align HDG bug with current plane's direction

[guenseli]

Hello Pete,

imagine you line up with runway, then you'll press a knob and HDG bug is aligned with the current planes HDG

is there any control or offset to have the HDG bug aligned with the current planes direction?

many thanks,

Günter

[Pete Dowson]

imagine you line up with runway, then you'll press a knob and HDG bug is aligned with the current planes HDG

is there any control or offset to have the HDG bug aligned with the current planes direction?

I assume you mean a "current heading hold"?

Which aircraft do you want this for. It isn't a feature on Boeings as far as I know. You always set the heading bug before pressing the heading button. If it isn't actually implemented in the aircraft of your choice you've need to have a little Lua program which read the heading offset, converted it from FS units to an integer, and wrote it to the AP heading bug offset, then enabled the heading hold.

In some aircraft merely enaging the A/P holds wings level, so that acts as a sort of current heading hold, though it wouldn't correct it if it got blown about. The "CWS" ("control wheel steering") facility on some aircraft (Boeing airliners included) would also do it because that holds heading and altitude manually set using the control column. There are controls for the wing leveller, so you could try that.

There are actually two distinct heading hold controls in FS -- "AP Hdg Hold ..." and "AP panel heading ...". Now I seem to remember that these used to perform the two different functions -- the former merely held the current heading and the latter held the bug heading. I don't know how many versions of FS ago this was, but I see in FSX they do the same thing. I don't know about FS9.

Regards

Pete

[guenseli]

Hi Pete,

thansk for your detailed answer!

Helped a lot!

If it isn't actually implemented in the aircraft of your choice you've need to have a little Lua program which read the heading offset, converted it from FS units to an integer, and wrote it to the AP heading bug offset, then enabled the heading hold

Yes, I thought about that.... just wanted to know if I have overseen some "hidden" function...

many thanks,

Günter

[guenseli]

I have another question, Pete!

Searched through FSX controls and offsets, but I can't find how to toggle the switch between VOR1/ADF1 and VOR2/ADF2 at the FSX default 737 VOR/ADFR pointer gauge.

Hope you know what I mean. Its the gauge who is showing the direction to the setted VOR or ADF. And you can toggle if VOR or ADF should be shown...

Can't find any settings for this...?

Many thanks again,

Günter

[Pete Dowson]

Searched through FSX controls and offsets, but I can't find how to toggle the switch between VOR1/ADF1 and VOR2/ADF2 at the FSX default 737 VOR/ADFR pointer gauge.

There aren't any. It's handled locally in the gauge. You could see if a mouse macro would work. I don't recall off-hand whether it would or not.

Note that in order to ascertain if an FS control is useful with switches like that, you simply need to enable Event logging in FSUIPC, then operate the switch and check the log to see if a control was sent.

Regards

Pete

[guenseli]

Note that in order to ascertain if an FS control is useful with switches like that, you simply need to enable Event logging in FSUIPC, then operate the switch and check the log to see if a control was sent.

A yes: I forget this from time to time :oops: will do so and have a look if I find something!!!

thanks!

[fatbird]

I assume you mean a "current heading hold"?

Which aircraft do you want this for. It isn't a feature on Boeings as far as I know. You always set the heading bug before pressing the heading button. If it isn't actually implemented in the aircraft of your choice you've need to have a little Lua program which read the heading offset, converted it from FS units to an integer, and wrote it to the AP heading bug offset, then enabled the heading hold.

In some aircraft merely enaging the A/P holds wings level, so that acts as a sort of current heading hold, though it wouldn't correct it if it got blown about. The "CWS" ("control wheel steering") facility on some aircraft (Boeing airliners included) would also do it because that holds heading and altitude manually set using the control column. There are controls for the wing leveller, so you could try that.

There are actually two distinct heading hold controls in FS -- "AP Hdg Hold ..." and "AP panel heading ...". Now I seem to remember that these used to perform the two different functions -- the former merely held the current heading and the latter held the bug heading. I don't know how many versions of FS ago this was, but I see in FSX they do the same thing. I don't know about FS9.

