MFCD for Android tablets (phones)

colo · August 4, 2019

Hi LGB,

sorry for the delay, will try to release next week,

things are more complicated because in the meantime, ED has changed possible coordinates formats in map view so I am working also on these changes.

Cheers,

colo

colo · August 6, 2019

Hey Colo,
Might be just a eastern vs western reversal.

Hi LGB,

yes you are right, I have found that bug, in the meantime you can use this ugly fix:

In DCS World, open Options-> Controls -> F/A-18C Sim -> UFC:

1. to UFC Keyboard Pushbutton - 4, in the keyboard column, assign left alt + left ctrl + 6 key

2. to UFC Keyboard Pushbutton - 6, in the keyboard column, assign left alt + left ctrl + 4 key

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

colo

tea_cypher · August 23, 2019

Any new yet on av8b waypoint entry?

Agrrregat · August 28, 2019

Hi team,

I need little help with first configuration. With a shift key i've put manually screens configuration but it's always taking left side as a main place for game :(

My current setup is:

(2nd)Left monitor 1920x1080 / (1st) Right (main) monitor 2560x1080

Regards,

A.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Agrrregat

98abaile · August 28, 2019

Won't work. I had the same problem. The main monito always has position 0,0 in the top left corner, so any monitor to the left is a negative position which DCS can't display to.

The only solution I could find was to use a monitor management software and a separate monitor profile before I started DCS.

Agrrregat · August 28, 2019

Thank you :)

I will try with monitor management on a desk first :P

Cheers,

A.

y905 · September 13, 2019

Hi Colo, i tried your great app today with a displayport dummy an it works great, thank you so much that your app is able to use the dummy monitor and i can get rid of the mfd´s displayed at the main screen, i have a little question i displayed the mfd in potrait mode on top of the android device, unfortanely i have built the the mfd thrustmaster housing in front of the android first and now the housing dont match to the displayed mfd , is it possible to move the mfd on the android device a little bit higher? i can send a photo if my question is not clear, thanks volker

colo · September 13, 2019

Hi volker,

thank you for purchasing aInstruments !

Currently it is not possible to move instrument display on Android device, because it is always centered.

There are many new features which will come to next versions and display offset is one of them.

Next version 2.4 will contain bugfix for:

- incorrect UFC westing/northing for Hornet auto coordinate entering

- fix for Harrier UFC

I can implement y-axis offset for instruments in this version via config parameter (and later via GUI)

Cheers

colo

y905 · September 13, 2019

Great news, thank you, in the mean time i use temporary spacers to allign the housing with the android device

colo · September 13, 2019

Any new yet on av8b waypoint entry?

Will be released this week in 2.4 version

colo · September 15, 2019

Hi,

new version 2.4 is out:

- added auto inserting of waypoint coordinates from map for AV-8B Harrier (added 5 new keys to keybindings)

- added option for moving of instruments on x,y axis on Android devices (usefull for cockpit developers)

- changed coordinates inserting for waypoints and JDAM - now uses only precise GPS map format (improved reliability)

- fixed easting/westing bug when auto inserting waypoint coordinates from map on F-18C Hornet

- fixed messed up bottom row UFC buttons on F-18 Hornet UFC

- fixed non working Harrier . and - UFC buttons

- revorked GUI menu on desktop

Please note:

- for Harrier auto waypoint entry to be functional, you must update your keybindings file from aInstruments desktop app

- for waypoint and JDAM/JSOW auto coordinates, only GPS precise coordinates on DCS World map are now supported

- if you have used auto ins coordinates before, please update "mapw" setting to 350 pixels in config.txt file

y905 · September 17, 2019

Hi Colo, great work and thank you again, now my full pneumatic g-seat pit with gametrix seat get working mfd´s with your great app

colo · September 17, 2019

Hi y905,

that's nice cockpit setup.

BTW have you try borderless option in app - so buttons on tablet isn't displayed ?

Or then, the picture is too large to fit inside your MFDs frames ?

y905 · September 17, 2019

Hi Colo, thank you very much, i am happy that i was able to hide the chaotic g-seat pneumatic wiring inside the pit and have purchased your great app, yes it tried the borderless option but yes the bottomless option is a little bit too large but i was very satiesfied with the current solution, thanks again for your great support, btw i preordered the f16 modul, did you plan later a f16 version, if so i were happy to buy it, Volker

colo · September 18, 2019

Hi Volker,

I will implement zoom of instruments in borderless mode in next version, so it will be possible to define gap between android device frame and instrument screen.

Yes I have preorder F-16 module too,

and I will implement F-16 MFDs in aInstruments

- once implemented, you can just switch to F-16 instruments, no more purchases needed.

Cheers,

colo

y905 · September 18, 2019

Hi Colo, this are really great news,

cheers,

Volker

jpfil · October 5, 2019

Hi,

I just bought aInstrument. I can connect my tablet and display Harrier MFCD from the PC app, but the MFCD itself dont display informations.

I have 3 monitors and run DCS on one.

I try to manage my monitors but without succes.

Need help, thanks.

colo · October 5, 2019

Hi,

thank you for purchasing aInstruments.

Please send me your monitors configuration/positions

(resolutions and which is left, right, top, bottom) and debug.txt file to

appsupport@lumatek.sk

I will send you preconfigured monitor profile file.

Thanx

colo

jpfil · October 5, 2019

"debug.txt", where it is?

colo · October 5, 2019

Please re-download desktop part from here:

http://lumatek.sk/aInstruments/aInstruments.zip

After unzipping and running desktop part, you should have file named "debug.txt" in App subfolder (in the same place like config.txt)

Holton181 · October 13, 2019

Hi Colo,

I'm having quite some issues with aInstruments. I apologies if this will sound harsh, not my intention.

First some suggestion regarding the Viggen:

* Pleas add the "Datapanel IN/UT Input / Output Switch" to the android app. Without it the data panel keyboard isn't of much use, since one needs to reach for the PC keyboard/mouse to flip it, and it is used quite frequently.

* Would it be possible to replace the non-functional RB-05 stick in the app with the "Mode Selector" (the rotary on the left panel) and have it functional similar to the "Datapanel Rotary"? not a big thing, just a suggestion.

Now...

I have successfully configured aInstruments and DCS so that I get the exports to a second monitor and my phones.

1) Unfortunately the different settings in aInstrument on the PC that are supposed to alter the app appearance work rather randomly. Sometimes the app changes according to new setting, but most often nothing relay happens.

2) I lose connection very often and it's tedious to get it back, no automatic reconnection functionality.

3) For the Viggen, when having two phones connected with different panels on each, I can't get the radar and the data panel display to work correctly simultaneously. Either the data panel display tuns out correct, but then the radar is frozen. Or the radar is working but the data panel display has wrong scaling and doesn't fit in the frame.

4) My mouse pointer is flickering, making it hard to use (might as well be a DCS issue but figured I mention it here since it papered in relation to configuring aInstruments)

5) Settings for each aircraft isn't remembered. Not between sessions and not between aircraft swishing. Feels a bit tedious to re-do everything every time (especially when testing for bugs...)

6) The app on the phones crash from time to time.

7) A strange issue I don't know if it is due to aInstruments or what, but I mention it her in case someone knows how to handle it:

I have three phones, one on Android 5.1.1, another on 6.0.1 and a third on 8.0.0. The two older ones are recognized by aInstruments correctly with correct IP and all. But the third, the one on android 8.0.0, a rooted Sony Xperia X (the other two also rooted), isn't recognized correctly and can not be used with aInstruments. On the phone the app displays the correct IP for it, 192.168.1.228. The router as well. But on the server side on the PC a IP is detected but it is a completely different, 172.20.119.186. The server state it as connected, but the app on the phone is stating "Waiting for Connection". Why on earth does the server get the other, strange IP?

I have only tested with the Viggen and Ka-50, the only supported modules I have.

Having only one phone connected seems to work slightly better in general.

Unfortunately there is too many issues for me to really make any use of aInstruments for the moment. I really hope these things get sorted, I really like the concept. Maybe some of the issues are due to other things not actually related to aInstruments, then I hope someone can help me sort them up on my end as much as possible.

