[Offset for COM2]

Hi,

 

The amount of data that get returned depends only on the type you have set in the offset declaration. FSUIPC doesn't know how big the offsets are so it's not true that it should only return a byte. You've asked for 4 bytes so FSUIPC will return 4 bytes. These will be offsets 7B99, 7B9A, 7B9B and 7B9C.

 

That's why is critical that you select the correct type when declaring offsets.

 

Paul

[Offset for COM2]

Hi,

 

The two offsets you are using (0x07B99 and 0x07B9A) are listed as being 1 byte long. From the result you are getting it's look like you've declared these offsets as Int32, int (C#) or Integer (VB) which are all 4 bytes long.

 

It would be helpful if you posted the relevant code but I'm pretty sure that's your mistake here.

 

Here's an example of the correct declarations for these offsets:

 

VB:

Dim Com2Receive as Offset(Of Byte) = New Offset(Of Byte)(&H7B99)
Dim Com2Transmit as Offset(Of Byte) = New Offset(Of Byte)(&H7B9A)

C#

private Offset<byte> com2Receive = new Offfset<byte>(0x7B99); 
private Offset<byte> com2Transmit = new Offfset<byte>(0x7B9A);

Give that a try.

 

It's very important to declare the offsets with the correct .net variable type. This is explained in my UserGuide.pdf on page 7.

 

Paul

[FSUIPCClient.DLL 2.4.0.0 calls/methods]

Hi,

 

The problem is that you are calling Process() before you've created the offset. You need create the offset first so it can be processed.

 

Also, if you declare Offsets for temporary use you must Disconnect() them from the DLL before they go out of scope. If you don't, the DLL will keep hold of them. You will eventually build up a large number of offsets and exceed the memory limits of FSUIPC requests.

Public Sub FSUIPCDATA_get()
   Dim dataget As Offset(Of Integer) = New FSUIPC.Offset(Of Integer)(adrget) ' Create offset
   FSUIPCConnection.Process() ' process the offset
   datagetv = dataget.Value ' get value
   dataget.Disconnect() ' disconnect it from the DLL
End Sub

Paul

[WideFS Button Screen II]

No that's not quite what I suggested.

 

Firstly, can you not just run your current script on the wideclient machine? That would be the easiest way.

 

If your current script must be run on the FSX machine for some reason then I'm suggesting that you make an additional, independent script on the wideclient machine that just sets the button colours. This script has nothing to do with your current script on the FSX machine, and there is no need for communication between the scripts. The wideclient script simply monitors the relevant offset or lvar using the event library (specifically event.offset() and/or event.Lvar()). When these values change you set the button colour accordingly.

 

For example if you have a button for putting the gear up/down you could monitor offset 0x0BEC (nose landing gear position). When this value changes you can colour the button red when the gear is up, green when it's down and orange when it's in transit. Note that this has nothing to do with your existing script or responding to the button presses. It's simply monitoring the gear position in the simulator and sets the appropriate colour

 

If you're not familiar with the Lua events library, it's explained in the "FSUIPC Lua Library.pdf" in it's own chapter. Search for "The Event Library".

 

I'm not an expert in using Lua with FSUIPC but I from what I know this is a viable solution. Anyway, it's a suggestion for you if you want to try something before Pete gets back and gives you a definitive answer.

 

Paul

[WideFS Button Screen II]

The official FSUIPC lua documentation states very clearly that the ipc.setbtncol() function is for wideclient only. So this function doesn't exist in the FSUIPC lua library (=nil value), only the wideclient lua library.

 

If your current lua script must be run on the FSX machine then you'll need another script on the wideclient machine that responds to changes in the state of the aircraft systems and colours the buttons accordingly. You could use events for this, monitoring changes in offsets (event.offset()) or changes in LVars (event.Lvar()) depending on how you get the data from your aircraft.

 

Paul

[FSuI]

>> latest FSUIPC and Make RWY versions installed..

 

You need to state the exact version numbers rather than just saying 'latest'.

