To Prosim or not? that is the question

[MrBlueSky 4]

I'm at a cross roads and I really need some experienced advice in respect of hardware interface and Prosim (or something else). Im on a journey to build a full size 737-800 flightdeck. Plan is to produce as much of the hardware myself as I can and interface it with P3D using predominantly arduinos and Mobiflight.

Prosim seems to be a popular route, although my original intention was to use the offsets available in PMDG and fsuipc. I'm worried that the range of offsets available with this option will not give me the ability to programme every function (eg FMC) 

However Prosim clearly does it all but with support it's near enough £2k. If you were in my position and just about to start a full cockpit build, would you pay the full whack for it today OR is there an equivalent that you would use in hindsight if you have gone down the Prosim route OR would you push on with P3D (PMDG) & fsuipc offsets. Worried I won't be able to fully integrate all of the hardware functions if I stick with this original plan
Really don't know which way to go. Any advice please?
Thanks

[kand 205]

There are other choices out there which you could use, but you might want to think about the future and not limit yourself to P3d solely, Prosim gives you this advantage.

You could consider SimAvionics for a complete package like Prosim which really is excellent and good value for money. The downside is that although its regularly updated, the developer seems to be focussed elsewhere so "enthusiasts" only benefit from the direction the commercial enterprise is headed. 

A cheaper avenue you could look at is here- http://www.aerosoft.com.au/aerosoft_australia/home.html, its a great package for $50, you can interface using FSUIPC but this is P3d only although it works in MSFS to some extent. 

There is also Project Magenta, but I am not familiar with it really.

[harrry 322]

Just take care of that aerosoft.com.au one.  Not sure if it is current but it is not the same as the normal aerosoft and it may be safest to use the paypal option so a refund can be got if needed,

It was a real product so it may  just be confusing because of the red  flags

 

The domain is listed on whois as

serverRenewProhibited

server renew prohibited

This status code indicates your domain's Registry Operator will not allow your registrar to renew your domain. It is an uncommon status that is usually enacted during legal disputes or when your domain is subject to deletion.

Often, this status indicates an issue with your domain that needs to be addressed promptly. You should contact your registrar to request more information and resolve the issue. If your domain does not have any issues, and you simply want to renew it, you must first contact your registrar and request that they work with the Registry Operator to remove this status code. This process can take longer than it does for clientRenewProhibited because your registrar has to forward your request to your domain's registry and wait for them to lift the restriction.

Edited August 5, 2022 by harrry

[kand 205]

2 hours ago, harrry said:

Just take care of that aerosoft.com.au one.  Not sure if it is current but it is not the same as the normal aerosoft and it may be safest to use the paypal option so a refund can be got if needed,

It was a real product so it may  just be confusing because of the red  flags

 

The domain is listed on whois as

serverRenewProhibited

server renew prohibited

This status code indicates your domain's Registry Operator will not allow your registrar to renew your domain. It is an uncommon status that is usually enacted during legal disputes or when your domain is subject to deletion.

Often, this status indicates an issue with your domain that needs to be addressed promptly. You should contact your registrar to request more information and resolve the issue. If your domain does not have any issues, and you simply want to renew it, you must first contact your registrar and request that they work with the Registry Operator to remove this status code. This process can take longer than it does for clientRenewProhibited because your registrar has to forward your request to your domain's registry and wait for them to lift the restriction.

I can tell you that Aerosoft Australia was around long before the European version previously Lago or something. I communicated with Andrew who runs Aerosoft Australia back in the spring, and a lot of us purchased the original 747 MCP back in 2006

There is no cause for alarm here 

[MrBlueSky 4]

9 hours ago, kand said:

There are other choices out there which you could use, but you might want to think about the future and not limit yourself to P3d solely, Prosim gives you this advantage.

You could consider SimAvionics for a complete package like Prosim which really is excellent and good value for money. The downside is that although its regularly updated, the developer seems to be focussed elsewhere so "enthusiasts" only benefit from the direction the commercial enterprise is headed. 

