ww-devices-dotnet 1.1.0

WW-Devices-Dotnet

The NuGet package for the library will be available at:

https://www.nuget.org/packages/ww-devices-dotnet/

(Package will be published upon first release)

Supported Devices

This library supports the following WinWing devices:

CDU Devices

• WinWing MCDU (Airbus A320) - Captain, First Officer, and Observer positions
• WinWing PFP-3N (Boeing 737 NG) - Captain, First Officer, and Observer positions
• WinWing PFP-7 (Boeing 777) - Captain, First Officer, and Observer positions
• WinWing PFP-4 (Boeing 747) - Captain, First Officer, and Observer positions

Front Panel Devices

• WinWing FCU (Airbus A320 Flight Control Unit) - Standalone or with EFIS panels (left, right, or both)
• WinWing PAP-3 (Boeing 737 Primary Autopilot Panel)
• WinWing PDC-3N (Left and Right configurations)

Each device can be connected via USB and is automatically detected by the library. Use CduFactory.FindLocalDevices() to enumerate connected CDU devices or FrontpanelFactory.FindLocalDevices() to enumerate connected front panel devices.

PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTATION

Working with CDU Devices

To instantiate a CDU object call the CduFactory static:

using(var cdu = CduFactory.ConnectLocal())

You can pass an override to specify which CDU product to instantiate. There is also a function that enumerates the CDU USB devices that are currently active.

The ConnectLocal function returns an instance of an ICdu interface. The latest version of the interface is here:

https://github.com/landre-cerp/WwDevicesDotnet/blob/main/ICdu.cs

Working with Front Panel Devices

To instantiate a front panel device (FCU, PAP-3, PDC-3N, etc.) call the FrontpanelFactory static:

using(var frontpanel = FrontpanelFactory.ConnectLocal())

Similar to CDU devices, you can specify which device to connect to or enumerate available devices.

The ConnectLocal function returns an instance of an IFrontpanel interface. The latest version of the interface is here:

https://github.com/landre-cerp/WwDevicesDotnet/blob/main/IFrontpanel.cs

Front panel devices expose ControlActivated and ControlDeactivated events for button presses and control changes, and provide an UpdateDisplay method to update the device's display(s).

Checking Device Capabilities

Each front panel device exposes a Capabilities property that describes its high-level features. This allows you to write adaptive code that works with different device models:

using(var frontpanel = FrontpanelFactory.ConnectLocal())
{
    var caps = frontpanel.Capabilities;
    
    // Check if device supports barometric pressure display
    if(caps.CanDisplayBarometricPressure)
    {
        // Update QNH/QFE displays on EFIS panels
        var state = new FcuEfisState();
        state.LeftBaroPressure = 1013;
        state.LeftBaroQnh = true;
        frontpanel.UpdateDisplay(state);
    }
    
    // Check if device has pilot/copilot course displays (PAP-3 specific)
    if(caps.HasPilotCourseDisplay)
    {
        var state = new Pap3State();
        state.PltCourse = "045";
        state.CplCourse = "180";
        frontpanel.UpdateDisplay(state);
    }
    
    // Check if device supports flight level mode
    if(caps.HasFlightLevelMode)
    {
        // Can display "FL350" format (FCU and PAP-3)
        var state = new Pap3State();
        state.Altitude = 35000;
        state.AltitudeIsFlightLevel = true; // Will display as "FL350"
        frontpanel.UpdateDisplay(state);
    }
}

Available capability properties:

• HasSpeedDisplay - Device has speed/IAS display
• HasHeadingDisplay - Device has heading display
• HasAltitudeDisplay - Device has altitude display
• HasVerticalSpeedDisplay - Device has vertical speed display
• CanDisplayBarometricPressure - Device can display barometric pressure (EFIS panels)
• CanDisplayQnhQfe - Device can display QNH/QFE indicators (EFIS panels)
• HasPilotCourseDisplay - Device has pilot course display (PAP-3)
• HasCopilotCourseDisplay - Device has copilot course display (PAP-3)
• SupportsAlphanumericDisplay - Device can display letters, not just numbers
• HasFlightLevelMode - Device supports flight level display mode
• HasMachSpeedMode - Device supports Mach speed display mode

Reading from the CDU

The ICdu interface exposes two events, KeyDown and KeyUp. These are passed an event args that tells you which key was pressed or released. There are extension methods on the Key enum to convert keys into different formats.

Writing to the CDU

This is a two-step process. The ICdu exposes a Screen property which lets you set the content of the display. Setting the content of a screen does not update the CDU's display.

The ICdu exposes a function called RefreshDisplay. This function sends the current content of Screen to the device.

By default RefreshDisplay will not refresh the display if nothing has changed since the last update.

Composing Output

The Screen class can be cumbersome to work with. There is a higher-level compositing class called Compositor that is exposed on the ICdu via the Output property. It offers a fluent interface for setting the content of a screen.

Screen Buffers

Screens are not tied to an CDU, and they can be instantiated just like any other object. There are a pair of functions, CopyFrom and CopyTo, that can be used to copy the content of a screen buffer into the CDU's screen buffer.

LEDs

Same process as per screen buffers - there is an Led class that carries the state and brightness of the LED lights. The class is copyable.

There is a RefreshLeds function on the CDU object to copy the current state of the Led buffer to the device. If nothing has changed since the last refresh then, by default, nothing is sent.

Display, LED and Backlight Brightness

There are properties for each of these on the ICdu interface that let you specify the brightness levels as a percentage from 0 to 100. Note that if you set the display or LED brightness to 0% then you can't see anything.

The brightness properties will not send commands to the device if it detects no change from what was last sent. If you want to force the library to send brightness levels then you can call RefreshBrightnesses.

Colours

The display supports a palette of ten colours. The names and default values of the colours follow WinWing's defaults, but you are free to reassign the colours to anything you like via the Palette property. After changing the palette you need to call RefreshPalette to send your changes to the device.

Cleanup

The CDU device will retain its state after your program stops driving it - I.E. it will continue to show whatever you last wrote to the screen.

There is a function called Cleanup that will clear the screen, turn off all of the LEDs and set the brightness levels to 0 (overridable).

Fonts

The CDU device supports 1BPP bitmap fonts at varying widths and heights. However mcdu-dotnet only supports fonts of either 29 or 31 pixels high and between 17 and 23 pixels wide.

Fonts are described by an McduFontFile object:

https://github.com/landre-cerp/WwDevicesDotnet/blob/main/McduFontFile.cs

Examples of font files can be found in the resources folder:

https://github.com/landre-cerp/WwDevicesDotnet/tree/main/Resources

Events

Besides the KeyDown and KeyUp events referenced elsewhere there is also the Disconnected event, which is raised when the library detects that the device has been disconnected.