 

Paul

[Quick Query Lat/Long]

I used your format string but it had some non-numeric'ness to the returned string. I resorted to the deprciated, but handy, Val() to clean it up. The code is verbose, I didn't want to string a bunch of operations together for the post.

 

You can use the DecimalDegrees property then (as this is a pure number (double)) and use ToString("F6") to turn it into a string with 6 decimal places.

 

In the code sample I Open() once then error out on other calls. I close the conenction when the form closes. Bad technique? 

 

 

 

Yes, bad technique, If you want to maintain the connection for the lifetime of the application then you should just open it once when the application starts. Usually you would do this on a timer until the open is successful. If the connection ever drops then you restart the timer to attempt reconnection.

 

Is there an elegant way to check to see if Open() was called and we're still connected?

 

 

 

You have to maintain a connected flag yourself and track the Open() and subsequent Process() failures. Although FSUIPC uses the language of 'connections' being 'open' and 'closed' in reality there is nothing like a connection behind the scenes. The only way you know if the Flight Sim has been unloaded is when a Process() or Open() fails. You need to track those exceptions and maintain your own 'connected' flag.

 

All of this is shown in the sample application that I provide with the DLL.

 

If the form made other calls to other offsets would things get balled up? GetLatLongString() below should probably have some busy logic to avoid a second call from wherever.

 

 

 

No you don't need any such checks and there is no way anything gets 'balled up'. The only concern would be if you had multiple threads calling GetLatLonString() but there's no way that would happen on such a simple form as you have. Even then, the DLL is thread safe and would just deal with one thread at a time, blocking the others.

 

What's the check that the a/c is "ready?" (loaded by FSX/P3D and ready to respond)

 

 

 

You can check offset 0x3364.  When it's 0 the sim is 'ready to fly'.

 

I couldn't find a good list of offsets - is FSUIPC4 Offsets Status.pdf the best available?

 

 

 

It's the best available because it's the only official and complete list. It's the only source of information about offsets you should use.

 

You have made a mistake in your new code:

Dim ofsLatitude As Offset(Of Long) = New Offset(Of Long)(&H560)
Dim ofsLongitude As Offset(Of Long) = New Offset(Of Long)(&H568)

These offsets are now declared in your GetLatLongString method. I did not advise this. Offsets should only be declared once in the lifetime of your application.The easiest way to make sure this is the case is to declare them in at the form (or class) level, like you had them before.

 

I've amended your code with the suggestions above. I've also added an example timer mechanism, 'open' connection tracking and the use of the ready to fly offset. You'll need to add a timer to your form called 'tmrConnection' and a label 'lblConnection' to show the status of the connection.

Option Explicit On
Imports FSUIPC

Public Class frmACLocation
    Dim ofsLatitude As Offset(Of Long) = New Offset(Of Long)(&H560)
    Dim ofsLongitude As Offset(Of Long) = New Offset(Of Long)(&H568)
    Dim ofsReadyToFly As Offset(Of Byte) = New Offset(Of Byte)(&H3364)

    Dim bolConnected As Boolean = False

    Private Sub btnGetLatLong_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnGetLatLong.Click
        Try
            Dim sLatLon As String = GetLatLongString()
            If sLatLon <> "error" Then
                If MsgBox("a/c Lat/Lon: " & sLatLon & vbCrLf & "Open Chart?", MsgBoxStyle.YesNo) = MsgBoxResult.Yes Then
                    Process.Start("http:\\skyvector.com/?ll=" & sLatLon & "&zoom=3")
                End If
            End If
        Catch ex As Exception
            MsgBox(ex.Message, , "btnGetLatLong_Click")
        End Try
    End Sub

