sgilewicz

Kid18120, I have tried visual mode but even with illumination there isn't enough contrast for target ID. The RDN, I read both of those threads start to finish and will try some suggestions and will post my observations tonight. If no joy after trying the proposed "fixes" I will submit a bug report for what it is worth. Thanks to all!

So I have reached the final advanced training mission in Maple Flag's excellent qualification campaign (night deployment of AGM-65Ds and Hs against stationary and moving targets) and have come up against a strange issue. Watching Recon Stewart's video of this mission, it is obvious that he can see both the illuminated and non-illuminated targets clearly. When I fly this mission, however, the stationary illuminated targets are masked with billowing clouds of smoke (odd since it appears that the illumination flares are being dropped from height) which make target designation quite "iffy". Targets that move away from the illumination zone show up clearly on the TGP once away from the zone. I have tinkered extensively with the gain and level adjustments, as well as WHOT, BHOT and optical settings, and they help to a degree but I rarely am confident that my SPI is really spot on. Recon made this video of the 10th mission 4 years ago, so maybe something changed either in the mission script or the TGP itself. I have no problems with either IR or optical Mav deployment in daylight conditions or with non-illuminated targets at night using IR Mavs. After 3 weeks of thrashing with this I have decided to come to the experts! Many thanks for your assistance.

When do you recommend fencing out? And thanks for the explanations!

I've looked through the manual, Chuck's Guide and dozens of internet searches but haven't found a definitive answer to "when" to call fence in and fence out. I would think that fence in would be called after reaching the fence in waypoint and prior to the IP and fence out would be called after the egress point has been reached. If this is incorrect please set me straight. Thanks!

Likewise, I never hold the Shift button (or any button for that matter) when launching DCS. I have a shortcut for it on my desktop and just double click it. I am always able to get into DCS but being an old scientist (chemist), the need for explanation of the unexpected always kicks in! Glad to hear that it's not just me though. Thanks all!

As the title states I get reactivation requests for a week or so after a DCS World update. No hardware changes or device driver updates have been performed so the hardware isn't the issue. This is what I see: Activation is required. Enter your serial number and click "Next". Internet connection is required. My serial number (A-10C module) is already populated within the serial number entry field so I click "Next" and get the following: Activation with this serial number has already been performed and the license is still active. Run without reactivation? I click on "Yes" and the sim starts. This goes on for about a week and then stops. It has happened after each time a DCS update has been installed. It's not preventing me from flying the sim but I am concerned that there is a conflict between DCS and my system. Any ideas? Many thanks!

Yurgon, that worked! I couldn't find that anywhere. Thanks and much appreciated!

I believe so but will make sure this evening. Thanks!

Been doing a lot of night flying for the last few weeks and have noticed that the UFC doesn't appear to have any backlighting available. I've looked through all the documentation plus dozens of web searches but no joy. So the question: Can backlighting be enabled for the UFC? Thanks!

Night vision (and a great deal of lighting adjustments) did the trick! Night vision in particular was critical to get a good precontact sight picture. Another trick was to simply turn off the HUD display after precontact. No distractions! Thanks everyone!

Ricktoberfest & Yurgon, thanks for those observations. The AFT night AAR mission has no moonlight so I am inclined to take your approach Yurgon. Much appreciated. AMVI, there is a dial on the fuel control panel (upper left console) called RCVR LT that enables the flloodlight within the nose fuel receptacle to be turned on and adjusted. Whether it works correctly is beyond my skill level to address. It does help during contact but is essentially useless at precontact. My $0.02. Thanks guys!

Good suggestion and I may have to do just that but I have seen night AAR video where the the tanker outline is quite visible prior to precontact. I don't like the night vision because it is so grainy and limited FOV. But that may be necessary unless someone has a better idea(s). Thanks for your response!

First off: Thank you, everyone here, for all the help you provide! First class assistance all the way:thumbup: I have mastered daylight AAR and the forum suggestions in combination with YouTube training videos was key. Getting the proper sight picture at precontact along with a slight bit of curve on pitch and roll did the trick for me. Now, the problem I am encountering trying night AAR is being able to obtain a sight picture at precontact. Watching Recon Stewart's night AAR video in his AFT series shows a relatively useful sight picture. I, on the other hand, just see three bright lights until I am literally right behind the boom. Obviously I am not stable or in the correct receiving position as a result. I have tried dimming interior lighting and playing with the nose refueling brightness but, after several days of experimenting, only have marginal improvement (can get a 3-5 second contact after several laughable attempts). My gamma is set to 2.2 on a Samsung 32 inch 1920x1080 monitor. Any suggestions regarding your own methods for improving night vision of the tanker are most welcome. Thanks many times over!

