Jump to content
The simFlight Network Forums

dwhitley

Members
  • Posts

    53
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About dwhitley

  • Birthday 01/01/1970

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://

dwhitley's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

0

Reputation

  1. My attitude is enthusiasm and curiosity. I am a customer / consumer. Not a designer / programmer. I simply posted a topic for discussion, trying to learn if there was a fix to a particular issue. I sited examples of a properly working device vs a defective device. No blame, or praise,,, just example. What I got in return was, an egotistical reply of “Build your own box” and often times in these, and other forums, “RTFM” For a product that is revenue producing, I find it quite unacceptable for the owner of the product to address a paying customer in such a manner. A “helpful” suggestive conversation would have been more appropriate and productive. And then, to engage in further argumentative discussion with a “Paying Customer” is totally unacceptable. This conversation is over Good Day.
  2. The specific aircraft that I want to behave correctly is a third party AC (Cessna Citation CJ-1 from Eagle Soft.) Apparently, they use the internal FS Autopilot and did not build their own AP. I have written them about the issue, but have not received a response. I have tried several modifications to CJ-1 config file, but realized that the changes were only cheating the system to obtain a particular result. I now realize that vendors like PMDG went beyond modifications, and built their own AP to address the deficiency of the FS AP. Obviously, there is an FS AP issue, and others have worked around the problem. Thus, there is a fix! Since you profess to be an expert on the subject, seems like the great Peter Dowson could have designed a fix for the AP into the FSUIPC. i.e. “FIX_AP” (Aircraft Specific) “Adjust Roll rate by XX” “Adjust Pitch Rate by xx” Ect. It seems to me that a FSUIPC fix would be something useful for customers that really understand the flight characteristics of aircraft, and know about the FS AP issue. Maybe your next version will address the issue. I don’t pretend to be an AC designer. I am a flight Instructor /ATP. I drive them, I don’t fix them! I am only trying to understand the problem so that I may find a fix, (If there is a fix) to achieve a more pleasant experience with the SIM. In closing, (and this is just future public relations suggestion,) The next time I need a little help with my car, or take it to the dealer for some work because it doesn’t shift properly, I truly hope they don’t tell me to go build a new transmission myself. Good Day Dennis
  3. I agree about the man hours put in from various vendors. The auto pilot is quite a complex feature. My point is, MS and some other vendors did not approach the issue well as PMDG and others have. Thus, the following problem exist. I specifically outlined a test in my original post, but I will repeat it again. Simply put, most FS aircraft, and a few add on aircraft, will not initially capture and track a nav signal. (Localizer etc) They will initially over shoot, but "eventually" will capture and track. For example, when capturing a localizer, at a 30 deg intercept, the AP starts a turn to capture. As it captures, it starts a roll out. But due to the slow roll out of the autopilot, the AC will over shoot the localizer. Then, the AP ties to correct the opposite with a turn. Again, a slow roll out causes another overshoot in the opposite direction. This continuse until it eventually dampens and the localizer centers. The problem that I see that causes the issue is,,,The slow rate of "roll in" and "roll out" of AP heading control. FS autopilots, once established in the turns, will continue to turn at at standard rate of 3 degrees per second. HOWEVER, getting in to the turn, and out of the turn is slow. It rolls into the turn at approximately 2 deg per second. Then, the roll out happens at even a slower rate of less than 1 deg per second. Once the turn has been established, the AC will turn and a standard 3 deg per second. This is from the original post: I specifically outlined a test... " ""If anyone wants to better understand the problem, fly a test with an FS factory aircraft and then a PMDG aircraft. Simply launch and level off somewhere at 3000 feet. Engage the AP on a heading, and then command a few turns. The problem will immediately become evident. Notice specifically how quickly the PMDG will roll into the turn, and how quickly it will roll out of the turn. Then, notice with other FS AC, how slowly the AC rolls in, and very slowly it rolls out. Timing the turns makes the problem even more evident. Time a 180 or 360 degree turn. Notice that the PMDG will make a 180 deg turn in 1 minute, and a 360 deg turn in 2 minutes. Pretty much standard for a real AC. Then, notice how long it takes the average FS AC to make the same turns. You will notice the longer time evolving from the very slow roll outs. So, it is very evident that PMDG AC are designed differently in how the AP works. As mentioned earlier, I do not see any differences in the config files, so they are accomplishing the task through other methods. " The questions still is, is there anything that can be done to adjust for the FS autopilot's deficency? Good day Dennis
