Gauges vs load on PC

[BlackWidow]

Hello everyone


So i was reading the ASI thread and started considering building my own gauges. I went and looked at FI's and Simkits Gauges and started thinking about some questions that i haven't seen answers for.

Are any of the gauges out there able to run on a networked PC? I am more interested in building my own with Mike Powell's book but i started wondering if I built say 12 gauges (the basic 6, one set for the pilot and one set for the co-pilot) what type of load would i be putting on my PC? would that make my flight sim run with less frame rates? Would i get gauges that stutter or could not keep up with the flight sim simply because there are so many gauges needing data? If any of you builders have experience with this type of setup or any setup that uses alot of gauges could you help shed some light on this subject for me.

Thanks

[dukabr]

The Servos Card (Open Cockpits) works on network.
I dont know if others cards work in this mode.

I think you dont loss performace because the data.

[abcbill]

Black Widow,

Depending on how you set up your hardware and software, it may or may not tax the system. Generally, the add-on cards you find for the servos handle the demands of getting the information from the PC to the servo, without the processor having to wait for the command to execute. In addition, the command strings are so short, that they only put a small load on the system, for a short period of time. Open Cockpits, SimKits and others have cards available to run a few or several dozen gauges. Try and think of it as an excel spread sheet executing 1+1; it’s very quick and not taxing on the system. It’s not like you’re going to try running a 2 page Macro on a hundred page spread sheet. The command strings are small, and only last milliseconds. The servo’s themselves are the slow part. Take a look at Scott Hendry’s page; http://home.exetel.com.au/flightsim/ he has a slew of gauges. You may get a better feel for what’s involved. Or drop Mike a line, if you want a more technical answer. I’m building my own gauges, as well, but using a different system, not for processing speed, but for wiring efficiency.
Cheers

[Willem737NG]

Hi Mike,

I use the Flight Illusion gauges for the captain and centre panel panels from engravity.
I run the FI software on a network computer and the gauges are also connected on the network computer via usb.
You need fsuipc and widefs to run.
I don't see any framerate impact.
I use the FI gauges because they are very small and solid.

Regards
Willem