brettt777

Well for one thing, I didn't "demand" anything. For another thing, the Super Hornet is more than "slightly different" than the legacy Hornet. And for one more thing, we are in fact, getting a Phantom.

Like everyone else, I recently purchased the early access F-15E. I also recently purchased the F-1 Mirage, which has a ground mapping radar. I was flying that over the Sinai Peninsula and I was a bit confused about how it was working. Then I discovered that the M-2000C Mirage apparently had an update that gave it an A/G function on it's radar and when I flew that one I noticed something about the way it works that is similar to the F-1. Now, I'm flying the F-15E and I notice the A/G radar in this one doing the same thing. When I'm looking down at the ground from 20K feet on a 20 mile scale, the radar only gives me this relatively narrow band of returns that is only several miles wide instead of covering the entire sweep. Is this normal? I went and looked again at the A/G radars in the FA-18, F-16 and JF-17, and they don't work that way. They show returns on pretty much the entire sweep except for very close in. Is this just because the Mirage radars and maybe the F-15 radar are older technology or are they just modeled different? I am a retired aviation maintenance technician that specialized in avionics. I spent most of the last four decades in the aviation community both military and civilian, plus about a dozen years in the marine electronics industry so I know how a radar works. That being said, I have never really seen a modern military radar operate IRL. At least not airborne. I worked on EA-6B Prowlers in the US Navy. They had a search radar in them but that was back in the 70's and 80's so it was very low tech compared to this new stuff. It had very little targeting functions; only a very basic HARM target link of a thing. Anyway.... I never got to see those radars work except for occasionally on the ground when we could point the thing over the side of the ship. So, is this actually the way these apparently older radars worked? Are the radars in the Hornet and Viper that much more efficient? Or am I just not using the F-15E radar properly?

Yeah, okay. Got it now. I just wasn't holding the button long enough. So, while we're talking about radars, I've noticed something in the last couple days. I recently purchased the F-1 Mirage, which has a ground mapping radar. I was flying that over the Sinai Peninsula and I was a bit confused about how it was working. Then I discovered that the M-2000C Mirage apparently had an update that gave it an A/G function on it's radar and when I flew that one I noticed something about the way it works that is similar to the F-1. Now, I'm flying the F-15E and I notice the A/G radar in this one doing the same thing. When I'm looking down at the ground from 20K feet on a 20 mile scale, the radar only gives me this relatively narrow band of returns that is only several miles wide instead of covering the entire sweep. Is this normal? I went and looked again at the A/G radars in the FA-18, F-16 and JF-17, and they don't work that way. They show returns on pretty much the entire sweep except for very close in. Is this just because the Mirage radars and maybe the F-15 radar are older technology or are they just modeled different? I am a retired aviation maintenance technician that specialized in avionics. I spent most of the last four decades in the aviation community both military and civilian, plus about a dozen years in the marine electronics industry so I know how a radar works. That being said, I have never really seen a modern military radar operate IRL. At least not airborne. I worked on EA-6B Prowlers in the US Navy. They had a search radar in them but that was back in the 70's and 80's so it was very low tech compared to this new stuff. It had very little targeting functions; only a very basic HARM target link of a thing. Anyway.... I never got to see those radars work except for occasionally on the ground when we could point the thing over the side of the ship. So, is this actually the way these apparently older radars worked? Are the radars in the Hornet and Viper that much more efficient? Or am I just not using the F-15E radar properly?

So... I was messing around with it this morning, I was in the WSO seat and I somehow managed to get the right MPD to be SOI (not exactly sure how I did that. I have the right hand stick in the back seat assigned to the stick hats and trigger) and then sure enough, the A/G radar came up. I also had the display on the left MPD in the pilot seat. Now my problem is, I can't seem to select any display in the front seat as the SOI. I'm thinking the SOI is indicated by the little vertical lines along the bottom of the display. Is this correct? Okay, so how exactly am I suppose to change the SOI? I thought it was done with the castle switch on the stick. I have the castle switch on my Winwing stick assigned to all the castle switch functions. But when I try to select a display, I will get a display to change on occasion but I never see one become SOI, at least not that I can tell. So what am I missing? In the Hornet, one click of the castle switch and you have your selected SOI. I can't seem to get there with the Strike Eagle.

