another small item in PFC.DLL

[blave]

Now I'm really getting picky... And this is no big deal but I'm if nothing else curious as to why this happens.

When I am using the RealityXP 530XP Garmin GPS add-on, and have my autopilot set to NAV and the nav source set to GPS, the NAV LED on the panel continually flashes, which I believe means that PFC.DLL thinks that the autopilot is still not locked to the nav guidance signal.

Everything works as expected, other than the LED.

Thanks,

Dave Blevins

[Pete Dowson]

When I am using the RealityXP 530XP Garmin GPS add-on, and have my autopilot set to NAV and the nav source set to GPS, the NAV LED on the panel continually flashes, which I believe means that PFC.DLL thinks that the autopilot is still not locked to the nav guidance signal.

Yes. that is correct. This is not actually a PFC.DLL function, it is merely reading an indication from FSUIPC which, in turn, is reading the indication from FS. I really don't know what the "RealityXP" GPS is doing, but evidently it is not setting the FS OBI 1 to the correct radial in order to fix this.

Sorry, but I cannot undertake to support every add-on. I don't even have that one, and I'm afraid I am not particularly on excellent terms with its creator.

Please try the FS2004 GPS and see if you get the same. I'm not sure what is supposed to happen when the FS A/P is following the GPS rather than the NAV indications, but if there is something obvious I can look at making a change --- probably merely detecting that the GPS is driving the A/P, not the NAV and so not activating any LEDs at all.

Regards,

Pete

[Frank.O]

Hi,

I don't think this is really due to the GPS nor to PFC.dll. In my opinion it's a matter of FS's own method to control the airplane via AP. I've already seen that blinking with the AP set up to follow a radiaal of a VOR. It simply means that the airplane is still not exactly on the desired radial and the AP still has to work a bit to catch up. Once the airplane is exactly following the radial the blinking disappears. This behaviour varies with the distance from the VOR and can be improved somehow by increasing the effectiveness of the trim (all three) and thereby giving the AP more powerfull control over the airplane.

Regards,

Frank

[blave]

Sorry, but I cannot undertake to support every add-on. I don't even have that one, and I'm afraid I am not particularly on excellent terms with its creator.

No problem. My post was really out of curiousity. (But I have to admit, your last comment is intriguing... None of my beeswax though.)

Please try the FS2004 GPS and see if you get the same. I'm not sure what is supposed to happen when the FS A/P is following the GPS rather than the NAV indications, but if there is something obvious I can look at making a change --- probably merely detecting that the GPS is driving the A/P, not the NAV and so not activating any LEDs at all.

I did fiddle a bit with the FS GPS before making my post, but ran out of patience with it. As far as I can tell it does the same thing, albeit perhaps not all the time.

Like I said, this is a very very tiny niggle, and my PFC avionics stack is working fine, thanks to many enhancements you've made over the last few months (some based on my own requests). The blinking NAV light is very "livable".

cheers,

dB.

P.S. I'm going to make every effort to bother you less here, so that you can fly more! I realized recently how much time it must take for you to support this forum, and I would rather not be a contributor to you boring holes in the virtual sky any less than you would otherwise.

[Pete Dowson]

P.S. I'm going to make every effort to bother you less here, so that you can fly more! I realized recently how much time it must take for you to support this forum, and I would rather not be a contributor to you boring holes in the virtual sky any less than you would otherwise.

:D :D Thanks ...

... but actually most of the time when I'm not here answering folks I am instead programming like crazy. It's FSUIPC update month again, and WideFS as well. Lots to do, must get busygoing on holiday mid-Feb so I'll make some sort of release before then.

I'll try to actually fly at least once a week from now on. Thanks! :)

Pete