Evan Reiter Posted October 6, 2017 at 04:03 PM Posted October 6, 2017 at 04:03 PM I just bought a flight strip printer (mostly for use during large, in-person events we do). Adds a new level of realism. vFDIO is a well-created, thought-out program that has the perfect set of tools for the VATSIM world. I know the software is very much in beta at this stage, and don't mind doing the occasional reset to keep it working. (Sometimes, I find I have to actually close and re-open it each time I print a strip.) If there's anything I can do to help with beta testing/crash reports/etc., let me know! I'd love to see a stable version of the client that I can count on during a large event to reliably print departure strips. I have a few other ideas too. Evan ReiterBoston Virtual ARTCC/ZBW Community Manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Shannon Posted October 11, 2017 at 05:08 AM Posted October 11, 2017 at 05:08 AM Evan, when you say you "bought a flight strip printer", I [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ume you mean a generic receipt or label printer (like Epson or Zebra brand)? To my knowledge, actual flight strip printers are outrageously expensive and difficult to obtain. I have decided to shelve further development of vFDIO because it's too difficult to maintain support for different printers. For example, printer A could use a completely different syntax/protocol than printer B (e.g. Epson vs Zebra), and printer C could use the same protocol as printer A, but be limited to which functions it has available to use (e.g. no support for printing lines needed for the boxes on the flight strip). Limiting support to only a select few printer models would be the only way I could reasonably resume development of vFDIO. Although I make no promises or guarantees, I am happy to hear the ideas you have. Controller (C3), Los Angeles ARTCC Developer: xPilot, vATIS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coughlan Posted October 11, 2017 at 11:16 AM Posted October 11, 2017 at 11:16 AM Evan, I use 'Flight Strip Manager' from http://bafio.altervista.org/fps.htm Works on home printer, you can set the strips dimensions and cut your paper prior before placing into the printer, works wonders. It has m[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ive customization and is easy to use if even just for printing. Doesn't connect directly to VATSIM and all callsign says on the network are accessible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamren Perkins Posted November 6, 2017 at 10:56 PM Posted November 6, 2017 at 10:56 PM I just bought a flight strip printer (mostly for use during large, in-person events we do). Adds a new level of realism. vFDIO is a well-created, thought-out program that has the perfect set of tools for the VATSIM world. I know the software is very much in beta at this stage, and don't mind doing the occasional reset to keep it working. (Sometimes, I find I have to actually close and re-open it each time I print a strip.) If there's anything I can do to help with beta testing/crash reports/etc., let me know! I'd love to see a stable version of the client that I can count on during a large event to reliably print departure strips. I have a few other ideas too. Where can I find a copy of vFDIO? Sincerely, Kamren Perkins Facility Engineer vZKC - Kansas City ARTCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Reiter Posted November 6, 2017 at 11:37 PM Author Posted November 6, 2017 at 11:37 PM Sorry for the delay, I had the topic subscribed but somehow didn't see the notification. Evan, when you say you "bought a flight strip printer", I [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ume you mean a generic receipt or label printer (like Epson or Zebra brand)? To my knowledge, actual flight strip printers are outrageously expensive and difficult to obtain. Yes, I have a Zebra label printer on Dhruv's recommend. It's the Zebra LP 2824 Plus, to be exact. I use 'Flight Strip Manager' from http://bafio.altervista.org/fps.htm. Works on home printer, you can set the strips dimensions and cut your paper prior before placing into the printer, works wonders. It has m[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ive customization and is easy to use if even just for printing. Doesn't connect directly to VATSIM and all callsign says on the network are accessible. Great, I'll give that a try! Limiting support to only a select few printer models would be the only way I could reasonably resume development of vFDIO. Although I make no promises or guarantees, I am happy to hear the ideas you have. Good to know. I'll give the other suggestion above a try and see how that one works. As far as features on vFDIO go, the program itself has the functionality I would use on a regular basis. My biggest issue is that it seems to "freeze" fairly regularly, requiring a restart sometimes as frequently as between each flight strip. I didn't know about the FlightStripManager program that Johnny mentioned, so let me give that a shot first. Evan ReiterBoston Virtual ARTCC/ZBW Community Manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Reiter Posted November 8, 2017 at 04:00 PM Author Posted November 8, 2017 at 04:00 PM Justin, is there a way I could help test the bug where vFDIO appears to stop working after printing a couple of strips (requiring a restart)? It's my hope to be able to use it (with the Zebra LP) to print flight strips for us during live/in-person events. Obviously things would be much more robust if we could count on the software to reliably print flight strips over the course of a 4-hour event. Evan ReiterBoston Virtual ARTCC/ZBW Community Manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Shannon Posted November 9, 2017 at 01:33 AM Posted November 9, 2017 at 01:33 AM Justin, is there a way I could help test the bug where vFDIO appears to stop working after printing a couple of strips (requiring a restart)? It's my hope to be able to use it (with the Zebra LP) to print flight strips for us during live/in-person events. Obviously things would be much more robust if we could count on the software to reliably print flight strips over the course of a 4-hour event. I may have some free time this weekend so I might pull out my Zebra printer and test it out. Controller (C3), Los Angeles ARTCC Developer: xPilot, vATIS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts