pdmarsh

If you mean controlling when the LEDs are on or off, no. Of course, the buttons are programmable and the LEDs come on at first press and off on second. No, they are either on or off. Duration of press is not measured. Here is the code from my A-10C profile that does this: SwitchPanelLedUp{GREEN|DCSBiosOutput{GEAR_N_SAFE|Equals|1}} SwitchPanelLedUp{DARK|DCSBiosOutput{GEAR_N_SAFE|Equals|0}} SwitchPanelLedUp{RED|DCSBiosOutput{HANDLE_GEAR_WARNING|Equals|1}} SwitchPanelLedLeft{GREEN|DCSBiosOutput{GEAR_L_SAFE|Equals|1}} SwitchPanelLedLeft{DARK|DCSBiosOutput{GEAR_L_SAFE|Equals|0}} SwitchPanelLedLeft{RED|DCSBiosOutput{HANDLE_GEAR_WARNING|Equals|1}} SwitchPanelLedRight{GREEN|DCSBiosOutput{GEAR_R_SAFE|Equals|1}} SwitchPanelLedRight{DARK|DCSBiosOutput{GEAR_R_SAFE|Equals|0}} SwitchPanelLedRight{RED|DCSBiosOutput{HANDLE_GEAR_WARNING|Equals|1}} Paul

@Soundwave197 -- For the A-10C, just look for the function with "MSL" in it. That displays the proper barometric altitude. It's what I use. In general, it sounds like you are selecting functions that return raw data. That can be anywhere from 0 to 65535 and is meaningless to users. In early profiles for DCSFlightpanels, only airspeed, heading, vertical velocity and maybe one or two others were pre-calculated to convert raw data to something meaningful. In more recent profiles we have been adding many more pre-calculated gauge values. However, functions that return raw data will always be visible right along with the pre-calculated choices. For searching functions, just choose some of the obvious things: "heading" "HDG" "altitude" "ALT" "vertical velocity" "VVI" "variometer" "airspeed" "IAS" The DCS-BIOS profiles we use have been created by a number of people, so there will be some inconsistency in how things get labeled. Also, DCS-BIOS was developed for cockpit builders using Arduino microprocessors, so some programming ability is assumed. It was only fortunate that DCS-BIOS could be used to give DCSFlightpanels a great deal more flexibility. However, it won't be quite as user-friendly as many users would like who don't already do some of their own programming. If you post a list of the gauges and modules you are having trouble with, I'll try to point you to the proper functions to use, if they exist. Thanks, Paul

The text still shows up in X-Plane and, I'm sure, in XFS as well since the panels were originally designed for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Paul

I believe all of the text displayed on the left side of the display panels is hard coded in the Multi Panel by Saitek (now Logitech). If it can be removed, maybe ArturDCS will see what can be done. Sometimes you just have to search the word you are looking for and experiment to see if it gives what you want. In this case, try this function: CMSC_TXT_CHAFF_FLARE I don't know if this will properly display on the panel or not. If this doesn't work, I don't see any other functions that would return this information. Which module are you referring to (A-10C?) and what function did you choose to display altitude? For the A-10C, there is a function for ALT_MSL (or something close) that will give the proper altitude. As I mentioned above, you might have to try different functions. Some have been set up to provide the actual data wanted, such as ALT, HDG, etc., but others will only return raw data. You can convert raw data to meaningful information using the formula function which I described earlier in this thread. When you say "everything" is way off, specifically what functions are you referring to and which module are you having trouble with? Thanks, Paul

This is FYI so that we aren't duplicating effort. I am building a DCS-BIOS control profile for the SA342 Gazelle. M, L and Mistral versions will be supported by this profile. This is being done primarily to support ArturDCS and his work on DCSFlightpanels, but when complete, and if all is well, it will be added to the list of modules supported by DCS-BIOS. Thanks, Paul

I'll have to check with ArturDCS on this. I don't really know why only the first two knob positions were used. Paul

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad you were able to get most things working. I'll let ArturDCS respond to some of the change suggestions. Regarding the bug, I had a problem with that as well. The "OK" is to be used after you set everything up and want to leave the dialog box altogether. I would click on a DCS-BIOS command that I want and then click "OK," which seemed logical. However, it does close the dialog box prematurely. You have to double-click the DCS-BIOS command to get it to take. So, it's not a bug per se, but it is a quirk of the program in a sense. Paul

