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Instruments on a second monitor

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Instruments on a second monitor

Postby iandmacp » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:50 am

Hi all ...

I would like to put the 2D panel on a separate monitor but cannot find any leads on how to get started on this. I have read all the docs I can find including the README.multiscreen. I have also looked into the command line startup options and the property tree but cannot find any leads there either.

Specifically:

1. Do I need a second computer running another instance of FlightGear and if so does it need to have as much grunt as the first?
2. I came across some details of a sim that had about 8 screens set up for some type of show or expo ... two of them were for the instruments but cannot find it again ... any ideas on where to head for details on that?
3. So far I cannot find much detail on how to set up external display modules ... any pointers to this info appreciated.

More than happy to navigate to the next waypoint ... just need a heading :D

Cheers, Ian
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby ludomotico » Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:30 pm

You have at least three options:

- Multiscreen: you need editing xml files manually. Most of the information is in the wiki and in a external blog I can't locate. In any case, if the only think you want to set in the external monitor is the 2D panel, multiscreen is NOT the best option: the configuration is not easy, performance will be affected and there are little things that will stop working properly.
- fgpanel: it is an external tool that connects to FlightGear and shows a 2D panel. This is exactly what you want. Not all planes have defined a custom fgpanel configuration, but you may be satisfied qith a generic cockpit. http://wiki.flightgear.org/FGPanel
- Using an Android tablet/iPad. Check FlightGearMap in Google Play or App Store.
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby iandmacp » Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:56 pm

Thanks ... I had a look at it and am a little confused. Firstly it says it is for FlightGear 2.6 and I thought I had the latest version at 2.4 ... also it says because it is on an OS no longer supported it is no longer available for download. I don't mind building it myself from sources if it can be done on Ubuntu 12.04 which is what I run. Anyone logged any flight time on this software?

Cheers, Ian

Postscript ... Found the sources ... will report on progress and leave trail of breadcrumbs for other venturers who wander down this path :D
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby ludomotico » Thu Feb 27, 2014 5:55 pm

Are you talking about fgpanel? It is included in the main source code. I was under the impression it was included within any official package.

Last time I checked fgpanel was using the panel for the Seneca II in FG 3.1, and it worked.

Keep in mind some panel and protocol descriptions are not in FGROOT/Protocol but inside each one of the aircrafts. This is the case of the Seneca II: the protocol description was in FGROOT/Aircraft/SenecaII/Panels You have to check where the protocol description for the specific panel is and copy the file to the proper directory (i.e., FGROOT/Protocol).
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby Hooray » Thu Feb 27, 2014 6:39 pm

fgpanel & the seneca were developed by the same guy, so inconsistency would be very suprising here - usually, Torsten would add all required information to the wiki, so make sure to check out both wiki articles. The Seneca article is pretty massive (in fact there are several seneca articles), so it's easy to miss things...
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby iandmacp » Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:07 am

Thanks everyone for your assistance. At this point I have suspended work on this part of my project. In the meantime I have ...

Changed my operating system to openSuSE (latest and greatest)
Installed FlightGear version 2.12

Decided to use mechanical instruments instead of a 2D panel on a second monitor. This is for practical reasons ... I am building a realistic copy of an existing panel and cannot find a way to get the dials onto a screen so they mimic the existing layout ... it's just too weird a shape :) As this progresses I will post some progress reports.

Cheers, Ian
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby Hooray » Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:12 pm

iandmacp wrote in Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:07 am:I am building a realistic copy of an existing panel and cannot find a way to get the dials onto a screen so they mimic the existing layout ... it's just too weird a shape :)


That should be possible, see $FG_ROOT/Docs/README.xmlpanel(.html) - fgpanel basically IS our 2D panels code, so there should be no surpises here:
http://wiki.flightgear.org/FGPanel
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby julian » Wed Mar 12, 2014 4:28 pm

Hello Ian,

it seems like your aim is the same than mine. I already worked with fgpanel but i am not finished with leaning about it. Maybe we might help each other..;)

Julian.
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby Hassan » Mon Jun 06, 2016 9:19 am

Hi everyone,

Our group plans to build a simulator for Cessna Citation II, which is similar to falcon 20f that is our final goal.
We are at the first steps, we have all instruments on desk.
I have installed FG 3.4.0 on windows 7 (64 bit). I would like to send and receive instrument data to a COM port for my further works (I plan to have a yoke and other instruments on my desk). How can I do this? or if there is any manual for it, it would be a pleasure if you provide it.

I read the forums had the similar questions but I couldn't find a solution. it will be a pleasure if you guys can help us.

Best,
Hassan
Hassan Nami
MS of Aerospace engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering,Faculty of Engineering
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad,Mashhad,Iran
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Re: Instruments on a second monitor

Postby Hooray » Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:43 am

a modern biz jet will need to be able to display certain MFDs - fgpanel is not too useful for that (unless you are primarily dealing with steam gauges) - the most useful search terms for the forum/wiki will be Phi and FGCanvas - the latter of which is a special startup mode of FlightGear itself that can render Canvas based MFDs in a separate instance.

If you don't need fancy MFDs, I would probably use fgfs standalone and/or fgpanel. Phi has the lowest barrier to entry probably for people familiar with HTML and JavaScript, i.e. you don't even need to know much about fgfs.

The Canvas stuff will really only be needed if you want to render things like the 747 PFD/ND or CDU in a distributed fashion, i.e. using multiple independent displays.
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