Besides this subforum, and the RXP docs, are there any other resources or info about integrating the RXP GNS430 into an existing VC?

I'm attempting to put the GNS430 into the JustFlight Piper Tomahawk VC.   I'm only having partial success.

17 hours ago, Mace said:

Besides this subforum, and the RXP docs, are there any other resources or info about integrating the RXP GNS430 into an existing VC?

I'm attempting to put the GNS430 into the JustFlight Piper Tomahawk VC.   I'm only having partial success.

This is mostly a trial and error process.. Each airplane is different, and 3d cockpits cannot be changed by us, the users..  Post a screenshot of what you have attempted and possibly someone can help..

The JustFlight documentation claims F1 GNS compatibility.. if that includes a GNS430, the RXP unit should also work..

Edited April 26, 20206 yr by RXP

So I attempted to use the F1 GNS430 panel.cfg that comes with the aircraft, as the basis for my RealityXP GNS430 integration -- thinking that this panel.cfg would open up a large enough hole in the VC for a similar sized GNS unit.   However, as you can see below, the COM1/2 bezels are still in place despite my best efforts to get rid of them... but in the below pic, you can see the fully-functional RXP GNS430 in the open spots where the COM1/2 gauges would go...

Edited April 26, 20206 yr by RXP

Not having the plane, I am guessing a bit here, but the other Just Flight planes I have seen, have an option to select the GPS which should remove the bezel.  I think you are on the right path for sure.. just hoping another Tomahawk owner can verify the details.

Can you find the reference(s) to the F1GNS gauges in the panel.cfg file?

4 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

Not having the plane, I am guessing a bit here, but the other Just Flight planes I have seen, have an option to select the GPS which should remove the bezel.  

Yes.  JF supplied a small app which allows switching between no GPS, the F1 GNS530/430, and the F1 GTN 650/750.  This app simply renames the relevant panel.0 / 1/ 2 file to panel.cfg.  I took the panel.cfg for the GNS530/430 as the basis for my own.

4 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

Can you find the reference(s) to the F1GNS gauges in the panel.cfg file?

Yep.  Here's a snippet.  Notice how I commented out the GNS530 parts, because I don't want/need the 530.  However, i'm unsure as to exactly what gauge the little GNS, 1,1,1,1 entry is loading -- with its 1,1,1,1 (it can't be big, whatever it is, with those four numbers for its w,h,x,y values).  The Tomahawk's gauges are mostly in that JF_PA38_Tomahawk.dll file, so I can't easily get in there to see what there is...

//[Vcockpit03]
//size_mm=1024,1024
//pixel_size=1024,1024
//texture=$GNS530
//background_color=0,0,0

//gauge00=F1GNS!GNS530,  0,0,950,687,UNIT1.VC
//gauge01=JF_PA38_Tomahawk!GNS, 1,1,1,1

//--------------------------------------------------------

[Vcockpit02]
size_mm=1024,1024
pixel_size=1024,1024
texture=$Radios_2D
background_color=0,0,0

gauge00=rxpGNS2!GNS_430_1, 0, 0,479,765

 

Shouldn't there be some gauge which overlays the existing COM1/2 bezel?   Simply modding the VC .dds textures did not work, and I hit every version of the VC interior dds files I could find.  It makes me think some dds resource in that .dll file is what displays that default bezel.  Is that possible?

In my TB20 documentation there is this:

Due to limited panel space in the aircraft, the F1 GTN 650 and GTN 750 replace the GNS 430 when enabled,
seeing as these units serve a similar purpose as a GPS with integrated COM 1 and NAV 1 functionality. Due to
the size of the GTN 750, the other units will move downwards to accommodate it when it is selected.
For optimal performance we have included a Switcher tool, located in the Start Menu (Start > All Programs >
TB10 Tobago and TB20 Trinidad > TB10-20 Model Switcher), which allows you to switch between two models:
• Standard model – features the GNS 430. This is the default option.
• F1 GTN 650/750 model – features the integrated F1 GTN 650 and 750, in addition to the GNS
430.
With the F1 GTN 650/750 model selected, you can toggle between the GNS 430, GTN 650 and GTN 750
using the ‘Toggle GNS 430/GTN 650/GTN 750’ option.

