what word?? Offsets, LDS767, fsconv

[Navajo]

Hello all

I've been a gratefull user of FSUIPC for my homebuilt fshardware.

Flying mainly GA planes.

FSUIPC enables me to assign more actions to buttons than the FSX controls.

Also to use different directions of HAT switches for 4 or 8 functions.

My hardware is based on several joysticks and gamepads. so basicaly all HID.

Now ive started using the LSD 767.

I found out, there are more offsets needed for this bird.

Also found out that fsconv supplies these offsets to FSUIPC.

I've been experimenting with some 767 specific offsets in FSUIPC

I do notice strange behaviour, so i'm not doing it right.

Now the questions.

What's the difference between the various offset "types"?? (I get the difference between byte and word.)

When do i use "UWORD" or "SWORD" or "WORD" or all these variations?? (i've been experimenting but have not been able to see what it does)

One thing i tried was the Course knob on NAV1. I got it to increase, and decrease but never got it below 000 deg or above 360 deg. so from 350 to 010

i would have to take the long way around. (effectively using one button to dercrease the course and an other to increase by repeated presses)

How could i make it rotate past 360 deg or below 000. (these were the limits i used with a offset byte cyclic inc (maybe not exact spelling)

Is there a way to make it go past the limit, or maybe have no limit when using an "INC" or "DEC" offset

One other thing i tried, was to change the EHSI from map to ILS to VOR and so on (5 positions) I only got 3 out of 5 positions.

changing the limit did not seem to influence this behaviour.

I did to through 3 FSUIPC documents (user guide, advanced, SDK) but was unable to find some guidance in using these different "offset UWORD" and so on. I was told, these are standard programming terms, but i am a pilot, not a programmer.

Browsing several forums did not give me the needed info.

Hopefully someone can help me understand let me be able to make good use of these offsets.

Kind regards

Ferry Herfst

[Pete Dowson]

Now ive started using the LSD 767.

I found out, there are more offsets needed for this bird.

Also found out that fsconv supplies these offsets to FSUIPC.

Not exactly "to FSUIPC". THe FSConv offsets are allocated to that program so that it can offer whatever they are used for to applications.

What's the difference between the various offset "types"?? (I get the difference between byte and word.)

When do i use "UWORD" or "SWORD" or "WORD" or all these variations?? (i've been experimenting but have not been able to see what it does)

Are those the terms used in the FSConv documentation?

I should think the S and the U prefix refers to Signed and Unsigned, respectively. If something merely says Word, whether it is signed or not either doesn't matter or they don't know.

One thing i tried was the Course knob on NAV1. I got it to increase, and decrease but never got it below 000 deg or above 360 deg. so from 350 to 010

i would have to take the long way around.

What are you using to change it?

(effectively using one button to dercrease the course and an other to increase by repeated presses)

How could i make it rotate past 360 deg or below 000. (these were the limits i used with a offset byte cyclic inc (maybe not exact spelling)

If you are using Offset Byte Cyclic Inc then you can't go past 255 as that's the maximum number you can store in 8 bits. I thought you said you knew the difference between Byte and Word?

If you use Offset Word Cyclic Inc/Dec, you simply set the limit in that control to where you want it to cycle. That's why those controls are called 'cyclic', otherwise they'd be simple inc and dec controls.

Is there a way to make it go past the limit

You don't want it to "go past the limit". When it gets to 359 the next should be 0 again. There's only 360 degrees in a circle!

One other thing i tried, was to change the EHSI from map to ILS to VOR and so on (5 positions) I only got 3 out of 5 positions.

changing the limit did not seem to influence this behaviour.

Sorry, you provide insufficient information for me to help. Are you asking for help with things defined by FSConv, or about facilities in FSUIPC? If about FSConv you need to ask the author. I don't know the program, never seen it.

Pete

[Navajo]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for another swift reply!

I'm using joystick buttons to provide most of my inputs to FSX.

(some of them are acually encoders connected to some cirquitry providing repetetive button presses when turning the encoder.

