-Ice's Falcon BMS Helios Profile Updated… Again!
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3. ASUS 19.5" Touch Screen (Hoping with your help to configure for interactive left and right Aux and and main consoles)
As noted above, I’d like to use the #3 display as an interactive touch screen for the Lt & Rt consoles. My plan is to use your updated Helios Profiles but, I’m not certain whether to use Helios, YAME or, both. Would you kindly advise. BTW. I want to thank you again for your help in getting me back up and running BMS after my blue screen debacle a few months back. Equally important, thanks for introducing me to YAME. It’s a fantastic product.Yeah I hear what your saying. However, I wanted to do something with a bit more fidelity and realism.
Hello Mike!
Nice pit! However, I feel that your “need” for multiple screens has made you make this setup and that you have “wasted” a lot of your screen real estate. One of the biggest challenges I had was making full use of every available space on the screen but also not making the touch zones too small as to be unusable. As you can see with your 32" screen, there is probably half of that screen that is unused and with your overlay, there is nothing else really that you can show on that screen without the overlay getting in the way.
If you look at my single-screen profile, nearly every bit of space is utilized and because there is no overlay, I can still use the full screen space for things like side consoles, maps, approach charts, comms menus, etc. It has nothing to do with fidelity or realism at all.
Anyway, if you still want to use my profile, I would suggest just porting it over to your 19.5" touchscreen and you have the entire left and right console controls at a touch of a button. The left AUX console may be a challenge, as this is on my 2-screen profile and not on the 1-screen version. I don’t think you’d need a right AUX console as there is nothing interactive there anyway. If all you want to do is the console controls, then it’ll all be Helios. YAME only deals with gauges, displays, MFDs, etc. and is really only useful for the front console stuff and maybe the CMDS display on the left AUX console.
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Small notice for Mike. I see you use the original TWP but with the ATD screen. YAME v1.2 has the ATD bezel option too, and with working buttons. So to keep it more “real” I would suggest either changing the RWR screen from ATD to the regular older green one, or remove the TWP and use the ATD with bezel
Other then that, awesome combination with your screen setup mate! -
Doesn’t matter really because that is not a touchscreens so he can’t really control anything from there.
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Doesn’t matter really because that is not a touchscreens so he can’t really control anything from there.
Ah ok, I thought it was because I also saw the MISC panel on there.
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He’s got a small 8" Lilliput for his ICP, a small 5" MIMO for his HSI/INSTR stuff), and that’s it. That’s all his “touch” panels as far as the main screen/front console goes. On the third pic, he’s got a 19" touchscreen.
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Good afternoon all on this beautiful day in da Bronx, New York with temps expected to reach 90 degrees. As I sit down to continue to tackle all the variables for my pit set up, I want to thank you guys for your invaluable input. ICE, your observation is on point. My 32" is a non-touchscreen (transplanted from my civilian flight sim - running X-Plane, P3D & FSX Steam - when I upgraded to a Dell 42" Curved Screen for that system). Since my dreaded Blue Screen crash last year, followed by a complete rebuild, my military sim rebuild has centered on achieving three important factors (factors at least important to me):
First, I absolutely wanted to use my TM Cougar MFD’s. Prior to my rebuild, I had these MFD’s velcro’d to my 19.5" touchscreen which bracketed the BMS MFD extraction. Result - crappy as you might imagine or have experienced. Every time I’d hit an MFD button, a desktop app would open. Solution - disable the touchscreen function. In my new setup - unacceptable. Hence, a cutout overlay with my TM MFD’s velcro’d atop to proximate the F-16’s MFD placement. This overlay is velcro’d to the frame of my 32" display. And ICE, I fully appreciate your comment on wasting real estate and, as you’ve noted, my 32" is a non-touch screen. Which brings me to my next factor.
Second, I absolutely wanted to avoid using my mouse for in-game functions as much as possible. Accordingly,I decided to relegate my 32" non-touchscreen as a dedicated Center Console Instrument Display only, realizing that I was going to forfeit some interactive functionality (Misc panel, Instr Mode, TWP, Master Caution &, Fuel Qty). As a work around I’ve mapped some of these functions (Alt/Att Hold, A/P, Laser Arm, Master Caution and, others) to my eight (8) TM MFD Rocker Swithches (Gain, BRT, SYM, CON). And Focaldesign, as I continue to tweak my setup, I plan to introduce the YAME ATD (Fictional) Bezel. I love the added Sit Awareness features it offers. However, as I have no touchscreen capability for my 32" monitor nor, do I want to use my mouse (even if I can) for the associated ATD buttons. I’m thinking about using an additional TM MFD I have on hand to carry out these functions. I’ll reach out down the road to discuss how to set it up - if doable. In addition, I’m exploring mapping some functions to DX HOTAS Shifted (Paddle & Pinky) callbacks.
