Lissyhexe

Hi Ben, if my hardware plugins are just crap I´m wondering why they are working well with all my other planes... Following discussion and comments within other forums I learned, that Gizmo problems are arising mainly in using saitek hardware, particularly xsaitek-modification by Bill Sparker. You mentioned at one passage stack overflow. Although not beeing professional programmer I can well imagine what you mean. Wouldn´t it make sense to get deeper into this issue and maybe search contact with Sparker? My wishes are very simple. You offer an extraordinary 737 what I like a lot. Saitek (now Logitech) delivers inexpensive hardware what can be used in x plane with xsaitek modification, and Virtual Avionics sells some outstanding MCP / EFIS products at a fair price. There are many other enthusiasts like me who have the same idea to get all that stuff working together without any problems. Well, since VA modified their Interface I´m very happy with IXEG737. Using only LNAV at MCP and not switching too much or too fast at EFIS I didn´t get any Gizmo alert since new Interface. So, for me, I´m very close to get all my wishes to come true... Regards Lissy

Hi George, I didn´t get far enough to see what happens here, because my "friend" Gizmo is back. One after another: Trying some small routes without VA-MCP and EFIS (I hate these mouse clicking orgies) IXEG worked perfect. Again I have to say that IXEG FMC/CDU has high quality and for me it seems to be as good as FF777. Then I tried same with VA hardware. It worked fine at the beginning and you are right. With VNAV on, speed doesn´t disappear on VA MCP, but on virtual cockpit. For me I could live with it if function is ok. But as soon as I used EFIS knobs to change MAP and PLN etc., Gizmo window appeared and EFIS lcd screen went black. Well, this can happen in true life and brings in some suspence for the pilot. But in this cases I am convinced meanwhile, that Gizmo reacts like "overloaded" with data. Same happened weeks ago when I modified Xsaitek (lua) to get virtual buttons move. Have you noticed that none of virtual knobs (except FD and AT and Disengage) is turning or moving? With EADT x737 and VA hardware all buttons and switches are moving simultaniously inside virtual cockpit.. This helps a lot, because you can be sure that your action really took place. Maybe Gizmo is very sensitiv on this kind of programming and therefore it is difficult to bind in external hardware? When I flew only with LNAV on, and not to much action in torturing EFIS knobs and switches, it worked without problems, close to be perfect. Since I use Radio Contact in combination with Multi Crew real speaking dialogs, my flight plans only need LNAV support, because RC controllers don´t consider SID or STAR. You follow SID and STAR routes, but controllers tell you altitude and change heading. Like in real life. I love this kind of simulation. But how could your problems be solved. And why do I get Gizmo alert and your system runs without this problem? Maybe you should try flight plans without VA hardware (unplugged) and same with hardware on. At the moment, I see some big steps forward to get VA running well with IXEG. But your VNAV problem and my Gizmo incidents show me, that we are still not at the end of our dry spell. Regards Lissy Supplement 3 hours later: I got IXEG running in LNAV / VNAV mode until I was just before landing. Then Gizmo came in and I had to land manually. But I could reproduce IAS/MACH problems. During VNAV mode virtual LCDscreen stays dark. Good. But on VA-MCP IAS/Mach lcd is spinning around. I could not find out, what data is running through. But it seems it has no influence on VNAV mode. Of course it is annoying und has to be fixed. I will send this to VA support, too.

Hi George, first impression was great. Christmas eve on Tuesday! I did some short flights with just a little bit climbing, sinking and using Efis Buttons. Looks good. Tomorrow I will go into detail. lnav, Vnav etc.. At Germany we got 3 o clock AM now. Time to go to bed. See you tomorrow. Bye Lissy