  4. I have posted this topic in other FS forums, but thought the subject might draw a better answer here in Perter’s forum. The following issue “may / could” be caused by an affect of FSUIPC, but worth discussing here to rule out the possibility. Apparently, PMDG knows something about Autopilots that the other AC designers do not know. It may be that PMDG bypasses, or uses, some of the FSUIPC parameters to accomplish their better autopilot control over other AC designers. The issue is the autopilot effectiveness. Specifically Roll in and out of headings, nav capture, and nav tracking. In my case, the PMDG 737 series behaves just like the real aircraft autopilot. It will promptly roll to and from a "Bugged" heading without lag, and capture the localizer (or any nav course) precisely at just about any intercept angle. The approach to the correct design on the PMDG is apparently in the heading control. For example, compare a PMDG to just about any other FS aircraft. The PMDG will perform a precise 180 degree turn in 2 minutes. It does this by promptly rolling to the turn, and promptly rolling out of the turn. Other aircraft will slowly roll into the turn, continue the turn at a 3 degree per second rate, and then slowly roll out of the turn, thus taking about 2 minutes and 30 seconds to complete. This slow roll in and roll out process is what causes a lag in nav intercept, and thus causes hunting down the pathway (localizer, nav, etc). The PMDG design apparently has accomplished the correct autopilot operation in areas other than the AC config file. I have compared the PMDG config file with other AC config files, and the flight tuning and autopilot code is virtually the same. Many replies in my other posts have suggested changing various numbers in the aileron_effectiveness, nav_proportional_control, and nav_integrator_control. These changes are basically cheating the system. It does create a little better capture rate, but affects the way the aircraft handles under manual pilot control. If anyone wants to better understand the problem, fly a test with an FS factory aircraft and then a PMDG aircraft. Simply launch and level off somewhere at 3000 feet. Engage the AP on a heading, and then command a few turns. The problem will immediately become evident. Notice specifically how quickly the PMDG will roll into the turn, and how quickly it will roll out of the turn. Then, notice with other FS AC, how slowly the AC rolls in, and very slowly it rolls out. Timing the turns makes the problem even more evident. Time a 180 or 360 degree turn. Notice that the PMDG will make a 180 deg turn in 1 minute, and a 360 deg turn in 2 minutes. Pretty much standard for a real AC. Then, notice how long it takes the average FS AC to make the same turns. You will notice the longer time evolving from the very slow roll outs. So, it is very evident that PMDG AC are designed differently in how the AP works. As mentioned earlier, I do not see any differences in the config files, so they are accomplishing the task through other methods. There are several parameter within FSUIP that affect flight characteristics. Damping / spiking control, etc. As mentioned earlier, it may be some of these parameters that are causing the above issue with other MSFS aircraft. Or conversely, allowing PMDG to perform better flight characteristics with their autopilot. It may be that PMDG bypasses or uses some of the FSUIPC parameters to accomplish their autopilot’s better control. It appears that MSFS is not the problem (as many have claimed) if one vendor can accomplish the correct procedure. I have tested various configurations within the AC CFG files and within FSUIPC without success, unless I am missing something. That said, PMDG may have proprietary coding in the autopilot area. However, if not, they are accomplishing the tasks in other areas (other than the AC CFG file) of their package. So, if anyone knows where the fix may lie, or how PMDG accomplishes the correct autopilot operation, it would create better experience for those of us who fly in the real world. This may all seem a bit picky, but I use MSFS to assist my real world flight students in instrument flight instruction. The error within the autopilot is very annoying and causes some confusion. PMDG had raised the standard of MSFS by being more of a real simulation experience vs a game. Thus, if anyone knows of a resolution to the above issue, then we are accomplishing a better environment for the RW pilots. Thanks Dennis
  5. It's XP.....Howerver, You are genius...but you knew that... It was the workgroup. A relatively new computer I never identified. All is well. I am about to see if my Jepp Sim Charts will now work across the Network. I've never seen anything from Jep about it, but I would think that their "Sim Track" should work if it thinks FS is running somewhere. Thank you so much for the help. D Dennis H. Whitley VATUSA 1 VATUSA Division Director