    Function GetLatLongString() As String
        Dim mlat As FsLatitude
        Dim mlon As FsLongitude
        Dim sLat As String = ""
        Dim sLon As String = ""
        Try
            FSUIPCConnection.Process()
            If (ofsReadyToFly.Value = 0) Then
                mlat = New FsLatitude(ofsLatitude.Value)
                mlon = New FsLongitude(ofsLongitude.Value)
                sLat = mlat.DecimalDegrees.ToString("F6")
                sLon = mlon.DecimalDegrees.ToString("F6")
                Return sLat & "," & sLon
            Else
                MsgBox("Flight Sim is not ready to fly", , "GetLatLongString")
                Return "error"
            End If
        Catch ex As Exception
            'Badness occurred - show the error message
            MsgBox(ex.Message, , "GetLatLongString")
            Me.tmrConnection.Start() 'start the timer again to reconnect
            Return "error"
        End Try
    End Function

    Private Sub frmACLocation_FormClosing(sender As Object, e As FormClosingEventArgs) Handles Me.FormClosing
        Try
            FSUIPCConnection.Close()
        Catch ex As Exception

        End Try
    End Sub

    Private Sub frmACLocation_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        configureScreen()
        Me.tmrConnection.Interval = 1000 ' try connection every second
        Me.tmrConnection.Start() ' Start looking for flight sim
    End Sub

    Private Sub tmrConnection_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles tmrConnection.Tick
        Me.bolConnected = False
        Try
            FSUIPCConnection.Open()
            ' Open sucessful
            Me.bolConnected = True
            Me.tmrConnection.Stop() ' Stop looking for a connection
        Catch ex As Exception
            ' Connection failed
            FSUIPCConnection.Close() ' Close ready for next retry
        Finally
            configureScreen()
        End Try
    End Sub

    Private Sub configureScreen()
        If Me.bolConnected Then
            Me.lblConnection.Text = "Connected to " & FSUIPCConnection.FlightSimVersionConnected.ToString()
            Me.lblConnection.ForeColor = Color.Green
            Me.btnGetLatLong.Enabled = True
        Else
            Me.lblConnection.Text = "Connecting to Flight Sim..."
            Me.lblConnection.ForeColor = Color.Red
            Me.btnGetLatLong.Enabled = False
        End If
    End Sub
End Class

Paul

[Quick Query Lat/Long]

Hi,

 

You don't need to worry about garbage collection, the .NET framework will take care of everything for you. Your current 'finally' block is overkill and not required.

 

You could improve things a little by declaring mlat, mlon and mlatlon in the method rather than at the class level as they only seem to be used in that method. They only take a up a few bytes however which is insignificant on modern PCs with gigabytes of memory.

 

The only improvement I would advise is to call FSUIPCConnection.Close() at the end of your Catch block. If you don't do this then you might find you'll never be able to open a connection again if you ever get an exception (e.g. if FSX is not running at the time).

 

To show the lat/lon in decimal format, use the ToString() overload that takes the formatting parameters. See the intellisense for details. (If you're not getting the intellisense make sure you have the FSUIPCClient.xml file in the same folder as your FSUIPCClient.dll.) I suggest the following would be what you want but it's quite flexible so you can tweak it to your exact requirements.

mlatlon.ToString(False, "d", 6)

Here's your code with the suggested changes:

Option Explicit On
Imports FSUIPC
Public Class frmACLocation

   Dim ofsLatitude As Offset(Of Long) = New Offset(Of Long)(&H560)
    Dim ofsLongitude As Offset(Of Long) = New Offset(Of Long)(&H568)
    
    Private Sub btnGetLatLong_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnGetLatLong.Click
        Try
            MsgBox(GetLatLongString)
        Catch ex As Exception
            MsgBox(ex.Message, , "btnGetLatLong_Click")
        End Try
    End Sub

    Function GetLatLongString() As String
        Try
            FSUIPCConnection.Open()
            FSUIPCConnection.Process()
            Dim mlat As FsLatitude = New FsLatitude(ofsLatitude.Value)
            Dim mlon As FsLongitude = New FsLongitude(ofsLongitude.Value)
            Dim mlatlon As New FsLatLonPoint = New FsLatLonPoint(mlat, mlon)
            Return mlatlon.ToString(False, "d", 6)
            FSUIPCConnection.Close()
        Catch ex As Exception
            ' Badness occurred - show the error message
            MsgBox(ex.Message, , "OpenFSUIPC")
            FSUIPCConnection.Close()
            Return "error"
        End Try
    End Function
End Class

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

[Using FSUIPS_SDK_C in Xcode]

Hi,

 

Unfortunately I know nothing about Python so I can't help you out with that. I suggest making a new topic with Python in the title to attract the right person to your thread. But I have to say I've never seen Python discussed here at all.

