Helios 1.4 - Taking to the Skys Once Again

[-Ice]

Does all of Capt. Zeens' profiles work with Helios 1.4? I'm trying out the SU-25T profile but I wonder if it's 1.4 compatible or only on 1.3? I've followed the instructions per the Capt. Zeen webpage but the instruments on the Helios panel do not sync up with the instruments on the actual aircraft. I feel like I'm missing something basic here.

 

 

INSTALATION -Install Helios if you don't have it yet. (http://www.gadrocsworkshop.com/helios/latest)

Using Helios 1.4

 

-Copy the profile on the profiles folder, usualy in user/my documents/helios/profiles

-Copy the folders Capt_Zeen and Capt_Zeen_NIGHT on the images folder, usualy in user/my documents/helios/images

-If you already got my KA50 profile, some files can be overwrited, dont worry about that and just accept it.

-Run the HeliosProfileEditor, load the profile Capt_Zeen-SU25T-v1.0, and perform a Reset Monitors from the menu Profile.

Done all of the above

 

-In the profile explorer window, double-click over Interfaces/Flaming Cliffs 2 line, then enter the path for DCS World, on the Flaming Cliffs 2.o Setup window and click on Setup Flaming Cliffs buttom.

Mine is Z:\DCS World\bin. Is that correct or should I be pointing to a different folder?

 

-Save the profile

-Dont forget to use the export.lue i included in the package, that one contains all the commands to work with A10C, KA50 and FC at the same time. Copy it in C:\Users\yourusername\Saved Games\DCS\Scripts, but first make a backup copy of your actual export.lua. IF you use Tackview, Tarst or another external scripts, copy the corresponding lines from your old export.lua to the new one.

Done this too

Any help appreciated!

[-Ice]

Okay, seems like an issue with the .lua files. I tried the F-18 profile and followed those instructions and the F-18 profile was working so without changing anything, loaded up the Su-25 profile and the gauges are working. Yay! But am I at risk of having something fk up due to using the F-18 lua files?

 

Thanks!

[BluFinBima]

Hi Horus-DCS,

 

Probably Capt Zeen is in a better position to assist, but try commenting out the

 

    -- debug_output_file = io.open("./ExportDebug.log", "wa")

 

at line 7660 in HeriosCore.lua and then see what is in ExportDebug.log after a re-test.

[Capt Zeen]

Use the latest export files on my site.

No problem at all with old profiles.

And with that exports, you can change airplanes profiles without problems because all airplanes are in the same export.

 

 

Okay, seems like an issue with the .lua files. I tried the F-18 profile and followed those instructions and the F-18 profile was working so without changing anything, loaded up the Su-25 profile and the gauges are working. Yay! But am I at risk of having something fk up due to using the F-18 lua files?

 

Thanks!

[-Ice]

Thank you!

[BluFinBima]

1.4.2019.0616 Released

 

For those on Helios before 1.4.2019.0317 (ie no automatic notification), there is a new level of Helios 1.4 available on from the DCS User Files site. (Link below).

[Pipe]

So is this what is now used to export mfds for the hornet

And other modules?

[Hammerfly]

So is this what is now used to export mfds for the hornet

And other modules?

 

This is what I'm using for the A-10, F/A-18, AV 8 and the Huey.

[Pipe]

Nice!......thanks

[RightStuff]

Great news!

 

As the Phidgets are kinda pricy and hard to get:

How difficult would it be to add an interface for the Pokeys 57U?

Mainly (or just) the LED-Output.

 

Product:

https://www.poscope.com/product/pokeys57u/

 

The documentation seems to be very comfortable:

https://www.poscope.com/downloads/

[BluFinBima]

Hi Rightstuff,

 

Having read the linked documentation, if I was to implement something with a Pokeys for myself, I'd use the E models, not the U and hook it directly into an extension to the export.lua and not use Helios. I do something like this for my Hornet UFC https://github.com/BlueFinBima/DCS-FA18C-UFC/raw/gh-pages/images/ufc2A.JPG except it uses wi-fi and not ethernet.

 

Having Pokeys support in Helios might be an interesting technical challenge, but I don't have one to play with and I would not embark on something like this without the ability to test. If you're interested in giving it a go, then happy to have another contributor on the project.

 

Cheers,

[RightStuff]

Having Pokeys support in Helios might be an interesting technical challenge, but I don't have one to play with and I would not embark on something like this without the ability to test. If you're interested in giving it a go, then happy to have another contributor on the project.

 

Hi BluFinBima,

thanks for your kind reply. Sounds great!

 

I have no clue if there would be an easy way to hook up the Pokeys directly with export.lua and its own LUA-Interface. At a first glance this seems to be the easiest way.

If not, having Helios as an "intermediate layer" (like for the Phidgets) would be great.

 

But: Concerning Windows/device programming I'm totally lost (read: noob).

So, without some reading, learning and a helping hand, it would be impossible for me.

 

As you have the skill but no Pokeys and I have the Pokeys but no skill, there seem to be only one possible solution... ;) F'up: PN.

 

Cheers

RS

[mikemadmax20]

Hi Blu:

Just read your down-to-earth, rather revealing explanation of what's going on in the underworld of the DCS export.lua domain. As a noob, I "think", I now understand the complexities you creators have been challenged with. I've been struggling (along with a few others in the community) with trying to get Your and Capt. 's Zeen's F-18 Profile/Exports to work along side Andre's KW-908 Jet Seat and f410's Sim Shaker for Aviators app. For some reason HELIOS and SSA don't play well. I've asker f410 to reach out you to see if you guys can collaborate on a remedy. In my view (as a modest pi-builder), both the HELIOS Profiles and the Jet Seat are an absolute must for me (and I think others as well). Sorry for this long winded post but, I hope you, Capt. Zeen and F410 can join minds to sort this issue out.

BTW, I've got to explore your F-18 UFC project further. I won't rest until I get one to complement my pre-ordered TM Hornet Flight Stick.

Best regards,

Mike "Mad Max"

[RightStuff]

For some reason HELIOS and SSA don't play well.

 

Can you describe what problem you are experiencing with your setup?

I have this combo as well and here it runs flawlessly.

[BluFinBima]

Hi Mike, yes Olaf has reached out to me, but with so little information about the actual problem, it is difficult to offer assistance. The first question is which exports.lua are you trying to run... the one deployed from Helios Profile Editor, or Capt Zeen's site (or somewhere else). Whichever path you took, you will need to call the SimShaker lua code by making a change to the export.lua that you are using to talk to Helios.

It would also be helpful to know what your symptoms are... ie specifically what is not working. You might also look in dcs.log to see if there are any errors in there from the export.lua.

Cheere

[BluFinBima]

Hi Mike, It looks like you're using Capt Zeen's profile, not the one from Helios. Try changing

 

dofile("C:\Users\mmaxw\Saved Games\DCS\Scripts\Helios")

 

to

 

lfs=require('lfs');dofile(lfs.writedir()..'Scripts\\Helios\\HeliosExport.lua')

 

Cheers

 

 

Hi Blu:

Just read your down-to-earth, rather revealing explanation of what's going on in the underworld of the DCS export.lua domain. As a noob, I "think", I now understand the complexities you creators have been challenged with. I've been struggling (along with a few others in the community) with trying to get Your and Capt. 's Zeen's F-18 Profile/Exports to work along side Andre's KW-908 Jet Seat and f410's Sim Shaker for Aviators app. For some reason HELIOS and SSA don't play well. I've asker f410 to reach out you to see if you guys can collaborate on a remedy. In my view (as a modest pi-builder), both the HELIOS Profiles and the Jet Seat are an absolute must for me (and I think others as well). Sorry for this long winded post but, I hope you, Capt. Zeen and F410 can join minds to sort this issue out.

BTW, I've got to explore your F-18 UFC project further. I won't rest until I get one to complement my pre-ordered TM Hornet Flight Stick.