  6. Thanks Peter, I wrote the SimMarket guys in the meantime, and they emailed me another key under the original email address, I put that key in and it took it okay. However, I can't get a connection across the network. It is a simple linksys router between three computers, but the client machine gives a "Waiting for connection" message and the FS machine give a "waiting for client" message. I have good connectivity between the three machines, as I have several mapped drives and shared folders that I use a lot. I checked the exception tables in the firewalls, and all widefs all settings appear authorized. I'll paste the logs and INI Files below. Client Log: ********* WideClient Log [version 6.75] Class=FS98MAIN ********* Date (dmy): 05/11/07, Time 11:39:37.265: Client name is EZNEWS12 188 Attempting to connect now 1188 Trying to locate server: Need details from Server Broadcast 1188 Failed to connect: waiting to try again 3188 Attempting to connect now 67188 Trying to locate server: Need details from Server Broadcast Client INI: ; PLEASE SEE WideFS documentation for parameter details ; ===================================================== [Config] Port=8002 Window=43,44,886,589 Visible=Yes ButtonScanInterval=20 ClassInstance=0 NetworkTiming=5,1 MailslotTiming=2000,1000 PollInterval=2000 Port2=9002 ResponseTime=18 ApplicationDelay=0 TCPcoalesce=No WaitForNewData=500 MaxSendQ=100 OnMaxSendQ=Log NewSendScanTime=50 Priority=3,1,2 ; ----------------------------------------------- [user] Log=Errors+ ; =============================================== Server Log: ********* WideServer.DLL Log [version 6.75] ********* Blocksize guide = 4096 (double allowed) Date (dmy): 05/11/07, Time 11:12:24.625: Server name is DENNIS 53641 Initialising TCP/IP server 53641 Initialising IPX/SPX server 53641 IPX/SPX socket() failed [Error=10047] Address family not supported by protocol family 53656 Failed to start IPX/SPX Server 53656 Initialising UDP/IP server 54328 Broadcasting service every 1000 mSecs 65000 Restarting service due to total lack of use 65016 Failed to start IPX/SPX Server 1823797 Closing down now ... Memory managed: Offset records: 0 alloc, 0 free Read buffer usage: 0 alloc, 0 free, max in session: 0 Write buffer usage: 0 alloc, 0 free, max in session: 0 Throughput maximum achieved: 0 frames/sec, 0 bytes/sec Throughput average achieved for complete session: 0 frames/sec, 0 bytes/sec ********* Log file closed ********* ********* WideServer.DLL Log [version 6.75] ********* Blocksize guide = 4096 (double allowed) Date (dmy): 05/11/07, Time 11:07:41.546: Server name is DENNIS 51578 Initialising TCP/IP server 51593 Initialising IPX/SPX server 51593 IPX/SPX socket() failed [Error=10047] Address family not supported by protocol family 51593 Failed to start IPX/SPX Server 51593 Initialising UDP/IP server 52265 Broadcasting service every 1000 mSecs 62843 Restarting service due to total lack of use 62859 Failed to start IPX/SPX Server 259781 Closing down now ... Memory managed: Offset records: 0 alloc, 0 free Read buffer usage: 0 alloc, 0 free, max in session: 0 Write buffer usage: 0 alloc, 0 free, max in session: 0 Throughput maximum achieved: 0 frames/sec, 0 bytes/sec Throughput average achieved for complete session: 0 frames/sec, 0 bytes/sec ********* Log file closed ********* Server INI: ; PLEASE SEE the documentation for parameter details ; ================================================== [Config] Port=8002 AdvertiseService=1 AutoRestart=0 AutoUpdateTime=13 MaximumBlock=4096 NoStoppedRestarts=Yes Port2=9002 RestartTime=10 SendTimeout=15 TCPcoalesce=No ; ----------------------------------------------- [user] Log=Errors+ ; ===============================================
  7. Follow up--- I did notice something. The key delivered was sent to a different email address that is posted in the current FSUIPC. Would that make any difference? Seems like I saw that mentioned somewhere. The user name is identical, but the email address is different. D
  8. The FSUIPC is already registeredd, and, greyed out. After I could not enter the key, I did the upghrade from 3.7 to 3.75. The upgrade from 3.7 to 3.75 was no issue, and did not require that I renter the key again. I did copy and paste the WIDEFS as well as tried enerting the key manually. Still get a (Sorry, this is not a vaild 12-Character Key) The order came from SimMarket shortly after purchase. I thought that it may have to get put into the system or something of that nature. Thanks D
  9. I have purchased and downloaded widefs from sim market. I got the key immediately. I also upgraded FSUIPC from 3.70 to 3.75 whis was already registered. However, when I try and register the widefs, I get (Sorry, this is not a vaild 12-Character Key) Am I missing a step somewhere? Thanks, Dennis
  10. Thanks Frank, The readings seem to be normal, once I set the high reading opposite the low (negative) reading. I obtain full travle of the Prop Control. However, after shutting down FS, it reverts back to the 2 negative readings with no travel of the prop control. I would assume that since I did select (Aircraft Specific), that the setting gets automatically saved. I have not tested this. I oftef fly jets which do not require the use of the propeller control. That said, I do no have the problem with the throttle or mixture (Fule Control) levers. This anomoly only occurs with the prop control not being saved. My only resolution is to take the extra step on opening the FSUIPC and resetting the prop control parameters each time I fly....Pain :) Maybe Peter will chime in with a suggestion. Thanks again Dennis
