Using the PFC Avionics Stack with the FS Garmin 430/530

[blave 0]

With a generous dose of help from Pete Dowson, I have gotten the GPS section of my to work with the new [link:www.fsavionics.com]FSAvionics GNS products. Owners of the stack probably know that the GPS section has gone largely unused due to the lameness of FS2002's built-in "GPS" panel. I can now use the rotary control and all of the buttons in the stack's GPS section to control all of the GPS functions of the GNS instruments.This requires updated FSUIPC.DLL and PFC.DLL modules, which will hopefully be released by Pete next week. The question is, does anybody here care? If so, I'll post my .ini file settings and notes on how to get this to work. This might seem trivial to do, but the hard part was finding key combinations that weren't already used in FS. I ended up using all combinations, and as far as I know none of the assignments I've used interfere with the stock key assignments in FS.BTW, I would expect that some of this could be applied to controlling the FS Garmins with the GoFlight stuff, although I don't personally own any GoFlight stuff (yet).cheers,Dave BlevinsKRHV

[Chris_CYWG 0]

Hey Dave,Can you mail me the documentation for this? I have my PFC Avionics stack on order right now, to match my digital throttles and airliner yoke/rudder setup... I am currently working on a home setup using a Hagstrom and rocker switches for the lighting and engine starts. So hopefully I'll never have to touch the keyboard or mouse again :)

[Guest ozhero]

I have a heap of GoFlight gear and would love to get it working with the Garmins. Please post anything you can.Thanks.

[blave 0]

I'll put some documentation together and put it up here for all to see. I just need to find the time - hopefully later this week. I was hoping to make some diagrams to show how stuff is mapped on the GNS and stack panels, but I'll probably just post the textural descriptions to get it out faster to you.The new FSUIPC and PFC modules aren't out yet anyway, so there's not a rush right now... cheers,dB.

[blave 0]