Actually, I had been thinking Gazelle. I have it. I love it. I don't fly it as much as I would like. It would be nice to have it fully enabled in DCSFP. I can see it happening... Paul

I completely missed the ARK-9 when giving ArturDCS radio setup suggestions for the Mi-8. He has those now, so I expect this to be implemented in an upcoming release. Regarding the SPU-7, though, I don't recall what should be displayed. When in XPDR mode, the large dial should cycle between the various radios for monitoring. It might just show 1-6 in the display. I'll have to look at it again. Paul

@BaD CrC -- Sorry for the bad info on the lights. The nav lights are controlled by the ANO_SWITCH. State 0 is dim, 1 is off and 2 is bright. Setting up the Switch Panel knob for radio mode is easier than I thought. You need to use the SET_STATE function. However, there are only five positions while the radio selector has 6 options. You can only configure the first five. I used the RADIO_SEL_L function, but the R option would work as well, I believe. For each Switch Panel knob position, set the state from 0 to 4 as you go from OFF to START. The knob will work in both directions as you are setting a state, not detecting direction. I'll have a look at the radio issues. Paul

For navigation lights, search either "Lights" or just "LGHT." The nav lights show up like this: L_RED_LGHT_2, R_RED_LGHT_2 and C_RED_LGHT_2. LALT and RALT showing up as LMENU and RMENU is not a bug, and it will work OK. However, sometimes the associated key command does not appear, e.g. LMENU + A. That is a bug that, for whatever reason, can't be fixed. In those cases, you have to open the configuration file, after saving it, and enter the missing key command manually, in this case the A. There is a button in DCSFP to open the file. Yes, I believe there is a way to associate the Swith Panel knob to control the Mi-8 radio panel mode selector. FIXED_STEP might work, but I'm not sure how the underling code is set up. In any case, SET_STATE should do the job. You'll need to know what value between 0 and 65535 relates to each position of the in-cockpit switch. That will become the SET_STATE value for each of the Swith Panel knob positions. There might be a way to do this using the Multi Panel displays to get the data input values, but I'll have to play with that. I'll get those values for you in a bit. I'm actually testing a new build of DCSFP at the moment which as the F-86F Sabre enabled. :-) Regarding the conversions, unless they have been build into DCSFP, as ArturDCS has tried to do for most of the obvious ones, like altitude, heading and airspeed, I think you'll need to get that slope value for any given gauge. More recently, we have found an easier way to put formulas in the DCS-BIOS files and have added many more premade formulas. In the case of the P-51D, I believe I included these formulas for just about every gauge. I'm doing the same for the F-86F DCS-BIOS file, which ArturDCS created initially. I'm just adding these formulas. The user won't see the formulas, they just need to select the given function as usual. Hope this helps. Paul