Hi George, I don´t think that we both have same bad install of software. And I´m sure that it does not depend on lacking power because of usb overload. The fact that we both have same problems with MCP / Efis but are using different hardware configuration (PC etc.) is an argument that problems are with VA configuration. But they can not help us if they can´t reproduce malfunction. Curious situation. Your idea to change IXEG datarefs to fit with our configuration is not bad at all. Maybe mmerelles knows if and how this could be done? Your Openockpits FMC hardware looks good. It seems you really work on a well equiped cockpit. To live in two worlds with FSX and X plane is challenging. For me it will be X plane for the future and that is one reason to buy FF products. Since I saw how good and easy FMC (CDU) from FF757 worked on ipad I didn´t see any need to buy FMC hardware, because I use ipad like a real device. Instead I bought 2 more Ipads on ebay (ipad 2 is cheap meanwhile and fast enough) and use them on stands for CDU, EFIS display, maps, airport Information, gps etc. Very versatile and no mouse needed. And this lead me to FF777 with it´s absolutely famous CDU. It works like in a real plane. You can type in complete flight plans, or you load them comfortable out of some planning software. SID, STAR, everything works great and if someone wants to fly totally automated even this is possible. If your Opencockpits FMC would fit with this plane it would be outstanding.. but I understood it is FSX only. I would not invest into FF757 any more but purchase FF777worldliner. This is my beloved plane what I use most beside IXEG737 and x737. And like in real world it is easy to change between types of aircraft. since Boeing is using same layout for their Cockpits. Type rating at it´s best. Go for FF777 and get ipad2 from ebay plus any flexible stand. If you got wireless lan 777 CDU and Ipad find easy together without any additional software. And if you want to use Ipad for other purposes, Airtrack (EFIS etc) and AirFMC (for IXEG etc.) are a good choice. But now the bad news: None of FF planes fits with VA Interface. I knew it before from mmerelles but hoped that maybe some switches and knobs could be used. Nada. Since there are many FF planes among x plane simmers my hope goes to VA that they are working on adapting FF. Last issue USB. I think you are right to support power if so many advices are in use. When I built my pc (only used for simulation) I took a very strong power supply (750W Gold) and added 12 usb sockets directly driven by pc. I don´t need any hubs. Therefore I am sure that VA MCP/EFIS problems have nothing to do with usb power. Regards Lissy This is my sim configuration win7 ultimate,i7 4790K,32gb ram, geforce gtx1070 x plane 10.51, saitek, radio (2x), multi-panel, switch-panel, throttle (2x), rudder-pedal, CH-yoke, 2 x ipad2, VirtualAvionics mcp, efis, haversine airtrack, airfmc, radio contact4, multi crew experience ixeg737, x737, challenger300, FF757, FF777, DFCBell407

Hi mmerelles, thank you very much for your deeper look on VA Interface. You confirm my fears that there is no chance for help from outside because of sourcecode. Hi George, thanks a lot for informing VA about discussion. Amauri from VA wrote me that his IXEG configuration runs without problems. Well, it seems only we both have exactly same issue. Very strange. He wanted some Information and it would be nice if you tell us your configuration. too. Mine is IXEG version is 1.0.7 VAProfile is IXEG737 VA Intervace is VAInterface_2.20.3.11642 Yesterday I tested other VAprofiles with IXEG737, inspired by my success with Challenger300. Big mistake! Using PMDG FSX Profile for X plane caused an IXEG crash and I could not start VAIntervace any more. Before re-installing the whole stuff I discovered that vaintervace.ini is creating new configuratins, (or protocols, whatever) every time if we try new combination with plane and VAprofile. After deleting PMDG/IXEG profile (what should never exist) inside vaintervace.ini I was happy to get my IXEG back with VAprofile. Of course still without VS function. Problem with interchanged LNAV VNAV is recognized meanwhile. I discovered that labeling switches is wrong. LNAV has to be on the right side of heading. They mixed labels.VA will send me new labels and I´ll try to repair it myself. Considering all my experiences I have to say that from all my x plane models only FF757 and FF777 (I don´t have FF767) were easy to install, have high quality features, spophisticated FMS / CDUs, and were easy to combine with saitek and CH hardware. After short time I was able to change Lua scripts and even Python data. With FF planes external Hardware, like saitek (with xsaitek,Sparker), you move real switches and at same time virtual switches follow. This is what I expect from a well done hardware-software combination. This seems to work well with FSX and VAhardware. Pity not for IXEG737. I am not an expert in programming, but when I first tried to adapt xsaitek with IXEG737 I was wondering that sometimes virtual buttons did not move, but function was there. After some modification inside xsaitek (Lua script) I got switches and function together, but then IXEG crashed (Gizmo alert). Maybe Gizmo is a modern and sophisticated software. I cannot judge this. But, to be honest, the way Flight Factor is doing it gives less frustration and more time flying in the air instead of fiddling around and waisting time. Just my 2 cents. Regards Lissy

