sthompson

Some answers: 1. You are misreading the manual. TX4 is for VAICOM AUTO mode, and TX5 is for Intercomm. You also seem confused about what are the TX's. They are not HOTAS buttons but rather communications channels for communicating with VAICOM. You can map a HOTAS button to a TX in VoiceAttack, but you don't have to. VAICOM does not support MIDS communication. It's for communicating with the AI, and since no AI unit supports MIDS, neither does VAICOM PRO. If you want to use the MIDS channels with SRS you will need to bind those separately through SRS. Those bindings have nothing to do with TX channels even if bound to the same HOTAS button. 2. The way I handle this is as follows: I have a four-way hat that I bind to TX1, TX2, TX3, and TX5 in VoiceAttack using the instructions in the VAICOM manual. I bind the same buttons to radio selection for radios 1-3 and Intercom in SRS, but I deselect the SRS option for radio selection keys to also work as PTT. Instead I bind a separate PTT button for SRS. When I want to talk to the AI I use the appropriate 4 way hat button so that the communication goes over the corresponding TX to the AI only. Pushing this button also selects one of the SRS radios. When I want to talk on SRS I first select the SRS radio using a short press on the four way hat, then push the SRS PTT key to transmit on SRS. The SRS PTT key does not trigger a TX channel and so that communication goes only over SRS, not to VAICOM. If you want TX6 for VAICOM (rarely needed in my experience), or MIDS for SRS then you will need separate button bindings for those. 3. Say "JAYTACK" as one word, then a short pause, then "page." Keep the TX key pushed until you hear the confirmation beep. You can also use the callsign of an active JTAC recipient instead of "JAYTACK." For the AOCS page say "Crystal Palace" instead of "JAYTACK." 4. It's hard to know what the problem is. Possibly your TX channels are not bound properly in VoiceAttack. You might provide some screenshots of your TX keybindings in VoiceAttack so that we can see the details of the TX1 and TX2 bindings. It would also help if you would turn on VAICOM debug and then post the VoiceAttack log from when you are experiencing the trouble. Also post a screenshot of your VAICOM PTT page to make sure that TX1 shows up as active and not greyed out.

Thought I had replied to this but since I don't see my reply in the thread, I'm trying again. I looked at all of the files and didn't see anything obviously wrong. I also tried flying the attached mission on my rig, VAICOM worked perfectly. So while I agree with others that the problem is mission related, I don't think it is just the mission. Instead it's something about the interaction of the mission and the host system. I'm now officially stumped and I suggest you try to reach out to Hollywood since apparently the issue does not seem to be user error or configuration error, but is happening for only some people in some settings, but is reproducible for those people/settings.

Regarding the second issue, you can just press the keyboard shortcut for the mic key. If you really want to do this with your voice, create a VoiceAttack command that presses the mic key using the DCS keyboard shortcut. You would only need it temporarily to make progress. It's not really a VAICOM issue, but rather a limitation of the design of those training missions.

Also, turn on debug and then send the VoiceAttack log generated from a mission where the issue occurs.

This is really weird. Can you verify that you can run one mission with no problems and then (without quitting DCS or VoiceAttack) run another mission that does have the problem? That would suggest that everything is installed correctly but that there is some kind of a timing or communication issue that is triggered only by certain missions. You might want to post a simple mission file that causes the trouble for you so that others can try it out in an attempt to reproduce. It would be helpful if you would send the VAICOM and DCS log files. That is, make sure VAICOM debug is on. Then restart VoiceAttack, then restart DCS, then fly a problem mission. Then close both programs and send VAICOMPRO.log from the Apps\VAICOMPRO\logs subfolder of your VoiceAttack installation (not the same as your VoiceAttack log, which is similar) DCS.log from Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\logs dcs_variants.txt from the root of your DCS Open Beta installation. (The first two files should have timestamps indicating they were freshly created, which is worth checking.) Also, let us know whether you run VoiceAttack as administrator? What about DCS Open Beta itself? BTW, I strongly suggest you stop doing the uninstall/reinstall stuff. It's hard to diagnose what's wrong if you keep changing the configuration. And I very much doubt it's a corrupted lua unless you have a drive that is going bad.

