ASX and FSUIPC - Help

[Kinetika]

Hi Guys:

I am cross-posting this simultaneously to HI-Fi Sim, FSUIPC, BAv, and PMDG Forums. Apologies if it has been asked before, but i promise i have searched, but the search string 'ASX FSX FSUIPC WIND SHIFT' offers so many results that a sensible and coherent answer is difficult to track down.

If you know of a post that answers my question succinctly, and will enable me to get the results that i am looking for, then please point me in the right direction, and my apologies for asking that same old question again.

I have just made the switch to FSX, and i am having trouble with the wind shifts. The pressure issue has so far not been noticed, but there's time yet :)

I run FSX on my main machine which has FSUIPC 4.28 currently installed. I am aware that there is an updated version, i have downloaded and will install after this flight.

On my Laptop and talking via simconnect over a wired LAN is ASX, and SB4. Talking via WideClient, is the VA's ACARS System.

The problem i have, is the winds. Currently, i am mid atlantic, travelling west to east at FL370 0302Z.

Winds in FSX are reading 051*/030 (a 30 Kt Headwind). After setting FL370 and refreshing the data for my current Flight Plan, the winds should (as far as the ASX Briefing Page goes) be 254*/100 (a 100 Kt Tail Wind).

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My ASX Settings are as follows;

Auto Wx Downloads - ON

Vatsim Downloads - OFF

Force High Priority - OFF

Download Interval - 10 Mins

Dynamic Rate Of Change - 10%

Wake Turb Strength - 13%

Depict Hurricanes - ON

Create Virtual Stations - OFF

Enhance Route Coverage - OFF

X Graphics Options - Not Installed - All OFF

Max Surface Wind - 100Kt

Min Wind Turb - 0%

Max Wind Turb - 0%

Min Wind Shear - 0%

Max Wind Shear - 0%

Disable Winds Aloft - OFF

Enable Wind Data Smoothing - OFF

Enable Wind Shift Stabilisation - OFF

Min Surface Vis - 0SM

Max Surface Vis - 100SM

Max Upper Vis - 80SM

Max Cloud Layers - 20

Min Cloud Turb - 0%

Max Cloud Turb - 0%

Min Cloud Icing 0%

Max Cloud Icing 60%

CAVOK Cloud Gen - 24%

No Data Cloud Gen 50%

Cirrus Cloud Gen - 50%

Stratus Cloud Occurrence - 20%

Enable Fog Layer - ON

[ On - Ticked / OFF - Unticked ]

>>>>>> Since i began writing the last wx update - winds are now 001*/000<<<<<<<

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FSUIPC Settings

Smooth Wind Changes near aircraft with changes limited to [ 1 ] Knot or degree per second

That is the only weather relevant WX setting within FSUIPC that i have set.

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>>>>> Winds now 003*/001 FSX - 250*/100 ASX <<<<<<<<<

Obviously this has considerably knackered my fuel planning. Also, halfway across the atlantic, and my clouds have all dissapeared. Obviously something to do with my settings, but what?

I did have the Enable Wind Shift stabilisation option ticked earlier in the flight, but that seemed to be causing the wind to continuously spin 360* around the aircraft. Again causing havok with the auto throttles.

I am sure that it must be possible to get the winds and WX in FSX to accurately reflect those in ASX (it is after all why i purchased both ASX and FSUIPC) but how? If someone knows the secret, please share....

Many thanks for your time, and sorry for the long post. I wanted to answer as many of the likely questions that any responders may have asked in advance.

Cheers

Paul

Currently FSX Winds 000/000

[Pete Dowson]

Winds in FSX are reading 051*/030 (a 30 Kt Headwind). After setting FL370 and refreshing the data for my current Flight Plan, the winds should (as far as the ASX Briefing Page goes) be 254*/100 (a 100 Kt Tail Wind).

Where exactly, in relation to the aircraft, is ASX saying that wind layer should be so? As far as I'm aware weather control programs can only set weather at weather stations. Everywhere else the weather is determined by FSX by a type of interpolation which, unfortunately, is pretty buggy. Furthermore, even at the weather stations new weather being set can take 30-40 seconds to "morph" into reality, by which time the dynamics may have changed it in any case.

FSUIPC Settings

Smooth Wind Changes near aircraft with changes limited to [ 1 ] Knot or degree per second

That will also, of course, make readings different, though hopefully only temporarily. I'm not all that sure you need that option if you have the ASX options set correctly, or maybe it's a case of one or the other but not both.

Obviously this has considerably knackered my fuel planning. Also, halfway across the atlantic, and my clouds have all dissapeared. Obviously something to do with my settings, but what?

There are no weather stations in the Oceans, at least not in FSX, so the weather you get there is normally not controlled and is often defaulted. I think ASX has an option to use an FSX feature for creating temporary weather stations in advance of your cross-Ocean routing. I have never used that so I don't know how well it works, but maybe you need to check whether you have enabled it?

I did have the Enable Wind Shift stabilisation option ticked earlier in the flight, but that seemed to be causing the wind to continuously spin 360* around the aircraft. Again causing havok with the auto throttles.

Sorry, I've no idea what that ASX option does, but it sound like it doesn't work. Possibly interaction with FSUIPC facilities?

I am sure that it must be possible to get the winds and WX in FSX to accurately reflect those in ASX

With the bugs in FSX's weather setting facilities it isn't always possible, though I do believe ASX does its best to overcome them. You'll need advice from HiFi simulations though, by the sound of it.