George, I forgot to ask you if you ever tested EADT x737 (freeware / donation) with VA MCP and EFIS. This works like a charm with my x plane simulator and optically it matches perfect! Pity, that x737 is a frame eater. IXEG runs faster and the planes flight characteristics are more realistic. But it is exciting to compare both Boeing generations from Classic to NG. And last but not least it helps me to bear the waiting time more tolerable until we get a solution for IXEG... Regards Lissy

Hi George and mmerelles, config.xml and kbd.ini seem to be the data to be mapped between plane and hardware. But they look totally different from what I know from lua etc. Maybe an expert like mmerelles could find a way through. Mmerelles, you can download VA Interface if you register and sign in on VA homepage. No need to own any product from VA. If this doesn´t work I would give you a link to a download where I put software on. George, I did not change VA data or Interface, but I tested all planes I got with VA modules. Most crashed, but then Challenger300 was the big surprise. In FSX I only tried LevelD 767, but this was frustrating. Anyway I will stay with X plane and still hope for IXEG and FF777. Regards Lissy Hey guys, this is what I hoped what happens if enthusiasts work together to solve problems! Great!

Hello MCP737-R owners, good news for Challenger300 pilots. Since there is no answer yet to VA interface repair for IXEG 737 I used weekend for getting closer to VA datarefs. There is a lot of data and mapping, but very hard to understand, because I don´t know sourcecode-editor. But I found a second plane to work well with MCP: Challenger 300 (Aerosoft) After upgrading it to Challenger10.51 I tested plane and - surprise, surprise - it fits very good with MCP. FD, AP, Alt, VS even course and Lnav can be set by MCP. LCDs show right data, only backlighting doesn´t work. BTW: Challenger looks better after upgrade and flight characteristics improved a lot. Especially at low speed and in landing configuration. Regards Lissy

In addition to my last post I have to report that I was too early happy that there was no tax and vat for shipping VA mcp and efis to Germany. Now I received an invoice from FedEX with around EUR 160.-. Total price for bundle (mcp+efis) including vat, tax and shipping to Germany would now be 1000 USD. For me it is still a good value for the money and I would by it again. Lissy

Hi George, ticket didn´t work because of ajax error. Helton from VA is checking it. Meanwhile he passed my mail to VA support. No answer until now. I will follow your advice and post my experience and problems at avsim forum. I wanted to test mcp and efis in FSX, but I don´t use one of VA supported planes. My LevelD 767 is not supported. Anyway, I will stay with x plane. I like this simulator, and since all my hardware and add ons are running well with x plane, I will use FSX only for helicopter simulation. EADT x737 (Freeware-Donation) runs perfect with VA mcp/efis and meanwhile I like this plane. Glass cockpit is side by side. Now there is no need anymore, to use ipad mcp screen, although haversine runs well with x737 and others. Ipad may now be used for maps etc. Desktop stand was easy to combine with saitek hardware. It sits above 2 radio stacks and proflight switch, fixed with velcro. Works great, btw., with x737. Much better than ixeg737. I use radio stacks from saitek. Since Sparker made it usable it is a very good combination. Radio, nav, transponder, baro, dme, all at one glance and easy to operate. Seems you work on a sophisticated cockpit. Tell us more about ist. It is always inspiring to see how many good ideas come out of the community. I hope, like you, that VA will manage to get ixeg737 running, and, maybe, the whole Flight Factor family: 757,767,777. Very good planes and CDUs. You must have a look on FF777. This is exactly the design like VA mcp and efis. And cockpit monitors (glass screen) are side by side, like x737. Regards, Lissy

