability with the key programming, if possible. I built a switch panel and have been able to vary some of the switching requirements from plane to plane, using "aircraft specific" checkbox in FSUIPC. For starting various planes, I need more switches with the capability of "holding" the keypress. If I were pressing a button instead of pushing a key (which is what the switches actually do - the switches are run through a keyboard encoder from Hagstrom Electronics) I'd have it made, but... Is there any possibility for the future of having "actions" available for keypresses as well as for buttons? I must add, without FSUIPC, what I've done so far would work, but not nearly as well. The ability of (a) the aircraft specific checkbox is awesome and (b) the ability to make two (or three) things happen with a single keypress has really expanded my options - and my imagination! Art Burke Leesburg, FL, USA