Strobe lights sometimes(???) reported as off when on in c172

[skydriver]

Pete:

Thanks as always for the great work on a fine product.

I wondered if you'd come across anything that might help resolve the following puzzle...

I'm working on detecting landing, taxi, beacon and strobe lights, being on or off, and have this working fine in 2004 and FSX, but have received some reports of my logic not working with regard to strobe lights, in both 2004 and FSX, with the standard Cessna 172. As yet I have no information on whether this issue occurs with other aircraft.

I am using the 2 byte value at offset 0D0C.

The reports I have received state that my logic is saying that the strobes are off even though the users have them on.

I cannot replicate the problem - always works for me running 2004 on XP and FSX on XP, regardless of which combination of landing, taxi, beacon and strobe lights I flip on and off.

I have asked the good people who generated these reports to turn on the FSUIPC logging display so they can report to me the values in the offsets which apply to the lights.

I note that the c172 has a single switch for "BCN/STROBE", but as I say, regardless of this, this all works fine when I test it myself.

I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the reports I have received, especially as they were blind tests, in which the users had no reason to draw attention to incorrectly reported strobe lights...

So - this post does not contain all the information I would have liked to include in such a query, but I just wondered if you'd come across any similar problems?

Thanks for your time -

Skydriver

[Pete Dowson]

I am using the 2 byte value at offset 0D0C.

The reports I have received state that my logic is saying that the strobes are off even though the users have them on.

In FS2002 and FS2004 offset 0D0C is actually mapped through to the real lights flags in FS's own data. FSUIPC doesn't interfere with them, but it does read them to populate the old FS98-compatible offsets at 0280, 0281 and 028C.

In FSX, FSUIPC4 assembles the light states from a series of 10 separate BOOLEAN on/off indications from SimConnect. Those indications only arrive, individually, as they change.

Either way they should always correctly reflect the state of the actual switch in FS -- although this may not be the same as the state of the lights themselves, depending on how sophisticated the aircraft modelling is with regards to electrical subsystems, generators, fuses, battery switches, etc.

I have asked the good people who generated these reports to turn on the FSUIPC logging display so they can report to me the values in the offsets which apply to the lights.

They can use the "Monitor" facility, monitoring 0D0C as a U16 in hex, to AdvDisplay for real time viewing on screen, and, at the same time to the normal log so you can see it too. Get them to do simple tests, a known sequence of switching so that you can check it. If you log IPC Reads too, you can relate what you read to the states Monitored.

So - this post does not contain all the information I would have liked to include in such a query, but I just wondered if you'd come across any similar problems?

No, not at all. But when you do have some information I will be glad to help analyse it.

Regards

Pete

[skydriver]

Pete:

Many thanks for the fast reply - am working on getting more data from my users and will then update this thread.

Thanks!

Skydriver

[skydriver]

Pete:

I just wanted to mention something which other simmers may have encountered, which may be related to a query I made a few weeks ago on this forum.

I've done extensive work with with FSUIPC in FSX and was concerned about reports of incorrect readings regarding aircraft lights.

In the course of my investigation I have found that the FSX Boeing 737-800 appears to have a bug.

The left and right inboard landing light switches appear to be reversed from what they should be doing.

The landing lights are on when the switches are off, and vice versa.

Pressing L toggles all lights, but the left and right inboard landing light switches go off when the others go on and vice versa.

I have found this effect to be consistent on several PCs.

I wonder if others have also witnessed this?

The main point I wanted to make is that this is unrelated to FSUIPC - the FSX plane is simply not working correctly.

Thanks for your time.

[Pete Dowson]

In the course of my investigation I have found that the FSX Boeing 737-800 appears to have a bug.

The left and right inboard landing light switches appear to be reversed from what they should be doing.

The landing lights are on when the switches are off, and vice versa.

I assume you mean the visual switches on the cockpit overhead, not the controls and indications themselves? Both 2D and VC? I'll have a look here.

Regards

Pete

[skydriver]

Yes - the visual switches as shown in the VC and 2D views.

[Pete Dowson]

Yes - the visual switches as shown in the VC and 2D views.

Yes, confirmed. I'll bug it with Microsoft directly so it gets fixed one day. I doubt that it would be a priority job, even though it is probably only a minor editing exercise in the XML panel data -- even a clever user could fix it, but it needs to be properly listed. Perhaps you could also please report it via tell_fs@microsoft.com.

Regards

Pete

[skydriver]

Yes, confirmed. I'll bug it with Microsoft directly so it gets fixed one day. I doubt that it would be a priority job, even though it is probably only a minor editing exercise in the XML panel data -- even a clever user could fix it, but it needs to be properly listed. Perhaps you could also please report it via tell_fs@microsoft.com.

Regards

Pete

Well - ya got me goin' Pete...

I've just now fixed it on my system - would be happy to share it, but feel a bit funny about sending edited Microsoft files around the world - I am sure they'd take a dim view of that... :(

I guess I could tell MS how to fix it! :D

[Pete Dowson]

I've just now fixed it on my system - would be happy to share it, but feel a bit funny about sending edited Microsoft files around the world - I am sure they'd take a dim view of that... :(

No, you shouldn't publish or send copies of bits of FS. But you could publish instructions for other users.

I guess I could tell MS how to fix it! :D

I think they knowand I checked. It is already bugged. I think it just hasn't risen high enough in the long list to get fixed yet. I think they've had too much to do with all the performance problems and other more serious bugs.

Regards

Pete

[skydriver]

I'll post elsewhere, but thought I might as well mention it here too, seeing as we've been discussing it...

The modification was made to the .xml file inside the .cab file in the panel folder for the aircraft, that is:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes\B737_800\panel\B737_800.cab

Edited: overhead_popup.xml

Just take the sections for "Left Landing Lights" and "Right Landing Lights"

and replace them with the code shown below.

Be sure NOT to change the "Left Landing Lights - Retract" or the "Right Landing Lights - Retract" code.

The .cab file can be rebuilt with the likes of cabdir.exe, etc.

Easy...! :(

94.000,431.000

0.000

1.000

0.000

True

1.000

True

124.000,444.000

0.000

1.000

0.000

True

1.000

True

[Pete Dowson]

I'll post elsewhere, but thought I might as well mention it here too, seeing as we've been discussing it...

Thanks!

Pete