Garmin 296 with flight sim 2004

[robdell]

I have placed the gpsout ini files and the dll in teh fs/modules directory

I am using FS2004 with a GARmin 296 GPS which I have conected via a USB to Serial adaptor.

The port is Com1 in teh devise manager

How can I see if my PC is reconising the GPS?

How do I use FS2004 with my Garmin 296.

I have Com1 and Com 2 on teh GPS unit set to aviation in.

Is there a manual I can get from teh internet or your site that shows how to use flight sim 2004 with gpsout????

Thanks

[Pete Dowson]

I have placed the gpsout ini files and the dll in teh fs/modules directory

I am using FS2004 with a GARmin 296 GPS which I have conected via a USB to Serial adaptor.

The port is Com1 in teh devise manager

And have you set the port and speed correctly in the INI file?

Have you set the Garmin GPS to receive NMEA positional data from its COM port? I wouldn't know how to do that. I have three Garmin GPS units and none of them will go into such a mode.

How can I see if my PC is reconising the GPS?

The PC will not recognise anything on the COM port. It does not read the port. All it does is through data out. It is up to the GPS to read it.

How do I use FS2004 with my Garmin 296.

Sorry I don't know the unit at all. Did you search on this forum? I'm sure someone has mentioned that GPS before.

I have Com1 and Com 2 on teh GPS unit set to aviation in.

You have two COM ports on the GPS? How do you know it is using the right one? Are they set to the same speed you've told GPSout?

Is there a manual I can get from teh internet or your site that shows how to use flight sim 2004 with gpsout????

The "manual" is the text file with GPSout which lists the NMEA sentences and other data modes you can select from, and tells you to set the port and speed to suit your device. There's nothing else to add. You need a manual for your GPS. Are you setting the right more, the right speed, the right port, and the right selection of NMEA sentences or other data (maybe "AV400" for "aviation" mode?)? There's nothing else.

Regards

Pete

[robdell]

Thanks Pete.

All working now.

AV400

9600

Com 1

And all is working

What add ons do I now need to work with FSX

[Pete Dowson]

What add ons do I now need to work with FSX

GPSout functions are built into FSUIPC4 for FSX. It is no longer a separate DLL. You need to purchase an FSUIPC4 registration key.

Regards

Pete

[robdell]

Thanks Pete. I will purchase the key.

Also with FSX the landing gear up and down uses the one button assignment (CH Pro Yoke). There is not 2 assignments, In 2004 there is 1 for Gear Up and 1 for Gear Down....In FSX Gear up and Gear Down are on 1 assignment...Any Idea how I can get gear up and gear down button assignments?

[Pete Dowson]

Also with FSX the landing gear up and down uses the one button assignment (CH Pro Yoke). There is not 2 assignments, In 2004 there is 1 for Gear Up and 1 for Gear Down....In FSX Gear up and Gear Down are on 1 assignment...

FSX contains the exact same Gear controls as FS9, no difference at all. There's a Gear Toggle (same as the 'G' key by default) as well as Gear up and Gear down. I'm not sure why you have the assignments different in each, but you can certainly change them to be as you like.

Regards

Pete

[robdell]

Thanks Pete.

What I mean using CH Pro yoke the same button extends and retracts the landing gear (Button 6) With FS 2004 I could assign say button 5 to extend the landing gear and button 6 to retract it, there were 2 assignments 1 for extending and 1 for retracting....With FSX the assignment is landing gear extend/retract so I have to use the same button for both which can be a bit confusing

[Pete Dowson]

What I mean using CH Pro yoke the same button extends and retracts the landing gear (Button 6) With FS 2004 I could assign say button 5 to extend the landing gear and button 6 to retract it, there were 2 assignments 1 for extending and 1 for retracting....With FSX the assignment is landing gear extend/retract so I have to use the same button for both which can be a bit confusing

Why not assign the buttons the same way as you did in Fs2004 then? Sorry, I don't understand your difficulty. You are in control, you can use the buttons how you wish. The controls in FSX are the same as in FS9 as far as the Gear is concerned. What is the problem? Just assign the two buttons to Gear Down and Gear Up as you wish to do!

Pete

[JimboG]

Hello Rob,

Here's what you need to do - I just read this post because I was trying to do exactly what you'd described but nobody had seemed to fully get your predicament. Basically, what you're saying is that you can't simply map "two" buttons to the Landing Gear function because it's a "toggle", not a direction - meaning that you can "only" select one button to do it, whereas a CH Yoke (for example) would consider that "two" "separate" buttons.

OK - Patronisation over - Ahem!

