Bullant

I haven't got my UFC displays up and running yet so I can't test this directly. One thing I'd suggest is to run dcbios in live mode and see if the UFC Scratchpad output is actually being set correctly in the conditions where you are not seeing it on your display. At least that will narrow it down to either being a dcsbios problem or a problem with your code and/or display.

For my sins as a software engineer, I read a LOT of technical documents and I noticed quite a few errors in the early access manual. I thought about marking up all the errors but then I thought I better ask if you actually care and if it would be useful for me to do that before I spend the time doing it? Or is the EA manual being thrown away and replaced with the full manual eventually?

Had a chance to restest this. The PB13 for station selection is still wrong. However the not being able to progress is kinda my fault. The instructions specifically state to lock up the threat that is headed towards you, and all three are headed away. After locking one up and hitting space bar (the instruction I missed!) the mission continued.

I didn't want to give bad advice so tested it myself. The power pushbutton works perfect with a momentary pushbutton if you use the code I gave above. The other 4 pushbuttons on the panel are momentary action so using the standard switch2pos code works fine (tested that as well).

Yes it is possible, although the pushbuttons are actually supposed to latch. Set your control reference to advanced mode and use the ActionButton code instead of the default Switch2Pos and things should work the way you want: DcsBios::ActionButton rwrPowerBtnToggle("RWR_POWER_BTN", "TOGGLE", PIN); instead of DcsBios::Switch2Pos rwrPowerBtn("RWR_POWER_BTN", PIN);

Thanks Wags, I will try again and see if I can record as well if it's broken again.

After shooting down the first drone, the mission asks you to lock up the target that is heading towards you. There are three targets, all heading away. Tried locking up each one multiple times and could not progress. It gives the hint to increase the range if you can't see the target and highlights OSB11 on the DDI but no matter how many times I hit the button the highlight does not go away. Not sure if this is linked? Aso early in the mission it tells you that you can press OSB13 on the stores page to select a different station. There is no label for this and the button doesn't work. Assuming this functionality has been superseded by multiple selections of the weapon select switch?

These are the exact models (and seller) that I purchased https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HDMI-Control-board-8inch-HJ080IA-01E-1024x768-IPS-Lcd-Panel/312206144465?hash=item48b0efb3d1:g:KU4AAOSwgJ1bY9Iy:rk:1:pf:0

The screens aren't attached to an arduino, they have an HDMI input and then I simply export the DDIs. I do have a screen coming that has an Arduino interface that I plan to use behind the UFC, but it hasn't arrived yet.

Someone else has an F18 library? Or has someone taken mine and modified it?

All the details are in the first post mate

It is so awesome, even with this minimal setup. You are right, there is no going back. I HAVE to have a full pit setup in my life :)

Thanks again for this. I would like to avoid sending all my button states every x cycles, so was looking at a way of doing it just once when first entering the cockpit. Based on some googling I came up with the following code that is triggered when the active aircraft changes void onAcftNameBufferChange(char* newValue) { // Change of Aircraft if(( strcmp( newValue, "FA-18C_hornet" ) == 0 )) { PollAllControls(); } } DcsBios::StringBuffer<16> AcftNameBuffer(0x0000, onAcftNameBufferChange); And it works perfectly, all of my switches synch as soon as I hit "Fly" on the briefing window. The first time I load up the F/A-18. Any time I start another hornet mission after that, even exiting DCS and starting again, the name change is not triggered. The only time it gets triggered again is if I launch a mission with a different aircraft and then go back to the hornet. So does anyone have any ideas of another event to capture that always fires at the start of a mission?

A bit of progress ... While I try and work out how I am going to afford a full pit and where I am going to fit it, I've been doing a bit of prototyping: I printed and assembled Brun's awesome UFC. I attached two of the DDI screens behind cougar MFDs. They aren't as big as DDIs but they do the job for now. I have a switch box (the blue box) that I use for testing and that has the most commonly used switches on it (gear, hook, flaps etc and lighting control pots on the side). I have some OLED displays coming to sit behind the display windows on the UFC, which will really bring things to life! I really like the look of the new aluminium skinned dogfight boss kit, but I'm a bit afraid to get a quote, especially with shipping to Australia ...