 

I've just remembered that FSUIPC has the Lua language built in and that has networking libraries. There is some sample Lua code supplied with FSUIPC that transmits data between two Flight Sim pcs. I don't know if Lua would be suitable for your purposes but it's something to investigate.  The Lua documentation and samples are in your Flight Sim 'modules\FSUIPC Documents' directory (folder).

 

Paul.

[Using FSUIPS_SDK_C in Xcode]

You cannot implement the FSUIPC interface on any operating system but Windows. Even if you got the SDK to compile on your XCode compiler it would be a waste of time as your app needs to run on the same machine as FSX or FS9 or WideClient.exe. That's just how it works. None of these programs run on IOS.

 

If there are iOS apps out there that use FSUIPC then they must be using some bespoke bridging software. This would be installed on the Windows flightsim PC and would get information from FSUIPC and pass it along to the iOS client using their own networking protocols.

 

The .NET Client would help you talk to FSUIPC on the Windows PC, but if you then wanted to send that data to an IOS device you'll need to learn about sending data over a network, not only from the Windows side of things but also the IOS side. You'll also need to learn a completely different language and framework for IOS as .NET doesn't run on IOS.

 

To achieve what you want to do you'll be best sticking with C for both the Windows and XCode side of things.  You'll need to know the following:

 

1. How to get data from FSUIPC on a Windows Machine.

 

2. How to write a server program on the windows machine to respond to network requests and send data to the client making the request.

 

3. How to write an IOS app in XCode

 

4. How to send a network request from the IOS app to the windows server program over the network and receive that data back.

 

The FSUIPC SDK and this forum are for item 1. The other three areas can be found elsewhere on the internet.

 

Paul

[FSX Problem!]

Hi,

 

You seem to be working with the payload stations rather than the fuel tanks.

 

It's not well documented so I've written some examples of working with fuel. I think these will cover your requirements.

 

Example 1: Setting all fuel tanks to 100% full.

            // Fill all fuel tank
            PayloadServices ps = FSUIPCConnection.PayloadServices;
            ps.RefreshData();
            foreach(FsFuelTank fuelTank in ps.FuelTanks)
            {
                if (fuelTank.CapacityLitres > 0)  // If the tank is not in use for this aircraft, capacity = 0
                {
                    fuelTank.LevelPercentage = 100;
                }
            }
            ps.WriteChanges();

Example 2: Setting individual tanks from text boxes on a form:

            // Add fuel levels from textboxes
            // Example covers only three main tanks
            // Capacity is tested to make sure the tank is in use for current aircraft
            PayloadServices ps = FSUIPCConnection.PayloadServices;
            ps.RefreshData();
            if (ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Centre_Main).CapacityLitres > 0)
            {
                ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Centre_Main).LevelPercentage = double.Parse(this.txtCentreTankLevel.Text);
            }
            if (ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Left_Main).CapacityLitres > 0)
            {
                ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Left_Main).LevelPercentage = double.Parse(this.txtLeftTankLevel.Text);
            }
            if (ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Right_Main).CapacityLitres > 0)
            {
                ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Right_Main).LevelPercentage = double.Parse(this.txtRightTankLevel.Text);
            }
            ps.WriteChanges();

Example 3: Showing/Hiding textboxes according to tanks used by current aircraft

            // Show hide textboxes according to tank usage on current aircraft
            PayloadServices ps = FSUIPCConnection.PayloadServices;
            ps.RefreshData();
            this.txtCentreTankLevel.Visible = ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Centre_Main).CapacityLitres > 0;
            this.txtLeftTankLevel.Visible = ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Left_Main).CapacityLitres > 0;
            this.txtRightTankLevel.Visible = ps.GetFuelTank(FSFuelTanks.Right_Main).CapacityLitres > 0;

Paul

[FSX Problem!]

