GAUGE: Helicopter Radio Altimeter
Gauge v1.9.001 - Current Version 12th Feb 2024

Features:

1) Altitude Needle

2) Altitude Numeric Display

3) Collective Position indicator

4) Hi & low flags set on Dials

5) Height in relation with Flag Indicators

6) Dual Gauge two different pre-set ranges

7) Pilot selectable ranges = 0-200-1500 feet & 0-500-2000 feet

8) Lighting changes with panel lights

9) Background Colour Change

10) Brightness Control (Physical FIP)

Compatible with the airbus Hype Helicopters in MSFS 2020

Aircraft Compatibility:
Simulator: Fully Compatible
3rd Party: Fully Compatible
Please report any 3rd Party incompatibility via our discord channel

Buttons & Dials Summary:

[S1] Long Press Activate/Deactivate Menu. Short Press Mute Alarm:

[S2] Increase High Flag:

[S3] Decrease High Flag:

[S4] Increase Low Flag:

[S5] Decrease Low Flag:

[S6] Long Press Reset Hi/Low Flags:

[L Dial] Low Flag Decrease/Increase:

[R Dial] High Flag Decrease/Increase:

The Sidebar:

If the blanking plate is used instead of the sidebar, then colour of the plate can now be changed by editing variable [FG_GLOBAL_BLANKING_COLOUR] in SPAD.neXt data monitor.

Variables:

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_MENU (Session)

Menu Item Index (0 to 11)

0 = Menu Closed

1 = Version & Info

2 = Side Buttons

3 = Pick Range

4 = Reset Hi/Low Markers

5 = Glass Reflections

6 = Backbround Colour

7 = Warning volume

8 = Warning Altitude

9 = Side Bar Function

10 = Brightness Control

11= Panel Lights Control

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_INSTRUCTIONS (Session)

Instructions Page (Off = 0, On = 1)

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_SIDEBAR (Profile)

Toggle Side Bar Function (0 to 1)

0 = Feet Per Minute

1 = Collective

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_HI (0 - 2000)

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_LO (0 - 2000)

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_RANGE_SWITCH (0 - 1)

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_BUTTONS (Profile)

Side Buttons (Off = 0, On = 1)

FG_HELI_HEIGHT_LABELS (Profile)

Side Button Labels (Off = 0, On = 1)

SIMCONNECT Vars Used:

RADIO HEIGHT

COLLECTIVE POSITION,Percent

Vertical speed,feet per minute

RADIO HEIGHT,feet

SIM ON GROUND,Bool

fipgauges.com GLOBAL VARIABLES:

(not all vars used in every gauge)

FG_GLOBAL_DIAL_SPEED (Session)

Variable used for dial acceleration (Off = 0, On = 1)

FG_GLOBAL_GAUGE_BRIGHTNESS (Profile)

Brightness value of physical FIP's. Affects all physical gauges (20-250)

FG_GLOBAL_GAUGE_BRIGHTNESS_MODE (Profile)

Variable used when editing Global or individual Brightness (0-1)

0 - Global Brightness

1 - Inedividual Brightness

FG_GLOBAL_BLANKING_COLOUR (Profile)

Text Variable used to set blanking plate colour

FG_GLOBAL_GLASS (Profile)

Glass Reflection (Off = 0, On = 1)

FG_GLOBAL_HIDE_MENU_LED (Profile)

Toggle visibility of Mini Menu LED (0 = On, 1 = Off)

FG_GLOBAL_JET_COLOUR (Profile)

Background Colour (0 to 3)

1 = Grey panel with grey gauge face

2 = Blue grey panel with grey gauge face

3 = Dark grey panel with black gauge face

4 = Dark blue panel with black gauge face.

FG_GLOBAL_JET_BACKGROUND_COLOUR (Profile)

Background Colour (Black = 0, Blue = 1 )

FG_GLOBAL_MIN_VOLTAGE (Profile)

Minimum voltage before gauge electronics turns off (-1 to 150)

-1 = Disabled

0 - 150 = Off Voltage Level

FG_GLOBAL_MIN_VOLTAGE_CACHE (Profile)

Internal Variable - Used to store off voltage value - do not edit

FG_GLOBAL_PANEL_LIGHTS (Profile)

Night Lit Mode (Off = 0, On = 1)

FG_GLOBAL_PRESSURE (Profile)

Shared variable for switching inHg and MB (0 to 1)

0 = inHg

1 = Millbars

FG_GLOBAL_STYLE (Profile)

Background Colour (0 to 6)

0 = Grey

1 = Black Dial Face

2 = Darker Gauge & Dial Face

3 = Black & No Gauge GFX

4 = Grey - Original Design

5 = Black Dial Face - Original Design

6 = Darker Gauge & Dial Face - Original Design

FG_GLOBAL_VOLTAGE (Session)

Internal variable used to read current voltage

FG_GLOBAL_BLANKING_COLOUR (Profile)

Text Variable used to set blanking plate colour

Release Notes:

1.9.001 - Using New Sidebar Button and Labels Code (4 display options now also) - blank sidebar custom colour

1.9.000

1) SPAD.neXt 0.9.15 Compatibility (Convert "PRESS" to "PRESSSHORT") Fixes short and long press both firing on long press.

2) Menu system upgraded

3) New gauge brightness code using SPAD brightness variables.

4) Can control global or individual gauge brightness in gauge (Profile saved settings)

5) Better use of button lights

6) Added Custom Colour for blanking plate - Edit colour index for variable FG_GLOBAL_BLANKING_COLOUR

1.8.000 - New Custom Virtual Power supports ALL aircraft volt variables - See https://fipgauges.com/customfeatures.php.

1.7.002 - Added sidebar blanking plate option

1.7.001 - Virtual Power Warning added to Menu

1.7.000 - Added New Gauge Design and Panel Lighting control in Mini Menu

1.6.003 - Support for NEW 4 colour hue panel lights.

1.6.002 - Tweaked voltage monitoring to better support MSFS2020. Added Monitoring for Battery Bus

1.6.001 - SPAD.neXt 0.9.7.x Variable Scope Compatibility.

1.6.000 - Added Ground Warning, and new feet per min side bar. Sidebar style toggle in menu for legacy collective

1.5.001 - Automatic Dial Acceleration added

1.5.000 - Background Colour Change and Brightness Control to Mini Menu

1.4.000 - Panel Lights now controlled by local variable (FG_GLOBAL_PANEL_LIGHTS) 0=Off 1=On

1.3.002 - Altitude "Tens" now scrolls smoothly instead of stepping

1.3.001 - Resized Text to become compliant with SPAD.neXt scaling changes

1.2.000 - Improved graphics with shadows and transparency, Optional glass reflections, Mini Menu

1.1.001 - Updated Buttons and Dials for SPAD 0.9 format

1.1.000 - Added 2nd Range/Scale and Hi/Lo adjustment buttons.

1.0.000 - Initial Build and First Beta release.

Please report any bugs or feature requests via our discord channel

Document Published 12/02/2024