Third, Touchscreen functionality. I’ve got these three (3) touchscreen monitors I wanted to put into play. An 8" for dedicated ICP, a 5" for HSI, Istr Mode & Fuel Qty and a 19.5" for Left & Right Consoles. And ICE I plan to port your HELIOS profile for this next step. Theoretically, this config should work. The 8" and 5" TS’s are operational without incident - so far.
Finally, I’d like to use my Tablet to run WDP. I’ve reached out to Falcas to get the particulars. I think what I’ve got planned is pretty cool and will keep pressing forward till I get it just like I envision.
In closing, I again want to thank you guys for your guidance and continued support.
Mike
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I fully understand your situation, Mike. I also started with Cougar MFDs which I velcro’ed to the bezels of my 2nd screen. I also had a Lilliput touchscreen and also tried an iPad app before that. What these showed me was that I loved the interactivity of the touchscreens and being able to see a picture behind the Cougar MFDs was invaluable. It also showed me that the iPad and the Lilliput screen just didn’t have enough space, thus, the port over to a bigger touchscreen.
I initially missed having my MFDs, having that tactile feedback of pressing a button. However, I soon learned to rely on AUDIO feedback, which led me to dig around the .key files to find which parameters triggered certain audio feedback. Back in 4.32, not all switches had audio feedback IIRC and the parameters were all over the place. 4.33 has brought this all in line, thankfully, but by then I’m very much used to the audio feedback. The only real time I would admit that a physical feedback is better is the 4-way dobber on the ICP.
I sold my Cougar MFDs.
With regards to your concerns, 1) you will still get the function of your MFDs, just not the tactile feedback. But like I said, there is audio feedback. The upside is that the “real estate” taken up by the MFDs can now be used for other purposes, at times when MFD interaction is not really necessary. 2) With my Helios profile, once you click that TAKEOFF button, you can put your mouse and keyboard aside. You can do full startup to shutdown and you can even use the comms even without a voice command software. 3) By using my Helios profile, you eliminate the need for complex monitor setups.
My honest suggestion is this –- use that 19.5" screen on horizontal orientation and simply use two screens for now… just your display screen and your touchscreen. Use my profile as intended, play with it, see how it works, what it offers. Try it out for a month or so — after all, you’ve already been using your current setup for a while — all I ask is give my Helios profile a fair try. There are two reasons for this. First, a lot of work has gone into the profile and Second, creating your own unique profile can be a lot of work too, even if you just go for the simple side-console stuff. Helios isn’t really very reliable with the cut-and-paste stuff. You’ll save yourself a lot of work if you do like my profile, but if after a good month of flying with it you still prefer your old setup, then fair enough… but by that point, you’ll at least have a better understanding of Helios and what it can do and so you’ll also understand what you’d want in your setup.
Good luck!
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ICE, you’re the man. Not only in respect to your brilliant Profile as its a fantastic piece of work. But beyond that, your dedication to the community and willingness to step up and help us nuggets is immeasurable. After my blue screen crash, I reached out and you got me back in the pit. As a Marine Veteran I continue to live by my Corp’s motto " Semper Fidelis" - Always Faithful. In that vein, you deserve my loyalty for your ongoing advice and support. So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’ve got a third desk top system that I used for work applications before I retired along with another 19.5" touchscreen monitor and a 24" non-TS display. Although its not tricked out like my mil and civilian flight systems, I’ll load up BMS and run your profile in its entirety as suggested and measure it against my setup. Again understand that my initial goal was to introduce (mentioned in a previous post) a measure of fidelity and realism. Fidelity defined as: the degree to which an electronic device (such as a record player, radio, or television) accurately reproduces its effect (such as sound or picture). Realism needs no further explanation. Cougar/Warthog HOTAS, TIR 5, Andre’s Gametrix Jet Seat (Buttkicker coming soon), my Corsair Dolby Headset and, Voice Attack have certainly added to the sensory composite. Ergo - my quest for realism.
I’ve put in a lot of work conceptually designing and constructing my setup. Naturally, I’m a bit reticent to consign it to the trash heap. And getting rid of my TM MFD’s is going to be a leap. But hey, you never know.
And Focaldesign, here’s a shout out for you. YAME is incredible. Thanks again for your help over the past couple of weeks in pointing me toward a fix for my YAME display settings. And thanks for your affirmative nod to my pit setup. BTW, I hope Roccio is recovering well and will be back in the mix soon. Please forward my best regards.