Hi George and mmerelles, mcp and efis bundle arrived on thursday morning. 4 days shipping from Brazil to Germany. Record. Everything well packed and desktop stand was in. No tax no customs. At first glance some excellent pieces of hardware. First test with x737. Great! Looks like a mirror to original plane. Backlight fantastic. All buttons and switches turning and moving without delay in simulator. 2 little problems: Bank angle button no function and Disengage button knows only one way. I am very happy with this first test and would buy it again. Test with ixeg737 is different and shows more problems. Biggest one: Vertical speed is not working. Wheel turn runs from 7900 minus to 7900 feet plus. I think George had same problem. Not usable. I gave VA a note and got a support ticket meanwhile. And now I understand critics from mmerelles. It seems there is no chance to modify or adapt VA software with Lua or Python. There is no dataref. Or I did not find it. Maybe others will find a way. I need more time to have a deeper look on this problem. But for the moment I enjoy the perfect interaction with x737. Flying by night , no roomlights, only dimmed light from VA mcp gives a wonderful immersion feeling. I love this little piece of hardware. Although it is not perfect yet. Regards Lissy

Hi George (Dornier), meanwhile I got note from Virtual Avionics that sending my combo has little delay. To compensate I get desktop stand free. Fine. Will be interesting what custom says and how much tax will be. It seems that there haven't been many VA hardware sent to Gerrmany. By the way, just curious: What is your home country and how did you receive VA hardware? Regards Lissy

Hi mmerelles, thanks a lot for your clarification and explanation! This gives a very good overview on what the problems are in adapting multi functional hardware. Seems you have an equal understanding of how simulation has to work like me. You made experience with goflight, I worked with VRinsight combo, what went fine with FSX but did not really convince me and cost me much time in adapting it to x plane. VA seemed to be a new and sophisticated hardware to beat goflight and VRinsight. Maybe there is a chance to get VA software adapted to other planes in using lua programming. With help of the community I could manage to get VRinsight running with x plane, although it looked very complicate at the beginning. If there is no way with lua and VA hardware and VA is not willing (or unable) to adapt more planes from x plane, my last chance will be ixeg737, what I already own. Multi crew experience meanwhile updated to ixeg and I give orders to virtual FO Clive if I don't want to use mouse clicks. In former post I reported about problems in adapting xsaitek soft- and hardware to ixegs gizmo programming. It is pitty that there is no full compatibility to saiteks multi panel what would be a good compliment to VA hardware. Saitek radio panel works fine with ixeg, by the way. Beside ixeg 737 VA is supporting x737 (freeware) they say. A nice and modern plane, but classic 737 is more what I want to use. Now I am very impatient to hold VA mcp and efis in my hands and see, how hardware and software work together with x plane. And I hope that VA will have plans to support more x plane planes like my beloved FF777. Regards Lissy

Hi George, thanks for your hint! I wrote Helton at once a note. Maybe my order hasn't left their house yet and I will get a desktop stand. Would be nice. If mmerelles is right and I will never get my FF777 running together with VA hardware I would be disappointed, of course. But my goal is not to get all airplanes working together with VA, but rather one or two heavy Boeing models. Maybe I will have to buy a new plane that works perfekt with VA. If the new model is as good as FF777 and all my add ons like radio contact and multi crew experience run well together I would be happy. Getting one big plane as realistic as possible for a home office. That is it for me. Kind Regards Lissys

Hi mmerelles, it seems that you own VA hardware or at least have testet it. Would be great to hear more from your experience with VA. During all these years of using flight simulators I very seldom got sophisticated apps or hardware that worked perfect "out of the box". I wish it would do so, but I am used to work and tune on add ons to get it running - together with other enthusiasts like me. There were people who developed Lua, Python etc. Maybe this will open new chances. I need to hold VA hardware in my hands and see it working - or not. Maybe I will be disapointed. It is a risk. I know. Regards Lissy