FSX-MS FSXTS - FSX to TeamSpeak 3 radio integration

[Brett Adams 2]

Hello!

So I'm an AVGeek and a software developer, I got bored over the holiday break and decided I wanted to learn the SimConnect API in FSX.

 

I ended up writing a TeamSpeak3 plugin that interfaces with FSX. It allows you to "assign" TeamSpeak3 to either the COM1 or COM2 radio in any aircraft and use it as if TeamSpeak was one of the radios in the aircraft.

 

So below are the features that it gives you:

 

You can mute/unmute Teamspeak by utilizing the COM1/COM2/BOTH audio switches on the avionics audio panel. (KMA-26 in a 172 for example.)

 

You can customize and map as many frequencies as you want to as many TeamSpeak channels as you want.

 

So for example, let's say you and your friends hang out on TeamSpeak and talk while you fly, and you hang out in the following teamspeak channel on the server:

/Default Channel/FlightSimming/FSX/Our FlightSim Hangout Channel

 

You could map this channel to frequency "123.45" simply by adding to the configuration file:

123.45=/Default Channel/FlightSimming/FSX/Our FlightSim Hangout Channel

 

You can add as many of these mappings as you'd like. If you are on a frequency in FSX that is not mapped, the plugin will automatically mute TeamSpeak while you are in FSX until you change to a mapped frequency or exit FSX. (so you can still use the radio for ATIS, etc, as long as you don't map over an ATIS frequency.)

 

I have been using this plugin in conjunction with PilotEdge and VATSIM to be able to casually talk to friends while flying, and then when talking to ATC and don't want to be disturbed by hearing my friends talking, just hitting the COM2 audio switch to mute them while I communicate to ATC, also switching to multiple channels on TS without ever having to ALT-TAB out mid-flight.

 

Anyhow, I'm not sure if there is any interest in this what so ever in the FSX community. I just made it as a learning experience for myself, and it's a useful tool for me. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that I should at least see if others were interested as well. I'm not planning on selling it, or anything crazy like that. I just wanted to see if others could use it since I put the effort in to it.

 

Here are the system requirements:

- FSX SP2

- TeamSpeak 3 (32bit ONLY! Since FSX is 32bit, you can run the 32bit version of TS on 64bit systems just fine.)

       - 64bit version won't work, so don't even try.

 

The install is beyond simple, just copy a single DLL in to your TeamSpeak 3 plugins directory and it does the rest. (README includes install/configuration instructions included with the DLL.)

 

ANYHOW.

 

I haven't uploaded it to the file server here as I'm the only person who has used it and tested it. I haven't run in to any issues, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

 

If you are interested in using it, please drop me an email at: fsxtscontact at gmail.com and let me know that you'd like to use/test it and I'll send you a link to the alpha release. I would appreciate any feedback on issues and I'll try and correct them and then hopefully it's stable for more people and I can upload it to avsim.net!

 

Hopefully someone gets some enjoyment out of it, as I have.

 

Happy Flying!

[krazyk 157]

Now, THIS could turn into an overnight success for all Virtual Airlines operating on VATSIM that also happen to employ TeamSpeak in one way or another.

 

The VA where I am currently rostered uses TeamSpeak as a 'Company Frequency' and integrating it into FSX just makes it that slight bit more realistic as you're tuning the aircraft radios to pass your time in cruise, chatting it up with your mates or other pilots. 

 

Great work!

[RobdeVries 28]

Great stuff, thanks for developing! Why not upload it to the avsim library? 

[Brett Adams 2]

The AVSIM library states that alpha software shouldn't be uploaded due to the annoyance of multiple versions coming out. So basically, test it, then upload it once you are confident that it's relatively stable.

 

At this point I can't be 100% confident that it is stable. Mainly because I've only tested it on my one machine with my configuration. I thought it best to first just ask if anyone was even interested in something like this, and then have a few people test it out, make sure it's not going to cause problems, and then upload it to AVSIM when I'm more confident that it's good to go.

 

I've only lurked on the AVSIM community up until now, so I didn't want to come here and immediately break the rules listed on the library. lol

 

I never thought about the Virtual Airlines using it as a way to integrate their "company frequency", that's a great idea. Very cool!

[DetCord 24]

This is a bit like what we use in ArmA, though ACRE or Advanced Combat Radio Environment is far more complex.

 

I was wondering if something like this was ever going to emerge. Great work.

[sgraypgh 0]

Brett - email sent, as we are very interested in testing your software.

 

www.vusn.org

[hecrowell 3]

Brett

Very interesting. Email sent and our fsnb.ca group is interested in testing this plug-in

[RobdeVries 28]

LOL januari 2014. And did something surface?

[ddawson 35]

I (and a couple of others) have looked at this kind thing.   Building an addon module for TeamSpeak that uses SimConnect to retrieve FS com frequencies is pretty straightforward.

It gets slightly more interesting if you want to support the 64 bit TeamSpeak client, as SimConnect will only communicate with a 32 bit application.  Therefore, your 64 bit TeamSpeak plugin needs a 32 bit helper dll to make the SimConnect connection with FS.

Things get more interesting still when you consider making a "one size fits all" generic solution.  Not all TeamSpeak servers have the same channel structure.  Are we going to work with a fixed set of channels, or are we going to allow the user to create a new channel by switching to a currently unused com frequency?

When we're handling passwords, which program is going to ask for a revised password if the stored one does not work - TeamSpeak or FSX?  This could matter, depending if TS and FSX are running on the same computer, with FSX in fullscreen mode.

As I don't fly online, I have no idea whether there would be an existing consensus on any of this stuff.  I have no idea whether the OP went any further with his project or not (I don't recall seeing anything) but a lack of consensus on these issues may offer at least part of the reason why.

 

Doug Dawson

[RobdeVries 28]

Thanks Doug for explaining the intricacies  of programming this...