Guys, at the end of the day we are a Band of Brothers joined in a community attempting to enjoy the experience of F-16 flight simulation and, I’m sure, other aircraft as well. Laughably, my experience has been vexing as I’ve spent the last couple of years just trying to get this sucker to work. In all honesty, I haven’t flown a full mission yet. But when I eventually do, I’m going to do it right - with all the bells and whistles.
Semper Fi
Mike -
Guys, at the end of the day we are a Band of Brothers joined in a community attempting to enjoy the experience of F-16 flight simulation and, I’m sure, other aircraft as well. Laughably, my experience has been vexing as I’ve spent the last couple of years just trying to get this sucker to work. In all honesty, I haven’t flown a full mission yet. But when I eventually do, I’m going to do it right - with all the bells and whistles.
This immersive experience, living for brief times vicariously thru the experiences of the real heros that flew, and fly for our rights, is something I have failed to find a way to convey to those close to me that are non simmers. But mikemadmax, you nailed it. You described it precisely, thank you Sir.
Tril,
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@Mike - Thanks for giving my suggestion a try. I fail to see how you can talk of fidelity and realism while talking about two setups that use monitors…. if we were comparing a full-real pit with physical switches versus a setup with touchscreens, then yeah, I can totally see the “fidelity and realism” in that argument but not when we are talking about different monitor setups I’m advocating the use of your touchscreen as your 2nd screen because you won’t be duplicating stuff all over the place and you’ll be making better use of your monitor real estate.
I do agree about your setup and the effort you’ve gone through to get to it, but I hope that the better experience of using the touchscreen will show you that it’s the better way forward… at least IMHO.
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Hi Ice,
Just wanted to express my thanks again for your profiles in V1.1 and V1.2 of YAME. It is just a different game for me now, great immersion.
A few weeks back, I was frustrated with the compatibility of my touch screen under WIN10, it didn’t want to work. I found the solution on another forum (I don’t take the credit) but wanted to share it:
"- goto services -> find Program Compatibility Assistant Service -> click it and stop it- test Helios
- if you find it help…then change it’s start up type to “disabled”"
It works now perfectly.
One question for you:
When I change view and go to “Orbit Cam” for example, all the gauges displayed on the second screen become frozen…Is this part of the BMS software, or is there a way around to keep them functioning?
Thanks a lot,Johan
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Thanks for the kind words, Johan. I’m glad you found my work useful.
One question for you:
When I change view and go to “Orbit Cam” for example, all the gauges displayed on the second screen become frozen…Is this part of the BMS software, or is there a way around to keep them functioning?Interesting. I never tried this before because I don’t really spend too much time on other views and when I do, I’m just taking screenshots or doing something else, not paying attention to the Helios/YAME extraction. I tested this now and it seems that most of the gauges work but not the MFD extraction or the eHSI…. engine gauges, fuel flow, etc. do work.
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Ice
In posts #103/104 above, you indicated that you might consider doing a button that would transform the jet from a cold start to a hot start. Did you ever do it? I am in the process of getting back to Falcon and updating my files and was just wondering.
Thanks
Sobe -
Ice
In posts #103/104 above, you indicated that you might consider doing a button that would transform the jet from a cold start to a hot start. Did you ever do it? I am in the process of getting back to Falcon and updating my files and was just wondering.
Thanks
SobeHi Sobe! It’s in the to-do list
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
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ICE
I have spent most of the day getting your profile and related files to work. Other than the fact that I have to remember to reverse the location of screens 1 and 2, all seems to be working ok. However, I do have some questions:First, I am confused on your VAC, TS, UHF and VHF commands. These lines appear in the target profile:
//Coolie Switch - Mapped to copy the COMM switch in the Cougar throttle
MapKeyIO(&Throttle, CSU, PULSE+‘u’, DX22); // VAC PTT Activate, UHF Transmit
MapKeyIO(&Throttle, CSD, PULSE+‘u’, CHAIN(L_CTL, DX24)); // VAC PTT Activate, TS3 PTT and VHF TransmitAs I understand, CSU up shifted produces a “U” command for VAC. CSU up unshifted allows a UHF transmission.
CSD down shifted again produces a “U” command for Vac. However, I am confused on CSD down unshifted. Does this command produce a TS3 command and ALSO a VHF transmission? Why both in one button? What is the TS3 command?
Would it be less confusing (at least to me) to change CSD so that unshifted, it produces scroll lock for TS3 and a CSD shifted to produce the VHS transmission? Sorry if this is confusing.In the system button in Helios, I do not have the Yame button and the target button and cannot seem to get them in the system button (I do see them in the Image files). Could you explain the process of creating shortcuts in the system button?
In prior target profiles, when I set the afterburner in the game by left clicking the line, I would notice a slight delay as the throttle was advanced so this would indicate to me that I was in the begining of afterburner. In your profile, I do not notice the delay. How do you handle this situation?