This screen shot shows that in your MP example that VAICOM is not detecting that you are in the Tomcat (or any other module). Furthermore, the log shows no indication that VAICOM has detected that you have started a mission. So it's no wonder that AIRIO is not working there. (Contrast with the prominent display of the F-14A/B in the second screen shot, and the lines identifying the mission and module in the second log file.) Can you verify that these same characteristics are present when you experience the problem in SP? That is, does the log indicate that a module and mission are detected when you have the problem in SP? If not, then I think we can safely say that the problem is something interfering with communication between the VAICOM PRO plugin and the DCS code in these cases.

I notice that frequently the "Transmit TX5 release" is occurring very early in each sequence. (See for example the lines copied above.) VAICOM sometimes has problems if you release the TX key too quickly. Try holding it down a bit longer after you give your command. Ideally you would test with the feedback sounds turned on and wait until you get a sound indicating either that the command is accepted or one indicating that it can't be carried out. Also, try specifying "Jester" at the start of each command, and make sure you pause to make sure it is recognized. I'm grasping at straws a bit here, but best to rule out operator error if possible.

One other thing. Your dance steps are not quite right. Should be Close DCS and VA Back up then delete export.lua (personally I never do this step since it only makes a difference in rare cases and also disables SRS and Tacview) Repair DCS (which will automatically uninstall mods) Run VA Run DCS

Since VAICOM is working except for AIRIO I think it is very unlikely that your installation of VoiceAttack or VAICOM is to blame, apart from the possibility that you put the AIRIO DLL in the wrong place. (But even that is unlikely to be the cause if AIRIO works some of the time.) My suspicion is that there is an incompatibility with some other hardware or software, or else an obscure timing bug of some kind. (Your system seems very tricked out with lots of specialized I/O peripherals.) So I would stop with the uninstall/reinstall dance of VAICOM itself and start seeing what happens if you go back to a more plain vanilla system by disabling as much other stuff as possible temporarily. You might discover an issue of which Hollywood is unaware.

Custom path should point to the root of the installed version so I think you have it right. However I would check the "fix" box and then push "SET." That will create (or fix) a registry entry that points to the correct folder. This should be set already if you used the default DCS installer to reinstall on your new PC, and then did not move the installation elsewhere. (Note that a DCS "repair" does not try to fix the registry entry if it is missing or wrong.) VAICOM uses the registry entry by default, and the custom path if the box is checked. Once you fix the registry entry you can uncheck the custom path box. If there is any doubt about whether VAICOM is pointing to the right folders you can check by turning on the debug option and looking at the VAICOM log file after restarting VoiceAttack. It will tell you where it is doing its work modifying and extending DCS. The scripts folder in the root drive is a known bug. Seems to be related to the kneeboard feature. I just let it be for now. Hopefully Hollywood will fix this in the future since applications should not be writing to the root drive.

I tested AIRIO on Hoggit practice server and did two SP cold start missions on Normandy and Syria. AIRIO worked fine in each case, at least for the few commands that I tried.

@nessuno0505 I tried it a few times tonight. First try I had VAICOM running but did not use voice commands. I used the keyboard (as instructed by the instructor) to move the mic switch (L.ALT and Num+) so that the mission instructions could proceed. Everything worked as expected. I next ran the mission using VAICOM to call Batumi after tuning the radio as instructed. The command I used was "Batumi, Inbound" with a small pause at the comma. I have "instant select" checked in VAICOM options so this automatically selected Batumi, and everything worked again as expected. (I did have to also move the mic switch, however, to keep the instructions going.) I then tried running the mission a third time, using the voice commands from your original post. This reproduced the issue in the OP, namely that the radio retuned to Kutaisi and sent the Inbound call there. Finally, I tried a fourth time, using the VAICOM commands "Batumi, Select" and then "Inbound." This worked as expected. I conclude that VAICOM is working correctly and the problem is that you are not using the correct VAICOM commands, as I suggested a few posts up. "Select Batumi" is not a valid command. Instead say "Batumi," wait for the beep, then say "Select." After the confirmation beep you can then say "Inbound." Note that the default ATC is the one that you are closest to when you first push a TX key during a mission. In this mission that is going to be Kutaisi, unless you wait a long time to give your first VAICOM command, in which case it might be Kobuleti or Batumi.

If you have the newer 64 bit version of VoiceAttack then you must not use the VAICOM installer, because it installs the VAICOM files in the old location of VoiceAttack and so VoiceAttack doesn't see the files. Instead download the ZIP file version of VAICOM and unzip it to the plugins folder of your VoiceAttack installation. Then restart VoiceAttack and the subfolders should be created.