My specs below. If you want me to share more information please don't hesitate to ask, most likely I have forgotten something.

Tanks.

colo · October 13, 2019

Hi Holton181,

thank you for purchasing aInstruments and for your feedback !

Sorry for inconveniences, if you are not satisfied with the product, just send me your Google Play order ID to appsupport@lumatek.sk and I will refund your purchase.

Suggestions:

- Datapanel IN/UT Input / Output Switch, no problem I will implement it

- "Mode Selector", good idea, I will implement it

Problems:

please note that DCS 1.5.7 is not supported, nor DCS Alpha, only DCS World 2.5 stable and DCS World 2.5 Open Beta, and also currently I am able only to test on Windows 10 64 bit version (my fault, I think that this is not clearly stated in the manual)

1. currently only "on the fly" setting is AC switching, any other settings requires to restart client and desktop app

2. there is nothing special about connection, if you loose connection it is probably network related

3. will look on this and will fix it

4. aInstruments uses standard DCS World instrument export, it doesn't use any other feature to export instruments

5. planned - will be added in next versions

6. please can you send me more info to appsupport@lumatek.sk

7. 172.20.x.x is in the range of non-assigned IP address, I have prepared some improvements in support for more android devices, will come in next versions, please can you send me debug,txt and error.txt (located in desktop app folder) to appsupport@lumatek.sk ?

Thank you.

Holton181 · October 14, 2019

...I will refund your purchase.

Not necessary, happy to support.

Suggestions:

- Datapanel IN/UT Input / Output Switch, no problem I will implement it
- "Mode Selector", good idea, I will implement it

Thanks!

...DCS World 2.5 Open Beta...

Thanks for making me aware that I had not changed my sig as I thought I had long ago. I actually had changed it in the "about me" section, but obviously not in my sig. Corrected now.

1. currently only "on the fly" setting is AC switching, any other settings requires to restart client and desktop app

Good to know (would be good to have mentioned in the manual, maybe I just missed it?), but the AC switching is one of the things I experience not working correctly. But this is mainly for more than one device connected. If I have only one phone connected, it seams to work better.

2. there is nothing special about connection, if you loose connection it is probably network related

Might as well be so. Need to look over my network (actually not me who set it up, it's left "as is" from the people we rent the house from, but I have access to configure it to my liking)

3. will look on this and will fix it

Thanks!

4. aInstruments uses standard DCS World instrument export, it doesn't use any other feature to export instruments

Had a new look. Started DCS 2.5 OB with the aInstruments display profile but without aInstruments running. No flickering of the mouse pointer.

Restarted but now with aInstruments running and with two phones connected. Mouse pointer flickering. Same with only one phone connected.

5. planned - will be added in next versions

Thanks!

6. please can you send me more info to appsupport@lumatek.sk

Will do.

7. 172.20.x.x is in the range of non-assigned IP address, I have prepared some improvements in support for more android devices, will come in next versions, please can you send me debug,txt and error.txt (located in desktop app folder) to appsupport@lumatek.sk ?

Will do.

Thanks!

LG_Barons · October 20, 2019

Hey Colo,

It me again.. Thanks for updating to 2.4. I just downloaded it but somehow the auto coordinate transfer does not work for me. First the message on my tablet was wrong coordinate format. I figured that one out but now it says adding coordinates but nothing happens. It does not switch back to the cockpit from the map screens. I increase the width to 350. Changed also sleep and long sleep back to 300 ( from 1000).

Any ideas?

attached my debug file

DCS World path: NULL

DCS userprofile path: NULL

Working dir: G:\dcswarthogstuff\aInstruments\App

Java version: 1.8.0_221

Country: US

User country format: DE

System locale: en_US

OS: Windows 10

OS version: 10.0

OS arch: amd64

1 : 1920x1080 0,0

2 : 1920x1080 1920,0

3 : 1920x1080 3840,0

4 : 1920x1080 1920,1080

5 : 800x480 1120,1080

6 : 800x480 3840,1080

Monitors: 6

127.0.0.1/8

0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1/128

192.168.178.53/24