The UWORD, SWORD, WORD i was referring to, were the ones in the Buttons and switches page of FSUIPC.

I saw them as variations to Offsets, and was wondering why there are these different variations.

(Somehow I understood inc, dec, and cyclic)

I mentioned the Offset byte cyclic inc/dec. I tried that at fist, indeed with a limit of 255.

Thats when i discovered about "bytes" and "words".I should have mentioned Offset WORD cyclic inc/dec. I used "WORD" in my later experiments.

Regarding "offset word dec" vs "Offset word cyclic dec" I did some more experimenting.

Using the NAV2 OBS Offset (0c5e) from the FSUIPC offsets list in the FSUIPC for programmers.pdf

I still had problems getting the OBS to go below 000 or above 360.

I've used Offset Word Cyclic Dec and Offset Word Dec. Neither option let me rotate the OBS from 010 via 000 to 350. only from 010 via 180 to 350.

The limit for the offset word (cyclic) dec was 0. The limit for Offset (cyclic) Word inc was 360.

I just found out (experimenting while typing)how to use the limits!!!!

With the NAV2 OBS. Setting a limit of 360 on the Offset Cyclic word DEC and INC made the OBS continue the cycle. So able to turn several turns clockwise, or counterclockwise.

On the LDS B767, I was even able to use an FSCONC offset to make the NAV1 CRS (totaly separate radio from any fs facility)

I Used Offset word cyclic inc/dec Only there the limit had to be 359 to make it turn past 0.

One more experiment was with the magneto or startswitch offset. I was able to get it to several positions, just like i wanted, using Ofset word inc/Dec. This was comparable to the EHSI setting on the B767

Long story short. I sort of figured this out. Basically by explaining my problem to you.

I notice in your replies on the forum, that you are very precise.

(I guess you have to be with a complex matter like FSUIPC where every tiny little detail matters)

So i tried do be as precise as i could in my explanations.

I did not delete this post, maybe someone will learn something from it.

To be honest, i did miss some easy beginners guide to offsets.

Is that available somewhere? So far it felt like making a jigsaw puzzle, and having to find the peices first.

Thanks for your assistance so far!!!

[Pete Dowson]

The UWORD, SWORD, WORD i was referring to, were the ones in the Buttons and switches page of FSUIPC.

I saw them as variations to Offsets, and was wondering why there are these different variations.

U= Unsigned, S = signed, Word = 16-bit value.

I mentioned the Offset byte cyclic inc/dec. I tried that at fist, indeed with a limit of 255.

There's no point in using a cyclic command with a lmit equal to the capacity of the storage. Just inc and dec would do. If you add 1 to 255 in an unsigned byte you get 0. If you subtract 1 from an unsigned byte which is 0 you get 255.

I still had problems getting the OBS to go below 000 or above 360.

It is never allowed to go below 000 or above 360. Those are its limits!

I've used Offset Word Cyclic Dec and Offset Word Dec. Neither option let me rotate the OBS from 010 via 000 to 350. only from 010 via 180 to 350.

The limit for the offset word (cyclic) dec was 0. The limit for Offset (cyclic) Word inc was 360.

The limit is 360 for both! There's no such thing as a limit of 0. The DEC limit tells FSUIPC what value to go to when you decrease at 0. Telling it 0 doesn't tell it anything useful! How does it know to get to 360?

I Used Offset word cyclic inc/dec Only there the limit had to be 359 to make it turn past 0.

Yes, it should be 359 really. FS is a bit odd.

I notice in your replies on the forum, that you are very precise.

Comes of being a programmer for 47 years I suppose! ;-)

To be honest, i did miss some easy beginners guide to offsets.

Is that available somewhere?

No, mainly because all that stuff is intended for programmers. You are only forced to resort to even thinking about them because of the shortfalls in some add-on programs. Aircraft makers should really consider hardware users -- those building cockpits or those using hardware exclusively, not resorting to the mouse on screen stuff. But the majority of the market they aim at are just using keyboard, mouse, and maybe a simple joystick. so they don't provide the controls needed.

Regards

Pete