OK, here's the scoop on how to get this to work. As mentioned, I used ctrl-alt-key combinations for FS Garmin 530 (hereafter, "GNS") knob and button assignments. I cheated a little, by using the key reference that came with my now-useless ProFlight 2000 ATC software, and used a majority of the keystrokes that PF2K used.Only the GNS's GPS functions are considered here - the COM/NAV buttons and the left-hand concentric knob are not controlled, primarily because the PFC stack already has almost complete control of those functions (by talking directly to FS2002).I was able to keep the GNS GPS functions isolated to the stack's GPS section with two exceptions - I ended up using the stack's autopilot DN/UP rocker switch for zoom/range control (since I don't use that switch in my flying), and I also used the transponder section's IDENT button as the GNS MENU button, since the IDENT button has no real function in FS2002.Notes0. REQUIRED MODULE VERSIONS: FSUIPC.DLL v2.93 or higher; PFC.DLL v1.46 or higher.1. The stack's GPS section's ON/OFF switch is used to hide/show the FSGarmin panel.2. Since the stack's inner concentric knob doesn't pull out like the real GNS's, I used the APT/VOR button for this.3. I used MSPaint to create some button labels for the stack's horizontal row of buttons and also the NAV/GPS buttons, since their markings don't match those of the corresponding GNS buttons. The BMP file is attached, but you'll probably have to play around with your print scaling to get them to fit correctly over the buttons. I cut out the label strip, put transparent tape over it, trimmed the tape to a close border, and then carefully stuck it onto the stack over thebuttons.---WARNING: I have included some .ini entries at the end of this, in an effort to save time in getting this working - BUT I would consider .ini hackage to be fraught with peril for those that have not done it before. If you don't want to take any chances, use the FSUIPC and FSGARMIN programs to effect those entries.---Here are the key assignments (if there is a lot of white space here, just scroll down - I can't figure out how to get rid of it in this editor):[table border=1 cellspacing=1 cellpadding=2][tr][td]GNS function[/td][td]PFC stack[/td][td] key assignment[/td][/tr][tr][td]CDI[/td][td]NAV/GPS[/td][td]0[/td][tr][td]OBS[/td][td]NAV[/td][td]1[/td][/tr][tr][td]MSG[/td][td]WPT[/td][td]2[/td][/tr][tr][td]FPL[/td][td]FPL[/td][td]3[/td][/tr][tr][td]VNAV[/td][td]CALC[/td][td]4[/td][/tr][tr][td]PROC[/td][td]AUX[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]RNG up[/td][td]a/p rocker top[/td][td]6[/td][/tr][tr][td]RNG dn[/td][td]a/p rocker bottom[/td][td]7[/td][/tr][tr][td]D->[/td][td]D->[/td][td]8[/td][/tr][tr][td]MENU[/td][td]tsnpdr IDENT[/td][td]A[/td][/tr][tr][td]CLR[/td][td]MSG[/td][td]B[/td][/tr][tr][td]ENT[/td][td]ENT[/td][td]E[/td][/tr][tr][td]GPS outer knob left[/td][td]GPS outer knob left[/td][td]F5[/td][/tr][tr][td]GPS outer knob right[/td][td]GPS outer knob right[/td][td]F6[/td][/tr][tr][td]GPS inner knob left[/td][td]GPS inner knob left[/td][td]F7[/td][/tr][tr][td]GPS inner knob right[/td][td]GPS inner knob right[/td][td]F8[/td][/tr][tr][td]PUSH CRSR[/td][td]APT/VOR[/td][td]J[/td][/tr][tr][td](hide/show FSGarmin)[/td][td]ON/OFF[/td][td]K[/td][/table]What follows are the corresponding .INI entries for FSUIPC.INI and FSGARMIN530.INI. I have not tried copy/pasting these into those .ini files myself, so you are on your own there. You might want to first assign a key in each application using their interface to see where the .ini entries go, and then replace those entries with the ones below to save yourself some time.FSUIPC.INI[buttons]PollInterval=400=P33,4,K116,111=P33,0,K117,112=P33,5,K118,113=P33,1,K119,114=P30,1,K48,115=P30,2,K49,116=P30,3,K50,117=P30,4,K51,118=P30,5,K52,119=P30,6,K53,1110=P30,10,K74,1111=P30,0,K75,1112=P30,7,K56,1113=P30,8,K66,1114=P30,9,K69,1115=P28,2,K55,1116=P28,1,K54,1117=P28,25,K65,11FSGARMIN530.INI[Hotkey16]Index=31Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=116[Hotkey17]Index=32Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=117[Hotkey18]Index=33Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=118[Hotkey19]Index=34Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=119[Hotkey27]Index=11Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=75[Hotkey11]Index=40Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=49[Hotkey12]Index=41Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=50[Hotkey13]Index=42Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=51[Hotkey14]Index=43Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=52[Hotkey15]Index=44Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=53[Hotkey21]Index=5Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=69[Hotkey10]Index=39Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=48[Hotkey20]Index=10Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=74[Hotkey26]Index=45Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=54[Hotkey25]Index=46Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=55[Hotkey24]Index=47Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=56[Hotkey22]Index=2Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=66[Hotkey23]Index=1Shift=0Ctrl=0Alt=1Key=65

[blave 0]

Aw dangit, I forgot to discuss how to set up FSUIPC for the button assignments, which you'll need to know if you decide not to copy/paste the settings I provided for the FSUIPC.INI file. (Consult the FS Garmin documentation for details on how to assign keys for that application.)* In FS2002, select Modules > FSUIPC. Select the Buttons tab. * press the stack button that you want to assign a value to. For instance, press the "D->" button. You should see the Joy#/Button# fields get filled in with 30 and 7 respectively.* Check the "Select for key press" box.* Press the Set button in the "Press the key(s) to be sent when you press this button" area, and then hit the assignment you want - in this case, 8. You should see this assignment appear in the corresponding grey box.* for the four concentric knob assignments ONLY, you will need to first set the "press" value, and then also set the "release" value to the same thing, by pressing the Set button in the "Press the key(s) to be sent when you release this button area", and then entering the same key assignment again. Otherwise, the knobs will only "do" something on every other click.Also, one minor edit: the "PollInterval=40" is not required (or recommended, unless needed for some other reason) in the FSUIPC.INI file.cheers,dB.