MSFS20 problems accessing aircraft nav data

wood_cockpit · 15 Oct 2021

Hi there,
I wrote a program in C++ that successfully accesses aircraft instrument data, but when I try to access any other data, all I get is 0. Here is a snippet of the code:

C++:

enum DATA_DEFINE_ID{
    DEFINITION_1,
    DEFINITION_2,
};

enum DATA_REQUEST_ID{
    REQUEST_1,
    REQUEST_2,
    REQUEST_3
};

enum EVENT_ID{
    EVENT_SIM_START,
};
    
struct instruments{
    double airspeed;
    double bank;
    double pitch;
    double altitude;
    double kholsman;
    double turn;
    double slip;
    double heading;
    double v_speed;
    double glide_slope;
    double obs_sel;
};

void CALLBACK MyDispatchProcRD(SIMCONNECT_RECV* pData, DWORD cbData, void *pContext){
    HRESULT hr;
    
    SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT *evt = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT*)pData;
    
    hr = SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObjectType(hSimConnect, REQUEST_1,
    DEFINITION_1, SIMCONNECT_DATA_REQUEST_FLAG_CHANGED, SIMCONNECT_SIMOBJECT_TYPE_USER);
    
    SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA_BYTYPE *pObjData = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA_BYTYPE*)pData;
    
    
    
    airspeed = pS->airspeed;
    bank = pS->bank;
    pitch = pS->pitch;
    altitude = pS->altitude;
    kholsman = pS->kholsman;
    turn = pS->turn;
    slip = pS->slip;
    heading = pS->heading;
    v_speed = pS->v_speed;
    glide_slope = pS->glide_slope;
    obs_sel = pS->obs_sel;
}

void h_Result(){
    HRESULT hr;
    if (SUCCEEDED(SimConnect_Open(&hSimConnect, "Request Data", NULL, 0, 0, 0))){
        printf("Connected\n");
        
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "airspeed indicated", "knots");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "ATTITUDE INDICATOR BANK DEGREES", "Radians");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "ATTITUDE INDICATOR PITCH DEGREES", "Radians");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "INDICATED ALTITUDE", "Feet");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "KOHLSMAN SETTING HG", "inHg");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "DELTA HEADING RATE", "Radians per second");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "TURN COORDINATOR BALL", "Position 128");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "PLANE HEADING DEGREES GYRO", "Radians");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "VERTICAL SPEED", "Feet per second");
        
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "NAV_GSI", "Number");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "NAV OBS : 1", "Degrees");
        
    }else{
        printf("WARNING! Not Connected!\nPlease restart after opening MSFS\n");
    }
}

All of the instrument related variables give me the expected values, but anything else just gives me 0.
Can anyone advise what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks!

DragonflightDesign · 19 Oct 2021

The stupid question is; are you tuned to a glideslope and are you on the glideslope? I'd also change this:

SIMCONNECT_DATA_REQUEST_FLAG_CHANGED

to

SIMCONNECT_PERIOD_SECOND

[Edit] Don't use SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA_BYTYPE. Use SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA instead.

wood_cockpit · 19 Oct 2021

Thanks for the reply!
Yes, I am tuned to a glideslope and I can see the needles active in the sim.
I have played arround with the flags, but I will try the SIMCONNECT_PERIOD_SECOND a little later today, and see if it works.

wood_cockpit · 19 Oct 2021

Well, I was going to implement DragonflightDesign's suggestion, but MSFS had a mandatory update. So I'll have to try it tomorrow.

DragonflightDesign · 20 Oct 2021

Don't forget to change to SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA too. That's likely to have the biggest effect.

-Dai

wood_cockpit · 20 Oct 2021

Once this update is done, I will definitely give it a go.
I also noticed in the release notes that they are adding some new simvars as well as fixing some old ones.

wood_cockpit · 22 Oct 2021

I tried your suggestion but it still does not seem to work. Here is my new code:

Code:

void CALLBACK MyDispatchProcRD(SIMCONNECT_RECV* pData, DWORD cbData, void *pContext){
    HRESULT hr;
   
    SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT *evt = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT*)pData;
   
    hr = SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObjectType(hSimConnect, REQUEST_1,
    DEFINITION_1, SIMCONNECT_PERIOD_SECOND, SIMCONNECT_SIMOBJECT_TYPE_USER);
    //-----------------------^
    SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA *pObjData = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA*)pData;
    //---------------------------------^                                           ^

    instruments *pS = (instruments*)&pObjData->dwData;
   
    airspeed = pS->airspeed;
    bank = pS->bank;
    pitch = pS->pitch;
    altitude = pS->altitude;
    kholsman = pS->kholsman;
    turn = pS->turn;
    slip = pS->slip;
    heading = pS->heading;
    v_speed = pS->v_speed;
    glide_slope = pS->glide_slope;
    obs_sel = pS->obs_sel;
}

void h_Result(){
    HRESULT hr;
    if (SUCCEEDED(SimConnect_Open(&hSimConnect, "Request Data", NULL, 0, 0, 0))){
        printf("Connected\n");
       
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "airspeed indicated", "knots");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "ATTITUDE INDICATOR BANK DEGREES", "Radians");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "ATTITUDE INDICATOR PITCH DEGREES", "Radians");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "INDICATED ALTITUDE", "Feet");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "KOHLSMAN SETTING HG", "inHg");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "DELTA HEADING RATE", "Radians per second");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "TURN COORDINATOR BALL", "Position 128");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "PLANE HEADING DEGREES GYRO", "Radians");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "VERTICAL SPEED", "Feet per second");
       
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "NAV_GSI", "Number");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "NAV OBS : 1", "Degrees");
       

    }else{
        printf("WARNING! Not Connected!\nPlease restart after opening MSFS\n");
    }
}

This is how I'm printing the data:

Code:

if(glide_slope != 0 && glide_slope != -0){
        printf("hsi_glide = %f\n", hsi_glide);
    }

But I it still prints out lots of zeros!

It is also worth mentioning that every once in a while, it spits out an impossibly large number on a totally unpredictable basis.

DragonflightDesign · 22 Oct 2021

Typo for the glideslope? 'hsi_glide' when it should be 'glide_slope'?

Code:

if(glide_slope != 0){
        printf("hsi_glide = %f\n", glide_slope);
    }

Those 'impossibly large numbers' are most likely just crap in the buffer as you seem to be trying to read from a non-initialised area.

WarpD · 22 Oct 2021

I am wondering why you are executing this line of code every time you receive data:

hr = SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObjectType(hSimConnect, REQUEST_1,
DEFINITION_1, SIMCONNECT_PERIOD_SECOND, SIMCONNECT_SIMOBJECT_TYPE_USER);

It should only be executed once.

DragonflightDesign · 22 Oct 2021

I missed that still being in there. That should have changed it to SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObject.

WarpD · 22 Oct 2021

It shouldn't be called in the callback routine at all. It should only get called once.

DragonflightDesign · 22 Oct 2021

Ah - just caught up with you fully. Yes. It shouldn't be there. I see what's happened; I'm guessing he used the RequestData SDK example but missed out the Switch calls.

wood_cockpit · 22 Oct 2021

Thanks for all the replies!
You are right about the SDK example.
After a while of trying to implement the switch() thing, I realized that their example replaced the first switch() with "...." Because I had no idea what went there, I tried other ways of doing it till I finally got the first code to give me instrumentation data. That led me down the rosy path of thinking that was the only way to do it till I couldn't get any nav data.
So my (dumb?) question is, what expression goes in the mysterious switch() statement?

WarpD · 22 Oct 2021

I see this for the switch statement:

C++:

void CALLBACK MyDispatchProcRD(SIMCONNECT_RECV* pData, DWORD cbData, void *pContext)
{
    HRESULT hr;
    
    switch(pData->dwID)
    {
        case SIMCONNECT_RECV_ID_EVENT:
        {
            SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT *evt = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT*)pData;

            switch(evt->uEventID)
            {
                case EVENT_SIM_START:
                    
                    // Now the sim is running, request information on the user aircraft
                    hr = SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObjectType(hSimConnect, REQUEST_1, DEFINITION_1, 0, SIMCONNECT_SIMOBJECT_TYPE_USER);
                    
                    break;

                default:
                   break;
            }
            break;
        }

        case SIMCONNECT_RECV_ID_SIMOBJECT_DATA_BYTYPE:
        {
            SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA_BYTYPE *pObjData = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA_BYTYPE*)pData;
            
            switch(pObjData->dwRequestID)
            {
                case REQUEST_1:
                {
                    DWORD ObjectID = pObjData->dwObjectID;
                    Struct1 *pS = (Struct1*)&pObjData->dwData;
                    if (SUCCEEDED(StringCbLengthA(&pS->title[0], sizeof(pS->title), NULL))) // security check
                    {
                        printf("\nObjectID=%d  Title=\"%s\"\nLat=%f  Lon=%f  Alt=%f  Kohlsman=%.2f", ObjectID, pS->title, pS->latitude, pS->longitude, pS->altitude, pS->kohlsmann );
                    } 
                    break;
                }

                default:
                   break;
            }
            break;
        }


        case SIMCONNECT_RECV_ID_QUIT:
        {
            quit = 1;
            break;
        }

        default:
            printf("\nReceived:%d",pData->dwID);
            break;
    }
}

DragonflightDesign · 23 Oct 2021

The best thing you can do is to start again with the RequestData example. It sends a request for aircarft data once a second in testDataRequest():

Code:

        while( 0 == quit )
        {
            SimConnect_CallDispatch(hSimConnect, MyDispatchProcRD, NULL);
            Sleep(1);
        }

wood_cockpit · 23 Oct 2021

I see I made a mistake, I had been looking at the API reference online, and failed to take the SDK example into consideration. The SDK example is complete, the API reference has the "....".

The SDK example successfully gets the data I had been getting before, but when I try to get the glideslope data (I am tuned to the ILS and the needles are alive), I still get zeros.
Again, I can get all other aircraft instrumentation data, but no nav data.

Here is my current code:

Code:

void CALLBACK MyDispatchProcRD(SIMCONNECT_RECV* pData, DWORD cbData, void *pContext)
{
    HRESULT hr;
    printf("DBUG 01\n");
    switch(pData->dwID)
    {
        case SIMCONNECT_RECV_ID_EVENT:
        {
            SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT *evt = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_EVENT*)pData;
            printf("DBUG 02\n");

            switch(evt->uEventID)
            {
                case EVENT_SIM_START:
                    printf("DBUG 03\n");
                    // Now the sim is running, request information on the user aircraft
                    hr = SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObject(hSimConnect, REQUEST_1, DEFINITION_1, SIMCONNECT_SIMOBJECT_TYPE_USER, SIMCONNECT_PERIOD_SECOND);
                    
                    break;

                default:
                printf("DBUG 04\n");
                   break;
            }
            break;
        }

        case SIMCONNECT_RECV_ID_SIMOBJECT_DATA:
        {
            SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA *pObjData = (SIMCONNECT_RECV_SIMOBJECT_DATA*)pData;
            printf("DBUG 05\n");
            switch(pObjData->dwRequestID)
            {
                case REQUEST_1:
                {
                    DWORD ObjectID = pObjData->dwObjectID;
                    Struct1 *pS = (Struct1*)&pObjData->dwData;
                    printf("DBUG 06\n");
                    if (SUCCEEDED(StringCbLengthA(&pS->title[0], sizeof(pS->title), NULL))) // security check
                    {
                        printf("\nObjectID=%d  Title=\"%s\"\nLat=%f  Lon=%f  Alt=%f  Kohlsman=%.2f", ObjectID, pS->title, pS->latitude, pS->longitude, pS->altitude, pS->kohlsmann );
                    } 
                    break;
                }

                default:
                printf("DBUG 07\n");
                   break;
            }
            break;
        }


        case SIMCONNECT_RECV_ID_QUIT:
        {
            printf("DBUG 08\n");
            quit = 1;
            
            break;
        }

        default:
            printf("\nReceived:%d",pData->dwID);
            break;
    }
}

void testDataRequest()
{
    HRESULT hr;
    printf("DBUG 09\n");
    if (SUCCEEDED(SimConnect_Open(&hSimConnect, "Request Data", NULL, 0, 0, 0)))
    {
        printf("\nConnected to Flight Simulator!");   

        // Set up the data definition, but do not yet do anything with it
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "Title", NULL, SIMCONNECT_DATATYPE_STRING256);
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "AIRSPEED INDICATED", "Knots");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "Plane Altitude", "feet");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "NAV GLIDE SLOPE ERROR", "degrees");
        hr = SimConnect_AddToDataDefinition(hSimConnect, DEFINITION_1, "Plane Longitude", "degrees");

        // Request an event when the simulation starts
        hr = SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObject(hSimConnect, REQUEST_1, DEFINITION_1, SIMCONNECT_SIMOBJECT_TYPE_USER, SIMCONNECT_PERIOD_SECOND);

        
        
        printf("\nLaunch a flight.");

        while( 0 == quit )
        {
            SimConnect_CallDispatch(hSimConnect, MyDispatchProcRD, NULL);
            Sleep(1);
        } 

        hr = SimConnect_Close(hSimConnect);
    }
}

Note that I have a SimConnect_RequestDataOnSimObject in the testDataRequest() function so I can start the program after a flight is already running.

Thanks for the helpful replies!

WarpD · 23 Oct 2021

NAV GLIDE SLOPE ERROR requires an index value... NAV GLIDE SLOPE ERROR: index is how the SDK defines it.

wood_cockpit · 24 Oct 2021

Thanks for pointing that out!
I finally got success with "HSI GSI NEEDLE", but I wasn't able to get anything from "NAV GLIDE SLOPE ERROR : 1"

DragonflightDesign · 24 Oct 2021

"NAV GLIDE SLOPE ERROR : 1"

Typo. There should be no space between the colon and the channel number.

wood_cockpit · 25 Oct 2021

Ah! Success!
Got the glideslope with "NAV GLIDE SLOPE ERROR:1"!

Thankyou so much!