Regards

Pete

Hi Pete,

This is my first post in this forum. First of all congratulations for you outstanding FSUIPC, which I purchased a few days ago.

I would like to have a button to press and get the current heading on top of the HSI/EHSI/Directional Gyro...and nothing else.

If I press CTRL+H, I get it, but at the same time, I get somthiing I don't want, which is mode HDG activated in the FD.

Some aircrafts as Feelthere E-Jets have the function I need, pressing the mouse wheell over the HDG selector.

Is it possible to do a macro, in order to have it in any aircraft?

Best regards

[Pete Dowson]

I would like to have a button to press and get the current heading on top of the HSI/EHSI/Directional Gyro...and nothing else.

You mean you want to correct the gyro drift -- i.e. operate the adjustment to match the magnetic compass heading when flying straight and level?

The Gyro Drift can be adjusted in the same way as the knob to turn the gyro compass card by using the controls "Gyro drift inc" and "Gyro drift dec", but if you don't have a rotary knob you can use and simply want to cancel the drift in one button press you could assign it to "Gyro drift set" with a parameter of 0.

Regards

Pete

[Andydigital]

I don't think that is what the person is asking but the quickest way to get rid of gyro drift is to press D on the keyboard, it works the same as pressing B on the keyboard to set the current barometric pressure, but for gyro drift instead.

Looking in LINDA they do the heading bug align trick in lua as shown below.

function Autopilot_HDG_BUG_align ()

	readVar = "2B00"
	val = ipc.readDBL(readVar)
	ipc.writeUW("07cc", val/360*65536)[/CODE]

To Fatbird :razz: if you aren't using LINDA already then you should be :D , its a wonderful expansion on FSUIPC and makes life so much easier when configuring your joysticks and other FS hardware. By the way LINDA is freeware too.

[fatbird]

Thank you Pete and Andydigital.

Probably I haven't been clear enough.

No, I'm not talking about gyro drift, neither Autopilot HDG bug align. Just HDG bug itself.

If I am flying LNAV, NAV, or GPS... and the navigation system ajusts heading to correct drift or turn the aircraft to the next route segment, of course the HDG bug remains as it was previously. I just want a button to press, in order to center the HDG bug without changing to HDG mode, and that just move the HDG bug. I think we could call it HDG SYNC...

You can find it in Aeroworks B200 (FS9), Feelthere E-Jerts (FS9/X) and In several real life navigation systems as Proline 21 and some others...

And yes I use LINDA.

Best regards :???:

Edited April 22, 2012 by fatbird

[Andydigital]

Thats exactly what the example above does, assign a button in LINDA to that function you can see the name in the first line of the code and you will see it aligns the HDG bug with your current course without enabling or disabling HDG mode, or at least thats how it worked for me when I tested it last week.

[fatbird]

Thank you again Andydigital.

I'll try to find out how to do that. I'm quite happy with FSUIPC and LINDA, but I'm still learning how to use them...

[Pete Dowson]

No, I'm not talking about gyro drift, neither Autopilot HDG bug align. Just HDG bug itself.

Ah, I didn't read that in your text at all, but I now notice the word 'bug' in your title.

However, the autopilot heading bug IS the only bug, so I don't understand your differentiation between "Autopilot HDG bug" and "HDG bug itself". They are one.

If I am flying LNAV, NAV, or GPS... and the navigation system ajusts heading to correct drift or turn the aircraft to the next route segment, of course the HDG bug remains as it was previously. I just want a button to press, in order to center the HDG bug without changing to HDG mode, and that just move the HDG bug.

Normally you'd do that with the Heading bug inc and Heading bug dec controls, using a rotary knob (or two buttons maybe). If you want to set it immediately to the current heading you would need to have a Lua plug-in to read the current heading and write it back to the A/P heading offset, as Andy showed. You can write it direct to the A/P offset as that example shows, or use the Heading bug set control with the heading as parameter.

