MC60 and GNS 530 Interaction Issue
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So I'm leaning back in my chair at cruise altitude. My flight plan is all set and I'm following the magenta line of success and--
GNS 530: "MSG... MSG... MSG... Set course 079"
Me: "Umm... the MC60 digital localizer automatically tracks the desired course. It's really advanced."
GNS 530: "MSG... MSG... MSG..."
Me: "What is it this time?"
GNS 530: "Set course 076"
Me: "Like I said last time, the MC60 is already tracking that course. Turning the OBS knob does nothing, you silly GPS."
GNS 530: "MSG... MSG... MSG..."
Me: "Oh goodness gracious me!"So, the GNS 530 flashes a MSG thingy some time after each waypoint if the OBS doesn't match the desired track. I guess it's reminding you to keep a clean cockpit. But with the MC60, you can't change the NAV1 OBS unless you:
- sync the heading bug to your current track
- set HDG mode on the AP
- switch the CDI to VLOC mode
- turn the OBS knob on the MC60 to match your desired track on the GPS. by default it's probably set to something like 360.
- switch the CDI back to GPS mode
- set NAV mode on the AP
If I do that immediately after I pass each waypoint, I'll avoid the dreaded MSG... MSG... MSG...
That's a lot of work so I wrote a .lua script that does it for me every time the desired track changes (it just reads (A:GPS WP DESIRED TRACK, degrees) and pushes it into (>K:VOR1_SET) if the CDI is in GPS mode but the GPS OBS is not active). I can't turn off the MSG thing in WT's GNS 530 but I can at least work around it.
But I'm curious if that's the expected interaction between the MC60 and the GNS530. Should the MC60 in the sim do the same workaround to keep the GNS 530 from flashing that MSG indicator?
I haven't tested with the GNS 430 or the GTN 750 so I don't know if those units have the same behavior or not.
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F fizzboy referenced this topic
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@fizzboy @Zacke I just wanted to let you guys know that I added some code to fix this tonight. From the looks of it, I was initially scared to do this because I found a CTD lurking in the MSFS GPS code during my development of Starship. Feel free to share with the Official Forums, since I know it came up there recently.
EDIT: I would love to test that code, but I can't seem to reproduce it right now, not matter what I try. I could swear I know the message you're seeing, but I've tried exactly what you've described above, but I can't get it to trigger. Could I convince one of you guys to make the small code edit on your end to make sure it works, please?
Look for the following file... [Your Community Folder]\bksq-aircraft-commander114\html_ui\Pages\VCockpit\Instruments\Generic\Radios\bksq-aircraft-commander114\DigitalLocalizers\DigitalLocalizers.js
Search for the following line:
SimVar.SetSimVarValue("L:var_MC60_From", "Bool", activeGpsSource...Immediately after, add the following lines of code:
if(!SimVar.GetSimVarValue("GPS OBS ACTIVE", "bool")){ SimVar.SetSimVarValue("K:VOR1_SET", "degrees", SimVar.GetSimVarValue("GPS WP DESIRED TRACK", "degrees") % 360); }Sorry to ask for help, but I want to make sure it's a good solution before the next update. Thank you!
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@fizzboy @Zacke I just wanted to let you guys know that I added some code to fix this tonight. From the looks of it, I was initially scared to do this because I found a CTD lurking in the MSFS GPS code during my development of Starship. Feel free to share with the Official Forums, since I know it came up there recently.
EDIT: I would love to test that code, but I can't seem to reproduce it right now, not matter what I try. I could swear I know the message you're seeing, but I've tried exactly what you've described above, but I can't get it to trigger. Could I convince one of you guys to make the small code edit on your end to make sure it works, please?
Look for the following file... [Your Community Folder]\bksq-aircraft-commander114\html_ui\Pages\VCockpit\Instruments\Generic\Radios\bksq-aircraft-commander114\DigitalLocalizers\DigitalLocalizers.js
Search for the following line:
SimVar.SetSimVarValue("L:var_MC60_From", "Bool", activeGpsSource...Immediately after, add the following lines of code:
if(!SimVar.GetSimVarValue("GPS OBS ACTIVE", "bool")){ SimVar.SetSimVarValue("K:VOR1_SET", "degrees", SimVar.GetSimVarValue("GPS WP DESIRED TRACK", "degrees") % 360); }Sorry to ask for help, but I want to make sure it's a good solution before the next update. Thank you!
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@Black-Square Apologies for jumping in, but I’ve just tried the fix on a very simple flight plan using the KLN-90B and all seems to work now. There’s a closing bracket missing on the posted conditional statement by the way.
@GrahamD Why would you apologize for lending a hand?! That's exactly what I was looking to hear. Thank you so much for testing it out. Really not sure why I couldn't get that message to trigger on my end, but perhaps that's why it didn't strike me as annoying. Thanks again so much.
You mean one too many opening parentheses in the VOR1_SET line? I guess I posted the code before I fixed that in my editor. Thanks.
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@GrahamD Why would you apologize for lending a hand?! That's exactly what I was looking to hear. Thank you so much for testing it out. Really not sure why I couldn't get that message to trigger on my end, but perhaps that's why it didn't strike me as annoying. Thanks again so much.
You mean one too many opening parentheses in the VOR1_SET line? I guess I posted the code before I fixed that in my editor. Thanks.
@Black-Square a pleasure to help! I did only try it with the KLN 90B though - but I guess it applies generically to the other GPS units.
