Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

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Pagouti
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:19 pm

Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#1 Post by Pagouti »

Maybe, this is not the right place to report a problem with Air Manager 4.0 beta.

I have built a Diamond DA62 dashboard with two G1000 touch screens for X-Plane, along the lines drawn by Russ Barlow. I am trying to come to grips with FS2020, FSUIPC7 and Air Manager 4.0 to use my dashboard in this environment as well.

For now, it seems that I have shot myself in the foot! I have downloaded and installed 4.0 beta and the plugin that comes along with it. When running Air Manager 4.0 beta, everything seems OK, but nothing on my dashboard responds. In the debugger, I can see that no program is ever invoked. When running Air Manager 3.7 beta, Air Manager gets stuck on the Settings screen: Loading instruments... Forever, even after I have re-installed Air Plugin version 2.7.1.

I have noticed one irregularity in the installation of the Air Plugin. The plugin was first installed in an abandoned, empty X-Plane 11 directory. Maybe, you should look for the presence of X-Plane.exe in some directory, before deciding that this is THE X-Plane directory. I have moved the map Air Plugin to the right directory, under E:\X-Plane\Resources\. This doesn’t work! Maybe moving this particular directory is prohibited?

I have tried to get my Air Manager 3.7 beta working again. Without success! Even after re-installing Air Plugin version 2.7.1 in the wrong directory and moving that one to E:\X-Plane\Resources\ again. Keeps loading instruments forever!

Do you know a work-around for the problem that I have described, or is this typically a matter of re-installing Air Manager?

By the way: if Russ or somebody else is porting the G1000 PFD an MFD bezels to FS2020 already, I would be very glad to know.

Han Schouten

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Ralph
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Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#2 Post by Ralph »

I didn't read the whole message, but the beta plugin has version number 3.3 I believe.

Pagouti
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:19 pm

Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#3 Post by Pagouti »

Hi Ralph, I have been testing and writing my observations for at least one hour. Thanks to a session time-out, I have lost all of it!

In short: Air Manager 4.0 beta messses up the COM settings! I have four Arduino’s: one Mega (COM7; for my dashboard), one Uno (COM6; for Message Port) and two Nano’s (COM3 and COM5; for my Knobsters). Air Manager 4.0 beta stubbornly keeps looking at COM1 for all of these, no matter how I try to change that.

Please have a close look at this!

Han Schouten

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Ralph
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Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#4 Post by Ralph »

It works fine here :? Did you flash your Arduino's in the latest beta?

Pagouti
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:19 pm

Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#5 Post by Pagouti »

Hi Ralph, I’m two steps further! I managed to flash the Arduino Uno on COM6 and the Arduino Mega on COM7. According to System Devices > Ports I have COM1, 3 and 5 still available. When I try to flash my Knobsters to one of these ports, Air Manager reports that these are already in use. Can you give me a hint how to overcome this obstacle? Thanks! Han Schouten

Pagouti
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:19 pm

Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#6 Post by Pagouti »

So far, I have made very little progress. In short:

I have installed Air Manager 4.0 beta;
Switches, buttons, sliders, leds on my hw dashboard all function;
G1000 bezels on touch screens function;
Two DIY Knobsters fail to be flashed: permanently in use; no Knobsters!
MessagePort seems to be inoperative; no Neopixel leds; debugging.

Knobster issue might have been caused by loading blink sketch via the Arduino IDE. How do you get an Arduino Nano back in a state that allows AirManager to flash it as a Knobster?

Attempt to use Air Manager the 3.7 beta to flash Knobsters fails. Flier display freezes immediately upon double-clicking Air Manager icon.

Attempt to use Air Manager 3.6 to do the same, also fails. Tried all known passwords to activate. None of these provides access.

Conclusion: I got stuck! Totally stuck. Please tell me how to get moving again!

Han Schouten

Pagouti
Posts: 58
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:19 pm

Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#7 Post by Pagouti »

As mentioned earlier, I was busy debugging my MessagePort application. I am experiencing a “déjá vu”! I found an old forum discussion involving Corjan, Gilles, Sling and myself. Same issue, same problem: MessagePort did not properly handle arguments of type BYTE(4) then. A “switch” on payload type never arrives at the spot where byte arrays are handled. Corjan wrote this when he nailed this bug:
Re: No response from Arduino Message Port
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#25 Post by Corjan » Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:30 am

Hi,

I found an issue in Air Manager, where sending BYTE[x] will only receive as zero's.
That is probably the root cause on why it isn't working for you.

I will make a new AM 3.7 BETA today.

Sorry for the trouble,

Corjan
Could it be true, that I am facing the same bug that Corjan has solved some six months ago in 3.7 beta, that has yet found its way into Air Manager 4.0 beta and is bugging us again?

Han Schouten

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Corjan
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Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#8 Post by Corjan »

Hi Han,


Should not be the case, but it surely can ;)

Do you have a small script I can test with?


Corjan

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Corjan
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Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#9 Post by Corjan »

Hi again,

By the way, if you still need assistance with the other issues described in this thread we can maybe make an appointment using teamviewer.
I have time today (not the evening) or otherwise next Friday.

Corjan

Pagouti
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Re: Air Manager 4.0 beta not functioning

#10 Post by Pagouti »

Hi Corjan,

Strange, I sent a reply an hour ago and I don't see it. Once again!

Air Manager 4.0 beta and MessagePort function correctly! Your answer triggered me to have another, closer lok at my own software. And there was a bug! After removing it, My indicator NeoPixel LEDs all function correctly.

I have only one remaining issue: I cannot get my DIY Knobsters flashed. I got the strong impression that Air Manager 4.0 beta cannot flash an Arduino with a sketch loaded. You can try that yourself: load the blink sketch into the Arduino of a well functioning DIY Knobster, verify that the led is blinking and then try to flash it You won't succeed. I have made several attempts to reset the Arduino, without success. I don't think that the error lies in the Arduino.

I have downloaded Air Manager 3.7, but I cannot get past the activation with my saved password. I have a troublesome history with user names and passwords for Ait Manager. How do I activate 3.7 without ruining my (nearly) working 4.0 beta? If this requires an intervention, I am home all day. Hope to hear from you!

Han Schouten (0654-281478)

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