Robin DR400 info needed

1st Official Post

    This one is a very old DR400-140b, featuring a 160ch Lyco. and based on a glider towing aircraft used in Joachim's club in Germany. Registration HB-JOA is a fancy one, reflecting the author's name.

    Engine and propeller behaviour is quite unrealistic unfortunately, it was already very perfectible in AeroflyFS 1.

    The old panel has some pushbuttons. Move your mouse over to identify which one sets the lights. I use a Saitek set of panels, thus I don't click much with the mouse...

    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.

    Quote from Trespassers

    This one is a very old DR400-140b, featuring a 160ch Lyco. and based on a glider towing aircraft used in Joachim's club in Germany. Registration HB-JOA is a fancy one, reflecting the author's name.

    Engine and propeller behaviour is quite unrealistic unfortunately, it was already very perfectible in AeroflyFS 1.

    The old panel has some pushbuttons. Move your mouse over to identify which one sets the lights. I use a Saitek set of panels, thus I don't click much with the mouse...

    Cheers
    Antoine

    Thanks Antoine,

    Yes, the panel does look quite aged. I also have all the Saitek panels but only two switches work - Nav and Beacon. I think I know which switch on the DR400 panel should control the landing lights (far left - Labeled Landing Light) but it does not work for me. I have a scroll wheel mouse and no button or wheel will turn off the Landing Lights. duh.

    Maybe I have to manually set them with settings? Could you tell me which Saitek functions work for you? I have the Multi, Switch, BIP, and two Radio Panels.

    Regards,

    Ray

    Quote from Jet-Pack

    Works fine on my end.
    Black button to set lights on, red button to pop the black button back out and turn lights off.
    All buttons in the DR400 work that way... bit weird yes...


    Thanks Jan,

    I learn something most every day. Weird maybe, different for sure. Now I need to go back to the tmd files and reset the lights.

    I wonder how this works with the Saitek standard flip switches?

    Regards,

    Ray

    • Official Post

    If I programmed them the usual way and just use the controls "value" 1.0 and 0.0 then any other method that sends "toggle" should still work. So I guess the switches from a saitek panel should work, but then again they might not because there are two sets of landing lights in the DR400 and that would mean that you would be able to use only one of them with the default landing light message.

    Quote from Jet-Pack

    If I programmed them the usual way and just use the controls "value" 1.0 and 0.0 then any other method that sends "toggle" should still work. So I guess the switches from a saitek panel should work, but then again they might not because there are two sets of landing lights in the DR400 and that would mean that you would be able to use only one of them with the default landing light message.

    The Saitek Switch panel has a switch for Taxi Light and another for Landing Light. You could have the Left wing light one of them and the Right wing light the other. That way both the DR400 panel and the Saitek switch panel should work properly.

    Regards,

    Ray

    Yes, that's it, and the Robin also has both a Taxi Light and a Landing Light.

    Currently not many switches can be operated from the Saitek panel in AeroflyFS 2, although they're all properly recognized and configured in the AeroflyFS settings. Magnetos and most switches are totally disconnected, but the gear lever is operational.
    On my flight commands, the mixture lever isn't operational, but mixture is still not rendered in AeroflyFS.
    The radio panel is working quite ok provided that you disable auto NAV tuning.
    The Autopilot panel is not working so nicely because it doesn't match the autopilot featured in AeroflyFS. But the trim wheel and flaps lever are working ok.

    I'm still innthe early phase of discovering how things work inside this sim, but I'm pretty confident we'll be able to add code and make moat switches operational.

    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.

    Quote from Trespassers

    Yes, that's it, and the Robin also has both a Taxi Light and a Landing Light.

    Currently not many switches can be operated from the Saitek panel in AeroflyFS 2, although they're all properly recognized and configured in the AeroflyFS settings. Magnetos and most switches are totally disconnected, but the gear lever is operational.
    On my flight commands, the mixture lever isn't operational, but mixture is still not rendered in AeroflyFS.
    The radio panel is working quite ok provided that you disable auto NAV tuning.
    The Autopilot panel is not working so nicely because it doesn't match the autopilot featured in AeroflyFS. But the trim wheel and flaps lever are working ok.

    I'm still innthe early phase of discovering how things work inside this sim, but I'm pretty confident we'll be able to add code and make moat switches operational.