Best regards,

Mike "Mad Max"

[ohc]

Hi , i have a problem with the F18 UFC , that it was not show my the ":" in the UFC after i push and select one of the option on the right side.

it was work before so i dont know what was change .

all the data is show and work fine on the UFC but some char are not map correct and not work there and it is show me other sign .:(

do you have any idea ??? some one saw this problem ???

i think it is some thing with Hornet UFC Mapping ???

https://imgur.com/wHjDCpf

https://imgur.com/hLfQY1v

Edited July 5, 2019 by ohc

[BluFinBima]

do you have any idea ??? some one saw this problem ???

i think it is some thing with Hornet UFC Mapping ???

You're correct, it is certainly a mapping problem. Below is the code from the hornet's export.lua which does the mapping and I suspect that it has been deleted or altered somehow.

 

	-- getting the UFC data
local li = parse_indication(6)  -- 6 for UFC
if li then
       --SendData("2098", string.format("%s",li))
	local function UFCSendData(UFCcode, UFCvalue)
		-- This is a 16 segment display so we need to map numerals to a single charcter in the Hornet UFC.ttf font
		-- the dash has already been catered for and the alphabetic characters should map without change
		-- Also need to special case 12 because sending ascii 172 is problematic in the Helios code
		local UFCnum = tonumber(UFCvalue)
		if UFCnum ~= nil then 
			if UFCnum >= 0 and UFCnum <= 20 then
				if UFCnum == 12 then
					UFCvalue = string.char(125)  
				else
					UFCvalue = string.char(161+UFCnum)
				end
			else
				-- Number Out of Bounds  Error
			end
		end
	SendData(UFCcode,string.format("%1s",UFCvalue))
	end
       SendData("2080", string.format("%s",check(li.UFC_MainDummy)))
       SendData("2081", string.format("%s",check(li.UFC_mask)))
       SendData("2082", string.format("%s",check(li.UFC_OptionDisplay1))) -- These may need special treatment for Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf if there are special chars or numbers in the data
       SendData("2083", string.format("%s",check(li.UFC_OptionDisplay2))) -- These may need special treatment for Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf if there are special chars or numbers in the data
       SendData("2084", string.format("%s",check(li.UFC_OptionDisplay3))) -- These may need special treatment for Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf if there are special chars or numbers in the data
       SendData("2085", string.format("%s",check(li.UFC_OptionDisplay4))) -- These may need special treatment for Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf if there are special chars or numbers in the data
       SendData("2086", string.format("%s",check(li.UFC_OptionDisplay5))) -- These may need special treatment for Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf if there are special chars or numbers in the data
       SendData("2087", string.format("%1s",check(li.UFC_OptionCueing1)):gsub(":",string.char(200)))  -- 16 Segment two-dot colon in Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf
       SendData("2088", string.format("%1s",check(li.UFC_OptionCueing2)):gsub(":",string.char(200)))  -- 16 Segment two-dot colon in Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf
       SendData("2089", string.format("%1s",check(li.UFC_OptionCueing3)):gsub(":",string.char(200)))  -- 16 Segment two-dot colon in Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf
       SendData("2090", string.format("%1s",check(li.UFC_OptionCueing4)):gsub(":",string.char(200)))  -- 16 Segment two-dot colon in Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf
       SendData("2091", string.format("%1s",check(li.UFC_OptionCueing5)):gsub(":",string.char(200)))  -- 16 Segment two-dot colon in Hornet_UFC_Unified.ttf
       UFCSendData("2092", string.format("%2s",check(li.UFC_ScratchPadString1Display)):gsub("_",string.char(201)):gsub("`","1"):gsub("~","2"):gsub(" ",""))
       UFCSendData("2093", string.format("%2s",check(li.UFC_ScratchPadString2Display)):gsub("_",string.char(201)):gsub("`","1"):gsub("~","2"):gsub(" ",""))
       SendData("2094", string.format("%7s",check(li.UFC_ScratchPadNumberDisplay)):gsub(" ","<"))
       UFCSendData("2095", string.format("%2s",check(li.UFC_Comm1Display)):gsub("`","1"):gsub("~","2"):gsub(" ",""))
       UFCSendData("2096", string.format("%2s",check(li.UFC_Comm2Display)):gsub("`","1"):gsub("~","2"):gsub(" ",""))
	-- test command 00000000*2095=~:2093=É:2092=~:2096=~:2094=8888888:2082=~~~~:2083=~~~~:2084=~~~~:2085=~~~~:2086=~~~~:2087=È:2088=È:2089=È:2090=È:2091=È 
end

