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Helios 1.4 - Taking to the Skys Once Again


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Can someone point me in the right direction to learn how to create a custom profile? I don't need monitor output just the switch mapping. I don't have any coding experience but I'm willing to learn. My current situation is I'm using Helios profile for my A-10C cockpit and VR. All I'm using is the button mapping and several Bodnar boards. Helios is fantastic for me as I don't have to do any coding to make the toggle switch off positions send a signal to DCS to switch off in the cockpit. That's the main reason I'm asking...no complex .LUA files to edit.

 

 

not sure I understand your question but if it is for A-10C then you could start by :

 

http://www.gadrocsworkshop.com/node/9

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Ray thanks for the response. What I want is to create custom profile with key bindings for switches, rotary switches, toggle switches ect. How do i create a profile like the A-10C where I can just have all the bindings as a preset where you can just double click and add as normal.

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The Youtube links provided by Right Stuff is a great place to start, and for the A-10C, there is an interface for that aircraft in Helios which can be used to bind the Bodnar board which I believe will show up in Helios because it is a HID device. The videos cover this process.

 

For other aircraft, the path will be a little more complicated. Assuming there is a visual Helios profile for that aircraft, then I would suggest loading that into the profile editor and then finding the switch concerned - it is likely to have a non-intuitive binding - and then change it to the Bodnar board, or duplicate it.

 

Ray thanks for the response. What I want is to create custom profile with key bindings for switches, rotary switches, toggle switches ect. How do i create a profile like the A-10C where I can just have all the bindings as a preset where you can just double click and add as normal.

BlueFinBima

Latest Helios Virtual Cockpit Team version of Helios can be found on Github

BlueFinBima Helios YouTube

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jbresso, yes as BluFinBima said, with Helios (old version) only Ka-50 and A-10 as built-in are ready to use for creating profiles. For other modules it is... pita... But now we see - thanks to Blu and the other project members - some light on horizon and sooner or later other modules will be supported directly. :thumbup:

 

Meanwhile the best way for you would be to use existing profiles (thx to Zeen for his incredible job here!) and change / strip them to your personal needs. The mentioned video tutorials will offer you the neccessary knowledge for mastering Helios.

 

Blu, concerning HID device LeoBodnar:

Yes, any HID device will show up in Helios. Even the Warthog.

But so far I have not found any interesting use case for the input chain „HID - Helios - DCS“.

So, is it just a nice feature or do you have any ideas for this? Like to try and learn more on this.

 

But the other way around (Output) would be veeery interesting:

Switching LEDs out of Helios on Arduinos via EOS protocol.

Tried it, but didn‘t had reliable success. Maybe EOS-part of Helios will get some brush up as well?

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Hi RightStuff,

 

I have one Bodnar board which is currently unused because I decided to go down a different hardware path for cost & flexibility reasons. I'm not sure I understand your point about HID, but if I get a chance, I might plug my board in and poke around.

 

The hardware side is something we're looking at at the moment. I have very little knowledge of DCS-BOIS, but my own hardware is loosely Arduino based using i2c and I might choose to look at a Helios interface for that because one of the team is building a Hornet SimPit and is likely to use some of my boards for that.

 

Aircraft Interfaces containing only switches and lights are probably feasible, because the settings don't take much to implement, but I think that we're unlikely to see more exotic devices being implemented, simply because they are massively time consuming, we have a small team, and there are only so many hours in the day.

 

Unless there are more contributors with good coding skills who join the project, progress on any front will be very slow so I would not hold your breath because am already spending all of my free time on Helios & the SimPit assistance.

 

EOS is not likely to receive any attention from me personally since I decided a long time ago that I would follow a different path - but if a someone joined the team who had interest in this area, then anything is possible.

 

Cheers BFB

Blu, concerning HID device LeoBodnar:

Yes, any HID device will show up in Helios. Even the Warthog.

But so far I have not found any interesting use case for the input chain „HID - Helios - DCS“.

So, is it just a nice feature or do you have any ideas for this? Like to try and learn more on this.

