Saitek FIP

270: Attitude Indicator with Announciator

| Tom Tsui

Was originally planning to finish the Heading Indicator in coming January but couldn’t help to get this Attitude Indicator with Announciator jumping the line, as I found the showing of information corresponding to the status of the aircraft more prevailing.

C172_ATTAN

In addition to the newly made Attitude Indicator and Announciator Panel, extra displays for ADF, NAV1, NAV2, DME1, DME2 and XPDR were also implemented so that single Radio Panel users like me don’t have to switch frequently just for Continue reading →

269: Enhanced Fuel Gauges

| Tom Tsui

This is the enhanced version of the existing Integrated Fuel Gauges based on my project revealed in Post 216: Squeezing In.   In addition to the Fuel Selection Lever and other fuel related options added to it, codes have been optimized as well.

C172_INTFG

Note that this enhanced version is not a must-have replacement if you are happy with my existing gauges already.  It is because Continue reading →

267: New Gauges are Here

| Tom Tsui

Pardon to those who expressed interests to my integrated gauges proposed in Post 250: New Gauges – Sorry, Not Free back in June.   Finally, they are here.   Extra displays for VOR and NDB directions are added as a making up for the delay of them.

C172_ALVOR C172_VSADF

Although these two new integrated gauges are not free, Continue reading →

264: Complete Removal of the FIP Serial Page

| Tom Tsui

On and off I received queries about the possibility of removing the serial page on the Flight Instrument Panel (FIP).  The concern was not just purely an aesthetic preference FIPC01because the LCD of the FIP could easily get burnt if any image is left on for a long period of time (See my Post 144).  This is in particularly true to users who seldom switched off FIPs in their cockpits. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution since the page is hard-wired to the driver of the device by the manufacturer. In response to these concerns, Continue reading →

250: New Gauges – Sorry, Not Free

| Tom Tsui

Time flies.  The next Anniversary of FSX Times is coming in two months.   FSX Times will be four years old.

In the note for the last Anniversary day, I mentioned that it’s very likely that I would set up a Donation link for my blog so that I could get some free cups of coffee while sharing my hours of works and creations for the flight simulation friends.

Unfortunately, Paypal’s requirements towards oversea donation uses are harsh.   In my country, only registered charity organizations would get their approvals.

Since I’ve developed many gauges for the flight instrument panel (FIP) users for free for years, I believe it shouldn’t be irritating if I charge a small price for some of the new gauges that are complex and time-consuming to build.   Updates to these gauges, of course, will be free and be on high priority.

Continue reading →

247: Wet Compass C172 Style

| Tom Tsui

Here’s the C172 variation of the wet compass gauge.   The link has already been sent to those who requested the last version.

C172_WCP_140520

No need to ask again and Continue reading →

246: Wet Compass Update

| Tom Tsui

Haven’t updated my gauges for a long time.   Here are two full-width wet compass versions with minor graphics enhancements over the last one from Post 222.

The one on the left is for general aircrafts and the other is for 737, which is based on the model found on the aircraft.

Wet_Compass_140511W  Wet_Compass_737_140511

As always, subscribers of FSX Times could ask for the download links via Continue reading →

227: FSX is still my Preferred Simulator

| Tom Tsui

After switching back and forth between Windows 7 and Windows 8, and FSX and Prepar3D, for over a dozen of times within the past seven days, I have to say that FSX is still my preferred simulator.

Over the week’s testing under Windows 7 and Windows 8, the new P3D performed satisfactorily, especially it off-loaded quite a bit of CPU processing work to the graphics card. However, FSX is still functioning better than the P3D in general.  Moreover, P3D, as I mentioned in earlier posts, has some issues with the Saitek hardware — in particular the FIPs, which also stops me from choosing it as my new platform.

My 7 FIPs have no problem connecting to P3D but Continue reading →

224: Turning Off the FIP – Black Friday

| Tom Tsui

TechLevel01W
Due to various unexpected situations, the Turning Off the FIP series were stopped for over a month.   To compensate for the interruption, I have put the OFF Masks for the remaining RPM, Integrated Fuel Gauges, and even the new Turn Coordinator into a single RAR file on this Black Friday for existing users to download by clicking the image below.  The OFF masks for the earlier Altimeter, Vertical Indicator and Airspeed Indicator are also included.  Just put the files in corresponding folders will do.

TurnOFF_FIP_MISC

Continue reading →