Actually, no I'm not. I'll give that a try.

Any chance at all that we may see an FA-18E/F Super Hornet update or a completely new mod? I mean... They did that with the A-10A/C, and now we've went from an F-15C to an F-15E Strike Eagle. So it's only fair that us US Navy veterans get to see a Superbug someday soon.

Any chance at all that we may see an FA-18E/F Super Hornet update or a completely new mod? I mean... They did that with the A-10A/C, and now we've went from an F-15C to an F-15E Strike Eagle. So it's only fair that us US Navy veterans get to see a Superbug someday soon.

So what needs to happen then, is ED needs to put out a Super hornet. Then there will be question which one out techs the other since the FA-18E/F is about 7 years newer than the F-15E.

Just got the Eagle last night. I'm still in the process of setting up my Winwing HOTAS for this one. Two questions so far... - I saw no A/G missile selections for the load out. I'm guessing that's coming later...? Cuz the Eagle is certainly capable of carrying pretty much any ordinance we have. - I can't get any returns on the A/G radar. It's in RBM mode, gain is up, out of standby, and in the 40 mile range. Also, antenna is pointed straight ahead, flying at about 5K. - Also just curious if the F-15 E stick grip is the same as the Hornet grip. Both aircraft built by MD/Boeing.

If anyone is interested, I figured out what was causing the jerky stick. I firstly figured out that I was having a similar issue in the Tomcat and in the Viper. This problem seemed to appear right around the time I installed the stick shaker module on my F-16EX stick. The SimAppPro software is used to upload and download various vibration profiles. Once I started using that, I started having this issue. So on a whim, I closed the SimAppPro software and started DCS. Presto! No jerky stick. I deleted and reinstalled the software but I still had the issue but not all the time. I can run it without the software as all I use it for is the vibration profiles. But obviously I don't get any vibration if I do that.

Actually I figured it out. The SImAppPro software that is used with the Winwing system seems to be the culprit. When I use it in DCS without bringing up the software, No jerky stick AND I got the A/G radar in the JF-17 to work. I don't know if it had anything to do with it but the first time I tried it without the SimAppPro software, the A/G radar worked great. The A/G radars in the Hornet and Viper are also suddenly working correctly now as well.

Okay, I will give it a try and see what happens. Thanks for that. While I got you here, let me lay something else on you that has started happening recently. I recently upgraded from a Logitech X56 to a Winwing Orion 2 system. I have the FA-18 throttle handles but opted for the F-16EX stick grip cuz I need the extra hats for other aircraft/sims. For the first week or so, everything was fine. All aircraft seemed to respond well to the Winwing system and I am very happy with it for the most part. But the other day I got into the Hornet and had one heck of a time controlling the thing airborne. I noticed that the movement of the control stick was very jerky and not smooth and precise as it usually is. You can see it in the track file. I checked all the control settings and in the axis page, you can see that the input from the stick is very precise and smooth. But in the aircraft it isn't. I verified there are no duplicate control settings. Then, while airborne, I put the sim into Active Pause. Suddenly the stick movement was nice and smooth as it should be. Active Pause off and back to a jerky stick. You can see all this in the track file. Here's a couple other weird things about it. When the stick is very jerky like that, all other controls, rudder, throttle, etc. are fine. It's only pitch and roll. As I stated before, in Active Pause, the stick is fine. Also, I have flown half a dozen other aircraft using the same stick and they don't have this problem. The Winwing system works great in all other aircraft and in all other sims. Only the Hornet has a problem. And to make it even more weird, I connected my old Logitech G940 FFB stick in place of the Winwing system. No problem at all. Nice and smooth at all times. Also, this same stick and throttle work fine in other sims. So, I'm kind of at a loss. Why would the Winwing suddenly not like the Hornet and only the Hornet? Actually, that's not quite true. I was flying the F-16 earlier today and it started doing the same thing. And also the same; rudder and throttle are fine and when you put it in active pause the pitch and roll are fine. FA-18 Jerky stick.trk

