update fms!

[stroland]

do you think they will EVER update fms so it runs on modern computers?
if you do please send me a email at cookro@gmail.com

[KEW]

FMS is an excellent, FREE flight simulator. In my opinion it is very well written and maintained.

Do you realize how many programmers Microsoft employs for the sole purpose of changing the Windows operating system as quickly and as often as possible? That is how they make a profit from people who think that they can not survive unless they own the latest version.

If you really must have the very newest in technological toys, maybe you should be offering some of your own free time to help make FMS run on them rather than criticizing the people who make such an excellent application available to us!

Regards,
KEW

[JohnDickey]

But not too much!

Of course any program can always do a few more things,
but I want to be able to run a flight simulator on an older computer or on a laptop.

I could probably buy two or three RC airplanes for what I would spend on a high performance gaming PC. Thanks anyways, but I would rather learn the basic and intermediate skills before spending big money on a new hobby.

John

[luckyshot_69]

Hello to all members!
This is my first posting as I'm new to FMS. I must admit I'm a bit frustrated with the current methods of trying to get my transmitter to work with FMS software. After purchasing a simulator cable and connectors off of E-Bay that were set up to use with USB connections, this software bundle was part of the package as the software of choice to use with that cable interface.
It only took a minute or two to realize there was no way this was going to work as promised. I don't blame FMS, as I look deeper into the problems at hand it's obvious from all the posts I've read tonight that many of you are very happy with this software. Since I won't be getting it running anytime soon I'll just have to take your words that it runs great once you get your transmitter to communicate properly with the computer software bundle.
I think when people write about how they wish FMS should be made to run on modern computers, or maybe say something else that seems like a slam or putdown to FMS, it's not really. These people are just not wanting to have to go through a painstaking process of hand-making a cable that may or may not work. In fact the cable may damage the transmitter or even their computer if it's done improperly, and that is a scary prospect.
Take my transmitter as an example; Hitec Focus 6, or my Airtronics 4 ch Vanguard. So far I've seen nothing in any of the manual spec's or at this forum that give me proper instruction to create an interface with either of these transmitters.
The facts are simply this, this technology is not GUI Compatible. The transmitters are all cabled differently, signals of one manufacturer are on pin 1, and pin 5 on another. A standard for doing this does not exist, and you can't blame FMS for that. Each cable for each manufacturer is going to be different so the wiring must be compatible with that flavor of transmitter. The manufacturers were engineering a transmitter to be used with a wireless receiver not a GUI compatible interface, the wiring as for their protocols didn't require an international symetry, so it's not their fault either.
As the industry grows maybe we'll see something like GUI compatibility in the future, until then you have some choices to make. Accept the limits of this technology and do the work-arounds to accomplish what FMS stands for, creating an environment we can enjoy at little or no cost by using our minds with some added sweat and grit. If you still want the simulator experience but without that effort then spend your money to get a package deal where the transmitter is boxed up with the simulator software and properly engineered cables to match.
One thing I would like to suggest is a connector chart of 5, 6, & 7 pin connectors to parallel-port pin configurations. Having all known transmitter models listed, what the input and outputs are, and where they should go in relation to each other. Include where to place transistors and zenier diodes within the chart matrix. This would be a nice cook-book reference to creating cables for every flavor of transmitter being used today. I see the membership list, this forum has a tremendous recource to draw from, and it can be done.

Your Friend in the Air....and on the Ground!
Chuck.

[KEW]

Hi Luckyshot_69,

You obviously did a lot of reading to reach these conclusions. You make some excellent points. I never considered making a list of all of the available transmitter connector details before because it would take months - maybe even years of research to get the information together.

If other members are willing to pool their knowledge, I am willing to document it and make it available to all. You have probably already seen an example of my documentation skills if you have read the Landscape section of this forum.

If you are reading this and you have the details of any transmitter buddy-box connector pin-out details that are not already listed in this forum, either post them in the Interface section or send me a PM. A diagram would be very helpful - even a rough sketch. I will publish the collected details in the interface section of this forum, in a reference manual which I will update every time I receive more information.

Thank you for your inputs, Luckyshot_69.

KEW

[Steve Lewin]

Almost all the information needed is already collected on the Smartpropoplus site (and several others e.g Tx-2-Tx).

Try http://www.smartpropoplus.com/dnn/Hardw ... fault.aspx

That should reduce the research needed to a manageable level .

Steve

[phildc]

About FMS interfaces, you have this topic:

and the world reference for buddy boxes, that can be applied to simulator connections:


Phil.

[csa1961]

Hay Alguna forma de Actualizar El FMS, funcione PARA QUE Con Windows 7? Si ALGUIEN SABE COMO Hacerlo rogaría que me contestara. Gracias.

[ggunners]

[luckyshot_69]

When I started this posting it was my first day being exposed to the FMS world. By reading as much as I could to help me with my own personal quest to get something in the air using FMS software. At first I thought after reading the offical FMS manual that the software was not compatible with USB interfaces, but then it didn't make any sense if that were the case, by virtue of all the available product out there offering USB interface simulators joined with FMS CD's, so I got one and now.......
I need help with this Dynam 6ch simulator! I just can't get a break here it seems..... I'm using windows XP (32-bit) P4 at 2.8 Ghz/ with 2 Gb RAM x 160Gb ROM, installed the 8.5 version of FMS and can use my keyboard to control aircraft within FMS. However the Dynam simulator (USB cable) does not get recognized by the FMS > CONTROL > ANALOG > JOYSTICK > CALIBRATE even after I successfully pre-calibrate the simulator within XP's own > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL > GAME CONTROLLER > PPM CONTROLLER > CALIBRATE and followed the CALIBRATION WIZARD....successfully calibrated !!
I tried using the FMS/ CONTROL > ANALOG > JOYSTICK > CALIBRATE > settings conferred by "dmurias" to no avail. I get nothing. I also downloaded SMARTPROPOPLUS with all it's tools, but it seems that it's designed to monitor auditory signals and not USB SIGNAL INPUTS, so that's also a bust.
I don't know if this is helpful but my graphics card is a bit weak in today's market. It's an ATi RADEON 7000, with 64 meg (DDR) on-board AGP 2X - 4X SVGA, and I'm unsure if it has a 3D accelerator even though when I try to get specs on it the 'hype' says it's a powerful graphics interface card with superior 3D animation capabilities, what ever that means....
After uploading SMARTPROPOPLUS, and configuring it to "line-in" using a cable I started to put together but never finished assembling it (after winning the auction for this other USB simulator). Well, it's still running in the background, and still looks to "line-in" for a signal. Could it be that it is interfering (using a port guardian) with the USB signal ? that's my next step, disable software and try the controller again.
PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING, THANK YOU, Chuck.

[thatch55]

I had the very same problems with my USB Interface and tried everything I could but no luck at all.... so what I did was uninstalled the FMS that came on the CD and then visited : http://n.ethz.ch/~mmoeller/fms/index_e.html and downloaded the latest version and everything worked just fine

No idea why but it did !!!

Cheers
Ian

[ggunners]

Yeah, the first thing I tell everyone is make sure they drop the FMS 2.8.3 or 2.8.4 off the CD and get the latest from the web site. Those earlier versions had some issues and did not support FMS 2.7 models. I think FMS 2.8.5 is frankly pretty awesome for the work that went into it and a very cool upgrade to FMS 2.8. Of course, it is long in the tooth now, about 6 years old without any updates. Thankfully, it keeps on chuggin'.

-- ggunners