Well there isn't a single offset that makes the plane refuel is that's what you mean.

 

You can set the level of each fuel tank in the aircraft. These offsets start at 0B7C, but it's much easier to set fuel using the payload services in my DLL.  Please see this post for details:

 

http://forum.simflight.com/topic/74848-fsuipc-client-dll-for-net-version-24/?p=457925

 

Using the payload services makes it easy to set the fuel by % level, weight (lbs or kgs) or volume (litres or gallons).

 

Paul

[FSX Problem!]

I think you want the 'simulation rate' at 0C1A. Lookup this offset in "FSUIPC4 Offset Status.pdf" as there are some limitations writing to this offset for FSX. Reading is fine though.

 

You need to declare it as 'ushort' and you need to divide the .value by 256 to get the correct value.

 

Paul

[FSX Problem!]

Are you running a very old version of FSUIPC4? If you're not using 4.929, please update (see the downloads sub-forum) and try again.

 

Paul

[FSX Problem!]

You have not answered this question yet:

 

What is the line that is throwing this error? Is it the FSUIPCConnection.Open() or one of the Process() calls?

 

Also when you say "In log file nothing!", do you mean you can't see anything interesting or there is no text at all in the log file? I still think you should paste the contents of FSUIPC4.log here.

 

Paul

[FSX Problem!]

Well if other FSUIPC programs are working then I don't know what else to suggest.

 

The whole point about FSUIPC is that there is no difference between connecting to FSUIPC3 or FSUIPC4. 

 

What is the line that is throwing this error? Is it the FSUIPCConnection.Open() or one of the Process() calls?

 

Is there anything shown in the FSUIPC4 log file (in the FSX Modules folder)? Maybe post the contents of the log file here; it might help.

 

Paul

[FSX Problem!]

Hi,

 

Things you can try:

 

1. If you are running FSX 'as administrator' you need to run your client program 'as administrator' as well.  If you're not running FSX 'as administrator' then make sure you don't run your client program 'as administrator'.

 

2. If your FSUIPC4 is registered make sure the date on the PC is set correctly.

 

3. Test your FSUIPC4 installation by running a different FSUIPC program (e.g. FSInterrogate that comes with the FSUIPC SDK, or TrafficLook available in the downloads sub-forum). If other FSUIPC programs do not connect then something is wrong with your FSUIPC4 installation.

 

Paul

[Please help me access FSUIPC offset from a web page]

Hi Matthias,

 

I'll be away for the rest of this week, but I'll make an example website for you next week.

 

I'll contact you by PM when I have something.

 

Paul

[Please help me access FSUIPC offset from a web page]

so that means if i can set up a IIS to uses ASP.NET it will work?

 

 

Yes, you can just use my .NET DLL in the ASP.NET project.

 

You can download it from here:

 

http://forum.simflight.com/topic/74848-fsuipc-client-dll-for-net-version-24/

 

There is a user-guide included and a sample C# desktop application. This will show you how the DLL is used.

 

Paul

[Please help me access FSUIPC offset from a web page]

Hello,

 

i think the Aidex webser is not enough for that what we Need?

http://www.aidex.de/software/webserver/

If that one is enough i will use that, otherwiese this one:

http://httpd.apache.org/

Thx

Matthias

 

The way this would be done would be to have the web application server (e.g. php, python, asp.net or whatever) call into a DLL that will talk to FSUIPC. This could either be a COM DLL or a .NET DLL depending on which is supported by the application server you are using.

 

I don't have any experience with Apache or php or python, so if you wanted to use these with Apache you'd need to know how to use them yourself. These could call into my FSUIPC Client DLL for .NET and I could help you with that side of things, or even create a COM wrapper if the .NET route didn't work.