 

But the other way around (Output) would be veeery interesting:

Switching LEDs out of Helios on Arduinos via EOS protocol.

Tried it, but didn‘t had reliable success. Maybe EOS-part of Helios will get some brush up as well?

BlueFinBima

Latest Helios Virtual Cockpit Team version of Helios can be found on Github

BlueFinBima Helios YouTube

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  • 3 weeks later...

A new release of Helios has just been posted to the DCS website here. In this release we have the following.

 

1.4.2018.1008 Release

----------------------------

* F/A-18C Interface (immature)

* DCS Generic interface added. This is an enabler for complex aircraft profiles from authors such as Capt Zeen.

* Prototype "Simple" interfaces for the Mirage 2000 and Mi-8 (prototype)

* Guard Switch (without Toggle) added to tool box controls

* A-10 NMSP and UFC Toolbox contents moved into "A-10"

* Mi-8 ADI gauge added

 

1.4.2018.0924 Beta 3 Release

----------------------------

* AV-8B Interface

* MiG-21Bis Partial Interface by Cylution

* Profile Editor zoom funtionality restored

* Various Profile Editor bug fixes

* New file extension for profile layout

 

We hope you find this functionality useful!

BlueFinBima

Latest Helios Virtual Cockpit Team version of Helios can be found on Github

BlueFinBima Helios YouTube

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Thank you sir

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Not sure if this is the right thread for this question but I don't like asking questions in threads that have been dead for a couple years or more.

 

I am using the latest Helios version with Loz v2.1 A-10 cockpit. I have Helios displaying on an Acer 22" touchscreen. It works great with the mouse but if I use touchscreen it appears the actual "touch" opens a side panel and/or hits a button, then the "release" of the touch acts as a second "touch", which immediately closes the opened side panel or mashes the button again. This appears to only be happening with Helios. I have calibrated the touchscreen but that doesn't do anything. Not finding any appropriate Windows 10 options for controlling this either. I've tried adjusting mouse double click but I don't think that has anything to do with touchscreen touches.

 

Tried searching the forum but with several thousand posts spread out over 8 years or so, it is difficult to find anything quickly.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

EDIT: I figured out what the issue was with the touch screen. Buried deep within the Accessibility options of Windows 10 for touch displays is an option to enable an emulated right click by holding down a touch on the touch screen. I disabled that option and now Helios works as intended with my touch screen.


Edited by apd1004
answered my own question
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Some touchscreen tips from Gadroc's original website.

 

Note: The information is a little dated, but much still applies and you can adapt his instructions to your current operating system.

 

Touch Screen Setup

Submitted by Gadroc on Thu, 04/26/2012 - 18:38

Windows 7 has great built in support for touch screens, but not all of the default options work well with Helios. It is highly recommended that you follow these instructions to property setup your touch screens for Helios.

 

Note: Not all monitors are recognized as touch screens by Windows. If your touch screens do not respond to these settings, but still work to move your mouse around you need to follow the manufacturer’s directions for setting up and calibrating your touch screen.. In particular TouchKit based controls do not require these steps.

 

Associate Touch Screen with Monitor

Windows needs to understand which monitor is your touch screen. If your mouse moves on another screen when you click on your touch screen you need to execute this step.

 

From the start menu select “Control Panel” then open the “Tablet PC Settings” control panel.

Click on the Setup button and follow the instructions on screen. Take special note to press enter without tapping your touchscreen when the message is displayed on normal monitors.

Disable Input Panel Tab

Windows 7 has features to help you use your touch screen as a primary input device. Unfortunately these can get in the way and cause problems when using Helios to play a game. We can disable this input panel tab to prevent it from showing up when we don’t want it.

 

While you have the “Table PC Settings” window open, click on the tab labeled “Other” and then click on “Go to Input Panel Settings”.

Now uncheck the “Use the Input Panel tab” option and click the Ok button.

Disable Auto Right Click

By default Windows right clicks when you touch and hold on a touch screen. This is great for interacting with Windows explorer or other regular applications, but causes problems when you are trying to hold down a lamp test or MFD button. Luckily we can change this behavior as well.

 

From the start menu select “Control Panel” then open the “Pen and Touch” control panel.

On the Pen Options tab click on the Press and Hold pen action and then click on the “Settings” button.

Uncheck “Enable press and hold for right-clicking” then click the OK button.

Switch to the Flicks tab and uncheck the “Use flicks to perform common actions quickly and easily”. You can also uncheck “Display flicks icon in the notification area” if you want.

Next, switch to the Touch tab.

Click on the Press and hold touch action and then click on the “Settings” button.

Uncheck “Enable press and hold for right-clicking” and then click the OK button.

Now close the Pen and Touch control panel by clicking the OK button.

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Hi guys.

Thanks for continuing this DCS cornerstone that Helios is.

I built up a new rig and for the occasion installed your new version of Helios (was running the latest Gadroc version before on my older rig).

So I copied my profiles and reset the monitors then added the interface. Yes, I also added the line to the export.lua and copied the Helios directory with the exports into the scripts directory.

The profiles are working great (using capt zeen ones) BUT all the switches register twice when I press them on my touch screen so it makes the profiles unusable. Any suggestion why?

Thanks.

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Further testing. Doesn't look like a window issue since the double registration occurs only when Helios profiles are running even without DCS running behind. ON/OFF buttons became momentary, and I can't select the right position of any multi position switch since it moves twice when I press them. Clicking with the mouse though is working as intended. This is really weird.

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Hi guys.

Thanks for continuing this DCS cornerstone that Helios is.

I built up a new rig and for the occasion installed your new version of Helios (was running the latest Gadroc version before on my older rig).

So I copied my profiles and reset the monitors then added the interface. Yes, I also added the line to the export.lua and copied the Helios directory with the exports into the scripts directory.

The profiles are working great (using capt zeen ones) BUT all the switches register twice when I press them on my touch screen so it makes the profiles unusable. Any suggestion why?

Thanks.

 

Here's a shot in the dark....Go into the Helios editor open up your profile. Select the switches you are having issues with and then highlight the binding...in the right window you should see "Bypass cascading Triggers" Check that box save it then go see if it fixes the problem for you. I've attached a pic showing it.

Helios.thumb.jpg.5fb944cb3bec2ce78745e86b0b7fc15d.jpg

Airdog

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Thanks for doing this, runs like a charm so far and I am super happy about Helios being developed further again!

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  • 1 month later...

Any ETA on when BlueFin's AV-8B Helios profile will be released? (or did I miss it somewhere, lol)

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Hi all. Giving updating a go tonight- however for the life of me i cant get it working.

 

Whenever i try to add the interface for A10C, i put in my install path but just get 'Can not find game install'

 

When i downgrade back to the older version no problem with the path? Am i missing something here? I feel like i am missing something here...

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Hi everyone,

i am trying to do a profile of mine for the fa-18.

As i don’t have a touchscreen but thrustmaster mfds and some other panels i would like to use my second monitor for mfd ufc ifei and some instruments exports (the f18 ones present in the latest helios)

I did a basic profile with the f18 interface in helios 1.4 but it does not work...i added the interface, i linked the simulation input into the instruments but nothing moves. I did the helios exports setup.

Using the capt zeen profile for testing all works well

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Wow the old version of Helios is frustrating me!

 

For the second time In as many days ive sat here wasting 2 hours of my life programming my entire pit- only to have the profile corrupt for some unkown reason and it be unusable.

 

Im not doing it all again- id rather try again to get this new version working.

 

Can anybody help me out- i try to create a profile but i cant add DCS as an interface.

 

Whenever i show it where my game is installed it says "Cant find game install"

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Alright so managed to get it working. It still says can't find game install, however open the game and it works as normal. Although think I've found a problem, does this new version no longer support phidgets LED boards? Doesn't show up as an interface.

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

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Hi Guys, I have downloaded and installed when I click to start the small splash window comes up stays for 30 secs or so and disappears then nothing any ideas.

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Nice to hear that some people are still getting some use out of my old profile. (probable heavily modded though) Might have to dig out my old touch screen and try out the new Helios with it.

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