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INSTALLATION To install MEDS
Project, run the setup.exe
program supplied in the Zip file you downloaded. You can install MEDS
Project in any location you prefer (but it could be installed in an
Orbiter subfolder, too). Before using the program you
need to install the new vMC ver.2 (virtual mission control ver.2) by
Synchronous Technologies Ltd, 2001-2003 that must be launched together
with
Orbiter before MEDS Project. vMC2 must be installed only onto the
Orbiter machine and there is no need to install it on the computer on
which you want to install MEDS. For any information about the use of
vMC
please refer to its reference manual.
USE MEDS Project consists of an
executable file (MEDS.EXE) that is the launcher of a series of other
executables (MDU.EXE) can be runned in multiple instances on
multiple computers or on the same machine. Each instance shows a
configurable MDU (multifunction display unit) with different display
settings.
After
starting the program a connection window shows up: asking the IP address of the Orbiter machine (the one it is running vMC server, too). If the program is run on only one computer use the IP 127.0.0.1. After that you have to choose the number of units to show in the full front panel configuration. If you plan to use only one MDU, you have not to select anything from this drop down list, and you only have to hit the SINGLE DISPLAY UNIT button. After startup screen visualization, there will be a connection check with vMC server.  If vMC server is not running or there is an IP error, a dialog will appear:  and the program will
close.
If you choose the FULL FRONT PANEL button, then a full graphic rapresentation of the front panel of the Space Shuttle appears, with as many display units as the ones chosen in the previous drop down list. At the moment it is possible to view a maximum of 5 MDUs at a time, even if the full front panel has 9 MDU slots. I chose the 5 leftmost units.  You can scroll up/down and left/right with the arrow keys and use the configuration buttons of the display units to change each MDU. At the moment no other front panel switch is active. To exit program just hit Ctrl-X  MDUs If the connection with vMC server is estabilished (in full front panel or single configuration) the main MDU screen appears. We have data area and config area buttons. The data area is the upper part of the MDU, where all data and graphs are displayed. In the lower part we have a series of 6 buttons for MEDS configuration.  ASCENT/ENRTY FLIGHT INSTRUMENT In this first instrument we have the following functions:
Attitude Director Indicator The commander’s and pilot’s attitude director indicators are supported throughout the mission. The indicators give the crew attitude information as well as attitude rate and attitude errors, which can be read from the position of the pointers and needles. The orbiter’s attitude is displayed to the flight crew by an enclosed ball (sometimes called the eight ball) that is gimbaled to represent three degrees of freedom. The ball, covered with numbers indicating angle measurements (a 0 is added as the last digit of each), moves in response to software-generated commands to depict the current orbiter attitude in terms of pitch, yaw, and roll. Altitude/Vertical Velocity Indicator The altitude/vertical velocity indicators (AVVIs) display vertical acceleration, vertical velocity, airspeed and altitude all in meters, meter per second or meters per second squared. Atmospheric pressure, density and position (longitude and latitude) are also displayed on this unit. We have 3 kind of displays for ADI/AVVI, each one selectable with repeated hits on the second button on this unit. The displays are looped, so after the third unit the first one is displayed again:
DATABUS With this display you can keep controlled a series of numerical parameters directly taken from Orbiter. All this data is displayed in numerical format, without any graph or slider. Some data is shown in yellow if the number is within a certain range (altitude less that 1000 mt, low fuel, etc). There are FLIGHT DYNAMICS data, NAVIGATION data, ORBIT parameters and PROPULSION data. This is not a real reproduction of a Shuttle display, because I cannot get from Orbiter many different kind of data as such a display would need. In this version thrusters values (linear and angular) are not operational yet.  KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS Here are some keyboard shortcuts: Key 1 - UP ARROW button Key 2 - ADI/AVVI display. Hit again key 2 to loop between different displays. Key 3 - HSI/AMI display button Key 4 - Composition of ADI/HSI button Key 5 - Data bus display button Key 6 - Message aknowledge button Key H - Hide/Display external frame (to use with real cockpit implementations) Ctrl-X - Exit Multi Function Display program or Full Front Panel program ARROWS - move the display unit in all directions around the screen or scroll the full front panel The other buttons on the MDU are not operational and I am working on the HSI/AMI display. As each one will be ready I will release a new beta version untill version 1.00 that will include all ASCENT/ENTRY FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS modes. After that other instruments will follow . Future developments will have simulated instrument or spacecraft failures, created and generated by an external program/console by a flight sim controller be patient... we are working for you! ORBITER is a FREE Space Flight Simulator written by Martin Schweiger (c). |
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