 

I do have experience with Microsoft's web technology (IIS and ASP.NET) so I could give you much more help with those. You can get them with the free version of "Visual Studio Express 2013 for Web". This would be more suited to using my .NET DLL and you could write your code in C#.

 

Either way it's a big learning curve for you if you're not already familiar with these technologies. You would need to learn the basics first before attempting to interface with FSUIPC. You'll likely find lots of good tutorials on YouTube.

 

That's all I can suggest. Someone else may have some other ideas.

 

Paul

[Please help me access FSUIPC offset from a web page]

Hello,

 

thanks for the Answer.

 

Ok, i try to explain.

 

The FSX Maschine runs a local Apache Webserver not over the Internet.

The Webserver can always be reached via localhost or 127.0.0.1 and must not be reched via the Internet, always

only local.

So..the FSX is always on the same Maschine as the Webserver.

 

Hope ist all you Need ?

 

Thanks a lot

Matthias

 

OK - are you just using the Apache server to serve pre-made html pages from the local disk? Or do you also have an application server like php or python running?

 

Paul

[Please help me access FSUIPC offset from a web page]

Hello,

 

i Need a litle help from anyone here.

 

The reason is i Need a Webpage which i can call to set a Offset for FSUIPC.

The Offsets i Need to set is the one for the doors to open and Close.

 

So maybe i can call the Website, located at my FSX PC running at Apache2, like

http://localhost/FSUIPC.html?OpenExit1

or to Close

http://localhost/FSUIPC.html?CloseExit1

 

.. and so on for all 4 Exits.

 

So i want to ask if here is anyone can help me?

 

Thansk a lot !

Matthias

 

Can you give some more details about what you're proposing:

 

What kind of webserver technology are you using?

Is the server always going to be localhost or might the server be on the internet?

Is this meant to control a copy of FS on the webserver or on the same machine as the client browser?

 

Without knowing the above it's difficult to give any clear advice about this.

 

Paul

[How to add option to FS9 menu bar]

Dear All ..

Does anybody know a way/code in VB6 ( Visual Basic 6 ) to make a dll file which adds an option by a specific name to FS2004 menu bar ??

I searched google for VB6 procedures and any codes but haven't got anything ..

 

Hi Mohamed,

 

This question is probably best asked in the main support forum above this one.  This sub-forum is just for my .NET DLL and your question will only be seen by a few people here.

 

I'm fairly sure that making an FS module DLL isn't possible in VB6.

 

If your VB program is a standalone .exe, you can use facilities in FSUIPC to add your own menu item and respond to them. See the document called "FSUIPC for Programmers.pdf" in the FSUIPC SDK. The relevant section is called "MODULES MENU access for Applications".

 

Paul

[Problems with aircraft type (C#)]

 

I'm using String.TrimEnd('\0'); to remove all characters after the first terminating zero.

 

There's your problem. That isn't what TrimEnd() does. It only removes the specified character if it's the last character(s) of the string. To remove everything after the \0 you need a bit more code...

string tmp = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetString(type);
int pos = tmp.IndexOf('\0');
if (pos >= 0)
{
    tmp = tmp.Remove(pos);
}

Paul

 

[Write programm on C#]

George,

 

I posted the exact code you need to get this working. I showed you the offsets you need. I showed you how to convert the offset values into the correct units. I told you that you need to subtract the ground height from the altitude. I even wrote the code for the subtraction. I'm sorry that you find all of this inconvenient.

 

I'm not sure what else you expect me to do. I don't have the skill to guess what variable names and label names you would prefer. I'm just not that good a programmer.

 

Maybe you are trolling me, in which case you've had lots of fun wasting my time.

 

If you are sincere there you really need to learn to program before asking me for any more help. If you cannot take my working examples and put them into your code then I am wasting my time.

 

There are many excellent C# courses available on YouTube for free.

 

I cannot lock this thread but I will not be answering any more of your questions. [LOCKED IT FOR YOU! Pete]

 

Paul