RyanR

The data Link training mission (included with DCS) tells me to look at the HSD to see some form of magic as my flight attacks some bandits. No magic happens. I can't see anything bugged, or the magic dotted lines that occasionally pop up. My wingmen simply shoot down the bandits. Am I supposed to see something? Or is it broke? The datalink is pretty hit or miss. I wish ED would provide a NOTAM. Thanks, -Ryan

I'm very much learning myself. Agree that you just wipe out when you hit a bug and can't get something to work. Any tutorial or guide that is over a year old can't be 100% trusted. -Ryan

Would a two-seat F-16 use this as well? Random question. -Ryan

Agree! Only been doing DCS for a month or so, and still riding the high from the first ILS landing. -Ryan

I've noticed the same behaviors. I think some "interesting stuff" happens when jamming/countermeasures come into the picture. The bad guys don't want to become system targets. Since DCS seems to model the avionics, and not just provide the facade of them, inconsistencies make sense. Of course, I could simply be new and not know what I'm doing. -Ryan

Comforting to know that 3 years is where the learning curve is. So far it's been one step backwards for every two steps forwards. It can sting when taking that step backwards. -Ryan

I've been experiencing strange mark point behavior, too. The only time I have trouble is when playing around with free fall bombs in DTOS/CCIP/etc while en route to target. Then it doesn't matter what I'm doing when I set the mark point. I does seem to be stuck on Steerpoint 1. You can tell when it's broke because you don't have to hit CZ on the TGP after hitting M-sel. I don't think you mark a point from the WPN page. So you'd need to use the TGP as SOI and not a Maverick. -Ryan

There are definitely bugs here. I'm practicing weasel work. Ballparked an SA3 with the HAD, found it with the TGP, and marked it as a steerpoint. Made an attack with the WPN page in the opposite MFD. In on the SA3 on the deck, at 7nm, I popped up. TGP was SOI in point mode. TMS UP did not SOI to the WPN page. Why??? TMS up has always SOI'd the WPN page. I mean, this thread was created because of this behavior. -Ryan

Thanks a bunch! Gotta check these out when I get some time. Thinking about it, sustained turn rate has probably rarely been used in the history of air combat. You're always trading energy for angle eventually. I have lots to learn with the F-16! Thanks again! -Ryan

How do you measure/approximate degrees per second in the cockpit? I recently got into DCS, and it's amazing how different "dogfighting" is with modern jets from the prop sims I'd been into for decades. Even early jets play more like the old "rules". I was only going to go as far as the F-86 in DCS.... but my favorite jet since I was a kid is the F-16 (I was hooked on Falcon in 1988)..... and I couldn't stay away. Thanks! -Ryan

Glad I can help. I'm still in the asking lots of questions phase. I'm really having fun with the F-16, though it's taking all my will power to not start playing with the Hornet! -Ryan

Try being in "PRE" mode for Mavericks (not VIS), or not "CCIP" for bombs. For bombs, in CCIP, the FCR is "slaved" for calculating the impact point, so you can't use the FCR then. Change to CCRP, and the GM should come right up. -Ryan

That's really the bottom line. The different types of hand-off do make sense. Even with a good boresight, overlapping targets can be hard to discriminate for IR MAV's. I'm new to DCS and campaigns are teaching me how easy it is to blow up the wrong thing with the auto-hand-off. I wish the AGM-65's had more "zoom". I've been spoiled by other F-16 "sims" in the past. -Ryan

True. A JSOW is still pretty effective against a lot of vehicle types, and has a wide range of destruction. I'm not a "munitions expert", but "bombs" don't do as much collateral damage in DCS as would have thought (again, with my complete lack of real world experience). You need to get a direct hit on most things to really wreck it. "Cluster" munitions, on the other hand, seem more destructive than I'd thought. -Ryan

They won't follow a moving vehicle, and I wouldn't use the FCR to aim them. Rather, use the TGP, and slew the cursors under the vehicle, and lock in "area" mode. A JSOW would be better for light vehicles if parked together. -Ryan

No! I hadn't seen that video! That is the answer! I just had a chance to give it a try, and it works perfectly. Not intuitive. I've been assuming that the cursors were just slewed to the edge of the screen after dialing back the range. Thank you very much for putting that together! I'm so excited to play around with this! I've basically been on top of targets before the FCR gave me enough of a picture to see anything meaningful. Now I'm picking up objects on airfields 40nm out. Point the plane right at it, and the image gets blurry, dial in a little angle off target into the autopilot, and the image gets much better. Thanks guys! -Ryan

Thanks for chiming in. Good to know that I'm not cracking up. It didn't make sense to me how (in the tutorials I linked) you could be 20-40nm out, switch to DBS2, and then get a bigger/better picture by lowering the range to 10nm..... while the cursors are slewed on a point further out than 10nm. Sure enough, it doesn't work that way anymore. Interesting that the "IRL" radar seems to give a better picture (better grayscale) than DCS. DCS seems to use fewer shades of gray. -Ryan

Thanks a bunch for this!! -Ryan

Maybe I'm lucky, since I'm a newbie. The original documentation says TMS right is for the handoff to the maverick seeker. Once the TGP is in point mode, you don't have to hit TMS-up anymore. Point the TGP (soi'd) at whatever you don't like, and then TMS right. Things I've found: if you're waaaaaay out, the TGP just won't do the above. You gotta be like 20 miles out just to begin. Beyond that, the TGP won't "stick" to moving vehicles. Obviously, you have to be under 10nm to even think of getting the MAV to lock up. Also in the manual, only IR mavericks will auto-lock from a TMS-right. TV Mavericks have to be locked up from the WPN page. Thus, you want to TMS *up* from the targeting pod to get to the WPN page to lock those. I've had good luck with both LU-88 and LU-88A's. My only grumple right now is that boresighting mavericks requires an "official" object to lock on to. Static objects don't count. This gives you precious few places to get tuned up in campaigns. -Ryan

Seems anything DCS tutorial that is older than a month is no longer relevant. In both of these videos, they can change the radar range while in DBS2. For the life of me, I can't get this to work. Every time I change the range, it punches me back into "NORM". Has something changed? Thanks. -Ryan

Oh, I agree. You can't run a MAV without the WPN page. -Ryan

Just keep hitting TMS-right from the SOI'd TGP, and IR Mavericks will eventually grab the target. Even in the break-lock condition.... but you're not going to get it to work far out. With auto hand-off, you can get 2-3 shots off in a pass, once you have the target area figured out. And assuming there's no AAA..... -Ryan

I'm learning this! Sounds stupid, but it took me a while to realize what it means that DCS simulates the avionics and not "just the weapon". -Ryan

I'm "still learning" DCS, but the TGP seems to be working fine. -"TMS up" SOI's the WPN screen. -"TMS Right" does the auto handoff to the WPN page. and the TGP remains SOI. IR Mavericks lock up automatically if well boresighted. So, you get both options now. TMS up, SOI's the WPN page so you can either fine tune the Maverick or lock up a CCD missile (which you have to manually lock). 'TMS right' will lock up IR MAV's so you can still ripple off a bunch. I've also had fine luck with the three missile launchers. All 6 are taking a ground boresight OK. -Ryan

I'm having good luck now with 2nm boresights on static ground vehicles. IR Mavericks lock right up when 7nm out. All 6 Mavericks work pretty well. The "bug" reported in the T-Pod thread seems to not be a bug. Reading up and figuring out the nuances of the T-pod is really helping. Unlearning bad habits from other sims is helping, too. -Ryan