Is it only AIRIO that isn't working for you, or are you having trouble with other VAICOM commands at the same time?

Since Jester is from Heatblur while George and Petrovich are from Eagle Dynamics I can easily imagine that the underlying code is quite different and that Hollywood will need more time to implement the AI helicopter crews, if he plans to do so.

Here is a bit more explanation on top of MAXsenna's advice: Your call is going to Kutaisi since that was the nearest ATC at the start of the mission and thus is the ATC that is "selected" by VAICOM by default until you change it. Your command syntax for switching it to Batumi is incorrect, and so when you give the "inbound" it goes to Kutaisi instead (and with easy comms on the radio is tuned to Kutaisi first, by DCS, not VAICOM). The fix is to give a valid "Select" command before you make the inbound call. So "Batumi <pause> Select" followed by "Inbound" as a separate command should work. In theory you should be able to say "Batumi <pause> Inbound" instead, provided "Instant Select" is checked, but I haven't tried that. Always give the recipient first, followed by a short pause, followed by the command.

Are you looking for help or just venting? If the former, give us some more detailed info.

FYI, this is an old, obsolete thread, and you are not likely to get much attention here. A long time ago VAICOM support shifted to its own subforum at https://forums.eagle.ru/forum/329-vaicom/. I suggest you look there for answers. In fact, Hollywood has posted that support for LANTIRN commands will be rolled out only after those enhancements become part of the Stable version of DCS. And there is a thread giving you a workaround using the Heatblur wheel in the meantime.

My experience exactly.

Returning to the JF-17 after a long time flying other modules I'm going through the training again. On the anti-ship training mission, as soon as I launch the missile it vanishes from the game. A few seconds later there is a strange sound. The missile shows as launched in the mission debriefing, but it does not appear in-game using either the F10 map or F6 view. And if you view the launch from the F2 outside view the missile doesn't really launch. Rather it just disappears from the pylon. Track file, mission debrief log, and DCS log files are attached. All of this is with the current DCS Open Beta version. dcs.log mission.log Training-09-Anti-ship Missile.miz_26102021_21-28.trk

From memory, I think that is correct. You can create the registry entry using VAICOM itself. Specify the "use custom path" option and specify the directory you want, move the sliders to "stable" and check "fix registry entry" and then I think VAICOM will create the registry entry when you restart it. You will need to change those settings back (and in particular uncheck the custom path box) and restart again afterwards.

This came up in a thread about something else. Credit goes to @Shane45 for the idea, but I thought this is an important answer to a FAQ that deserves its own thread: To use both the Heatblur Jester Wheel in the F-14 and the ARIO voice commands for Jester in the same mission simply: 1. Make sure VoiceAttack is not running when you start the mission. 2. Start VoiceAttack (and thus VAICOM PRO / AIRIO) once you are sitting in your Tomcat. You will find that the Jester wheel (the Heatblur one) works, and you can give voice commands to Jester. You can even use the "Jester, Options" command, but it brings up the Heatblur wheel without making the cockpit disappear, and you can then use the "Take xx" commands!" This seems like a great way to learn Jester commands, and should let you use the new ones even if VAICOM voice support for them isn't ready yet. The only downside is that the DCS file editing that VAICOM PRO does when it starts will be ignored until the next time you restart DCS. This means that after a DCS update you need to run VAICOM PRO once, then exit VoiceAttack, then follow the instructions above.

It's true! I just tested it. You can have both. This is an important new piece of information for the VAICOM community and I'm going to post it (with credit to @Shane45) as a separate thread.

Are you saying that if you start VA after dropping into the Tomcat pit you have both the Heatblur Jester wheel AND the AIRIO voice commands from VAICOM? A lot of people would like to have both but I've been under the impression you could not have both at once.

Did you do the "Finish" step? If you did that after installing a fresh profile and still have the problem then I suspect you have a corrupted keyword database. This happens occasionally for reasons I don't understand. You need to do a reset on the database. (In fact, I've generally found that it's rarely the profile that is the problem, but rather the database.) Also, if you have a bunch of aliases imported from the F10 menu then you may have to delete those and recreate them. These are matched to actions via internal IDs and I suspect those sometimes change when a mission or DCS is updated.