Is there something similar for the Tomahawk?

 

Edited April 26, 20206 yr by RXP

My guess is that the GNS,1,1,1,1 gauge is in fact the selector that determines the state of the panel..

10 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

In my TB20 documentation there is this:

Due to limited panel space in the aircraft, the F1 GTN 650 and GTN 750 replace the GNS 430 when enabled,
seeing as these units serve a similar ...(omitted for brevity)
With the F1 GTN 650/750 model selected, you can toggle between the GNS 430, GTN 650 and GTN 750
using the ‘Toggle GNS 430/GTN 650/GTN 750’ option.

Is there something similar for the Tomahawk?

 

Yes, the Tomahawk documentation has nearly the exact text you mention... there is a menu toggle from within the sim (addons menu...) that toggles between these spaces.  I completely forgot about that, thanks!  That might be my key to solving this...

When I select GNS430 from the menu, it does open some blank space and eliminates the bezels, BUT my existing RXP GNS gauge gets pushed down below...probably because I'm using $2d_radio as my background...

It seems persistent, in other words, I exited the sim, and when I restarted, the same blank space is there.  I'm going to investigate the panel.cfg and see what that is.  I have also uncommented the GNS,1,1,1,1 gauge.

Edited April 26, 20206 yr by RXP

So here is what I have now, if I continue to use $Radios_2D as the background:

As you can see, $Radios_2D is not the correct texture for the open space.  I've tried $gps, which I think is a default sim texture, I've used $GNS430, which is what JustFlight uses for the F1 GNS, and I even tried using $GNS530.  No go on any of those.  I even looked for additional $____ within the MDL file, and any hooks in the .dll gauge file they use, and did not see anything. 

Is it possible that JustFlight implements their gps integration in a different way, something within their gauge .dll that I can't see?

@Bert Pieke on the TB20, were you able to integrate the RXP GNS (or GTN, for that matter) into the VC on that aircraft?  It sounds similar to the Tomahawk in the way JustFlight have set things up.

Edited April 26, 20206 yr by RXP
still a noob with Imgur

Yes, I was... and not by editing the panel cfg files in any way.

Just used the JF setup app, the addons JF selector, and lastly, the addons RXP substitution app.  No manual intervention

Edited April 26, 20206 yr by Bert Pieke

26 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

Just used the JF setup app, the addons JF selector, and lastly, the addons RXP substitution app.  No manual intervention

I tried that first, and again just now, with no success.

I'll just have to be content with using the RXP as a popup with this aircraft.

Have you  asked on the Justflight forum?  They have their own non standard way of doing things, but surely this should work!

21 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

Have you  asked on the Justflight forum?  They have their own non standard way of doing things, but surely this should work!

I did check there first, but I tend to go here first.  The one thread that I've found on RXP and their Tomahawk says something to the effect of, "we'll look into RXP compatibility", and that thread is from last year.  

I guess their forum is worth a shot though.  Thanks for the insight, I have learned a lot.

The thing with JustFlight is that they may support the F1 GTN and GNS... (based on their documentation), but if indeed you can get the GNS frame to show up, with a dark screen, we all know that substituting the RXP unit for the F1 unit is a piece of cake.

I am going to put a GNS 530 in my TB20 (which right now has a GTN in the panel) and document my steps..

Edited April 27, 20206 yr by RXP

OK, that does not work, because my TB20 only has two choices:  Standard panel and GTN650/750.

https://imgur.com/a/s9CSfvf

What options do you have?

BTW.. not only the panel.cfg gets switched, but so does the interior model file..

Edited April 27, 20206 yr by Bert Pieke