PFC (Precision Flight Controls)

[Matt Olieman]

Hi Pete,

I appreciate your attempt, unfortunately the gear lights still flash in FS9 and FSX.

Regards,
Matt Olieman

[Peter Dowson]

I appreciate your attempt, unfortunately the gear lights still flash in FS9 and FSX.

ah, shame.

In that case I think you should be pleased you didn't pay $100 for a firmware update, because according to Eric the only fix they made was to discard the very commands which my new PFC versions no longer send (when the motors option is off).

This suggests that, in fact, it is the hardware at fault rather than the firmware. Unless of course Eric is mistaken in his analysis of the code, which seems a little unlikely.

However, it is then all the more odd that, as I think you said, it was okay with an older version of the PFC driver. Is that not so? So, maybe Eric is mistaken after all ... I simply don't know.

Do the gear LEDs flash at any particular time? Or randomly, or all the time? Perhaps you could do some logging -- all COM port send & receive data -- but only for a short time, and only around a period when you know you will see the LEDs flash.

In fact if you do this with the latest PFC.DLL and with the old one you say doesn't flash, then maybe i can deduce the problem by comparing the logs.

Regards

Pete

[Matt Olieman]

Peter Dowson resolved the flashing light problem.

Thank you Pete, you're so much appreciated

Pete, will announce the updates at his Support Forum later today, please check there:

http://forums.simflight.com/viewforum.php?f=54

Thank you again Pete for the "NO FLASHING" Lights

Matt Olieman

[rookie]

I was wondering older PFC yokes could work with FSX? I believe is it is serial only not usb.

[Matt Olieman]

I was wondering older PFC yokes could work with FSX? I believe is it is serial only not usb.

How old are you talking about?

Matt Olieman

[rookie]

How old are you talking about?

Matt Olieman

Matt,
I am not sure maybe you can tell me I don't know much about the PFC, expect that it has to be better then CH Prod. Here is a pic of the yoke. I contacted PFC they said it would only work with ELITE. I am hoping that is not true.

[Peter Dowson]

Here is a pic of the yoke. I contacted PFC they said it would only work with ELITE. I am hoping that is not true.

As far as I understand the history, all of the very early models were made with Elite protocol and supplied for use only with Elite software. At that time even the consoles sold by Elite and labelled as Elite were manufactured by PFC and badged.

By the time I started working on PFC software, some eight or nine years ago, PFC had developed their own protocol and their newer models included a switch which selected Elite or PFC. Nowadays (for several years in fact) they are all PFC protocol only, and they are gradually replacing some of their catalogue, and adding to it, with fully-implemented USB models. So I think the one in your picture is some 4 generations out of date, at least, and probably at least 10 years old.

My current PFC software, the Flight Sim drivers for PFC serial port equipment, only works with the PFC protocol. The Elite protocol is proprietary and private to Elite, so there is no way I could support it.

With some models I think PFC can, for a price, convert the internals to work with PFC protocol, but there's a good chance that some of the earlier models are not even adaptable. Only PFC can really advise on this, and if they've already said it isn't possible then ... it isn't possible. Sorry.

Regards

Pete

[Matt Olieman]

Another option is to use your own interface (of the shelf). You may have to change the Pots.

Matt Olieman

[rookie]

Matt and Pete

Thanks for all the great info and opinions. It is great to have experts to help.
Pete your explaination was so much better then "IT won't work".

Thanks again.

[ak49er]

Hopefully not a hijack but I thought I would update my progress on my serial PFC Cirrus II console. After a few nights in the lab I have resurrected this console. It was delivered damaged and try as I might I could not get it to operate properly within the PFC.DLL, in FS9 using XP SP3. Some axis would show, but were jittery, and a single button press would send it all awry.

PFC had mimimal interest in reapiring the unit, so the use of a BUO386X came to mind. After a few false starts, I have every switch and all but one axis wired into the BUO386X card. The card had just enough axis slots to accept X/Y for the yoke, and six more for the levers, 2xprop, 2x mixture, 2x throttle.

I figure if I want to add more switches I'll get another card, but to take the one axis, I beleive Go Flight has a single pot card.

Some of the rocker switches had enough poles to sense an on and off signal, others were only an "on" signal. This works with FS9 + FSUIPC as you can assign a "Command sent when button released" siganl. For Xplane, I cannot find this option, so have set those signals to translate as "toggles."

The common denominator was everything shared a ground, with diodes seperating the poles on the switches, and the grounded poles were opposite of what one would normally choose. In hindsight I think using an older BOU386 card vs. the "X" would have reduced the amount of rewiring I had to do, as it is a "Matrix" type card.

At the same time I have also been bringing a Simkits TRC 172 Guage set, mounted in a TRC 172 Panel back to life.

So far I can get it to work with FS9, satisfactorily but still need to do some mecahnical repairs.

I have also found a Plug In for Xplane and TRC Guages, used in conjunction with the XPlane SDK and the SimKits SDK.

On Monday I could barely spell SDK, but now I am knuckle deep in it.

Sorry, no pictures as I left my camera at work, and will be withou it for a week.