I just got my Winwing system with the finger lift kit. I don't have a problem with the detents (once I figured out how to calibrate them correctly and also figured out that a few of the jets in DCS have an afterburner gate that needs to be configured and activated every flight). However I do agree with the finger lift paddles being too low so you have to literally change your grip to get at them. However, again this isn't much of an issue with me as I don't use the lifts for AB; I just push through the gate. And changing my grip at shut down isn't a big deal. While I do agree that the SimAppPro program is... lacking, I definitely don't agree that the Orion 2 system is a disaster. I do have some issues... the hat switches on the throttle handles are much stiffer than those on my F-16EX stick grip. I prefer the lighter switches. I'm not a big fan of the throttle base switch labeling being so specific to one or two DCS aircraft. I fly the Hornet frequently but I also fly many other DCS aircraft and spacecraft in other sims. I would prefer a more generic labeling, or no labels at all. I find some of the switch and knob positions on the throttle base non-ergonomic. Right after take-off I find it very awkward to have to reach around my maxed out throttle lever to get to the landing gear switch. All that being said, I absolutely love the overall feel of the system, especially the stick. That in itself just about makes up for any shortcomings.

Okay, so here's a track file. This is between 6K and 7K altitude, about 20 miles off the coast. 40 mile range, antenna right in the center. Compare it to the A/G radar in this Youtube video, similar altitude and range, at about 1:25 in. You can see that the radar in my track file is considerably weaker than the YT video, with the radar set up the exact same way. When you say squint angle, are you talking about the antenna elevation or is there some other setting I am not familiar with? I was an avionics technician both military and civilian for most of the last four decades but I have never heard of squint angle. F-16C_Weak AG Radar.trk

Yeah, thanks for that. I got it working. Seems a few of the jets have an AB gate that needs to be configured and activated every flight.

Oh yeah, I understand that none of it is true FFB. That's why I kept the G940 for so long and I also have a MS Sidwwinder FFB2. Those are true FFB. In DCS, Thing is, not all aircraft in DCS or other sims need actual FFB. In a jet like the Hornet or the Viper that are FBW, you wouldn't have the stick kicking back against your hand when you get into turbulence. So some stick or seat vibration may be all you need to have that little extra inversion factor. But in a Mustang or a Spitfire or an L-39, you're gonna get feedback through the stick. It's not the same thing but between the inherent feel of the Orion 2 stick with a little vibration.... it's not too far off. Since I just spent the better part of $600 for my Winwing system, I'm not sure Mama Bear is gonna be to thrilled about another $300 for this thing. It may have to wait a while.

So, I recently upgraded from a Logitech X56 to a Winwing Orion 2 system. I have the FA-18 throttle handles but opted for the F-16EX stick grip cuz I need the extra hats for other aircraft/sims. For the first week or so, everything was fine. All aircraft seemed to respond well to the Winwing system and I am very happy with it for the most part. But the other day I got into the Hornet and had one heck of a time controlling the thing airborne. I noticed that the movement of the control stick was very jerky and not smooth and precise as it usually is. You can see it in the track file. I checked all the control settings and in the axis page, you can see that the input from the stick is very precise and smooth. But in the aircraft it isn't. I verified there are no duplicate control settings. Then, while airborne, I put the sim into Active Pause. Suddenly the stick movement was nice and smooth as it should be. Active Pause off and back to a jerky stick. You can see all this in the track file. Here's a couple other weird things about it. When the stick is very jerky like that, all other controls, rudder, throttle, etc. are fine. It's only pitch and roll. As I stated before, in Active Pause, the stick is fine. Also, I have flown half a dozen other aircraft using the same stick and they don't have this problem. The Winwing system works great in all other aircraft and in all other sims. Only the Hornet has a problem. And to make it even more weird, I connected my old Logitech G940 FFB stick in place of the Winwing system. No problem at all. Nice and smooth at all times. So, I'm kind of at a loss. Why would the Winwing suddenly not like the Hornet and only the Hornet? FA-18 Jerky stick.trk

Okay, here's a short track file of me setting up the radar and getting airborne and trying to get something on it. I make sure all mode switches are correct, run the gain up and down, and make sure the antenna is pointed at the ground. Still, nothing. Now, it's been a minute since I've flown the Thunder and I seem to remember that when I first got it, I had a similar issue but then I figured out something I was doing wrong and got it to work. But I'm not seeing it this time. What am I missing? It seems odd that I am having issues with pretty much every A/G radar in DCS right now for some reason. In the Hornet and the Viper, I can get their A/G radars to work, but not very well. The Viper radar is just really week. And the Hornet radar seems to come and go. But the JF-17, as you can see, I get absolutely nothing. JF-17 AG Radar.trk

Either one of those would be awesome. And I know it was a bit late for WWII, but an F8F2 Bearcat would be amazing, along with a few WWII era carriers.

