Cockpit Construction Continued (Part 32)

[JBaymore]

[size=14][b][u]Ice Protection Panel Wiring

[JBaymore]

[size=14][b][u]Ice Protection Panel Wiring

[JBaymore]

Wiring It Into The Sim Via the KE72

So here below is the last step in putting this panel into use.

[tunatuk]

John,

I just got a KE24 for $20 and am about to order a KE72 as well, but I did have one question:

I have read that you need to use momentary switches only with these, and that on/off switches don't work as well...any truth to this?

[JBaymore]

tunatuk,

ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE for the KE72.  I think it IS true for the 24.....which is a matrixed real keyboard type controller.  Hagstrom has an assortment of stuff.... go to the website.

I have toggles, momentarys, and rotary wafer switches on the two KE72's I have.  All work fine.  They support different functions on make and break..... macros... and so on.  

You won't be unhappy with the 72s.  

best,

.......................john

[beaky]

Beautiful stuff... but I cringed when I saw the electrical tape!!  :o
In no time at all, that will turn into a gummy mess as it peels off your beautiful harness.  It's the heat that does it.
 I never use that crap for anything permanent, except bundling wire looms that will be outside a rack and covered with braided sleeve.

Do yourself a favor and get some heat-shrink tubing!!  >:(

It's very handy for stuff like that, and also making "socks" for the occasional solder-splice.

[JBaymore]

Well.... I just discovered that for the particular panel that I am using in the BAe 146-200, I have to add a DELAY into the keypress sequence between the engine selection (

[JSpahn]

Those Haggy boards look pretty easy to program and looking at your overhead they look well worth it. A bit high on the price scale though. If I build one panel at a time and use the joystick options in fsxpand I might be able to get away with one.

A newbie question John, do you use the default keystrokes in FS9? Or did you need to edit it?

[Jakemaster]

Seriously John, when are you gonna throw a party so we can all fly this thing?  Impressive work!!!

[JBaymore]

Those Haggy boards look pretty easy to program and looking at your overhead they look well worth it. A bit high on the price scale though. If I build one panel at a time and use the joystick options in fsxpand I might be able to get away with one.

A newbie question John, do you use the default keystrokes in FS9? Or did you need to edit it?

masternerd,

I feel the price is a good value for the money on the KE72.  They are SO versatile and SO "bulletproof" (never had to tweek, fuss, play with, reaserch, or anything with them).  

I started things off by canabalizing gamepads and joysticks... and came to the conclusion that approach resulted in WAY too much time spent on getting things active and WAY too many mechanical and electrical places for stuff to go WRONG!  I still will use some hacked joystick stuiff....... like for the rudder trim panel...... but it will be a minor component of the pit... not the major source.  If you look at he overhead alone.... you can figure out how many hacked units it would take,........ and what they would actually COST.  No... the hagstrom card is CHEAP.  ;)


As to keystrokes........ not a simple answer.  

If you go into "Settings" in fs2004, you'll see that there are a LOT of things that are not assigned keystrokes by default but are available to control separately.  For the things that ARE listed there, it is a simple matter of deciding which key combinations to assign (which is an exercise in keeping track of information), and then assigning it right there.  Not too difficult.

Unfortunately, for stuff that it NOT listed there........ it is a little more "circumspect".   You will have to first delve into the "magic" of a CRUCIAL payware program called FSUIPC by Peter Dowson.  In fact, if you don't yet have that program as well as his WideFS program..... just go and buy them (links in the Cockpit Resources sticky at the top of the forum section).  Bought as a pair there is a discount, I think.

The "mysteries" of FSUIPC are the KEY to cockpit building!

Start off by READING the HUGE manual..... that is full of programmer-speak type stuff.  You won't learn that one overnight!    It takes HOURS of study to find out what is POSSIBLE, and then more hours to figure out how to DO it.

Many simulator functions are controlable, but you have to know what they are, where to find them, and how to get info in and out of the program.  FSUIPC's job is to interface between you and the sim.  There are things called "offsets" that have values in them (all hexadecimal stuff here!).  Some cane be read, some can be written.

EXAMPLE

Let's say you find that the value at location 0D46 is what controls the high pressure fuel valve on engine 1.  The values here are either a "1" for "on" or a "0" for off.  So... first of all you wire up a panel switch for the valve on engine one and hook it to an input on the Hagstrom KE72 card.  You then go into the Hagstrom card config file and assign a keypress for that switch, for both make and for break.   In this section you need to send two different keystrokes... not the same one .... since the value at 0D46 is going to be changed differently depending on the state of the switch.  You find unused key combinations (and it can be a macro) and assign them.

Great... now when the switch is thrown, the Hagstrom sends some keys to the sime in the computer.  But at the moment they do NOTHING!

Now you go into the FSUIPC interface in the sim.  It is a module that resides within the Modules folder, and has a pull down menu on the menu bar in the sim when you press "Alt".  In it, there is a function that allows you to assign keystrokes to changes it will make at specific offsets.  In this case, you need the keypresses to send a "1" when the switch is "on, and a "0" when it is off.  SO .......you assign the one sent keypress to place a value of "0" in the offset, and the other keypress to place a value of "1" there.  

Done.    Flip the switch and turn on and off the valve.


Hope that explains it well enough.

best,

...................john

[JBaymore]

[quote]

[JBaymore]

[quote] Do yourself a favor and get some heat-shrink tubing!!

[JBaymore]

On to part 33.

[JSpahn]

Thanks for the basic startup info on FSUIPC. Been had a copy and I wasnt aware that is how things are programmed. The Haggy does seem like a better alternative now that you put it that way. I can imagine trying to stuff different joystick controllers into a pit and what a mess it would be. Also if for some reason your haggy burns up its a matter of quick replacement.

John...