Here's one for the gauge gurus...

[Drzook]

Good evening all (or morning as the case may be),
I am trying to find a decent tachometer for my Cessna 404 Titan. Now don't get me wrong, the stockers aren't too bad (cessna_182.rpm.1 and cessna_182.rpm.2 respectively) but I found a really cool tach that has a working hourmeter (cessna182rg!Tachometer). Problem is that is seems to be set for engine #1 only. How does one set a copy for engine #2? Is it just a matter of renaming to something like cessna182rg2!Tachometer or is it a much more involved procedure? Thanks in advance.

[OBIO]

Is it an xlm based gauge or a .gau gauge? I know nothing about .gau gauges, and almost next to nothing about XLM gauges, but I have managed to tweak a few XLM gauges to new uses.

OBIO

[Drzook]

I don't believe it's XML; there is no XML file to tweak. The gauge was cessna182rg.gau

[MaddogK]

IIRC you can extract the gauge from the GAU file with panel studio, then edit the extracted XML file to your needs. Funny tho is that most RPM gauges I've seen display prop RPM and not engine RPM.

[Drzook]

Umm....I don't have Panel Studio. Any other alternatives?
I also noticed most tachs do prop rpm; I think it's because most GA engines don't have a gearbox to the prop; more of a direct connection from the crankshaft to the prop. There are a few out there that are geared (the Cessna Titan and Golden Eagle come to mind) and at some point I knew how to set that up in the cfg file but that knowledge has long gone.

[Lionheart]

I have some bad news for you.

The engine time 'memory' has only one slot, and with that you can only use one engine. The time is kept similarly to how a Log book entry is kept. It forms in a file in the aircrafts data folder on the HD, (I forget exactly where, but where aircraft times and data are saved, I think in the classic 'My Documents' zone). FS was wired for only one 'time slot' save-file option per plane.

I found this out the hard way, as I wanted an airframe 'total time' HOBBS, and an engine TT HOBBS also. But you cannot have more then one. You can fake a second, by simply having two, label each different, but they will record the same for each other. This might work for you, since you would usually fly with both engines and no one would know the better but you.

We tried other avenues to get this to work including a C++ gauge, but it just wouldnt work. I often wonder though if that will be broken, that barrier. It possibly could be with FSX in the 'Sim Connect' system, where you can have outside programs running and interact/sync with your plane.



Bill

[OBIO]

I went looking through my Gauges folder....don't know where I got them....but I have Cessna182.rpm.1 through rmp.4. I haven't tried them to see if they actually read 4 different rpms...but I will and will let you know. And they have the egg timer thing on them.

OBIO

[dogknot]

I've never seen a set of hour meters that kept seperate engine hours either (as Bill mentioned). If doubled up on the panel (or more) they seem to only do a singular total time in unison.

What is odd though, the actual hours each engine is operated are recorded by FS in the FS9 cfg area.
C:\Documents and Settings\Your User Name\Application Data\Microsoft\FS9\AIRCRAFT

Open the aircraft folder from the above string, select a plane, and open the state.CFG with notepad. Inside you will find that multi engined aircraft have the hours recorded per engine.

Example of my FDG2_B_17F Early aircraft:

[engine.0]
accumulated_time=7.012553
[engine.1]
accumulated_time=6.891966
[engine.2]
accumulated_time=6.891444
[engine.3]
accumulated_time=7.016496
[FltSim.0]
atc_id=124485


Interesting that this code hasn't been cracked to date for multiple Hobbs gauges.


As far as multiple RPM gauges, if you vary the rpm's per engine with seperate throttle adjustments, they do read per the amount of throttle applied.

[dogknot]

I went looking through my Gauges folder....don't know where I got them....but I have Cessna182.rpm.1 through rmp.4. I haven't tried them to see if they actually read 4 different rpms...but I will and will let you know. And they have the egg timer thing on them.

OBIO

A quick search of the FS Disk directory shows these 4 gauges to be FS default gauges. And the big shocker is a right click on the gauge name, properties/Version/Product Name comes up Microsoft Flight Simulator 98.

[OBIO]

I tested the gauges I mentioned in my previous post....they do register seperate prop RPMs but they do not have working egg timers on them.

OBIO

[Willy]

I don't know if it's any help but the FSD Cessna 337 load manager program will track hours on each engine, but the hobbs meter in the aircraft only tracks aircraft hours.

[Drzook]

I have some bad news for you.

The engine time 'memory' has only one slot, and with that you can only use one engine. The time is kept similarly to how a Log book entry is kept. It forms in a file in the aircrafts data folder on the HD, (I forget exactly where, but where aircraft times and data are saved, I think in the classic 'My Documents' zone). FS was wired for only one 'time slot' save-file option per plane.

I found this out the hard way, as I wanted an airframe 'total time' HOBBS, and an engine TT HOBBS also. But you cannot have more then one. You can fake a second, by simply having two, label each different, but they will record the same for each other. This might work for you, since you would usually fly with both engines and no one would know the better but you.

We tried other avenues to get this to work including a C++ gauge, but it just wouldnt work. I often wonder though if that will be broken, that barrier. It possibly could be with FSX in the 'Sim Connect' system, where you can have outside programs running and interact/sync with your plane.



Bill

Oh well I kind of figured as such. Still it is kind of odd that no one set up multiple tachs with working hourmeters; the technology seems to be there; just have tach.2 linked with the second engine info in that one file that Dogknot mentioned.
Thanks guys for your input on this. I'll probably go with the two identical tachs as mentioned at least until something better comes up. One more thing I found interesting: when engine 1 goes out so does most of my gauges; it's like the generator is linked with engine one. Is this standard in all aircraft? Just wondering at this point.

[Milton Shupe]

It may depend on this statement in the Electrical section:

engine_generator_map =1, 1, 0, 0

[Lionheart]

Thanks Brent and all for the info on multiple HOBBS. That is really good to know. I'll have to copy/paste/store that info for future use.



Bill