TMD help please - DR400 start button

  • I’d appreciate some help from the TMD engineers. I think it is a simple thing to do, but i don’t know where to start - map the magneto input to the DR400 start button, so i can start the Robin with a button press. Actually there’s a second thing now i think of it - set it cold and dark.

    Can anyone point me to the right lines to change? Thanks!

  • Hi Phil

    I have been asking for user defined buttons and switches for sometime but it falls on deaf ears. As a cockpit builder I would really like to see this implemented as I could build a full size Lynx, FS2's heli simulation is second to none so it would be the perfect match. Lots of user buttons plus Airmanager support and we would crack it.

    The only way I found was to "borrow" existing switches, in this case the taxi light as we don't have working lights at the moment. You can see in the zip file the entries I have changed in both the dr400.tmd and the controls.tmd. The just assign a button to the taxi switch in the setup and you should be good to go.

    Cold and dark would require a bit more work but it's mainly finding the entries that set things to automatically on and changing them to off . So for the MasterBatterySwitch just change it's value to 0.0.

    Usual T+C's apply, subject to change without notice and if the North West power grid goes down...it wasn't me guv

    Steve

  • HI Phil

    As is usual with the tmd files I missed a bit. you will also need to adjust the entry below the buttonstarter. Forgot its a button not a switch so it needs this second entry

    <[input_active][StarterButtonPushed][]

    // <[string8][Input][Controls.Starter]>

    <[string8][Input][Controls.Lighting.Taxi]>

    >

    Yes I'll slap my leg till its red

  • Thanks Steve and Jan. No luck though I'm afraid. Red box gone (which at least proves I'm editing the right files) but no change to behaviour. The mouse click on the starter button still starts, but when I map the L key to lights and use taxi lights as input, nothing happens. I thought I'd try controls.gear as at least we know that is recognised by FS2, but no difference.

  • Hi Phil

    Have tried this and as you say, no luck.

    I would have thought it should work. The controls entry just links the 2 tmd's together so assigning taxi to both should mean that lights taxi button will work, at least that's my understanding. Assigning lights taxi still makes everything work ok within the sim it's just not picking up the input from a physical controller

    Guess this is over to Master Obi Jan and hopefully we shall both learn something.

    Steve

    Edit, the dreaded red cube is my life long friend these days :/

  • Steve. I got the following suggestion from Jan. Does this shine any light on the situation?

    Quote

    The message that the starter expects is "Controls.Starter" and the message "Controls.Magnetos" is already in use in the tmd, so it would also affect the magneto switch. Maybe it's better to use a button like the autopilot disconnect, which this aircraft doesn't have.

    You'll have to change the message of the object "StarterButtonPushed" to "Controls.Magnetos" or "Autopilot.Disengage".

  • Hi Phil

    I would have thought using "Controls.Lighting.Taxi" would be the same as using autopilot as the taxi lights are not used in the tmd.

    StarterButtonPushed does 3 things

    1. activates the electrical switch (contact) "StarterSwitch" and

    2, adds load to the StarterBus which turns the engine starter

    3. Lights the starter lamp using the InputLuminance "StarterLampLight.Output" in the graphics section

    Perhaps Control.Starter is somehow special. I would have thought we could use any controls.tmd link, maybe some thing like "Start.The.Engine" As long as its the same in both TMD files it would appear to me to be ok with any name you care to think of. We live and learn and no doubt Master Obi jan will tut and put me right ;)

    Steve

    • Official Post

    The electrical switch, bus and starter are all there already. I think the issue is that the Magnetos assignment only sends step increments. But for a starter button you need a continuous signal that is held active.

    Oh no, I just realized the autopilot disconnected won't work. It's only momentary not held active for some reason.

    Yes Controls.Lighting.Taxi or .Landing should also work for testing.

  • I'm not sure I fully understand what you're aiming to do, but on the DR400 the starter is not activated by the magnetos key. There's a dedicated starter press button, so that's this one you should affect to your button.

    I tried a couple of times assigning the magnetos key in AFS2 to my Saitek Panels magnetos knob, but despite of IPACS claims for full support of Saitek moduels in their advertising, there's no way I could achieve that simple mapping...

    Cheers

    Antoine

    Config : i7 6900K - 20MB currently set at 3.20GHz, Cooling Noctua NH-U14S, Motherboard ASUS Rampage V Extreme U3.1, RAM HyperX Savage Black Edition 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz, Graphic Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB, Power supply Corsair RM Series 850W, Windows 10 64 bit.

  • Thanks Antoine. Yes my reference to magnetos might have confused people. Basically I've made this button which I have successfully hooked up to any control input I like. I just want it to cause the starter button to depress in sim and the engine to start. I'm trying to work out what TMD changes to make to cause this to happen.

  • Ok, then for the DR400 it's "merely" about assigning this control to the starter button. But it will need to be different for instance with the PA28 or C172 that are started with the key.

    There's no equivalent to the magic shortcut CTRL+E in FS that will start any engine whatever the aircraft.

    Cheers

    Antoine

    Config : i7 6900K - 20MB currently set at 3.20GHz, Cooling Noctua NH-U14S, Motherboard ASUS Rampage V Extreme U3.1, RAM HyperX Savage Black Edition 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz, Graphic Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB, Power supply Corsair RM Series 850W, Windows 10 64 bit.