Hi Everyone,I just thought I would mention the availability of a fully functional simulation of the Rockwell Collins TVI 920 IVSI/TCASII version 7 software system that features both visual and aural indications as well as a test function. The gauge was designed by Ariane and is payware, but IMHO every bit worth the money and can be installed on any panel.I know that Lee Hetherington released an IVSI/TCAS gauge made specificly for 767 PIC and it in itself is a wonderful gauge and at some point he may upgrade the gauge to include the features of the Ariane gauge, but I just wanted to let people know that there is an alternative if they are interested and thats all.I included a couple of pics below and a link to airliners.net showing a Delta 763 with the similar Honeywell IVSI/TCASII system with the gauge in a gray paint scheme.Regards,Van LatendresseYeoDesigns/AFG Grouphttp://www.airliners.net/open.file/148443/L/

Is that the one that comes with the TCAS II panel? Or a stand alone?[h5]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smith[/h5][h6]Are You Ready For The Next Great one? PMDG's 737NG is almost here![/h6][h3]" A little learning is a dangerous thing"[/h3] [h5]AMD XP 2200 |MUNCHKIN 512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ][i] K7S5A MB[/i] |GF3 64 MEG @ 215/545|WIN XP PRO |MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PLUS 91 19"[/h5]

It's Ariane's stand alone TCAS gauge. It's not possible to use the TCAS from their 733 panel as they have built the entire main panel into one gauge.Regards,Van

If it is "fully functional", why is it not displaying a resolution advisory climb/descend command along the VSI scale in the first case where an RA (red) is clearly visible? That logic is 95% of the complexity of TCAS II 7.0.Why is it displaying TCAS targets outside of the VSI scale? I'm curious if that is realistic.I am curious how it differs from my gauge. Does it say anything besides "Traffic, Traffic"?Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

Hi Lee,Yes it has the complete list of aural commands and it does display a resolution advisory climb /descend command along the vsi scale when an RA (red) is clearly visible. The two pics I attached do not show the functions you are referring to as in one pic I'm merely running the test function, but I have a 737-200 panel thread in the general discussion forum and I have a couple of pics of the panel I put together with the TCAS issuing an RA. I believe my thread is on page 3 now.As far as displaying targets outside of the vsi scale that could be the way Rockwell Collins designed their TCAS system as there are many different manufacturers of such sytems and I'm sure every manufacturer does things a bit different.These are the various aural commands issued during an RA:Climb; climb ;climbClimb-crossing climb; Climb-crossing climbReduce climb; reduce climbDescend; descend; descendDescend-crossing descend; Descend-crossing descendReduce descent; reduce descentMonitor vertical speed; monitor vertical speedIncrease climb; increase climbIncrease descent; increase descentClimb-climb now; climb- climb nowDescend-descend now; descend-descend nowClear of conflict By the way please don't shoot the messenger as thats all I am. I just wanted to let fellow simmers know of the availability of an alternate IVSI/TCAS system and thats all.For those that want to check it out, then simply go to the Ariane site as there is alot of info there about the gauge.Regards,Van Latendresse

Sorry, I didn't mean to shoot the messenger. I'm genuinely interested in their implementation. In fact, I bought it to see how it works. However, FS2002 pops up an error message about failing to load Ariane.Tcas.GAU. Did I waste $12.50?Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

I can't say that I had a problem at all when I installed it. I know that Win98 and ME need the GDiPlus.dll that is on their support and update page, but I don't know if XP users need the module or not.I also installed my gauge directly on the main panel as their installer puts the gauge in a seperate window so it can be dragged and resized for various panels one may use it on. I'm sure Ariane created the gauge that way for the majority of simmers that aren't comfortable editing their panel cfg's.Regards,Van

I'm using Windows 2000 Pro. I'll investigate the GDiPlus.dll.Can you share your panel.cfg entry?Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

Sure thing.gauge14=Ariane.Tcas!Standalone,544,391,159I also recommend a little utility called GAUBMP2.EXE available from Simviation.com. It allows you to extract and edit gauge bitmaps. I have used it on the Ariane TCAS gauge in order to get the different color shades I wanted to suit my various panels, but thats personal preference as I can be a bit picky...lolRegards,Van

I cannot get gdiplus.dll to work. The MS documentation for it says to not put it in my system directory, so I tried putting it into FS2002modules, but then FS2002 dies on startup.Ariane provided woeful documentation on this issue. We'll see if they respond to my support email. I'm feeling like I wasted my money. Requiring GDI+ is not such a great idea. I made a choice not to use GDI+ for this reason, and instead used GDI for portability.Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

Lee,Try putting it into your FS2002 directory as it is not suppose to go into your module folder. I accidently put it in the module folder when I got the 733 TCAS panel and I had the same problem as you, but when I re-read the documentation it had stated to put it in the FS2002 folder and no where else.Regards,Van

OK, now it works. I must have missed those instructions. Thanks.Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

Glad you got it working Lee :)I must admit that Ariane doesn't always make it easy when it comes to instructions as it has taken me time in some cases to find the info I was looking for.Regards,Van

Sounds interesting, Van... Does it work with both on-line traffic and the random traffic generated by FS2002?And does the paperwork include technical specifications, limitations, logic, etc (The real TCAS uses some extremely complicated logic for handling multiple intruders. I'd be very suprised if it has been modelled properly. It took the boffins many years to get it right).I'm tempted to buy it, but one the limitations with this sort of (non-integrated) gauge, I'd imagine, is that it would not be affected by the status of ADC's, IRS's, ATC's and electrical systems (part of the appeal of PIC).... The way my finances are at the moment, I might just wait until Wade and Laurent come up with a properly integrated guage in PIC 2004 ;-)Anyway, thanks for the "heads up".Cheers.Ian.

Hi Ian,>And does the paperwork include technical specifications, limitations, logic, etc I'm tempted to buy it, but one the limitations with this sort of (non-integrated) gauge, I'd imagine, is that it would not be affected by the status of ADC's, IRS's, ATC's and electrical systems (part of the appeal of PIC)....:).Cheers,Gosta.http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg