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Hi All -

First, a Disclaimer: I am running PSX on MacBook (Big Sur), and BACARS on Mac via Crossover (Wine), which I assume is an unusual and different setup from running BACARS on a true Windows machine.

I have followed the BACARS/simfest/dispatch/simbrief manual and videos, registered and produced a flightplan and route file for PSX, but then I get stumped at the step when you enter the flightdeck, and need to select ACARS in the center CDU. I keep getting "ACARS <ACT>", and nothing happens when I click on L2 button. BACARS appears to be running and connected. When I click on "ACAS: Idle" button in BACARS, I am able to send messages to PSX printer. What am I missing?


Center CDU:


BACARS:


-Pesach (KJFK)



Edit: Image width too big. Changed the plain {img} tag to {img width=500}

Pesach,
Have you gone into ACARS?
I do not have a BACARS menu but once you select ACARS the "new" pages show up...

Cheers,
AlexB

Hi Alex -

Yes. What you see on the screenshot is what I see after clicking "ACARS". It just sits there. No further menus or data on the screen.

-Pesach

So Bacars is on another computer? If so you need to add the I.P. adress of the PSX computer in the BACARS connection screen.

John

Hi John -

Bacars is on the same computer, and can connect via 127.0.0.1 on port 10747 (see screenshot, where it is successfully connected and green). On PSX network config, I see BACARS connected as client 1. And I can also send messages from Bacars to the flightdeck printer. So I believe Bacars is connected correctly. The issue is that, with Bacars connected, when I go to center CDU and try and click on ACARS, I do not get the ACARS menu. It just stays with:


MENU

< ACARS <ACT>

as is shown in the screenshot. In fact, I can't get out of that state in the center CDU until I disconnect Bacars.

Hope this helps to clarify the problem.

Thanks,
-Pesach (KJFK)

Please see my attached img...

This shows BACARS running, the initial screen on the centre CDU and the menu I get when I press the ACARS button. Sounds like your CDU is locking up for some reason...

AlexB

Hi Alex -

Indeed. It feels like something is locking up. Perhaps someone knows of diagnostics or logs that I can look for and gather to help troubleshoot the issue?

-Pesach (KJFK)

What I know about how the add-on MCDU system works, is that a MCDU menu item is not removed if/when the client disconnects. You end up with an inert menu item. So look at the side that would respond to this menu, not at PSX.


Hoppie

I can only assume this is due to running BACARS on wine. This is not something I can support, nor have I seen the issue when running on windows.  Perhaps try running on parallels which is executing on a real windows OS?

Cheers
Gary

Quote from: Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers on Wed,  6 Jan 2021 23:16
What I know about how the add-on MCDU system works, is that a MCDU menu item is not removed if/when the client disconnects.

On the PSX CDU, the menu item blanks when the add-on disconnects. I just retested it with Avi's CMC add-on.

However, there's one intentional exception: If the disconnecting add-on is an ACARS, the PSX internal ACARS will take over and thus the <ACARS item in 2L will remain displayed so that you can select the PSX ACARS.

If you push the <ACARS key and the PSX ACARS doesn't appear, the add-on ACARS is still connected, but doesn't provide page text or doesn't receive keypress events.


Regards,

|-|ardy

My own testing did not confirm this -- but a) my memory is bad and b) I may have done it differently. I'll get back to you on it.

Hoppie

Quote from: Hardy Heinlin on Thu,  7 Jan 2021 02:29
If you push the <ACARS key and the PSX ACARS doesn't appear, the add-on ACARS is still connected, but doesn't provide page text or doesn't receive keypress events.

This is what I am experiencing.

-Pesach (KJFK)

Quote from: Gary Oliver on Thu,  7 Jan 2021 01:13
I can only assume this is due to running BACARS on wine. This is not something I can support, nor have I seen the issue when running on windows.  Perhaps try running on parallels which is executing on a real windows OS?

Yes - it is running on crossover, which is wine. I will look into possibly using parallels at some point, but I can't afford that right now (parallels license + windows license), so I will continue investigating my current setup.

-Pesach (KJFK)

I can replicate this behaviour:

* Connect an add-on.
* Have the add-on create a new CDU menu (I do it on all three).
* Rip the add-on out of the operating system. Do not allow it to gracefully disconnect by sending Exit or deregister the prompts; just kill the process.
* All prompts stay up on all CDUs but do no longer work. Pushing them leads to <ACT> and no further display change.
* The CDU that is in the zombie mode seems unresponsive, until you select a different subsystem through MENU or a FMC function key.
* Exactly the same effect is obtained by using the PSX Disconnect button to rip the client connection out.
* Only if the client nicely undoes its changes before hanging up the line, it will work as expected. The client has a few milliseconds after it receives "exit" from the server to do this (great feature).

Do I miss something?

Hoppie

Good morning Pesach,

Did you manage to solve your BACARS issue ? I am having exactly the same problem and the same symptoms. Irresponsive CDU menu and  able to send messages to PSX printer via the BACARS ACARS: Idle" button.

Thanks

-Stephan (VHHH)