Working With Formulas ArturDCS has built a powerful tool into DCSFlightpanels that might not be well understood by many users. That tool is the ability to add mathematical formulas that will convert raw data as output from DCS into meaningful information to be displayed on one of the four display options on the Logitech (Saitek) Multi Panel. In some cases, these formulas are built into DCSFP, so when you select “HDG,” for example, the actual heading is displayed on the panel. However, that is not always the case. If only raw data is available, you will need to apply a formula to that data to get something usable. There are two assumptions that can be made that will apply to most scenarios. The first is that the raw data will be in the range of 0 to 65535, and the second is that the scale of the gauge in question is linear. As an example, let’s look at the fuselage fuel tank in the P-51D, which has a capacity of 85 gallons. A raw data value of 0 will equate to 0 gallons on the gauge, while a raw data value of 65535 will equate to 85 gallons. We now need a formula based on that information to convert other raw data values to gallons. Fortunately, Excel makes this very easy. What we need to know is the slope of the line on a chart using the above data. The raw data makes up the x axis values, while the gauge scale makes up the y axis values. The screenshot below shows how this is done in Excel. In practice, it’s not necessary to draw the chart in order calculate slope. The slope works out to be 0.001297017. The basic formula would be: Raw Value x 0.001297017 = Gallons In DCSFlightpanels, it will appear like this (see screenshot below): FUEL_TANK_FUSELAGE*0.001297017 A slightly more complicated example would be vertical velocity, a.k.a. variometer, as this range has both positive and negative values, in this case -6000 to +6000 fpm, yet the raw data is all positive, 0 to 65535. The Excel exercise looks like this: The slope works out to be 0.183108263. However, if we run the following formula: 65535 x 0.183108263 we get 12,000 fpm, not 6000. In order to correct for this we have to subtract 6000. The final formula looks like this: (Raw Value x 0.183108263)-6000 In DCSFlightpanels, it will appear like this (see screenshot below): (VARIOMETER_VVI*0.183108263)-6000 So far, I have only come across one gauge with a scale that is not linear, the AJS-37 Viggen airspeed indicator. In such a case it will be necessary to plot the data in Exel and use the trendline function to find a curve that best matches the data. You can then have Excel display the formula behind the trendline. There are a number of ways to get the needed data. Without digging into the module’s files, or getting up to speed with DCS-BIOS control-reference, the easiest approach is to configure one of the Multi Panel displays to show the raw data of the gauge in question, get in the pit and fly around, pausing to write down the gauge value and the matching raw data value. Obviously, you will want to collect a number of data points throughout the range of the gauge. For end points, you can once again assume 0 and 0 match, and the high end of the gauge range is 65535. You’ll be happy to know that I built this particular formula into the DCS-BIOS profile for the Viggen—airspeed will be done for you when that module is added to DCSFlightpanels. Hope this helps. Paul

I have submitted a pull request to have the AJS-37 Viggen profile merged with DCS-BIOS. However, I do anticipate having to update the file at some point. I ran into some problem areas, which I'll note below, probably due to the fact that this module is still in Early Access. Here are some items not yet included in the DCS-BIOS profile as I was not able to create a control function that worked. I suspect that many of these are less than critical, but here they are: Clock Setting Stopwatch Start/Stop (control argument number is "0," which is wrong, I believe) Maintenance Test Mode Drysuit Ventilation Adjustment Cabin Air Valve (does not work in cockpit) Missile Select Button (does not work in cockpit) Radio Volume Control (knob behaves oddly in cockpit) Windscreen De-ice Knob (also behaves oddly in cockpit) IFF Code (not functional in cockpit) Radar Brightness Altimeter Setting (argument also set to "0," which must be wrong) Autopilot Yaw Trim Backup ADI Cage HUD Brightness Max G Reset (button does not work in cockpit) Roll Centering Snabbresning (no idea what this does) Magnetic Declination Adjustment (knob does not work in cockpit) IR Missile Uncage IR Missile Fast Select Oxygen Pressure Master Volume for Sidewinder Many of the device numbers in the device.lua file do not match what is actually used in the code. After device number 11 or 12 they are all off by 3 consistently. I was able to determine the correct device numbers for the DCS-BIOS profile. Just FYI, really, but I found the following duplicated keyboard commands and controls in the code: Duplicated Keyboard Combination {combos={{key='W',reformers={'LCtrl','LAlt'}}},down = 3408, cockpit_device_id = devices.FLIGHTDATAUNIT, value_down =1.0, name = _('Parking brake'), category = _('Flight Control')}, {combos = {{key = "W", reformers = {"LAlt","LCtrl"}}}, down = 3969, cockpit_device_id = devices.WEAPON_SYSTEM, value_down = 1.0, name = _("Weapon selector turn counterclockwise"), category = _("Weapons")}, Duplicated Controls (these are my DCS-BIOS lines, but the original code is duplicated as well) defineToggleSwitchToggleOnly("AFK_MODE_3", 22, 3402, 464, "Flight Data Unit", "AFK Mode 3") defineToggleSwitchToggleOnly("AFK_15_DEG_MODE", 22, 3402, 464, "Flight Data Unit", "AFK 15 Deg Mode") Thanks, Paul

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. I never tested it. I'll check with ArturDCS if he doesn't respond himself. If it does support multiple panels of the same type, multiple tabs would or should appear to allow for separate programming. Paul

