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#4163679 - 09/01/15 03:17 AM Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD  
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Que Offline
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Que  Offline
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I just picked up the TH Cougar MFDs at Microcenter. I want to mount them on a monitor(s) so that the picture will display within the frames. Which is the better option? I just came across the UltraMFD while researching Helios and DCS iControl. Which is the easiest to setup and offers lease FPS impact? I'm going to use just the 27 and 24 stacked to start for now. I have two 27s HDs(1920x1080) and a 24 that tops at 1680x1050.

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#4163691 - 09/01/15 03:52 AM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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cichlidfan Offline
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Since you have so much real estate on the second monitor, far more than just the two MFD's will need. I would go with Helios.

The frame impact is not significant. At that resolution it should be pretty much a non-issue.

Helios will allow you to display any other instrument, along with clickable switches/buttons, if you so desire. My first 2nd monitor was that same 1650x1080, after experimenting with the possibilities on a small 15" 4x3 monitor. I was able to modify an existing Helios profile, designed for a full HD screen, to work within the space available.

There is plenty of space since it is only about 20% narrower, and 3% shorter in height, than a standard 1080p monitor.

UltraMFD will get you nice MFD displays but it doesn't do much else for you (though I haven't looked at that thread in quite some time).

EDIT: It is also worth noting that a poster on the ED forums, Capt Zeen, has created some awesome Helios profiles for a number of aircraft other than the A-10C. You might not always need the MFD's but with Helios you can still put the second monitor to very good use.

Warning: Once you start using Helios, with a mouse, you will end up getting a full HD touch screen. Trust me, it will happen. smile2

Last edited by cichlidfan; 09/01/15 03:57 AM.

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#4164006 - 09/01/15 09:10 PM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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Que Offline
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Que  Offline
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Thanks Cichlidfan. A Touchscreen? Argghhh! Please don't tell me that. I'm already thinking about other gauges on the second screen. There goes another couple of hundred bucks. So, is it difficult setting up helios? I read through the setup guide last night. It seems to have been around a while. Anything to watch out for?

#4164009 - 09/01/15 09:23 PM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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cichlidfan Offline
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It is actually pretty straight forward to load and run an existing profile. Making your own from scratch can be challenging, depending on what you are trying to do. I highly recommend downloading an existing profile for the aircraft you are interested in and then reverse engineer and modify to get what you want. That will get you up and running faster and you will learn how Helios works in the process.


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#4164016 - 09/01/15 09:45 PM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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Que Offline
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Thanks. I dl the software. I'll stick with an existing profile. Which A-10C do you recommend since I'm starting with it?

#4164018 - 09/01/15 09:51 PM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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Que Offline
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I'm going to see what profiles Capt Zeen has?

#4164019 - 09/01/15 09:53 PM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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cichlidfan Offline
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Excellent place to start. For the A-10 there is also a profile by Loz on Gadroc's website.


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#4164581 - 09/03/15 05:36 AM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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Does HELIOS export the MFD images now? I thought it just exported the gauge info and provided touch screen functionality.

Oh and HELIOS is pretty straightforward to use, just follow the instructions to export the data and select whet gauges you want to display then its just moving them around and resizing to your needs this is what I ended up with when I set my second monitor up.



Pity my aging rig can barely run DCS anymore though. Can't wait for a new PC to fix that problem......

Last edited by HitchHikingFlatlander; 09/03/15 05:38 AM.

I've got a bad feeling about this.....
#4164602 - 09/03/15 08:44 AM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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NamelessPFG Offline
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Forgive me for hijacking this thread a bit, but what I want to know is if there's any way for DCS to export MFDs and instruments to a networked client PC right now, much as Gurra's Pit Tools does for Falcon BMS.
https://github.com/GiGurra/gpt/releases

I ask because I've got a tablet PC (a Fujitsu T902) I could presumably use for Helios profiles, but I'm not sure how to actually go about setting it up as a sort of auxiliary touchscreen monitor for my desktop. Everything's catered to secondary monitors on one host PC, which won't work with this kind of setup.

UltraMFCD doesn't appear to allow that right now, nor does DCS handle it natively. Things might change if they give us EDGE already, but for now, it looks like my hands are tied without splurging on a low-end touchscreen monitor (or, more preferably, a Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 that could also replace my T902).

#4164912 - 09/03/15 09:48 PM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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Que Offline
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Cichlidfan, do I need to back up any files and are the instructions current with our present version of DCS?

#4164932 - 09/03/15 11:03 PM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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cichlidfan Offline
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I can't think of anything. I actually haven't looked at the documentation for Helios in a couple of years, so I am really not sure about the currency.

Helios itself should not be an issue. DCS requires some tweaking of the export.lua but Capt Zeen provides what you need there. The only other issue, within DCS, is enabling the export of certain digital instruments for the A-10C and the Ka-50. I use some modified files for that which have not changed in years. I don't have the details on the changes handy but they should be findable on ED's forum.


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#4165033 - 09/04/15 08:01 AM Re: Recommendations: Helios or UltraMFD [Re: Que]  
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man12341 Offline
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The hole process is described here link
I did it one week ago, followed it step by step, had no idea what i was doing but it works excellent. The helios profile was for a 1920x1080 monitor but it can be scaled down automatically in the Helios profile editor (did it for my 1600x900 touchscreen). That as well is described in the install instructions.

By the way, back to topic: if you want to use a touchscreen, definately Helios, not UltraMFD...

Last edited by man12341; 09/04/15 08:44 AM.

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