G1000 Hardware interface to X-Plane/Simavio

[wdelorme]

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!

 

I recently bought a G1000 hardware kit from Noble Simulators in Pa. I am running it on a PC with x-plane and simavio (NO LONGER SUPPORTED). The G1000 Kit comes with two screens two monitor control boards that I had to soldier all of the contacts and electronics (buttons encoders and chips) on to it. It interfaces all of the buttons with an Open Cockpits Board and two Leo Bodnar Joystick boards to run the encoder knobs. The bezels and knobs and labeling seem identical to the real G1000 except no back lighting. Who cares right?

 

I got every thing soldiered up and put together and made all of my connections. Hooked it up to my simulator system and it worked at least the video. Well not everything worked, but I was able to get Simavio with bezels turned off on the screens and tweeked them into place. Now I am thinking AWESOME!!! Well then it came down to getting all of the buttons working of which they currently did nothing.

 

Tyler at Noble Sims has a Youtube video on how to setup the software. So you use JoytoKey for the encoder knobs and IOCKeys to run the buttons. So I went through the setup. Mind you, his setup is proven on Prepar3D PC platform with Mindstar to drive the G1000.

 

Well I don't have Mindstar or Prepar3D. So I am making a go at it with what I have. Granted Simavio is no longer supported!!! So I can't get help from them. So I setup the ICOkeys and the JoytoKey per Tylers instructions, and they have to be running to interface with the simulator. So I did all of that. Then I went into Simavio and had simavio identify all of the buttons with their key mapping menu item. However, it would not identify the encoders.

 

So I went into x plane under Joystick & equipment and x plane sees the encoders under the Buttons:ADV. I found that you can program most of them to work correctly to a degree through xplane. However, I do have so game changing issues with it. Nav/Com’s do not completely work, and FMS I can’t map to anything that makes it work. However, x plane does see the encoder for the FMS. I just cannot find anything in xplane to map it to anything in the menu to get it to work.

 

Here is my list.

1. I cannot find any selection under a selection there to make the FMS knob work in the G1000 system. The button press on the knob seems to work but I can't get it to move the cursor with the outer knob and make airport letter selections with the inner knob. So without the FMS knob working, it make this about useless for flying instruments

2. Com frequency knob works, and you can change the frequency in the standby mode and press the flip/flop key to make standby active so that part works. What DOESNOT work is pressing the encoder button in does not switch from Com1 to Com2. Both for PFD and MFD.

3. This is the same for the Nav side of the PFD and MFD as the Com system.

4. Altitude up and down for the autopilot only works on one knob not one four the thousands and one for the hundreds, so you have to spin and spin the knob forever to get the altitude set.

5. Same for the Baro... you turn and turn the Baro and the Kohlman's window shows a very slow hundredth of a digit change at a time.

6. Softkeys work on the PFD but they don't work on the MFD. The MFD keys produce PFD function not MFD functions even though they are setup for MFD in simavio.

7. Can't Range to work at all.

8. OBS knob is very similar to the COM NAV knobs it will not turn the OBS for GPS of the VOR independently it will only do one even though you press the button to switch.

 

If anyone has experience and have worked through it and has answers, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Wil

[MajFlyby]

wdelorme,

 

I have done this with x-plane, Tyler's G1000, SimAvio2 retail and a LOT of hard work. This is sim manufacturing and development not a plug & play setup. SimAvio guys could not help me. I tried mindstar & FSX also. Mindstar could not

help me.

 

The process is highly complicated to figure out, but once you do, is very simple as long as you make copious notes

so what you did now, you will remember six months from now. You must be proficient with computers, electronics and software. You cannot be a beginner in these disciplines and expect to work it out through forum back & forth notes. It will not work. I tried it. Noone had the information. I had to figure it out for myself via much trial & error.

 

I have recently had health problems and very seldom get on the forum. So I will not be in a position to offer detailed help.

 

I can offer you this:

 

1. SimAvio2 retail is way too buggy. Complete with incomplete pages of info, non functioning IFR operational areas.... to bugs with video drivers, non functioning in windows 10, on and on. If you hope to use this software as design intended, get the Pro version with setup assistance.

 

Bugs will be fixed. (That's what they claim.) Down side, even if you are an existing SimAvio2 software customer, the price is still $800.00 ($1,500.00 if you are not an existing user.) This is staggering, considering it cost originally about $60.00.

 

If you do not go pro, you will have a laundry list of things that do not work or function as they should. You will just have to live with it. The retail was made and sold way before it was ready.

 

I thoroughly enjoy my C182T, but am now having hardware issues, as the flight sim hardware has been running 24/7 for about 5 years now. Motherboard is freezing frequently and the Windows 8.1 with old Nvidia driver just isn't cutting it anymore. (Had to stay with 8.1 and old video driver due to incompatibility bugs in SimAvio2.) Also just found out that I've been running my sim at 1.6 GHZ under windows 8.1 when my motherboard could have been running 3.2 GHZ under windows 10. But SimAvio2 had problems under windows 10.

