Squawkbox PTT and PVT in FSUIPC

[A320-Daniel]

Hello Pete,

first of all thank you very much for integrating the PVT-function in FSUIPC. I highly appreciate that, because I do alot of online-flying together with a friend of mine (each of us in his own cockpit) We are both cockpit-builders and therefor I'm looking for a possibility to use one button for both and trigger that via FSUIPC-Offset if I want to transmit on COM1 or COM2 or PrivateVoice.

I read in the FSUIPC for advanced users-document and if I understood that correctly, I can make that directly with the FSUIPC.ini

Could you please show the lines in the FSUIPC I have to add to achieve that?

Lets take as example joystick1, button 0 and an offset $ffff as a byte.

When $ffff is 0 I want to transmit with the button above to com1 and when the byte is 1 I want to use Private Voice.

Thanks for all your great work and your help here!

Daniel

[Pete Dowson]

I'm looking for a possibility to use one button for both and trigger that via FSUIPC-Offset if I want to transmit on COM1 or COM2 or PrivateVoice.

Sorry, I don't quite understand. You want one PTT button which lets you talk simultaneously to ATC and on the PVT channel? Does SB3 allow that?

I'm also confused by the mention of an FSUIPC offset. Where does that come in?

It sounds as if you have a genuine need for something and have devised a solution, but without knowing what the need actually is I don't seem to be able to understand your solution. If you could elaborate perhaps I could help better -- it may be a lot simpler than you are making it.

Lets take as example joystick1, button 0 and an offset $ffff as a byte. When $ffff is 0 I want to transmit with the button above to com1 and when the byte is 1 I want to use Private Voice.

I assume "COM1" is the normal SB3 PTT option? (Sorry if I appear ignorant here, I'm not an SB user).

How and why is this (yet to be allocated?) offset set? If it is simply another button or switch, there are better ways without resorting to offsets.

Regards,

Pete

[hladamjr]

Daniel

The FSUIPC manual talks about stting up a joystick/Flight yoke or other keyboard button for PPT the place where you saw I think about using one button for both PPT Com1/2 and PVT Chat is in SB.

I use one of my yoke buttons for PTT for Com1/2 I don't do PVT Chats online though so I don't have it set for both.

My thoughts and questions ( for clarification) on this:

If you have any of your radios tuned to an active freq and press the PTT button you will be transmitting on that freq even if you want to just do PVT Voice.

Currently how do you do PVT Voice?

Maybe one one is to set it in SB do use both COM1/2 and PVT Voice and when you want to use just PVT Voice de-tune your radio freq to an unused freq. That way you wouldn;t be Xmit'g on Com1/2 on an active freq.

Let us know what you find as others I am sure use or want to use this feature.

Thanks

Henry

[Pete Dowson]

If you have any of your radios tuned to an active freq and press the PTT button you will be transmitting on that freq even if you want to just do PVT Voice.

If I may clarify that a bit. Since version 3.0.4 of Squawkbox 3, it has included similar support for a separate PVT channel operation from FSUIPC/WideFS, using similar internal methods for my program to talk to it. Another button can be used which operates just like a normal PTT button, but instead it uses this PVT channel. In FSUIPC I call it PVT instead of PTT to avoid just the confusion we seem to be likely to get into.

What I didn't understand about Daniel's original question was what he was trying to do with some, as yet anonymous, offset in FSUIPC, merely to have some way to select between PTT and PVT when he presumably presses the one button he wishes to use. I suspect there are better/easier ways to do what he wants to do, when I find out what that really is! ;-)

Regards

Pete

[A320-Daniel]

Hi Pete,

I'll try to clarify what I mean:

I know about the two options in FSUIPC, one for PTT and one for PVT. That is also almost exactly what I need. But I want to use one joystick button for both functions. I don't want to trigger both at the same time, but I'd like to use a fsuipc offset for that.

Another example:

I'll take one free offset, size 1 byte. For example (the offset-adress ist just an example) offset $1234. If the value of that byte is 0, I want to use the joystick button to trigger PTT. If the value is 1 I want to use the same joystick button for PVT.

So to summarize that:

I want to use one button for two different functions, depending on the value of a specific FSUIPC-Offset

Thanks for all your help!

Daniel

[A320-Daniel]

Hi again,

sorry I forgot one thing:

Pete, you asked why I want to use an Offset:

I built a hardware-ACP for my A320 cockpit (ACP=Audio Control Panel)

There I have the possibility to decide on which radio I want to transmit. Squawkbox supports COM1 and COM2 and Private Voice. The A320 has 3 VHF-Radios, VHF1-VHF3). COM1 and 2 are both controlled via the PTT-option, depending on the selection made in the squawkbox. I want to control the private voice with VHF3. So if I switch on my Audio Control Panel the VHF3 to active, I have to trigger the PVT when I press my Radio Button on the joystick.

So my software which controls the hardware-ACP shall write the active Radio (VHF1-VHF3) in the mentioned FSUIPC-Offset.

Best greetings

Daniel

[Pete Dowson]

So my software which controls the hardware-ACP shall write the active Radio (VHF1-VHF3) in the mentioned FSUIPC-Offset.

Now I can understand what you want to do, perhaps you will allow me to suggest what I think would be a little tidier method which uses existing facilities and doesn't need a special offset:

Why not simply make the software set or clear one of the virtual button bits (offsets 3340-3363), then, in FSUIPC INI, make the action of your PTT button conditional upon that button? It is detectable in FSUIPC as if it were a real hardware button or switch.

If you do really want to stick to using an offset, then those in the range 66C0-66FF are deliberately free for users to use as they wish.

Regards,

Pete

[A320-Daniel]

Hi Pete,

of course I'll choose the tidier method, if it works :D

Could you help me with the FSUIPC.ini on that?

I had already a look in the documentation... but I still need a little "kick" to get it :wink:

Thanks!!!

Daniel

[Pete Dowson]

of course I'll choose the tidier method, if it works :D

Could you help me with the FSUIPC.ini on that?

You are okay writing a program to change FSUIPC offsets, but not okay for a couple of lines of parameters in the INI? How odd.

I'm not sure I can explain any better than I have done in the documentation -- if I could do I would have done so, to save having to write more tutorials here all the time.

Conditional button parameters are the same as ordinary ones except that immediately after the "=", instead of a "P" (for Press") "U" (for 'up' or release), "H" (for Hold) or "R" (for repeat) they have a C, then the P or U or R (no Holds) and the details of the condition button in parentheses (). The format is quite explicit in the documentation.

Can you please re-read the section entitled "compound button conditions" and tell me what you don't understandit is the only way I can improve it so that I don't get repeat questions all the time!

Thanks & Regards

Pete

[A320-Daniel]

Hi Pete,

thanks for your help! I read that part again... and you are right... it really isn't that hard.. don't know what was going on with me when I read it the first time!

I got the syntax right now, so that shouldn't be a problem anymore!!!

THANKS VERY MUCH!

Daniel :D :D :D