P3D V4 Broadcast GPS Setting (Foreflight)

[eng1tx]

I have installed v4 and enabled broadcast GPS data to network, and I have the latest version of foreflight running on an ipad air 2.

I have enabled Prepar3d connector in Foreflight and things work, somewhat. The issue I am having is every few seconds, the connector drops, then disappears from foreflight, then reappears a few seconds later. This causes the map view to drop course following, sends me back to my physical address, then back to course following.

I have disabled firewall on pc, put ipad in airplane mode with only wifi enabled, but no change. Does anyone know the port or ports the prepar3d broadcasts over, or any way to log or sniff the communication between P3d and ipad?

TIA

[Brad Shiver]

It sends the GPS data over UDP port 49002 once per second. In our testing there didn't seem to be any packet loss, but let us know if you are able to confirm whether the packets are reaching Foreflight or not. If you watch the devices page in the app, does Prepar3D ever disappear?

[eng1tx]

Thank you for giving me the port number. I will see if I can follow packets between the two apps now.

Yes, in the Foreflight app's devices page, the Prepar3d connector is there with green mark, then a few seconds later it greys out and disappears, then a few seconds later it reappears and is green, then disappears again, and so on...

[JRBarrett]

I have a (possibly) similar issue. After enabling GPS to network, P3D Version 4 automatically appears as a device in Foreflight, and the aircraft symbol appears in the aircraft's current location on the georeferenced taxi chart. (In this case, KIAH).

However, once I start to taxi, the aircraft position stops updating on the map - but if I bring up the data window, my current ground speed while taxiing is properly and continuously displayed. If I come to a stop, the aircraft symbol will eventually catch up to my current location, but once I start moving again, it stops updating.

I do NOT see any drop-out in the "connected" status of P3D in the Foreflight devices menu

Jim Barrett

[Adam Breed]

but if I bring up the data window, my current ground speed while taxiing is properly and continuously displayed.

Jim,

Are you referring to the data window in ForeFlight?

Regards,
Adam

[Adam Breed]

Yes, in the Foreflight app's devices page, the Prepar3d connector is there with green mark, then a few seconds later it greys out and disappears, then a few seconds later it reappears and is green, then disappears again, and so on...

Hi eng1tx,

Did you see drops outs in your packet sniffing or just in the ForeFlight devices page?

Regards,
Adam

[johnd2282]

Also having this issue. Position is more or less accurate, but constant left/right turning of the aircraft symbol

[V1-Vr-V2]

Same issue here with the positional jumpiness - The connection seems solid for me, but it's as though the aircraft heading is being reported as 360° between the position updates.

Animated GIF of what's happening: https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdLTiO ... /giphy.gif

[Brad Shiver]

At the moment Prepar3D only broadcasts the GPS data of the sim, i.e. the latitude and longitude, so the heading may act up sometimes as Foreflight will try to guess the current heading of the aircraft. We will look into broadcasting Attitude data as well in a future update. However if Prepar3D is always connected and the positioning is jumping around, that may indicate wrong values are being sent. If the packets are being lost, then Foreflight will jump back to the device's physical position every time the app doesn't find a packet.

-Brad

[eng1tx]

Update (solved):

The problem was due to abnormally high latency across wireless AP. Through packet capture, I noticed if values exceed 300ms, the P3D connector in Foreflight will drop the connection, then reestablish.

So after updating firmware on UAP PRO access point, the latency was reduced to under 80ms, and no problems with connectivity were experienced.

I do notice the issue the above poster mentioned regarding the airplane moving side to side as Foreflight attempted to guess the heading. I look forward to a resolution to this in future updates, but for now all is well.

Big thanks you to all who replied in this thread

[Brad Shiver]

Good to hear. We'll also have the heading, pitch, and roll information broadcast as well in the next release.

[V1-Vr-V2]

...We'll also have the heading, pitch, and roll information broadcast as well in the next release.

Awesome news - that's the missing piece for me right now, being able to connect Foreflight to the sim is extremely useful for situational awareness. Since the previous dll methods are not (yet) compatible, it's great to hear that native support will be added to the sim. Thanks for that.

[JRBarrett]

Good to hear. We'll also have the heading, pitch, and roll information broadcast as well in the next release.

Excellent! Like the others the altitude and speed data are updated instantly, - but the heading wanders left and right.

I appreciate that the GPS out data has been implemented in V4, and will await the next update for refinements.

Jim Barrett

[JRBarrett]

Unfortunately, after installing Hotfix1, the GPS output to Foreflight is no better. The aircraft heading continues to wander left and right continuously in cruise flight. Altitude and speed appear to be rock solid.

Using the add-on FSXFlight, which is another Foreflight connector program, works fine.

Jim Barrett

[virrie]

Can P3d V4 AI planes (traffic) show up on the foreflight? V3 could, but it seems not work at V4.
Thank you!