I did. It seems related to how the waypoint is named. Pressing RSK3 after entering a waypoint name in the scratchpad is a no go for display of TOT data on the HUD. Pressing RSK1 after entering a waypoint name in the scratchpad seems to sort it out. I don't know why since the waypoint shows in the TAD both ways with the entered waypoint name. Puzzling!

I did see that video GTFF. Thanks. Unfortunately it didn't have any information regarding my issue. I have been able to get the Required Airspeed to display on the HUD, but why is somewhat mysterious. I was entering all parameters into the CDU then naming the waypoint and pressing RSK 3. This created the waypoint but without both Required Airspeed and delta TOT. By pressing RSK 1 to enter the waypoint name I now see the R airspeed and delta TOT. I'm glad it's working but does anyone have an explanation why RSK 3 creates the waypoint without R and delta TOT data?

Well I just spent two hours scouring the manual, this site and Google with no joy. I am working through the Maple Flag BFQ campaign and after entering my nav longitude, latitude, TOT and elevation the waypoint is created (ALL data entered via the CDU). Steerpoint dial is set to Mission and the Page dial is set to Other. The waypoint shows on the TAD but there is no required airspeed data on the HUD (No R value or delta data by the waypoint). It's probably something simple but I'm at a loss. Please help! Many thanks.

Hi All, The use of modifiers for the left and right throttle axes has worked quite well. Thanks for the guidance. A small question regarding keyboard commands for the throttles: What is the difference between "throttle up/down" and "throttle step up/down"? Again, thanks for the great assistance.

mvsgas and David OC, Marvelous idea! I am already using a button on my throttle as a modifier but I never thought of using it in conjunction with axis control. Yurgon, this would mean I don't have to mess with my deadzone settings (nice since the throttle is working well with the current settings). Many, many thanks and virtual beers to you all for your assistance!

Thanks for the quick replies. Both appear very good. I will experiment with each and see which works best for me. If successful I will post back. Thanks again. :thumbup:

I've worked my way through the training missions and have started the Basic Flight Qualification campaign. My gear is CH Products Fighter Stick, Pro Throttle and Saitek Pedals. Mission 2 in the BFQ campaign requires a single engine shutdown and restart. I have the Pro Throttle controlling both engines simultaneously and therein lies the problem. One engine needs to be shutdown while the other is kept at max power. The procedure also calls for moving the shut engine to idle (no setting for this on the Pro Throttle. Full disclosure: I am NOT using the CH software since it seems to have a penchant for blue screen IRQ deaths. If anyone is using CH gear and has a work around for single engine APU start please be kind to a struggling Hawg wannabe! Thanks:cry:

It seems that VAC will not execute commands related to cockpit switches and views. I purchased Voice Attack and all is good regarding voice command access to cockpit functions. Strange! Been using VAC for more than 10 years and this was the first time it failed me. That said, I am enjoying Voice Attack's powerful capabilities and ease of use!

Hi all, Been trying to get my cockpit panel views to respond to VAC commands: RCtrl, KP 0 = VAC command "Panel View" VAC recognizes my command when testing but in game nothing happens. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong or if views are restricted in some manner in game? Thanks for any input!

All is good. cthulhu68 many thanks and a virtual beer to you. Now to start learning how to use all these A-10 systems (seems very similar to Falcon BMS).

cthulhu68, it looks like you nailed it. I was programming in "Game" mode but flying SIM missions:cry: Looks like I will be reprogramming the controllers tomorrow (too late and frustrated tonight!). Many thanks for your keen observation. I will post back with my results. Salute!

Hello all. First time post and it's a frustrating one. I have set my CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle as posted by Blackbird (I am NOT using CH software. All assignments were made in DCS Options/Controller). The axes work fine. However, the button maps are there in the DCS options but are non-existent when flying. For example "Autopilot": The key is Q and the button is PT button 15. When I press button 15 in flight nothing happens but if I press Q then Autopilot is engaged. This is true for all other buttons on both controllers except the trigger on the FS. Similarly, the hat switches on each controller do not perform their assigned functions but simply pan views around the cockpit. I have tried this with Q deleted from the keyboard map to determine if keyboard and controller were in conflict but no joy. It appears that the DCS controller map is ignoring all none axis inputs from the CH controllers. I am probably doing something incorrectly but I have played Falcon 4 (all iterations), IL-2 Sturmovik (for the last 15 years!) and have used my CH gear successfully for 10 years. Hopefully one of you folks has an idea that I can try. Many, many thanks!