Board index FlightGear Development Canvas

Garmin gns530

Canvas is FlightGear's new fully scriptable 2D drawing system that will allow you to easily create new instruments, HUDs and even GUI dialogs and custom GUI widgets, without having to write C++ code and without having to rebuild FlightGear.

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hjr70 » Sat Jan 17, 2015 12:17 pm

hi

I tried to implement a proxy with the https://code.google.com/p/garmin-gns-430-530-interface/, but it didn't work. Maybe to less programming knowhow:-(
The real devices have as far as I know a serial bus. But I was not able to conect the trainers by serial com.

There're some old treads about the serial com with real devices:
https://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear ... 28187.html
https://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear ... 20564.html
http://flightgear-devel.narkive.com/apX ... o-a-garmin

Lots of info to read!

Regards
Hansjörg
hjr70
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:21 pm

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby Hooray » Sat Jan 17, 2015 4:56 pm

wow, good job on digging out discussions from 10+ years ago - but I don't think any of this is applicable still.
What should work is using some IPC to hook up the real garmin software to FG:

Subject: Garmin gns530

Hooray wrote:ND: sounds good !

FYI: Several years ago, the Garmin guys allowed the FlightGear project to re-implement the whole instrument in FlightGear, see the devel list archives for details.

  • regarding those screen shots there's a free EXE download available from Garmin that simulates the device using the firmware of the real device IIRC, the so called "Garmin GNS trainer"
  • it's a subset of the device, including 2-3 integrated databases (AIRAC cycles, waypoints, navaids etc)
  • that is the reason why those EXE files are >= 100 MB in size
  • some functions are just stubs to look plausible (e.g. satellite status view)
  • those flight simulators addons (XP) etc will typically run that simulator, copy the image to memory and display it in FSX/XP and forward events accordingly
  • we used to have a discussion about this whole approach a while ago
  • so that is why the thing looks and "feels" so real: it's a subset of the firmware of the real device, running in the standalone EXE simulator (works fine under Linux/Wine, and then IPC is used to display/control the device): http://www8.garmin.com/support/download ... sp?id=3529
  • the XP forums have a lot of detail on the whole approach, or just see: http://ross-park.net/xgps/config/win_500w.html
  • regarding the ND: no, the idea is just to incrementally move useful stuff out of the ND into dedicated MapStructure layers - the compass rose, CDI etc could definitely be useful outside the ND context
  • Yeah, I am also horrible at Inkscape, but we have volunteers who are willing to help with such things, because they prefer that over writing hundreds of lines of code :D


We should be able to replicate most of the functionality easily by now - even though some features are more difficult, because we don't currently support ESRI shapefiles ...

PS: Here's the latest X-Plane status: http://developer.x-plane.com/2014/03/ne ... ane-10-30/
Please don't send support requests by PM, instead post your questions on the forum so that all users can contribute and benefit
Thanks & all the best,
Hooray
Help write next month's newsletter !
pui2canvas | MapStructure | Canvas Development | Programming resources
Hooray
 
Posts: 12707
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:40 am
Pronouns: THOU

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hjr70 » Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:52 pm

Sorry, just wanted to show the serial interface for Garmin.

IPC with the trainer is done in the project I mentioned above.
The others who did this where: http://www.reality-xp.com/flightsim/index.html
They are not interested in providing a version for flightgear.

Hansjörg
hjr70
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:21 pm

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby Hooray » Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:58 pm

FlightGear is multi-platform software - the Garmin GNS trainer software is Windows-based (EXE files) - so would be of little use to all FlightGear users.
Thus, pursuing the Canvas-based approach is not necessarily a bad idea - especially because there's really no way to sync mis-matching data between FG<->external software (think terrain, scenery, navaids, airports etc) - while using Nasal/Canvas would allow you to directly reuse FlightGear's internal data.
Please don't send support requests by PM, instead post your questions on the forum so that all users can contribute and benefit
Thanks & all the best,
Hooray
Help write next month's newsletter !
pui2canvas | MapStructure | Canvas Development | Programming resources
Hooray
 
Posts: 12707
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:40 am
Pronouns: THOU

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hollingwood » Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:41 pm

I am interested in this development. I have tried it on my development computer with FG 2016.0.1 with an aircraft picked at random (Citation X). I just initially wish to see it on screen anywhere and to try some hardware button/encoder interactions with a view to making a hardware overlay. So far I can't make it appear. Maybe it is being painted over by another part of the cockpit. I have followed instructions:

"1. clone the git repo at http://git.webcb.eu/GNS530.git into your Aircraft/Instruments-3d folder (there is no web access, the repository can only be checked out using git)
2. add the gns530.xml file into your 3d model.
3. add the following code to your aircraft-set.xml (or aircraft-base): ...(nasal code omitted)"

The second instruction "add the gns530.xml into your 3d model" appears ambiguous - is it sufficient to add the file to a folder (which folder) or does it have
to be part of an include statement within a file - if so which?

Sorry if all this seems elementary. I would be grateful for any pointers.
FG environment: hp compaq elite 8300 SFF i7-3770 (quad core)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
FG 2019-1 via Snap on Manjaro linux 5.4.22
Dell U3011T 30" 2560 x 1600
Aircraft: Cessna172sp
hollingwood
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:06 pm
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Version: 2019-1
OS: Manjaro linux

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby Hooray » Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:46 pm

yes, it is not sufficient to just add a file to your directories, it also needs to be explicitly referenced via your aircraft-set.xml file or one of the file it references (as per the include directive you mentioned already). In general, you will find the details in several tutorials on the wiki, or you could open the -set.xml file and look up how other instruments are included.

that said, as far as I know, that particular instrument is not much more than a prototype in its current form, i.e. hasn't been deveoped in quite a while - so don't expect much more than the screenshots you've seen.