Regards

Pete

[fatbird]

"... the autopilot heading bug IS the only bug..." Not exactly. There are also speed bugs, altimeters bugs, engine bugs... as "bug" refers to any mark you can set as necessary, to provide information (500'... 100'.... minimums, or V1... Vr... V2). You can find all of them in Flight 1 ATR72.

The heading bug is not only related with AP, that's why I call it just "heading bug". If you are flying manually with FD or raw data, the heading bug is there to be used.

Anyway, that is not important. At the moment, all we know what I was talking about.

"Normally you'd do that with the Heading bug inc and Heading bug dec controls..." Yes I can and I do, but that button is very useful, when you just need to center the heading bug quickly.

I used to fly some real life aircrafts which had that button and believe me, that is pretty good.

Thank you for your instructions Pete. I'll try to do that, but at the moment I am completly lost and have no idea how to do it. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's true :oops: . But I'll find out ;-) .

I didn't know how to calibrate my joystick axes or making mouse macros, both with FSUIPC and now I can, I learned to use LINDA to set my joystick buttons. Concerning "Lua plug-ins", at this moment it sounds like chinese to me... but I am improving. Slowly, but improving.

Thank you so much for your support.

Edited April 22, 2012 by fatbird

[Pete Dowson]

"... the autopilot heading bug IS the only bug..." Not exactly. There are also speed bugs, altimeters bugs, engine bug

Sorry, I thought you'd understand I meant only heading bug. I shouldn't have to repeat the same word to imply that. Do you think I'm so daft I don't know there are other bugs?

The heading bug is not only related with AP, that's why I call it just "heading bug". If you are flying manually with FD or raw data, the heading bug is there to be used.

Yes, of course, but in FS is is the same one, the only one. How many others are there in your aircraft? And why are you lecturing me like this?

Thank you for your instructions Pete. I'll try to do that, but at the moment I am completly lost and have no idea how to do it.

But Andy gave you the answer above, explicitly!

Pete

[fatbird]

"... Do you think I'm so daft I don't know there are other bugs?..." Please don't misunderstand me. That is the last thing I could think about you. I admit my ignorance and difficulties using these outstanding softwares, so the only "draft" here is me.. English is not my language and sometimes it's a little difficult to explain my ideas. Sometimes I use examples to emphasise what I intent to say...

"... How many others are there in your aircraft? And why are you lecturing me like this?" No. Just one. I was not trying to lecture you. I was just trying to say why I call it "heading bug", instead of "autopilot heading bug", but I admit it wasn't necessary. The same language problem, as I said above.

Please accept my apologies. I'll try to avoid it in further posts.

Once again, thank you very much for your help.

Best regards

[Pete Dowson]

Please accept my apologies. I'll try to avoid it in further posts.

Okay, thanks.

BTW if you still haven't worked out what to do then simply save Andy's piece of code:

val = ipc.readDBL("2B00")
ipc.writeUW("07cc", val/360*65536)[/CODE]

into the FS Modules folder as, say, "SetHdg.lua", then, in FSUIPC Buttons tab, press "reload" so FSUIPC reads it, and assign your button to "Lua SetHdg". That's all.

Maybe you can use LINDA instead but I don't know anything about LINDA I'm afraid.

Note that this code copies the Magnetic Compass heading to the Heading Bug, so be sure you are flying straight and level first. If you want he actual heading at any time, instead, then you'd need:

[CODE]val = (ipc.readUD("0580")/65536) - ipc.readUW("02A0")
ipc.writeUW("07cc", val)[/CODE]

Offset 0580 contains the actual heading TRUE so needs converting to MAG by subtracting the variation (offset 02A0).

Regards

Pete

[Andydigital]

It's even easier in LINDA, just use your mouse and left click and follow the instructions below in the image.

[Pete Dowson]

It's even easier in LINDA

Wow! That's looks pretty neat. I will have to have a look at LINDA one of these days! ;-)

Thanks,

Pete