550: GaugeSwitcher now Runs in X-Plane

To help users of my FIP gauges (who are using Logitech’s default drivers and/or plugins for FIP controls) to quickly switch among different FIP set-ups, such as from gauges specifically made for the Mooney Bravo to the gauges for Extra 300S, I developed two utilities — the GaugeSwitcher (for FSX/P3D) and the XPL_GaugeSwitcher (for X-Plane).

But unlike the FSX/P3D version that can be run at anytime despite the simulator is active or not, the X-Plane cousin was deliberately restricted to ONLY allow gauge switchings while X-Plane is not running.  This is due to huge memory usages in X-Plane, which could easily crash the system when unloading and reloading already-active plugins that also consumes a lot of memory, such as the Logitech X-Plane plugins together with the FIP gauges.

After more than a year since its launch, the updated XPL_GaugeSwitcher which doesn’t have the restriction is now available.

530: Radar Contact is Now Free

There are a number of ATC programs available to flight simulation.  One of the popular ones is Radar Contact, which was firstly released 21 years ago.  Recently, its developers announced to give the program away for free from January 1st, this year.   If you are not aware of it, you can get your copy from here.

513: Free Private Pilot Study Guide

Redbird Flight Simulations has a “Training Events Workbook” to help private pilot students and teachers using their simulators. The Workbook covers topics including home-study exercises and oral exam prep questions, as well as scenario based training through simulator missions.

Although you may not have access to or be trained in a Redbird simulator, the book is still a good training supplement to any private pilot curriculum.   The book is now free for download from here or by clicking on the image.

507: A Few Updates

Haven’t updated FSX Times for quite a while due to some family matters, travels, other distractions and laziness under the summer sun.   Probably the situation will carry on for another month or so.

Regarding the fuel flow dataref issue in X-Plane for FIP gauges, Logitech has reacted and sent me a revised X-Plane Plug-in.  Unfortunately, the issue remains unsolved.   Have reported back and hope that there will be “workable” update from the support team soon.

During last month, my son developed an iOS version of the Affinity Mask Calculator for me.   It is called “FSXTimes AMC”.   Nothing fancy and it works similarly to the web version.   It can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store.   As 6- and 8-core CPUs are becoming main streams, next update will target to include them.

Last but not least,

499: Shader Cleaner is now Free

FSX and P3D creates Shader Caches during operations to optimize overall performance via frequently accessed instructions and codes stored in the caches.   However, the Shader Caches are prone to be messed up by various reasons sometimes.   Rebuilding them is a common method to fix many issues suddenly coming up without a proper cause.

The Shader Cleaner FSX and Shader Cleaner P3D were developed to help clean Shader Caches quickly before the loading of FSX and P3D whenever needed — Personally I don’t recommend cleaning the Shader Caches if everything is okay.
 
DO NOTE that after the Shaders of P3D v3 and especially v4 are cleaned, the display will black out for some seconds when a new flight is loaded.   Just be patient and everything will come back to normal after the cache is built again.

The utilities were only given to

497: Gauge-Switcher for X-Plane Plugins

An X-Plane version of the GaugeSwitcher is also developed for those who are using the Logitech X-Plane Plugins for my FSX Times Gauges.

It works similarly and can handle up to 60 FIP gauge setups for X-Plane as well.

The utility has been sent to all users of my XP_Logitech gauges by emails.   Should anyone who hasn’t received the download link in their mailboxes by now could

496: Gauge-Switcher v8 Released

GaugeSwitcher is a handy program I developed a couple of years ago to help Saitek FIP Driver users to quickly switch between multiple FSX Times Gauges (say from C172SP to B58 to Mooney Bravo to RAS Duke or vice versa) to match with the aircraft being used or to be used in FSX, FSX-SE and P3D.

The utility was given to users of my Gauges once but stopped for some reasons.

Now, the utility is available again with many optimizations, including compatibility with both Saitek and Logitech Drivers, and

494: Abnormal FIP Knob Adjustment Fix

Not sure how many of you have occasionally encountered a bizarre situation in which all functions, such as OBS and heading bug, that are controlled by the knobs on the Logitech/Saitek FIPs (Flight Instrument Panels) suddenly move faster in 10-degree (step) per turn than the default 1-degree (step) per turn.

The cause of the issue is unknown but generally it can be cured by warm-booting (or in some cases, cold-booting) the computer.

In the last six months, I encountered the issue once or twice.  Instead of rebooting the computer,

486: SL Migrator Lite Version

In response to some friends requests, a simplified version of the SL_Migrator is created to help other non-FSX Times Gauges users to convert their “exe.xml” files after the Logitech Drivers migration.    Similarly, it is good for FSX, FSX-SE, P3Dv3 and P3Dv4 and can handle more than one simulators simultaneously if exists.

The utility is called SL_Migrator_Lite and it can be downloaded from the Freeware section in my Store.