My FD and MCP displays vanish w/RCv4

[lensman 0]

Hi all,I've just started going through the RCv4 tutorials using the default B737-800. Something odd and bad happens - the flight director switch will not turn on, and all of the MCP displays are blank. I can "turn the knobs" and the mouseover tells me what the setting is, but the autopilot and autothrottle will not turn on. The radio panel is blank.What's worse is that this behavior then happens in the MCP of *all* FSX stock aircraft (except the B747, the MCP display is not electronic). By "all", I mean: the CRJ, the Lear60, the Lear45, the Goose, C172 ... you get the idea.This does not happen with those aircraft if used in Missions. If I start a mission (say Secret Shuttle), then go to free flight and pick the 737, the displays will be blank and the FD switch will not work. So, right now, I can only use the PMDG 747 and the stock B747.Any clues on how to correct this would be welcome. I like RCv4, but if it's going to take down the rest of a/c I will have to pass on using it. Thanks in advance,

[ronzie 21]

I do not have FSX and FSUIPC4. From your description it sounds like your aircraft electric power is off. That would prevent the automatic controls from turning on and result in no displays.Be sure you have the latest FSUIPC installed as described in the thread at the top. Check your overhead panels to see what power indications are present.RC has no connection to your panel other than in default aircraft types allowing the RC copilot to control your aircraft.Are you experiencing these problems only when RC is loaded and activated? Are you using RC on the FS machine or via a network.Also post your Operating System. Since you mentioned missions, I assume you are using FSX.One trick that affects many aircraft is to create a flight in a parked condition either cold and dark or with some electrics up and save it as the default flight. The default flight actually loads and initializes FS even before the menu appears. The default flight is also the basis of the aircraft state when you create a flight.A fully registered FSUIPC does have some features that affect electrics so if you have the full capability version check out its settings.The PMDG does not use many of the standard FS system interfaces which can explain why it is working and others not.

[lensman 0]

