Opencockpits new offerings

[fsaviator]

If you haven't been over to the Opencockpits site lately swing by and see their new offerings.

They have some new releases in the pedestal line, including P&P (ala OC) and what is known as IDC...  assembled panels that connect direct into a couple of their new pedestal boards.

You still deal with SIOC, but the scripts are all available.

[rs3tier]

I ordered the P&P audio panel along with a few other things late last week. 
I have been knee deep in SIOC (newbie) for that last 10 days programming up my basic OC pedestal (2xcom,2xnav,1xadf,1xatc) so hoping this wont prove to difficult to integrate.

[CeeGee]

Thanks Warren. We just got the Fighter Radio Black p&p which does just what it says on the tin.
Trouble is that I cannot seem to turn it off as the last used comm or nav button remains illuminated. I turn off the IOCModules box from the taskbar, then shut down FSX [In that order!]. Even when I close down the computer, the comm light remains on. The only way to turn it off is to unplug the USB then plug it back in again. Any ideas? Charlie.

[CeeGee]

A picture paints etc:



It is a great radio box, it is just the light staying on that is worrying. There is a backlight switch on the bottom right and that will illuminate if turned on when everything else is shut down.

Moderator - please move to another thread if needed.

[fsaviator]

I've never seen that.  Did you ask Alejandro at OC support?

[CeeGee]

Yes, still waiting for an answer. If you have his email, could you PM it to me - I am using their forum at the moment. Thanks, C.

[fordgt40]

It suggests to me that your computer is keeping the power on to the USB ports despite the PC being turned off. I have a number of PCs and a some of them do the same. Not necessarily a fault with OC. If it really bugs, then perhaps a relay on the USB power + line activated by a relay via sioc would solve it

David

[CeeGee]

Many thanks for that David. I put the radios on another PC and no lights when the PC was turned off. We have room to put a USB power control switch on the radio which seems the easiest option. It is the green circle in this pic:


Thanks again for all of your help - I had never heard of a "live" USB socket when the PC is turned off, not just one, all 8 of them!!! We will keep you all updated with the Harrier project, it is a very confined cockpit, so this radio is perfect. Charlie.

[fordgt40]

On reflection, I may have been confusing symptoms and causes. Your problem could also arise if you are using a separately powered hub 

David

[CeeGee]

The radio is powered from the USB, no additional power needed. It seems that all the USB sockets are live when the PC is turned off. This is for charging iPads and the like and it is a known "issue" with this xigmatek PC. There is a way to turn this feature off in the BIOS, so that is the next option. Also turning the PC off using the switch at the back works, but it blew up the DVI-D to VGA adapters when turned back on, so the surround does not work now. Don't you love it when a plan falls to ratty poohs!! Charlie.

[CeeGee]

Further to the live USB issues above...... I contacted gigabyte to ask them how to turn off the charging feature and this was their reply:

"I have just got the GA-Z87-HD3 which is very good. It seems to have the USB charger modification as active. I do not want this as all my USB addons will not turn off properly. How do I disable it in a click by click language. Thank you, Charlie.   5/11/2014 5:32 PM

Answer:   
Dear Sir,
Because motherboard supports keyboard/mouse wake up feature, thus, power supply will keep providing 5V STB power to the device even when system is power-off. You can only physically disconnect the power supply (PSU) power cord or switch off the PSU.
5/13/2014 1:01 PM"

So this PC would be great for my personal use, but fellow pit builders, watch out for this feature if you want to buy a new PC for your system. Charlie.

[Perik]

Hello Charlie.

You'll normally reach Alejandro at support@opencockpits.com and
I'm sure he will give a good explanation why this happens.
The OC Forum is very quiet though....

I expect there is a bug in the IOCModules application as it seems
they normally turn off everything when exiting the application –
at least on Multiradio which is more or less the same though
without all the LED's

Live USB is quite normal on PC's to day so what I suggest is to
wait for OC support to come up with an update of IOCModules
or even better, do your own SIOC coding with support for COLD&DARK.

Download and install latest SIOC and look for: RMP_Definicion.txt
and RMP_comp_master.txt. Add a "Power switch" in your cockpit
or find a FSUIPC offset for Battery/Voltage status and take action
in your script to blank all LED's and 7-segment accordingly.
It may involve some serious SIOC coding but that's just fun
Just some thoughts.....

[CeeGee]

Thanks Perik,

It may involve some serious SIOC coding but that's just fun

Gulp!!! The radio is great but this shut down irritation is not limited to the OpenCockpit radio. We have a VRisight GPS 5 and a GoFlight autopilot and all of them show some form of illumination [select buttons or partial LEDs] on shutdown so the problem is not really exclusive to the radio. I think that if I can find alternate boosters for the displays, then it will have to be the "unplug at the mains" solution.
Many thanks again for your help, and I will keep you info'd on the developments. Charlie.

[fsaviator]

Charlie,
have you considered swapping out the power supply?

[CeeGee]

Thanks Warren, you might have to expand on that one - swap the Hamster for a Gerbil!!?
Remember that because the Harrier will be part of a display, it will have wheels and will be moved around a fair bit, thus unplugging will be inevitable. As it stands at the moment, at the end of the session, the PC is to be unplugged and that is from Mike. Anything better will help loads!!! Charlie.

[fsaviator]

I was just thinking that maybe if you put in a different power supply, the constant power would be eliminated?  Maybe the MB manufacturer can answer if that would work?

[CeeGee]

Thanks Warren. Yes, that is quite do-able. If you remember, the PC and control units are all going to be at the rear of the Sim and also back there, there are 2 transformers. That is the solution as regards alternate power supply. I will get onto gigabyte and see what they say. The other solution is to network another PC for WideServer which can go in the nose section. 2nd hand W7 32 or 64 bit, should not cost the earth and will mean that the cable runs will only be 1 or 2 meters. I will consult the Boss!! Thanks again, Charlie

[blueskydriver]

Hey Charlie,

See if you have the ErB function mentioned in this thread about halfway down...

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1701179

John

[CeeGee]

Thanks John. I will try that and it sounds just what we need, but a slightly different model of gygabyte.
Interestingly, I took the PC, visuals and all the boxes to Mike [the Boss] just to show him the issues involved, and when rebooting the PC from shut down, we got a Windows error message saying that the computer had not entered Hibernation properly. Call me old fashioned but Hibernation on a PC stack? This would explain a lot but it now shuts down the screens without them being turned off, so yes there is an on/off mismatch. I guess it would be fine if I could just close the lid!!!
I will try the BIOS power settings after I have spoken to the dealer because if this goes wrong, it will be big time..........
Thanks to everyone for their inputs, I know that there will be more on this subject, as I am getting negative waves about this PC! Charlie.

[CeeGee]

Sorry about the crossings out above - Eric the brain cell is not working too well. OK, problem solved. We put a 5 socket USB extension board onto the USB extension port on the motherboard and they close down completely when the PC is turned off. Brilliant, no more 5 volts going into the modules after shut down!!! We also reinstalled the NVidia drivers which has seemed to stop the random error messages. Time to blow the froth off one, Charlie.

[fsaviator]

Excellent.  Glad it worked out, cheap