[ohc]

BluFinBima , i have the code you send me in the export.lua , but still i can not get the right char from this lines .

i found that the problem was come from the region of windows system , as when i change it for use non-Unicode as english the 2 dot was apper correct in place !

 

the only thing that is not work ok and give me other char now is when i place new way point Coordinates in the UFC it is not work fine and give other char and not type

correct the number i type for North and East inside.

Look on the picture i was upload here , i was mark by round red what is the char that is not correct , as you can see all the number and text is ok on the UFC

 

https://imgur.com/hLfQY1v

 

all is work fine beside this issue of enter Coordinates for waypoint.

i think there is a problem in the code when we try to enter Coordinates on the UFC.

Edited July 6, 2019 by ohc

[BluFinBima]

Hi ohc, you're absolutely correct. This is very similar to https://github.com/BlueFinBima/Helios/issues/138 . The coordinates might be something slightly different. What region was Windows in originally?

 

Cheers,

 

BluFinBima , i have the code you send me in the export.lua , but still i can not get the right char from this lines .

i found that the problem was come from the region of windows system , as when i change it for use non-Unicode as english the 2 dot was apper correct in place !

 

the only thing that is not work ok and give me other char now is when i place new way point Coordinates in the UFC it is not work fine and give other char and not type

correct the number i type for North and East inside.

Look on the picture i was upload here , i was mark by round red what is the char that is not correct , as you can see all the number and text is ok on the UFC

 

https://imgur.com/hLfQY1v

 

all is work fine beside this issue of enter Coordinates for waypoint.

i think there is a problem in the code when we try to enter Coordinates on the UFC.

[ohc]

BlueFinBima , SO What i can do more to fix this issue of Coordinates char ??

i can not enter the position of waypoint in the UFC.

all the other is work good only this error.

https://imgur.com/hLfQY1v

it is not problem with the unicode as i change all to english

 

Can you tell me where in the code is the line that write to UFC the char degrees for the Coordinates when we select position ?

Edited July 7, 2019 by ohc

[BluFinBima]

I'm not sure what you can do apart from waiting for me to understand what needs done here and get it fixed. I don't want to require people to change the language to English, I'd rather it just worked.

 

BlueFinBima , SO What i can do more to fix this issue of Coordinates char ??

i can not enter the position of waypoint in the UFC.

all the other is work good only this error.

https://imgur.com/hLfQY1v

it is not problem with the unicode as i change all to english

 

Can you tell me where in the code is the line that write to UFC the char degrees for the Coordinates when we select position ?

[ohc]

i understand , but right now it is look like something else .

as all the UFC is work good and only one thing is mess , when we try to enter waypoint Coordinates .

i can not understand where is the problem here , as all is set to region english and all is work good beside this only 1 option .:(

 

i will be happy to help you test any thing you need , to resolve the problme and figure what is worng

Edited July 8, 2019 by ohc

[BluFinBima]

OHC, thanks for the offer to help. The problem is my mis-use of characters with codes >127, and the way they get mapped to the default character encoding on your machine. I took a few short-cuts in development that appeared to work for me, but clearly they are problematic for you. I guess that if you were to set up your machine purely as English, then it might work for you, but that is a bad answer and I do not recommend that you do this.

I'll certainly come back to you once I have worked out a potential fix because I want to make sure that the character encoding and glyph selection work for you without you needing to make any changes to your machine.

Cheers, Neil

[BluFinBima]

Hi ohc, I've emailed you with a possible fix for this problem. Let me know how you get on. It worked for me when I went Japanese :-)

Cheers,