I have a CH Eclipse Yoke (lucky me!) and I wanted to "pull" the button on the far right "up" to raise the gear, and "push" the same physical button "down" to lower the gear. These should be remembered as button numbers "6" and "7" respectively for this example.

Now open C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX\Controls\

Right-click Open with... the file called Standard.xml with Notepad (don't double-click it!) - AND SAVE A COPY FIRST BEFORE YOU START EDITING THIS FILE!

This file is the nerve-centre control file for the mappings for all the various keyboard functions, mouse commands and "joysticks".

From here scroll down until you see a section called...

CH ECLIPSE YOKE{1G39087094-DSFSD-22EE-6601-2323778544444000}

..or similar. The "CH ECLIPSE YOKE" part should represent your controller name.

Now the clever bit, assuming that (it might be a good idea to do first to make it easier to do!) you set in FSX the say, Landing Gear joystick button to the "down" button on the controller you should in theory already have a section that looks like this:

7

GEAR_TOGGLE

Now simply "insert" a copy of this section into the document using COPY and paste directly above it that is an exact copy but substituting the "7" for a "6" - ie. the "up" button on the controller. (The same physical button but in the "up" direction) For example:

6

GEAR_TOGGLE

7

GEAR_TOGGLE

Now save and close the file, launch FSX and go for it! - Job done! You'll find that either "direction" will now raise/lower the gear depending on the position it is currently in. I wold have thought that most people wouldn't ruin the immersion-factor by forgetting which way to pull/push the button - but hey that's not my problem! :o)

I hope this is of some use to you chaps/chapettes, I have explained this as best I could without going too over the top but also so as to not leave any doubt as to what I mean.

Safe journeys, and Happy New Year!

James Gillies

[Pete Dowson]

You'll find that either "direction" will now raise/lower the gear depending on the position it is currently in..

Not sure why you'd want to use "GEAR TOGGLE" for separate up and down operations when there are perfectly good GEAR UP and GEAR DOWN controls available for such separate assignment? This was why I was puzzled by the original question, and still am. If you are going to all the trouble of editing the XML files, why not take advantage of the controls FSX actually does support, not just the ones MS thought you should be ogffered in its assignments menu?

I had assumed, wrongly maybe, that the fact that the original question was asked here, in the FSUIPC support forum, implied it was related to assigning buttons in FSUIPC. ALL of the FS controls (and more added by FSUIPC) are available for direct assignment through FSUIPC.

If you really do wish to take advantage of the XML file instead to program FS controls, you will find a full list of names for all FSX controls in a PDF installed for you into the FSX Modules folder when you install FSUIPC4. Any of those should be usable in the XML file -- just omit the underscores separating the words. (You do not need to purchase FSUIPC4 to be able to install it and read this, and you can always delete FSUIPC afterwards if you don't want it installed).

Regards

Pete

[JimboG]

Hi Pete,

First I must apologise to you for not knowing who you were or what you've accomplished. I too-often read forums where people try to be helpful but actually do the opposite by commenting on things they don't really know about or cannot prove etc etc.

I am still relatively new to FSX although I have been playing with Flight Sims since I was a kid back in the Amiga days so I wasn't even aware off the existence of FSUIPC, what it did, or that you had written it!

I also didn't know (or find on my various "Google-hits") last night that there were indeed actual separate functions available for GEAR UP and GEAR DOWN, so I apologise if I was a bit bull-in-a-china-shop. I am a real-life "IT Techie" and as a result can usually find a working solution to a given problem, although as I say I am still feeling my way around FSX. Most people (including me) would start at "OK - Ultralight Trike, here we go and work up from there (with a Mouse Yoke!) gradually building up and so on. I am now at the stage of having just purchased my CH Eclipse Yoke, CH Rudder pedals, TrackIR Pro and am *trying* to learn how to perform a cold, dark start in a 737-800 / 737-300. My how time flies (mind the pun!) when you are having fun!

To this end, I shall look at FSUIPC tonight to see what wonders it can bring! I think an add-on I installed the other day may have installed FSUIPC as well, I didn't know what it did at the time so I ignored it!

So much to learn, so little time in between work to actually learn it! :o)

Thanks Pete for your timely response, sorry I've rambled on a bit here - but it's nice to speak with someone in a "Community" who is actually helpful and friendly!

Cheers

James

[Pete Dowson]

First I must apologise to you for not knowing who you were or what you've accomplished.

No need to apologise, and thanks in any case for trying to help. I like to see that happen on the Forum. Too often it appears to be just me talking to everyone else, but actually that's probably because I am usually very fast at responding. When I am away for a few days others do jump in to help a lot more, which is most gratifying! This is why I switched from email support to the Forum system.

Regards

Pete