 

Also, recommend you go with the fastest / newest hardware setup you can afford up front. Having to change is a pain - trust me on this.

 

All in all, SimAvio2 is STILL the only G1000 platform out there for x-plane. All the others are just fluffy eye candy, but do not perform even close to the real Garmin G1000. If you are a real pilot, trying to stay current, but save money & time, this can be a real problem.

 

For all the problems, at the end of the day, SimAvio2 is STILL the ONLY viable G1000 platform out there for sim builders using x-plane. I find that to be incredibly frustrating, but have no choice. All the others come build into add on planes, and are G1000 bug fixes in progress. Get the SimAvio2 but get the PRO version.

 

2. Tylers G1000 hardware. I saw that he was on Youtube showing what he had built for himself. I contacted him and asked if he would make me one. 1.5 years later, we had a working prototype and he was in business.

 

This is also not retail plug & play. It is sim development. You must follow his how to files

very closely and accurately. Even then, when all is hooked up, I find that turning the radio knob on the PDF also

turns the radio knob in the MFD. Just a design characteristic of his hardware. Not the way the real G1000 works.

If that kind of stuff bugs you, and you are obsessed with accuracy, then get a more expensive plug & play G1000

hardware set. If you are willing to live with life's little disappointments, then by all means, I have found this to be

a very capable hardware set up for a VERY reasonable price. (Under $2,000.00).

 

I use "Joy2Key" freeware to translate the "rotary" knobs into keyboard input into the simavio2.

 

I use "encoder keys" to make the G1000 push buttons input into the simavio2. I could never figure out IOCKeys. That program is an example of someone making software but does not know how to explain to other NON programmers, how to make it work. Wasted way too much time on it. Use encoder keys and follow their how to files. Much faster.

 

This G1000 hardware interface with simavio2 is highly complex. WAY more than I bargained for. It took 3 - 6 months, working with my son, a 16 year programmer veteran, to figure it all out. Phone support just didn't work.

 

As an example, after all the loading of x-plane, the loading SimAvio2, then loading the config file in SimAvio2, the G1000 hardware will still not work until you go into the SimAvio2 hotkeys panel, DO NOTHING, and hit save. An admitted bug in their software, but I only found it by accident, after weeks and weeks of trying to figure out why it STILL would not work!

 

After all the work is done, here is what I still have to do to prepare the sim prior to my checklists etc. for flight:

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

How to start x-plane flight simulator:

 

Note: Run all programs in administrator mode!!!!

 

1. Reboot the computer to clear all USB assignments or the light panel may not work.

 

2. Be sure to close all programs running that are taking up CPU bandwidth.

 

3. Turn on bass boost fans.

 

4. Turn on bass boost amp and set volume.

 

5. Turn on surround sound 5.1

 

6. Make sure the DVD X-plane disk in in DVD drive

 

7. Open screen resolution and disable both small monitors.

(If you do not, x-plane will not boot into window mode, and you will not be able to

stretch view across two monitors.)

 

8. Run sound shortcut and set the following:

A. Speakers as default device for surround sound 5.1 with aircraft engines, and

B. communications device for hdmi monitor C as default for headset.

 

9. Run ATC sound through headset on VLC player.

Set device on VLC player as HDMI C, which you just set as the default communications

device, and which is connected to the headset.

 

10. Run encoder keys in admin mode. (This makes G1000 buttons work.)

 

11. Run joy2key in admin mode. (This makes G1000 rotary knobs work.)

 

12. Run x-plane in admin mode.

 

13. Once x-plane boots, re-enable the two smaller monitors.

 

14. Now run SimAvio.

 

15. Load the "DAD" configuration file.

C:\Users\Public\Documents\SimAVIO\Panels\Layouts

 

16. Open up hot keys panel. Save WITHOUT making any changes.

Edit / Hot Keys / Save

(If you do not do this, the G1000 will not work with Simavio.)

 

17. Go to Simavio / view:

A. uncheck all items.

B. Now check "masked" view

 

18. You should now be ready to run the sim.

--------------------------------------------------

 

In conclusion, I do not wish to discourage you. But if you are looking for a fast, plug & play, out of the box, hook up this afternoon and be flying tonight solution, you are not looking in the correct place.

 

However, if you are patient, willing to learn and teach yourself, are patient with setbacks, this can be done.

 

Best of luck to you.

[wdelorme]

Hey everyone,

 

 

 

I know this post is sort of old at this point in the game. I just wanted to

let everyone know that I worked through this problem with the mindstar folks

and the designer of my G1000 system. The problem was probably a permssions

issue with the Leo Bodnar units software. My resolution of this problem was

a circuit board that was designed by Tyler Noble and additional software

driver that makes this system work flawlessly with the Hardware P3D and

Mindstar. So I have it working fully functional now with the upgrade to my

hardware. If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to

contact Tyler Noble at Noble Flight Simulations. He is a Great Guy and is

super helpful with a low cost G1000 unit for your home simulator.

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

Wil