Hi, Thanks very much for your note. It led me to a work-aroundand now I am semi- happily flying around again.>I do not have FSX and FSUIPC4. From your description it>sounds like your aircraft electric power is off. That would>prevent the automatic controls from turning on and result in>no displays.The displays (PFD, etc) were working - the only ones that werenot are the numbers on the speed, heading, altitude, and V/S,GPS and radios. Oddly, only "course" indicator continued to work.This is in the 737, ERJ, Lear 45 & 60, and the others mentionedlast time. I don't use the Lears, so I was quite surprised whenI tested those & they didn't work either. >Be sure you have the latest FSUIPC installed as described in>the thread at the top. Check your overhead panels to see what>power indications are present.My FSUIPC is 4.1.5.7, July 2007. I'll download a more recentone and figure out how to install it. Thanks for having mecheck this.The a/c all start up powered (battery on), and the mainglass panels all display normally. Only the F/D switch willnot turn on. If I turn everything off, and try a cold and dark start beginningwith the battery switch, those MCP displays, radios, and GPSdo not display. If the a/c has a FMC, it does work.Now for the work-around. If, and only if, I start the engines using Ctrl-E-1 and Ctrl-E-2, after the first engine is up toground idle, the F/D switch turns *itself* on, the GPS, radios,heading, speed, altitude, and V/S all come on. This works forevery a/c that has had the problem, including the unused ones.>Are you experiencing these problems only when RC is loaded and>activated? Are you using RC on the FS machine or via a>network. Also post your Operating System. Since you > mentioned missions,I assume you are using FSX.I am using MSFSX Acceleration, Win XP Pro SP3, 2 GB RAM, Q9540(or Q9450?) quad something (threads, processors, cores?). Ijust checked and task manager says there are 4 CPUs. I don'tknow if that means there is one CPU with 4 'HT's, or 4 actualcores. The folks who built it for me have FSX set to use 2 ofthe 4 whatever-they-are at "realtime" priority (that's what thenote said). It has a Radeon 3780 with 512 MB GDD3 memory(my apologies - that's what the note appears to say in thetext-to-speech software. I've probably goofed up other specstoo). It also has a one terabyte boot disk and the two disksthat survived when my previous computer caught fire. It soundslike there is 1.75 TB of disk (?). And a DVD burner. It's anASUS P5K motherboard in an Antek (maybe Antec) case.For add-ons, I have the PMDG 747X and LDS 767 (father's daylast year and this year), the Abacus 787 Dreamliner, plus Radar Contact. I used to have FS2Crew, FriendlyPanels FMS and CoPilot Pro, but they were on the disk that didn't survive. It's likely that I have those backed up on DVD,but I haven't had the heart to put in every CD/DVD andlisten to the directories.>One trick that affects many aircraft is to create a flight in>a parked condition either cold and dark or with some electrics>up and save it as the default flight. The default flight>actually loads and initializes FS even before the menu>appe ars. The default flight is also the basis of the aircraft>state when you create a flight.I think I misundertood what I heard. The settings on thedefault flight (engines, brakes, FMC, radios) are propagatedto whatever airplane I'm using? So the Cessna startup stateis also the stock B737 state? I've only used RC with the stock B737, but I guess that's whythe disappearing MCP and radios appear in other aircraft,including others I've never used. I'll set up the Cessnawith the engine turned on and see what happens.>A fully registered FSUIPC does have some features that affect>electrics so if you have the full capability version check out>its settings.I don't have a registered copy of FSUIPC yet. I think the oneI have came with FS2Crew or perhaps the PMDG 747X. >The PMDG does not use many of the standard FS system>interfaces which can explain why it is working and others>not.Oh. Yep, that would explain it. But why would the LDS fresh-from-the download work correctly? It may have come all powered up.It's going to take me a month or two to listen to the PDF file.So I have to:1) get a newer copy of FSUIPC;2) set the default flight to B737 and have the engine(s) on;3) see if that fixes the a/c I never use but have the same problem.Oh, if the MCP digit displays are not working, ATIS and ATC(either RC or MS) does not work either. Once the first engineis at flight idle, MS's ATC and RC's ATC all work. So all of this is co-incidental with the installation of RC.I hope I can get my eyes operated on soon. Having other peopleinstall software lets things get out of control quickly. Thanks very, very much!p.s. 10,000 puddles and 10,000,000,000,000 black flies. Butwow, what a beautiful place.

[ronzie 21]

I use the Baron, engines off, battery off, at a gate, for cold and dark default. In the full FSUIPC I have the "magic" battery turned on.You definitely need a new FSUIPC 4 from http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html:FSX FSUIPC4 4.28 NEW Full release of FSUIPC 4 (incorporating WideFS 7) for use with FSX April 28th 2008 (3 MB)FSUIPC like other FS .dlls in the modules folder loads when FS starts. RC does not have to be running for the authorized features to be activated.For only FS9 and FSUIPC3 there was one brief version that interfered with throtlle control, but this was very recent and past history.For most of the start state, the LDS and PMDG do their own thing outside of FS initialization.I do not recall default aircraft at the moment but on some A/T and F/D will not arm with engines off. That is a safety feature on some.Avionics may have a separate electrics switch on some models.

[norman s 15]

Hi,This might not apply.The rule for loading a PSS airbus was that you always had to ensure that a default aircraft was loaded with engines running and avionics on otherwise the PSS aircraft would have blank instruments.I would load aflight using the default 737, turn on all engines,all other electrics,select departure and arrival airports and using the inbuilt planner ,a route and before taxi save the flight as the default flight.This may get over your problem.Norman Bowman

[ronzie 21]

In FS9 whatever aircraft (compatible with default aircraft) state you saved as the default flight would be the state any loaded flight aircraft (again compatible with default aircraft) should work without manually loading another aircraft first.If you look at the FSUIPC log in your modules folder you'll see what I am talking about. This works for me for several PMDG 737NG parameters that use standard FS9 standard interfacing.