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As I understand, CSU up shifted produces a “U” command for VAC. CSU up unshifted allows a UHF transmission.
CSD down shifted again produces a “U” command for Vac. However, I am confused on CSD down unshifted. Does this command produce a TS3 command and ALSO a VHF transmission? Why both in one button? What is the TS3 command?
Would it be less confusing (at least to me) to change CSD so that unshifted, it produces scroll lock for TS3 and a CSD shifted to produce the VHS transmission? Sorry if this is confusing.TS3 PTT for me is mapped to CTRL. I did this because the group I was flying with would use TS3 on the 2D screens and we’d shift to IVC once in 3D, so I would simply mute my TS3 before committing to pit and thus go from TS3 PTT to VHF Transmit only. I can see why you are confused… I had to think for a moment there to remember why I did it that way. I’ve not flown with my group for ages as well…
In the system button in Helios, I do not have the Yame button and the target button and cannot seem to get them in the system button (I do see them in the Image files). Could you explain the process of creating shortcuts in the system button?
The SYSTEM buttons for YAME and TARGET simply points to a shortcut or link that you can create anywhere really. For instance, you can create a YAME shortcut that automatically starts a particular profile and minimizes the YAME UI. Point your Helios button to that and you can activate/start YAME from Helios. The same thing can be done with TARGET –- create a shortcut that automatically starts a TARGET profile, point Helios to that, and you can activate/start TARGET from Helios.
In prior target profiles, when I set the afterburner in the game by left clicking the line, I would notice a slight delay as the throttle was advanced so this would indicate to me that I was in the begining of afterburner. In your profile, I do not notice the delay. How do you handle this situation?
I’m not sure I understand this….
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“TS3 PTT for me is mapped to CTRL. I did this because the group I was flying with would use TS3 on the 2D screens and we’d shift to IVC once in 3D, so I would simply mute my TS3 before committing to pit and thus go from TS3 PTT to VHF Transmit only. I can see why you are confused… I had to think for a moment there to remember why I did it that way. I’ve not flown with my group for ages as well…”
Now this makes sense and I like it, but I am going to change CTRL to Scroll Lock.
“In prior target profiles, when I set the afterburner in the game by left clicking the line, I would notice a slight delay as the throttle was advanced so this would indicate to me that I was in the begining of afterburner. In your profile, I do not notice the delay. How do you handle this situation?”
What I mean here is that when you set the idle and Afterburner for the throttle in the game controls (the diagram that shows the movement of the throttle next to the rudder diagram with the little box that says “Set AB”), how do you know where to left mouse click for the after burner? See page 39 section 4.3.6 of the BMS manual for the throttle diagram. -
Now this makes sense and I like it, but I am going to change CTRL to Scroll Lock.
Sure! I just found CTRL to be easier to use, so it’s all preference
What I mean here is that when you set the idle and Afterburner for the throttle in the game controls (the diagram that shows the movement of the throttle next to the rudder diagram with the little box that says “Set AB”), how do you know where to left mouse click for the after burner? See page 39 section 4.3.6 of the BMS manual for the throttle diagram.
Still not sure I understand you 100%… right-click on the SET AB to set IDLE and left-click to set AB. I put my TM WH throttle up to the detent and left-click.
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I don’t use the throttle detent so I guess that I will have to just estimate when AB kicks in on the throttle curve.
I also separated the CSD button when shifted by just making the CSD button VAC and VHF and moving the TS3 button to MSU. Now if I fly using TS3, VHF is on a separate button. See below in case anyone else wants to do this:
//Coolie Switch - Mapped to copy the COMM switch in the Cougar throttle
MapKeyIO(&Throttle, CSU, PULSE+‘u’, DX22); // VAC PTT Activate, UHF Transmit
MapKeyIO(&Throttle, CSD, PULSE+‘u’, DX24); // VAC PTT Activate, VHF Transmit//MapKey(&Throttle, MSU, AXIS(DX_SLIDER_AXIS, 80, 20)); // Radar Elevation Up
MapKeyIO(&Throttle, MSU, SCRLCK, AXIS(DX_SLIDER_AXIS, 80, 20)) ; // Radar Elevation Up and Scrollock for TS3In the future I may eliminate the VAC buttons all together as most of the time I use the voice sleep and awake commands for Vac so it is button free.
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I don’t use the throttle detent so I guess that I will have to just estimate when AB kicks in on the throttle curve.
Well, you can use the detent just for setting up the AB, then remove the detent for regular use…. although I cannot imagine why you’d fly without the detent…
In the future I may eliminate the VAC buttons all together as most of the time I use the voice sleep and awake commands for Vac so it is button free.
What is that?