    Cheers
    Antoine

    After writing in the Avsim review of Aerofly FS 2 I opened a support request to let IKARUS know that there are more things not working with the Saitek panels than ones that do work. It is a stretch to state that Aerofly FS 2 supports Saitek panels when it is only hit or miss for most of the functions. I am really disappointed there is zero support for the Saitek BIP panel.

    I use the Multi, Switch, Radio and BIP panels along with 8 FIPs in both FSX and P3D but we have full support for all functions and practically every function can be customized to levels that even Saitek never even considered. A 3rd party program SPAD.neXt is needed to make these changes but it is super easy to use. SPAD.neXt considered supporting AerofFly FS 2 but told me there were not enough users to support his investment at that time. Hopefully, he will revisit that decision as the number of users grow.

    Regards,

    Ray

    Hi,

    I would favorize a solution based on SPAD.neXt

    http://www.spadnext.com/home.html

    I have all Saitek controls (Yoke, TMP...), Panels (Switch...) and 9 FIPs driven via SPAD.neXt in Prepar3d3 and X-Plane 11 - networked, not eating away any resources from the main machine. All switches, axis etc. working via plane-specific profiles.

    I would love to see SPAD.neXt to support AeroflyFS2, too, and there was some initlal intiative, but somehow this got stuck. Maybe IPACS can approach the author of SPAD.neXt to get things going again.

    Kind regards, Michael

    Intel i7-6700K 4.0 GHz / Asus MAXIMUS VIII RANGER / Kingston 32 GB DDR4 / Samsung SSD M.2 500 GB + Samsung SSD 1 TB + Intel SSD 500 GB (AeroflyFS2) + WD HD 6 TB / EVGA GTX 1080Ti 11 GB / LG 34UM95 3440 x 1440 / HP Reverb / Win 10/64

    Quote from Jetjockey10

    After writing in the Avsim review of Aerofly FS 2 I opened a support request to let IKARUS know that there are more things not working with the Saitek panels than ones that do work. It is a stretch to state that Aerofly FS 2 supports Saitek panels when it is only hit or miss for most of the functions. I am really disappointed there is zero support for the Saitek BIP panel.
    (...)
    SPAD.neXt considered supporting AerofFly FS 2 but told me there were not enough users to support his investment at that time. Hopefully, he will revisit that decision as the number of users grow.

    Regards,

    Ray

    Hi Ray,

    Did you get any kind of answer from IPACS/IKARUS regarding this issue ?

    The SPAD.neXt author tries noe to make a living out of it, thus if anyone wants him to get involved in anything, they must come with $$$. We're only a handful of users...

    I had a look yesterday night at the DR400 panel switches. Actually the old panel simply featured a kind of circuit breaker you engage or release to switch on/off (electrical circuit has ever been one of th weaknesses of Robin aircraft design).

    Looking at the file and comparing to the C172, I couldn't however figure out how to assign landing light command to the left landing light, and taxilight to the right landing light.
    The same issue with the strobe currently assigned to the beacon, but I only had a few minutes for quick tests...

    It isn't as obvious as in FSX/P3D.

    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.

    • Official Post

    Hi,
    could you maybe open a new thread for this?
    I don't think this has much to do with the DR400 anymore and I'd like to discuss the Joystick issues over there.
    Can please someone finally summarize to me which exact switches are only working in some aircraft but not in others?
    I have no Saitek panels here on my own, I can only look at the code and guess I everything is working ok.
    - Jan

    Quote from Jet-Pack

    Hi,
    could you maybe open a new thread for this?
    I don't think this has much to do with the DR400 anymore and I'd like to discuss the Joystick issues over there.
    Can please someone finally summarize to me which exact switches are only working in some aircraft but not in others?
    I have no Saitek panels here on my own, I can only look at the code and guess I everything is working ok.
    - Jan


    Hi Jan, we'll do it, thanks.

    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.

    Quote from Trespassers

    Hi Ray,

    Did you get any kind of answer from IPACS/IKARUS regarding this issue ?


    Cheers
    Antoine

    Nothing specific. I followed up the original support ticket with more detail after IPACS added dashes to the radio screen when not available. Maybe you should also open a support ticket and request improvements.

    Regards,
    Ray