(it is after all why i purchased both ASX and FSUIPC)

Not sure why FSUIPC too? You do realise that ASX doesn't use FSUIPC, don't you, that FSUIPC doesn't control FSX weather? It does provide weather facilities, and in fact even Active Sky 6.5 works with FSX using FSUIPC, but the main advantage of ASX was direct control through SimConnect, with Hi-F Simulation's wealth of weather experience and dedicated testing on just that one aspect of FSX making it so good.

I'm afraid that, from my perspective, in FSUIPC, trying to provide 100% control facilities for FSX weather turned out to be a doomed objective and I'm simply eagerly hoping that Microsoft have got this sorted by FS-next's release in a couple of years or so. It worries me rather that they managed to carry over the exact same near-180 degree wind shift problems they had in FS2004 into FSX, as well as the often buggy interpolation algorithms.

Currently FSX Winds 000/000

Along with the loss of clouds, that does, indeed, sound like you've run well clear of any weather stations over the Ocean and so FSX doesn't produce any weather. I wouldn't be at all surprised either to hear that the QNH was 1013 and the temperature at sea level was 15C!

Seems that the first thing you need to check is whether you enabled the option in ASX to create Ocean weather stations. I don't know if that's defaulted or not.

Regards

Pete

[Kinetika]

Hello Pete:

Many thanks for your detailed response. It's service like this that makes the FS Community stand out, and is very much appreciated.

Where exactly, in relation to the aircraft, is ASX saying that wind layer should be so? As far as I'm aware weather control programs can only set weather at weather stations. Everywhere else the weather is determined by FSX by a type of interpolation which, unfortunately, is pretty buggy. Furthermore, even at the weather stations new weather being set can take 30-40 seconds to "morph" into reality, by which time the dynamics may have changed it in any case.

At that point, the aircraft was overhead an oceanic waypoint that the ASX briefing screen had given me a wind speed and direction for. Within FS9, with 6.5, and FSUIPC smoothing i could generally rely on the wind at least being from roughly the right direction, and within about 10 to 15 Kts of the briefing.

That will also, of course, make readings different, though hopefully only temporarily. I'm not all that sure you need that option if you have the ASX options set correctly, or maybe it's a case of one or the other but not both.

That worked quite well for 6.5 in FS9, but again, there are so many variables to consider, it's going to be something that works well on one machine and not on another, it is i suspect going to be a case of much tweaking.

With the bugs in FSX's weather setting facilities it isn't always possible, though I do believe ASX does its best to overcome them. You'll need advice from HiFi simulations though, by the sound of it.

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: Have spoken with HiFi, they have made a couple of recommendations, and so shall see what happens with them switched on.

Not sure why FSUIPC too? You do realise that ASX doesn't use FSUIPC, don't you, that FSUIPC doesn't control FSX weather? It does provide weather facilities, and in fact even Active Sky 6.5 works with FSX using FSUIPC, but the main advantage of ASX was direct control through SimConnect, with Hi-F Simulation's wealth of weather experience and dedicated testing on just that one aspect of FSX making it so good.

I do of course realise that ASX doesnt use FSUIPC, i always found that FSUIPC and AS6,5 worked well together, and was assuming the same with ASX. It seems that there are inherent issues with the weather engine that ASX just cannot get around though, hopefully they can be fixed soon.

My other reason for FSUIPC though is the control of the SAITEK yoke, pedals and throttles though.

Along with the loss of clouds, that does, indeed, sound like you've run well clear of any weather stations over the Ocean and so FSX doesn't produce any weather. I wouldn't be at all surprised either to hear that the QNH was 1013 and the temperature at sea level was 15C!

Sounds logical. and More than likely :)

Many thanks for your response Pete. I am sure that this is going to be long trial and error process, as it seems that nobody has the answers. Even at Avsim, and the hifi forum i have received only one response.

Hohum..... back to the keyboard then....

Cheers

Paul :)

[Pete Dowson]

At that point, the aircraft was overhead an oceanic waypoint that the ASX briefing screen had given me a wind speed and direction for.

That should therefore have been one of its temporary weather stations. Not sure why it didn't 2take" if so. I'm afraid that's a subject I know little about.

Within FS9, with 6.5, and FSUIPC smoothing i could generally rely on the wind at least being from roughly the right direction, and within about 10 to 15 Kts of the briefing.

In FS9 it was actually possible, with some exceptions, to control the weather more precisely, because (and only because) I spent many hundreds of hours hacking into the FS code to work out how to do that. There were no Microsoft-supported ways for external control of FS weather before FSX.

I did not do the same for FSX because it was all supposed to be supplied, officially, by SimConnect. We knew, when FSX was released, that it wasn't all there, but at that time MS had good intentions of providing ongoing regular SimConnect updates to complete the facilities as originally intended, much like FSUIPC3 had to be slowly completed as more was done and learned.

Unfortunately, that ongoing development wasn't to be, and what we currently have in FSX is less control over the weather than we've had in any previous version. Given the problems SimConnect weather control presents I find it quite impressive that ASX manages to achieve what it does.

Many thanks for your response Pete. I am sure that this is going to be long trial and error process, as it seems that nobody has the answers. Even at Avsim, and the hifi forum i have received only one response.

I'm afraid that most of the real answers will not be forthcoming until FSXI, or whatever it will be called. At least I certainly hope they will have fixed the weather engine and the facilities offered to control it by then.

Regards

Pete