Aerosoft Twotter Extended engine instruments

[russ]

Sorry I never check those but responded last night.

[den4]

I'm now back home and can devote time to the simpit again.
I have tried out the Twotter gauges that Russ sent me and thought it would be a good idea to detail the problems I had during this operation. It may help others who have similar problems.

My system is 2 pcs, both on W7 64 bit with a 3rd W7 64 bit laptop as and extra if needed. All are on the network and configured to see each other and allow me to access files on them from any other one.

First I made sure that the slave pc, where the instruments will run, had the most up to date version of Java and AM 2.1.3. Or I though I did!
I set out the instruments into the rough placed they need to be on the 2 monitors and fired up FSX on the main pc. After a few seconds the instruments stopped responding to the data feed from FSX. Opening up Task Manager and Rescource Monitor showed that AM had zero processor usage and zero network usage. Restarted the AM program and again it froze after anything from a few seconds to a few minutes, but it always did.
I then completely removed AM and Java, ran CCLeaner to clear the registry and re-installed both. No effect, AM still gave up after a few seconds.

Then I decided to add the instruments one at a time to see it that made any difference. All was OK until I got 8 instruments running, then adding any other instrument caused it to freeze up again.
I eventually cured it, with thanks to forum member bauerpilot's thread entitled Problems with Java. Instead of allowing the pc to update Java on its own I downloaded the 64 bit version and installed it myself. BINGO. AM now runs and does not freeze.
Thanks bauerpilot!

The Artificial Horizon gave me some funnies as well. Until I installed the 64 bit Java the AH it did not move at all when the plane banked or altered pitch. It now behaves as it should.

The Filler Panel is just a blank box, no details at all are visible, either on-screen in the instrument or in the picture in the "Add Instrument" window.

Sometimes the "trim active" light does not light up when it should. It is as if AM misses the brief input sent from FSX to light up the display so nothing happens.

If I try to move any of the instruments once connected to FSX AM does not seem to like it and starts to flash the instruments. Restarting AM then sets it back to normal running. I'm not sure if this is an AM fault or a graphics fault so I will update the drive for the 2 nVidia GFX cards and report back on this.

Hope this helps.
I might even get time to fly with the Twotter before the end of the week! That'll give the AM instruments time to show any other problems.

[MarkH]

The Filler Panel is just a blank box, no details at all are visible, either on-screen in the instrument or in the picture in the "Add Instrument" window

The idea is you add a filler panel, set the size to the dimensions of your monitor and the position to 0,0. This just ensures the desktop is covered up with the same colour as the instrument backgrounds. If you have two monitors you need two filler panels.

[den4]

Doh, What a dipstick!. I thought it was something to do with filling the plane with fuel. You live and learn as they say.
Thanks Mark.

[russ]

Actually, I used multiple copies of that filler each sized t fill a space between the nstruments in the layout. That way if you accidentally click(or touch with a touchscreen monitor) it doesn't be me the cent wndo and cover the other instruments. It s a bit of a pain makes several rectangles to exactly fill the spaces to make the panel look solid, but unless you are going to turn off input to the instruments it is the safest way. Then using it as a background will work fine.

In version 2.2 which will have OpenGL rendering, all the instruments will reside in a single window(unlike now when the are each a separate window) and you will be able to have a background of either a solid color, a PNG file, or a transparent background. The complete window containing all nstruments can be moved and resized with your mouse and the layout including the gauges will be resized .

[den4]

All did was to set the desktop colour on the pc the same as the filler panel. That way I didn't need to mess about making different sized fillers.

[russ]

Good idea. My PC desktop is littered with various app & file icons that it ruins the effect for me. I need to clean things up. Should be moot after version 2.2.

I didn't realize that if all the other instruments are set to "Always on top" and the full screen sized "background" filler is NOT, then a click will not bring it to the front over the rest of the instruments. I wasted a lot of time making lots of little fillers. This is MUCH easier.

[russ]

Mark Hurst , of Almost Aviation, has done another very comprehensive and high quality video on the cold and dark startup and systems tests for the Twin Otter using my instrument set. I now also have all the switch panels done so I hope to duplicate his video using the triple touch screen layout I have built just to demonstrate the plane can be operated without any hardware or a mouse /keyboard.

Check out his video:

[russ]

Here is a half scale screen capture for my three monitor Twin Otter Extended touch screen cockpit. I think I have everything except the GPS to operate the checklists and a normal flight by using only touch controls(no mouse or keyboard). I need to add the hydraulic warning light. Can anyone thing of something I am missing?

Also I am open to suggestions for the best stand alone GPS to add. I have a small touchscreen that I could run it on but I really would like to have something that could run with X-Plane too...not asking much eh?

Click this image for the 50% scale enlargement of the thumbnail here

[twinSim]

Good day everybody,

first of all Russ - you are doing an amacing job here. Actually in times of ProSim and JeeHell there is really nothing available so far for cockpit builders like us to replicate a general aviation aircraft to a high extend. We have A2A that are changing the world of GA flight simulation, and few others - like in this case apparently Aerosoft with a systems simulation for the Twin Otter. Actually I did not really know that add on so far, but came to research on it after noticing that you are building a complete set of gauges here.

I further more want to say that I think it is a brilliant idea to boost the success of AirManager in offering payable additions. The software is that cheap and does offer so much - it makes sense at my opinion to have some additional investments for whole suites of gauges. I expect the largest group of users for this in the P3D/FSX world, and apparently the few add ons with systems simulations modeled would be worth having them available.

So now to this project - the Twin Otter Extended. My sim is housed in a real piper Arrow shell, making it really immsersive but really small in possible panel size. I do prefere to have a twin or turboprop, so I need to adapt panels to get them onto 1m of available size. The Twin Otter might fit really well, especially as I could implement an overhead to clean up space in the lower section. When leaving the co-pilot side out it should work out perfectly.

I am currently working with Russ' screenshot of the available panels to mock up a corel design to see which screens I need to buy to house everything on the panel. I will not be using the touch functionality, so please do not just focus on that in the final release. But I am sure there are ways to get this bird mapped onto hardware anyway - but any hw-support would be highly appreciated to speed up things.

I found out that I need to adapt the engine cluster a little bit, to get it onto a suiting 14 inch lcd panel. Here my question is if it will be a fixed configuration of gauges or if we can in the final release move around those gauges to accomodate our setups. In my screenshot you see what I mean - I would need to put the fuel-gauges to a more center position and I would want to implement the annunciators above the engine gauges. The top-part - the fire-panel - will be built as a physical hardware unit with leds and buttons, so there is no need for me to have it on a lcd panel. Will it be possible to arrange that in the future?

Please continue to update us on this project - that is a really special thing to the sim building community - I truly look forward to see what comes out in the end and I am already investing time and money to prepare the fundamentals to rebuild my panel into a Twin Otter. I will be glad to support this project as soon as we can expect it.

Best from Austria
Alfred