Well, then I wonder why my F-16 ground radar works so poorly? I was actually flying the FA-18 last night. I was about 36,000 feet over the Saudi Arabian desert and could barely get anything on that radar as well. So what the heck am I doing wrong? None of my ground radars are working.

So, I recently upgraded to a Winwing Orion 2 system with the FA-18 throttle handles and an F-16EX stick with the dynamic vibration. So I am wanting to retire my old Logitech G940 FFB stick. Problem is, I still use the G940 rudder pedals which have to go through the G940 stick, so it still needs to be plugged in. Well, I heard that you can get an adapter that will let the serial style cable of the pedals plug into a USB port. So I got one (Not a Leo Bodnar unit) and figured out how to change the wiring a bit so the rudder pedals would work with the adapter. This adapter isn't really designed for rudder pedals... it's designed to use with the Logitech racing pedals in driving sims, which I do use it for and it works well. Anyway, I got the wiring changed and I plug the thing in thinking that since the DC polarity is changed going into the rudder pedals, all I need to do is invert the axis in DCS and it should work, right? Wrong. I set up the axis and it naturally goes the wrong way, i.e. left pedal is right rudder, etc. The brake pedals work fine. Okay, I go into axis tune and invert the rudder axis, but when I close the axis tune window, the axis isn't inverted. I look at the window and it shows that I inverted the axis, but DCS is saying I didn't. Another weird thing is that in the axis assignment page, when I move the pedals it shows movement, although obviously in the wrong direction. But there is movement. But in the axis tune page on the graph, it shows no movement of the rudder axis at all. When I go into a plane, I get rudder movement, again in the wrong direction, but it does move. But the axis will not invert (the brake axis' reversed no problem) and the axis tune page shows no axis movement at all. So what's the deal? Why can't I invert this axis? To further complicate this issue, I tried the exact same procedure in P3D versions 4.5 and 5.3, and it worked great. What is up with DCS?

Okay, I guess I've been living under a rock recently but I only heard of this Buttkicker thing a few days ago. I am definitely intrigued. I had been using an old Logitech G940 joystick system for years and got very used to the FFB. I recently upgraded to a Winwing Orion 2 system with an F-16EX stick. It has the dynamic vibration in it and while it does add a bit of realism... sort of, it's not true FFB. So, with all that being said, I am wondering if this Buttkicker lives up to all the hype. Is it worth it? Does it increase the realism? I mean, if I have some vibration on the stick and in the seat, that's gotta be worth something, right? So help a guy out. Is this thing worth it?

Question..... When I go into SimAppPro and download and activate a profile for the dynamic vibration, is it then sent to the joystick and stored? I.e. do I have to upload a profile every time I play DCS or whenever I switch to a different aircraft? Or are they permanently stored in the Orion 2 stick? Also, does SimAppPro need to be online for the vibration to work? Obviously it has to be online to download a profile. But does it have to be connected even after that? My internet can be... interrupted quite frequently.

Is there some kind of AGC on the A/G radar? Seems to me I used to get much better returns on the ground map mode. But now even with the gain turned up, the ground returns seem very weak. Has something changed recently?

I don't know what happened. This used to work. The Thunder had a pretty good A/G radar. Now I can't get it to work at all. It's out of standby, silent is off, freeze is off, the antenna is pointing in the right direction. Nothing. No ground returns at all. I have messed with the gain. I have ran the antenna all the way up and all the way down. I have tried different maps. I have tried different ranges and put it on a different display. But I still get nothing. The FA-18 and AJS37 A/G radars work fine. Am I missing something obvious here or is there a known issue with this radar?