An android/IOS tablet MFD extractor that just works!
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Hi everyone, due to a long stint abroad and other real life obligations (like moving to a new place) I have not had that much free time to dedicate to Falcon BMS Control, as I’ve wanted. But: Good news, Apple is kind of forcing my hand since the current app is not built for iOS 15, so I’ll release a new version tonight/tomorrow.
That version has pretty ‘abstract’ bezels, but for now I’ll focus on adding more core functionality rather than more eye candy. It also has a working RWR display and quite a bunch of improvements under the hood.You will find that version on the respective app stores and the github page soon. Oh, and there will be a Windows client as well, for people who own a Surface or another touchscreen laptop/tablet of sorts and want to run it there.
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Fish: Would you be opposed to me using your video on the github page? It is much better than any video I ever got.
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@kungfoo Only seeing this now Kungfoo. Absolutely no problem for you to use my video. Also Many thanks for the new update Looks absolutely great. Really like the new bezel look of the MFD’s. Touch points much easier to find, and the RWR along side the ICP is great use of available space. Good job.
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@fish44 Cool, I’ll link it on the home page then.
Up next: properly detect notch-phones and render in the safe area…
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Thank you Kungfoo for the app opportunity and Fish for the video demonstration.
The desk top MFD solution appeals to me. I’ve no experience with a tablet and have never shopped for one. I do use a Kindl so I suppose that’s somewhat similar. I’m contemplating getting a tablet to try your solution. Maybe I’ll use it to read BMS manuals when on the go. Other than that, I haven’t identified a need.
Which Android unit would you recommend for compatibility with your app and optimum performance? I examined these.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 10.4 Wi-Fi 32GB Android about $230
Fire HD 10 tablet, 10.1", 1080p Full HD, 32 GB about $150GC
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@greatcouloir I got a Lenovo M10, as a second tablet, Pretty decent spec, brand and very good price. Might throw this into the mix of options. Guess @kungfoo needs to tell you the version of android the app supports, as this will be more important than the brand of tablet.
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Playstore description tells us
Android 4.0 oder higherI had it tested on my very old 2012 Motorola xoom2 me running Android 4.4 up to a Teclast M40 running Android 11
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It should run on android 4.0 or higher. Any of the devices you listed should have way enough processing power to handle it. It will probably run on the Fire HD, but the Lenovo M10 looks like a really good contender and where I live, it is actually cheaper to acquire…
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A shout out for Kungfoo and Falcon BMS Control -
Thank you for creating and making the Falcon BMS Control application available to the community. Since my last post, I procured a 10” tablet and installed the latest version of your software. The setup was simple and trouble free as hoped. The application’s performance has been outstanding. I really like the flexibility it provides with less reliance on a mouse. I picked up a stand from Amazon that supports the tablet at the perfect location in ergonomic line of sight and just below the sim on my monitor. Another valued benefit for me is the lack of desktop clutter from cabling. What a neat, functional addition to my BMS simming setup!
I highly recommend this tool to anyone in the community looking for a no-nonsense, tactile MFD solution for DED, RWR, UFC, and MFDs. Per section 5.2 in the Technical Manual, remember to change, set g_bExportRTTTextures 0, in your config file from 0 to 1 to enable the extractions.
GC
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Thanks again for the heads-up, setup is a no-brainer and I had the tool up and running on my BMS PC & android tablet in literally less than 2 minutes.
I have a couple of questions:
o can this tool be used in a LAN environment with other bms instances running on the same network (that are running the server software part as well) or will my tablet connect to the first server instance it comes across on the network?
o are more panels on the horizon some time in the future? I’d love to be able to control the autopilot and maybe the (e)cm programs from this app as well, then I could finally make the switch from komurcu’s trusted (but buggy and no longer supported) mfd android server app.
Thanks @kungfoo for sharing your work with the community, it’s much appreciated!
All the best,
Uwe
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@hoover Using it in a LAN environment is a good question. Currently it will connect to the first server it finds, which will sure be fun for about 5 or 10 minutes of dogfight mode while you control and see your opponents radar.
I will think about a way to fix this, potentially enable the user to enter a server name or assign a unique id to each server and then let the user pick. Maybe it even needs some pairing code (like bluetooth, so people cannot ‘spy’ on your screens)
I want to add more buttons and toggles in the future, but shy away from the AP switches, since BMS does not export the current, actual state of the switches via shared mem and in my opinion, that just asking for the switches to de-sync between the clients/server and the actual cockpit.
CMS rotary will be added soon’ish, 3-4 weeks, since that state is exported to shared mem and thus, correct.
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@greatcouloir Tat’s good to hear it is working so well for you. Making it as simple and responsive as possible was my highest goal and apart from the occasional network hiccup or config shenanigan, it seems to deliver that.
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@kungfoo of course you’re correct with the AP switches, it happens all the time with komurcu’s app as well but it’s no biggie on my end as I only use the left ap switch in the app while I have the right one mapped to a 3-way-switch on the Warthog.
Thanks for considering however and I’m looking forward to what you come up with in the future. I just did a test campi flight with your tool and I had no issues using it instead of mfde server.
It might be easiest to provide a way to connect to a certain IP from the tablet and then authorizing (if you want to) this connection in the server app by a simple y/n answer, I don’t think we need to make things extra secure in our cozy BMS environment
All the best,
Uwe
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@kungfoo for the AP switch it is exposed to shared memory through the LightBits
AutoPilotOn = 0x40000000, // TRUE if is AP on. NB: This is not a lamp bit!
If the right AP switch is either in up or down position. So if the AP disengages automatically because it out of parameters AutoPilotOn switches to false and you could read and pull the switch back to center. Basically all tools ie Helios, komercus … use it like that. The only cavecat if the user switches the AP on through either in pit click or Hotas DX you wouldn’t know if he switched it to ALT or ATT Hold so the only way I could think of to come across
if AutoPilot changes from false to true loop for a sec and check if Altitude is changing true -> swtich to ATT false -> switch to ALT
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@oakdesign But there is still the other AP switch and that one is bound to be wrong. Could also happen if the client loses the connection for a moment.
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@kungfoo the left AP switch is not relevant for the Automatic disengage as it stays in position only the right switch falls back to center.
But in the end if the user decides to use an alternative method to engage a switch you would have that issue for most switches as shared mem more exporting avionics states rather than explicit switch positions. But I’m sure that’s nothing new to you -
@hoover I have addressed the most pressing issue with automatic discovery in a new release. Please find the details in the other thread:
https://forum.falcon-bms.com/post/335601
This version allows users to specify the server ip address (thus disabling automatic discovery), which should make it a viable option in a LAN party setting.
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Hello. Wish it just worked for me
All I’m seeing on my Android devices at this point is “Discovering Server.” I am trying with an old Samsung S2 tablet and a Chromebook. Same thing on both. The firewall on my PC appears to be allowing the app in both directions. Falcon is in the air.
On the server, it’s running. Here’s the log. Is there something else I need to do? I did add the line below into Falcon BMS.cfg:
set g_bExportRTTTextures 1 //Allow BMS to export ICP and MFD
2022-01-25 13:44:22.5442|INFO|FalconBmsUniversalServer|Starting up…
2022-01-25 13:44:22.6850|INFO|FalconBmsUniversalServer|Listening for broadcast packets on: 0.0.0.0:9020
2022-01-25 13:44:22.7182|INFO|FalconBmsUniversalServer|Running on 0.0.0.0:9022 -
disable your firewall temporarily and see if that helps with discovery of the server.
All the best,
Uwe
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@bdlmi2018 Also, try running the server as Administrator (is BMS running as Administrator?).