  11. Whomever... I am running FS2004 with FSUIPC and a CH Yoke. I most often fly a Dehavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter. Everything works well with one exception. Each time I boot up the DHC-6 the Prop control in limited in authority to a small range of control. I can go to FSUIPC Module, Joystick Calibration, page 2 of 11 and see a reading of -6931 to -6931 on the Prop control. I move the Prop control forward to + 6931 and hit set, and gain full travel of the prop control. All is well. However, next time I run FS, the prop control is defaulted back to -6931 and - 6931. For some reason, this setting does not get saved anywhere. Note-I do use "Aircraft Specific" and have tried it selected or not, but always have to correct this setting before flying. Any suggestions? Thanks Dennis
  12. Pete, sorry to annoy you. I am not a programmer. I have read and read and read your reply, but you are talking way over my head. I did read the tech manual as well, but it also is ver technical. I do not understand what"INF" file you are referring to, nor it's location. I have whipped the "tab Key issue" I changed the SB selection to use the (number pad - "Minus" key) I think I understand where you are going with the code you are referring to. 1=. 2=com 3=1 Ect. I just have no idea where or how to do this. I'm not as well versed as you with the software, and vaguely familiar with the uipc at all. I also understand that you can not send text directly from the user side, and it will require some editing in your inf file. I have 30 years in Television. Please remember and it would be like me sending you a note telling you to "Put a double A-53D box into the ADO 1000, with an alpha key under, and set the transition rate to a 15 frame wipe with a salvo pause. Use .50 for the clip and .83 for the clip, However, you can edit the GVG 200 emem file to change the rate or any of the other parameters! Please send an example of what you are trying to convey, and please be a little more patient, and descriptive with us newbies that decided to pay for your software. Good customer service will always yield better product sales Thanks Dennis
  13. More info Maybe this will help my request, Squak Box will allow me to choose a key to toggle from fs focus to the SB focus. Their defalut is "Tab KEy" I changed it to be the (-) key on the num pad for convenience, The uipc would not let me use the tab key as a button press. if you then type (.com1 123.0) into the text box, the com radio will change to that freq Thus, I have one of the yoke buttons programmed in the uipc to do just that, and it works. I press the button, and the focus goes from FS to the SB window. What SB now wants, is a text string .com1 or ,com2, ect I normally type in the full command .com1 123,0, or any frequency and hit enter. I guess what I'm asking is, how to sent the text along with the facus change with one button push. Like I said eariler, the FS radis work fine, the SB command works fine. I'm just a bit lazy and was trying to automate the process. I see where I can send commands in the upic, but no where I could send that text command along with the button push, or any text command. Dennis
  14. Pete, sorry if I wasn't very definitive, it was late when I wrote that. Squak box works fine with 2004 and my CJ-1. I can manually change the radios, or use their DOT cammands. However, the CJ-s radio stack is a bit small for us "Older" gentlemen. And, their knobs are a little close together for using the mouse to change frequency, causing some close space clicking to change the digits up or down to get the frequency. Plus, I'm also a bit lazy, and don't have a seperate external radio stack. What I want to accomplish is. I want a yoke button push that will press the tab key, ((That will focus attention to SB'a Text window)) Then, paste ((.com1)) into the text box. Then all I have to do is enter the frequency. The way I see this working is, I push the yoke button, go to the keypad and enter the freq. , hit enter, and the radio should change.Simple and to the point This could be done without having to monitor what I'm doing, or pressing something else, which I've done. 'IF i miss that Tab button push, all sorts of things happen when you type . c.o.m.1 :) I'm not familiar with your fsuipc, so I was asking for a pointer, and if it could be done in the button's section. Merry Christmas from the Sunny Cayman Islands Dennis
  15. I'm having a bit of a prob trying to program sometjhing and need a little help. The way to change the radios is, press the tab key, the cursor focuses on the squalk box text box, then type .com1 123.0, then hit enter. The focus then returns to the FS What I would like to do is, program a key that would press the tab and place .com1 into the text box. Then all I woul dhave to do is enter the freq, and hit enter This might require two buttons, but I was wondering if it could be done with one button press Thanks Dennis
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. Guidelines Privacy Policy We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.