Please delete

v1.0 uploaded on initial post to correct behaviour of the FUEL DUMP switch. The way the switch is working internally is still flawed, but have coded around it :)

I have written a dcsbios library for the FA18 and just about everything seems to work as expected. But the FUEL DUMP switch is showing a very weird behaviour. With weight on wheels (on the ground) the switch responds as a normal two position switch responding to commands to set the switch state to 0 (off) and 1 (on). However, with weight off wheels (airborne) the switch becomes a "ToggleOnly" switch, whereby it only responds to commands to set it's state to 1, with each subsequent call toggling the state of the switch. What this means is that when using dcsbios and a physical switch it works fine on the ground but once airborne (where you'd want to use it!) the in game switch only toggles each time you move the physical switch to the on/up position. I have a feeling this might have something to do with this switch being magnetically held in the aircraft, but would appreciate some feedback from the devs if possible.

I just tested with a physical switch and it works fine.

Thanks mate, I was starting to come to the same conclusion. I will have a look at the items you've listed. edit: Sorry bit of confusion here, I am looking for small displays to sit behind the data entry and comms channel windows in the upfront controller. I've got my DDI/AMPCD displays sorted already ;) Thanks for the hint about buydisplay though, I have found the following which should work well: Scratchpad: https://www.buydisplay.com/default/white-2-2-inch-128x32-i2c-oled-display-module-serial-spi-ssd1305 Comm Channel: https://www.buydisplay.com/default/serial-spi-0-71-inch-white-48x64-graphic-oled-display-ssd1306 Just need to sort something for the option displays now. Starting to think I might need to go with a small LCD screen connected via HDMI and export the option displays onto a single screen. Something like this https://www.buydisplay.com/default/4-3-lcd-hdmi-vga-video-av-driver-controller-board-tft-module-display

I've spent a couple of hours this morning searching the web for I2C driven OLED displays that will fit in the display windows for the F18 UFC. The required display areas are: 1 x 55mm x 12mm (max size 70mm x 30mm) 5 x 42mm x 12mm (max size 50mm x 20mm) 2 x 12mm x 17mm (max size 20mm x 30mm) Nothing I can find comes close to working, so open for any suggestions?

Finally! It took a full day of soldering and heatshrinking and then a couple of hours of connecting up the wiring .. but it works beautifully. Still waiting for a screwshield to arrive for the arduino, so it's a bit fragile at the moment with the bare wires just shoved into the arduino connectors. Which is why it is not yet all packed neatly into the back of the UFC. Just realised I still need to get some perspex to blank out the displays as well. I wanted to take the time to thank Brun for his awesome work. I procrastinated for ages trying to find a way to get the text to show up clearly in white ... in the end I printed out the in game textures and glued them to the panel and it looks great. Next step, getting the cougar MFDs mounted each side with LCD panels behind them :) This is all really just a prototyping venture at the moment as I try and collect the space and money to build a full pit.

Unfortunately this is an ED issue and not something I can easily fix. It would be great if there was some way I could report these sort of issues and get them sorted but they don't seem to be a priority (same as getting proper status reporting for mechanically held switches).

That is a know issue with dcs-bios and does not stop it from working.

To test that you have DCS-BIOS installed correctly (you followed all the instructions, right?) try running dcs-bios in interactive mode and toggle some controls

Yes I was on the ground. I see the same behaviour as you in the air, that is very strange. If there was someone in ED that I could talk to I'd be able to figure these weird things out. Only thing I can think of now is to define a new switch type that works differently in the air than on the ground, I just need to work out if I can determine wow from within dcsbios. Unfortunately I am about to head interstate for 14 days so I won't be able to look at this before I get back.