From a functionality standpoint, the most complex and most sophisticated MFD still is the Avidyne Entegra R9 (extra500):

http://wiki.flightgear.org/Avidyne_Entegra_R9
Image
Please don't send support requests by PM, instead post your questions on the forum so that all users can contribute and benefit
Thanks & all the best,
Hooray
Help write next month's newsletter !
pui2canvas | MapStructure | Canvas Development | Programming resources
Hooray
 
Posts: 12707
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:40 am
Pronouns: THOU

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hollingwood » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:19 pm

Thank you for that. I inserted <GNS530 include=/Aircraft/Instruments-3d/GNS530/gns530.xml/> into the CitationX-set.xml file. This had the effect of allowing the system properties display to show the GNS530 properties. But no display in the cockpit area. I will look at the Avidyne stuff and see if there is something helpful there. Many thanks.
FG environment: hp compaq elite 8300 SFF i7-3770 (quad core)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
FG 2019-1 via Snap on Manjaro linux 5.4.22
Dell U3011T 30" 2560 x 1600
Aircraft: Cessna172sp
hollingwood
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:06 pm
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Version: 2019-1
OS: Manjaro linux

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby Hooray » Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:07 pm

first of all you really need to understand how to add an instrument, see the tutorials on the wiki
Please don't send support requests by PM, instead post your questions on the forum so that all users can contribute and benefit
Thanks & all the best,
Hooray
Help write next month's newsletter !
pui2canvas | MapStructure | Canvas Development | Programming resources
Hooray
 
Posts: 12707
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:40 am
Pronouns: THOU

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hollingwood » Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:33 pm

Will do. Thanks
FG environment: hp compaq elite 8300 SFF i7-3770 (quad core)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
FG 2019-1 via Snap on Manjaro linux 5.4.22
Dell U3011T 30" 2560 x 1600
Aircraft: Cessna172sp
hollingwood
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:06 pm
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Version: 2019-1
OS: Manjaro linux

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hollingwood » Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:36 am

Had a look at the wikis you mentioned. Very helpful. Now no problem in seeing and interacting with this Canvas based instrument, and now understanding the software. Thank you for your comments.
FG environment: hp compaq elite 8300 SFF i7-3770 (quad core)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
FG 2019-1 via Snap on Manjaro linux 5.4.22
Dell U3011T 30" 2560 x 1600
Aircraft: Cessna172sp
hollingwood
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:06 pm
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Version: 2019-1
OS: Manjaro linux

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby D-ECHO » Sun Feb 14, 2016 12:41 pm

@cbendele: very nice ;)
D-ECHO
 
Posts: 2460
Joined: Sat May 09, 2015 1:31 pm
Pronouns: Bea (she/her)
Version: next

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby Hooray » Mon Feb 15, 2016 5:07 pm

if in doubt, please do feel invited to help us improve the wiki article to include the instructions that you were missing, which would be greatly appreciated!
Please don't send support requests by PM, instead post your questions on the forum so that all users can contribute and benefit
Thanks & all the best,
Hooray
Help write next month's newsletter !
pui2canvas | MapStructure | Canvas Development | Programming resources
Hooray
 
Posts: 12707
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:40 am
Pronouns: THOU

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hollingwood » Sun Feb 21, 2016 1:09 pm

I am not sure how to go about expanding the wiki article. But I would alter:

"How to try it out
clone the git repo at http://git.webcb.eu/GNS530.git into your Aircraft/Instruments-3d folder (there is no web access, the repository can only be checked out using git).

add the gns530.xml file into your 3d model.

add the following code to your aircraft-set.xml (or aircraft-base):"

to read: -

"How to try it out
clone the git repo at http://git.webcb.eu/GNS530.git into your Aircraft/Instruments-3d folder (there is no web access, the repository can only be checked out using git).

declare the gns530.xml file by adding the following code to the aircraft.xml file located in the Models folder
for your aircraft.
Code: Select all
         <model>
             <path>Aircraft/Instruments-3d/GNS530/gns530.xml</path>
         </model>
       


declare the GNS530.nas file by adding the following code to your aircraft-set.xml (or aircraft-base):"

Hope this helps.
FG environment: hp compaq elite 8300 SFF i7-3770 (quad core)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
FG 2019-1 via Snap on Manjaro linux 5.4.22
Dell U3011T 30" 2560 x 1600
Aircraft: Cessna172sp
hollingwood
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:06 pm
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Version: 2019-1
OS: Manjaro linux

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby Hooray » Sun Feb 21, 2016 2:25 pm

thank you for your feedback.
If you can use the forum, using the wiki should be pretty straightforward actually.
Thus, my suggestion would be to get a wiki account via: http://wiki.flightgear.org/index.php?ti ... ype=signup
And then directly add your suggestion to the article by visiting: http://wiki.flightgear.org/index.php?ti ... ction=edit
Please don't send support requests by PM, instead post your questions on the forum so that all users can contribute and benefit
Thanks & all the best,
Hooray
Help write next month's newsletter !
pui2canvas | MapStructure | Canvas Development | Programming resources
Hooray
 
Posts: 12707
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:40 am
Pronouns: THOU

Re: Garmin gns530

Postby hollingwood » Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:02 pm

Hiya,
I changed the wiki. Please have a look.
FG environment: hp compaq elite 8300 SFF i7-3770 (quad core)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
FG 2019-1 via Snap on Manjaro linux 5.4.22
Dell U3011T 30" 2560 x 1600
Aircraft: Cessna172sp
hollingwood
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:06 pm
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Version: 2019-1
OS: Manjaro linux

PreviousNext

Return to Canvas

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests