cgentil 163 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Hi, At this topic oli4740 will post his mod in panel.cfg, merged with terrain radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Chief Pilot 829 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 The moderators may want to shift this topic once again, over to the "modding & tweaking" section, but anyway ...: For the time being let me point out this: - To my knowledge, there is no freeware addon terrain radar available. The only terrain radar I'm aware of, is payware. - The kind of terrain radar I'm talking about is of the TAWS-type (Terrain Awareness and Warning System). - You may gather a good deal of information on it by typing "taws" into the product search over there at simmarket.com. - There may be very elaborated ways of implementing such a gauge into an aircraft's panel. Unfortunately, I'm no gauge programmer and have always sticked to the easiest method. - The easy method (by an automated gauge installer included in the payware or, alternatively, by manually adding an additional window in the aircraft panel.cfg) results in an additional window in the 2D-panel. - The 2D-panel of the AXE ist the panel that shows immediately after loading the A/C, the one with the "green numbers" on the left and the MCDU on the right. - After this "mod" there would be an additional window in this 2D-panel which you can use in the same way you use the (left) MCDU that comes with the "untweaked" AXE: Undock it, drag it (to another monitor), resize it to your liking. - So the easy method does NOT give you a terrain radar that's integrated in the ND; instead it is a stand-alone gauge in a separate window (gauge programmers' ways of implementation may differ ...) - This radar would not show in the Virtual Cockpit (again, gauge programmers' ways of implementation may differ ...) - The payware TAWS I'm aware of has an unusual and a good deal complicated way of activating the product after purchase. Still you will get it activated - with a slight pain, though. - To my oberservations, as far as my system and my configuration are concerned, there is NO noticeable impact on frame rates (other users' experiences may differ ...) These lines, in general, also apply to a third-party weather-radar addon-gauge. Bear in mind, there are panel.cfg's out there that may not be modified so easily, especially not by an automatic window-installer. And be aware also, that there is no guarantee for a specific addon-gauge to work with a specific addon-A/C. I don't give guarantees, either. I may do a few tests with the AXE concerning addon gauges shortly (wanted to wait for v1.05 to be released, but, due to other flightsimmers' interest ...) and report back here. Other hints, recommendations, alternate ways, methods and offers, questions, of course, are welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgentil 163 Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 Thanks for your time oli. Will search about TAWS. I'm too waiting the update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Chief Pilot 829 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Thanks for your time oli. Will search about TAWS. I'm too waiting the update! It's my benefit as well, so don't worry ... (Who knows when v1.05 will REALLY be out?!?) Will put three different addon gauges to the AXE test - including my favourite wx radar ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Chief Pilot 829 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 A few minutes ago I threw these three addons into the AXE: 1) TAWS (terrain radar), payware by dbs studio 2) Weather radar, payware by Reality XP 3) Map! (Pax inflight information display), payware by Feelthere All three addons installed rather easily into the AXE; all three of them worked as advertised on the test flight. (The AXE, of course, would still work, too!) After completion of the test flight I reloaded a situation I had saved inflight. On reloading Wx radar and Map! worked normally, TAWS stayed blank (off mode) and I couldn't manage to switch it on. This only happened when I reloaded this saved flight situation. I don't know the cause for it (yet). A bit more detailed, now: For the R-XP Wx radar and for Map! I used the automatic panel installers included in the software.TAWS I installed manually.R-XP and Map! added their windows at the end of the panel.cfg. As these were supposed to be 2d-panel windows and since there's an invisible debug "window" at the end of the AXE 2d-section of the panel.cfg, I chose to re-sequence and to re-number the windows list: addon windows added to the 2d section, debug window as last 2d window, VC windows after that. (I didn't test the odd sequence as per the automatic installers; test was after my re-sequencing only.) After loading the AXE, R-XP and Map! opened up automatically as per default; TAWS I had to open manually via the 'views' menu. Most of the time I use those addon windows by undocking them, dragging them over to my 2nd screen, and arranging and resizing them as needed.In the attached screenshots I placed them in (over) the VC main panel view (F9) for a "one screenie, all windows" result. Two out of these three screenshots are "faked" in the following ways: - The 2d-panel view I arranged only after completing my test flight because I forgot to take a screenshot before takeoff. Therefore window positions and sizes are "faked". (panel_2d.jpg) - For one of the other screenies I threw in some really heavy weather to get some exceptionally spectacular representations on the Wx radar. (Wx_radar.jpg) Finally, a few "disclaimers": - All the three above mentioned addons (four, including the AXE ...) are payware - they come at an extra cost. - Nobody's around to bear any responsibility: If you mess up your panel.cfg, Aerosoft isn't obliged to help you out. The addon developers come with their own disclaimers, too. And I'm just a flightsimmer, helping other flightsimmers in exchange for their help. I won't bear any responsibility, either. - Map! has no function at all on a flightdeck. It's for passengers' enter-/infotainment only. I usually stare at it during those long boring CRZ phases of flight. - TAWS, in rw, uses a terrain database. The a.m. TAWS "cheats" in a way that it reads the scenery files in FSX (rather an advantage to me). - Wx radar will only read the general weather THEME around your airplane. It can't read the types and positions of every single cloud FSX draws around your A/C. Therefore weather representations on the radar WILL differ from what you see when looking out of your A/C windows. - There's another WX radar (payware) around by a different developer (Captain Sim). I can't comment on that addon, since I don't own it. The one I've been using comes at a much steeper price. You may want to make up your own mind on that, too ... Thanks for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgentil 163 Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 Wow, seems nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirbusXFan 10 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Look really nice... But, it would be amazing if someone can perform overlay merge on top of ND... Just like RealityXP WX radar & PMDG 737 - FS9 merge long time ago ***only a hope*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyenne Chief Pilot 829 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Look really nice... But, it would be amazing if someone can perform overlay merge on top of ND... Just like RealityXP WX radar & PMDG 737 - FS9 merge long time ago ***only a hope*** Joshua could (...) Maybe, some day in the year 2015, there will be a "3rd generation Aerosoft Airbus" - something like an "Aerosoft Airbus director's cut"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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