OnCourse Software

Hi,

I wonder if the attached log file gives any clue as to why I have been having problems with PF3 recently (past several months in fact): perhaps one in three of my flights now has this or a similar issue...

Firstly, it can take 'forever' for PF3 to register that I have pressed an input key: I have options set so that I hear a little beep when PF3 receives an input. It can sometimes be a minute before that beep sounds. (What's going on meanwhile - never used to happen?).

The problem there is that on other occasions I never hear a beep at all, even though PF3 shows as connected and all the necessary plugins show as running in the XP plugins menu (so do I wait, or assume PF3 isn't going to work this time?). I get no response from PF3 to any keyboard input, no matter how long I wait.. This flight, I just left PF3 connected and went ahead with my flight anyway. Oddly, after some 25 minutes, ATC suddenly pipes up and tells me to "... maintain altimeter is 2992".. whatever that means (said instruction appears in the remote text and COM log boxes too). Still no response to any keyboard input I make though and nothing further from ATC.

Since this is far from a one-off, it'd be good to be able to home in on the problem and a possible fix. Updating PF3 the other day hasn't changed anything in this respect.

Thanks.

Martin

Hi Martin,

I very much doubt this is a PF3 problem. The simple fact that sometimes the keyboard response works fine whilst other times it does not just cannot be anything to do with PF3. It can't rectify an issue by itself, so something else has to be affecting it. Does your XPUIPC provide any logging facilities? Maybe that would be something to try.

Hi. Well, I suppose PF3 is susceptible to intermittent problems just like any other software? Whatever, the problem seems to have got worse (for some reason) and my past six flights I have not been able to use PF3 at all. I have made no changes to the sim itself...

In the hope that you may have a look at it, I post another log. I connected PF3 to the sim... but when the time came for some ATC, I again got no response at all to any of my '0' inputs. Eventually disconnected PF3, reloaded the flight plan and then reconnected. This time the remote text box showed I was connected and I think I heard a 'beep' first time I pressed '0'. But still no ATC voice. Again, eventually, after several goes, I gave up and just shut everything down.

Checked XPUIPC... seems set up correctly and no errors in the file (pasted below). As does PF3.. no error messages come up there either (though the programme does sometimes hang and I just get the Win10 rotating circle).

My previous flight to the one logged here, by the way, after half an hour of silent ATC, a voice suddenly told me to maintain 4000 feet.. but none of my keyboard inputs, 0, 1 or whatever, met with any response, nor a confirming 'beep'.

I have no idea how to troubleshoot this, so if the log gives even a clue (as I can't read it myself) that'd be a start (maybe). I don't like the idea of not being able to fly with PF3 after all this time. If there is no clue from the log files (I wish I could read them myself, maybe I'd see something: but am reliant on you these days of course), I can only try reinstalling PF3 (a last resort). Thanks.

Martin

Code: Select all XPUIPC Version 2.0.4.7 64 bit XPWideFS Version 2.0.0.2 64 bit Start Init! Init Mem Blocks OK! Init DataRefMemBlock & VariablesAccessMemBlock OK! Init Command Block OK! X-Plane Version: 11550 -------------------------------------------------- 16:51:46:470 XPUIPC Enable ! XPWideServer Enable ! XPUIPC->Reading XPUIPCOffsets.cfg XPUIPC->Initialise critical sections XPUIPC->UDP Broadcast server init OK XPUIPC->XPUIPC2XPUIPC mode not active, init flightloops XPUIPC->Init pushback functions Joystick button assignments read! XPUIPC->Create UIPC Thread OK! XPUIPC->Create Joystick Thread OK! XPWideFS->Receive Socket creation 00001248 OK XPWideFS->Bind OK XPWideFS->Listen OK XPWideFS->Socket Thread Init OK 16:52:58:194 Granting multicast to 192.168.1.125 XPWideFS->Create Socket thread OK! XPUIPC->Create ATC thread OK! Starting UIPCMain Thread! 16:52:58:194 XPWideFS->Waiting for clients.....0 Create UIPCMain Window OK! Register UIPCMain Call message OK! Register of joystickcapturewindow OK! --------------------------------------------------

As far as PF3 is concerned you never used any hotkeys in the first log. PF3 was still running normally, scanning for any hotkeys every few seconds, but none were detected. As I say, I doubt this is a PF3 error. If it was we would have more reports about it. I believe this is down to XPUIPC not trapping, detecting or updating the hotkey tables, but I have no way to determine that as I don't have XP. If XPUIPC offers similar logging facilities as FSUIPC then you could run a trace.

The second log shows PF3 stopped as it could not find the UIRES folder within the main FS folder. If that folder is actual resident on your system then my guess would be XPUIPC returned either a null string or an incorrect FS patch value.

Sorry I can't be of more help

Oh dear..

The folder UIRES is part of FS9 BTW.. which I haven't flown for many years. If not finding it were a critical issue for PF3 it wouldn't come up only now.

I suppose I am going to be forced to spend hours trying to reinstall programmes and testing.. can't see me just 'ditching' PF3!

Quote:

The folder UIRES is part of FS9 BTW.. which I haven't flown for many years.

Yes I know, but it was also used in FSX and as far as PF3 is concerned you are using FSX because that's what XPUIPC stipulates

Well, I have never had a UIRES folder before, and PF3 never complained....

No matter: as you already know Dave, (just to close this thread), the recent changes to PF3 needed a new version of the PfeToXplane plugin for PF3 to work in XP11, which the developer has quickly provided. All working again now.

Excellent. I knew it wasn't a PF3 issue

Glad it's working okay now, although it doesn't explain why you've been having hotkey issues in the past

Quote:

although it doesn't explain why you've been having hotkey issues in the past

.. still having them now, I am afraid. Back to how it was a month or so ago. Most flights have been Ok, but had one this afternoon where pressing 'zero' gave no confirming 'beep' or response from ATC. When I posted the log before with this problem, you said that PF3 had no input shown. Given I had been doggedly pressing '0' every ten seconds for a couple of minutes, that is odd. Also odd is that closing down PF3, or often even disconnecting and reconnecting, without shutting down the programme, usually solves the problem. Again, may well be a plugin issue, but at least now I am not getting a 100% failure rate!

I'm really not trying to pass the buck here but this isn't a PF3 problem. The 'beep' you should hear is only activated when/if PF3 detects the flag set by XPUIPC/FSUIPC which is set by that utility when it detects a hotkey has been used. Remember, PF3 does NOT detect or scan for any keypresses directly. It doesn't know if your hammering the keyboard, it relies totally on XPUIPC/FSUIPC. I can't even add any additional logging because as far as PF3 is concerned you haven't used any hotkeys.

With FSUIPC we could setup its own logging facilities to ensure it was seeing the keys being used, but I don't know if that is possible with the XPlane version (XPUIPC)