@Hawkeye--Thanks for your comments. Any donations should go direclty to ArturDCS. He does the heavy lifting. I appreciate the thought, though. I think the F-86 will be coming next. I am still working on the AJS-37 DCS-BIOS profile, but I ran into a few controls and gauges I can't get to work. Part of the problem might be that it's still in Early Access, so some code cleanup might be yet to come. Still, it's about 90% complete and functional (in DCS-BIOS, not DCSFP as yet). Thanks, Paul

The P-51D profile is complete and is included in the latest release of DCS-BIOS. Paul

New Release -- v2.1.743 New release! ArturDCS has released DCSFlightpanels v2.1.743. This build includes the following: Radio panel (& full DCS-BIOS) support for Fw 190 D-9, Bf 109 K-4 and P-51D FIP support removed Term "NONE" for key emulator mode changed to "KEYEMULATOR" Error & debug log name change to DCSFlightpanels___.log Popup window when searching for DCS-BIOS controls height increased For DCS-BIOS support of Fw 190 D-9, Bf 109 K-4 and P-51D, download the latest version of DCS-BIOS. Please refer to the top level post in this thread for download links. Thanks, Paul

No problem at all. Family, work and personal life come first. Thanks for the updates to DCS-BIOS. Paul

ArturDCS has been working hard at integrating Logitech/Saitek FIP support into his DCSFlightpanels program, which provides Logitech/Saitek Pro Flight Panel support for DCS World modules. So far, the HSI for the A-10C is working great, but the VVI is giving us trouble. When it works, it does so perfectly. However, after some time it will eventually freeze and become totally unresponsive. The HSI continues to work normally. The DCSFP error log produces the following: 24.09.2017 11:48:17 version : 2.1.623.4457 890098 Custom message = [FIPPanel.Shutdown] System.OverflowException Arithmetic operation resulted in an overflow. at DCSFIPS.FIPPanel.Shutdown() ArturDCS has tried quite a few things to work around this, but so far it's a hurdle we can't get past. Perhaps some folks here have experience working with FIPs and can point us in the right direction. One final note--I have three FIPs running and the VVI will fail on any of these or all of these. This should rule out a hardware issue. Thanks, Paul Here are some photos of the gauges as displayed in the FIPs.

Thank you, RagnarDa! This is exactly what I was looking for. DCS-BIOS, I believe, was developed primarily for cockpit builders using an Arduino microprocessor for control inputs and reading outputs. Profiles are built up for individual modules, converting DCS inputs and outputs into a language DCS-BIOS and Arduino programs understand. We, ArturDCS and I, use DCS-BIOS in a program called DCSFlightpanels which allows Saitek Pro Flight Panels, and in particular the Radio Panel, LEDs and displays, to be used with DCS modules. Thanks again, Paul

Thanks Gus, The profile is coming along, but it might be a little while before it's complete. It looks like RagnarDa, below, was able to provide what I need. Paul

Thanks BravoYankee. Developing these DCS-BIOS profiles is indeed time consuming. After this, I'm not sure how many more I'll be able to contribute. Paul

I am working on a control profile of the Viggen for DCS-BIOS. Most of the commands and feedbacks needed can be found in the clickabledata.lua and mainpanel_init.lua files. However, I have not yet been able to find where argument numbers are assigned to the error panel lights. Those argument numbers are needed for the defineIndicatorLight function within DCS-BIOS. I did find a lua file for the error lights, but it appears to be an initialization file. The numbers there did not work for me. If anyone knows where these argument numbers are stored, it would be very helpful. Thanks, Paul

New release! ArturDCS has released DCSFlightpanels (formerly just Flightpanels) v2.1.699. This build includes the following: Mi-8MTV2 support Ability to add start delays to DCS-BIOS commands used in a sequence Some code streamlining For Mi-8 support, you will have to download the latest version of DCS-BIOS. Please refer to the top level post in this thread for download links. Thanks, Paul

This is just FYI, really, so that we aren't duplicating effort. I am building a DCS-BIOS control profile for the P-51D. This is being done primarily to support ArturDCS and his work on DCSFlightpanels, but when complete, and if all is well, it will be added to the list of modules supported by DCS-BIOS. Thanks, Paul