A cheaper avenue you could look at is here- http://www.aerosoft.com.au/aerosoft_australia/home.html, its a great package for $50, you can interface using FSUIPC but this is P3d only although it works in MSFS to some extent. 

There is also Project Magenta, but I am not familiar with it really.

I do want to keep my options open so Prosim does have an advantage there. I'll have a look at SimAvionics thanks and bear in mind your comments about commercial focus.

The Aerosoft.au looks to be good value although I will struggle to interface a lot of the hardware that uses arduino and leo bodnar joystick cards so its probably off menu for me.

 

Thanks again  

[A340Bangla 40]

Originally a project magenta user for many years (actually since its very beginnings), I am now running Prosim A320 so I cannot really say anything specific to the B737 versions. But I can give the following comments:

Prosim seems to be pursuing the MSFS route very actively and as far as I can see from their forum there are quite a number using MSFS. Seems multiscreen is about to make its entry into MSFS.

Prosim is ideal for a distributed architecture, i. e. running elements on different computers, e.g. I am running the MIP and MCDU on separate computers

Prosim is actively supporting a great variety of hardware with drivers integrated in their software, which was the main reason for me to change from Project Magenta. And Leo Bodnar's cards work perfectly.

The basic package is EUR 1500 and the annual update is 99 EUR at this moment. Living in Thailand I do not have the issues with taxes and duties.

[harrry 322]

I  know I sounded alarmist but remember this came after the loss of a couple of thousand dollars of sceneryand aircraft after two  "reputable" dealers closed shop.  Sites with internet setups like this are usually suspicious.

[C2615 319]

Not sure how long will iFly push out CBE for it's Advanced Series, if it's there, it'll be a nice alternate.

I have some play on Prosim pro version, judging from only aircraft systems, it doesn't seems superior than PMDG or iFly, far from CAE's one of course...

[frantzy 4]

I've been a Prosim 737-800 user for almost 2 years now. Very happy with it - I use SISMO, Cockpit For You, Flight Deck Solutions and Agronn hardware and integration is excellent. Incremental updates continue weekly and the community forum is small (in our niche corner of a niche hobby) but active and supportive.  I fly 5x per week and rarely have any issues whatsoever.  Also nice that the conversion path to MSFS should I ever make the leap is seamless. In fact, many fly both sims interchangeably with the same Prosim config. 

Mike

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

On 8/5/2022 at 10:32 AM, MrBlueSky said:

I'm worried that the range of offsets available with this option will not give me the ability to programme every function (eg FMC) 

Not to worry, PMDG got that covered. All buttons on the FMC can be operated using their custom events, and the screen content can be streamed to the outside using a suitable middleware (Aviaworx, AxisAndOhs, etc.)

To make sure that the control events that you need exist, take a look into their SDK spec here:
\<Prepar3D folder>\PMDG\PMDG 737 NGX\SDK\PMDG_NGX_SDK.h

You can open it with any text editor of your choice. I know that this is C++ code, but IMHO it is quite well documented. Control events start around line 580 for the NGX.

Edited August 12, 2022 by Lorby_SI

[jlohrenz 133]

I've been on a similar journey as you.  I started with iFly's CBE, which is probably the next best thing to Prosim, however they only have a P3D version.  If you are looking for something that will work with P3D and MSFS, then Prosim is your best route to go.  Unless something has changed, while PMDG is a good option, if you are looking at a multi-PC setup, which most full sim-pits are, you need to get an avionics package to work with PMDG for your displays.  iFly's CBE does this for you.

So I'd say as far as features and modularity it would be this:

1. Prosim-AR (P3D and MSFS)

2. iFly Cockpit Builder's Edition (P3D Only)

3. PMDG + Avionics package (Project Magenta, etc...) (P3D and MSFS)

 

Either way get ready for a large sucking sound as once you dive into a fully cockpit simulator it gets expensive.  I'm done with my purchasing for mine but still working on interfacing all the components.  I've been at it for 5 years now and am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and hope to have mine flyable sometime this year.

 

Best of luck and feel free to PM with questions.  There are some good communities out there as well: https://www.cockpitbuilders.com