bonesvf103

I've been noticing lately in TWS that Jester may hook a contact (it is bright) but no data comes up on it (Altitude, Range, BR, TA, nor target number). It is our contact, not a datalink one. Since it is bright and highlighted, shouldn't that mean he hooked it and thus shouldn't that data come up? This doesn't happen all the time but enough for me to notice it. Also, when Jester does something like change the radar range display, the TID repeater in the HDI blanks out for quite a long time (3 sec+) before coming back in the newly selected range. If I'm trying to track the target while cranking, this messes me up. Why does the screen blank out? When I have a human RIO and he switches range on the TID, it doesn't black out in the front like when Jester does it. Is Jester learning to IFF contact? So many times he will hook a friendly contact or allow the TWS to assign a target number to it because he either didn't IFF it or change it in the CAP. If he has a target number assigned to a friendly, is there any way to tell him to drop that one? Especially if it is say #2 out of 3 rather than #1 u t of 3 or even by itself? I recall that when in TWS-M, you are able to designate and assign target numbers arbitrailty but can't seem to remember how...anyone able to refresh my memory? Can't find it in the manual either. v6, boNes

I had the X52 and have since gone to the X55 but programming it is basically the same. Here is what I do and what you have to keep in mind. The mode witch really is not meant to be another button or function. It is to select another set of keybinding that is set in the same profile. So if you didn't have a mode selection knob and as an example only had 4 buttons, you only get 4 buttons to do 4 things. But with the mode selection knob you would have only 4 buttons but you would now be able to have your HOTAS do 12 different things (4 things per mode). So what I do is I have mode 1 set up with a bunch of pilot key commands. If I switch to the RIO seat, then I turn the knob to mode 2, and I now have RIO commands. If I use LANTIRN, then I switch to mode 3 and I have RIO LANTIRN commands. Something else I do is actually use the profile software to generate keystrokes and then in DCS, for a function, I put the keystroke in under "keyboard" rather than pressing a joystick button under "joystick." Otherwise, I am limiting my button to only that function. For instance if I had it in mode 1 and I wanted button 1 to fire the gun, I can't have button 1 do anything else because DCS doesn't sense that I am in mode 1, it just receives commands from the mode the HOTAS is set to. So if I have mode 1 button 1 to fire the gun and mode 2 button 1 to open the canopy but in DCS I set button 1 mode 1 to fire the gun, if I try to enter open canopy under "joystick" as button 1 mode 2, it won't be able to tell the difference in modes and will say that that is already assigned to firing the gun. The other advantage of using the profile software is that you can set macros and advanced commands. So for instance, if you want button 1 to release weapons, go to external weapon view, then back to the cockpit view in one push, you can have it do that. You wouldn't be able to by just putting it into DCS as a button 1 command. The last advantage of using the profile software is when a new patch comes out that wipes out your keybindings and you can't find your DCS one or didn't make one or back it up. The HOTAS profile is independent of DCS, so if your key bindings get wiped out, you can just call up your profile, got to DCS, and for each function you have listed in your profile, go to it in DCS under "keyboard" and hit your button. The HOTAS will transmit the keystroke you programmed into your HOTAS and DCS will think you are keystoking and fill it in the "keyboard" column. Within a few minutes or less, you can have everything right again. v6, boNes

He's really starting to hurt my feelings but he says "OK" when I ask him to do something like "head straight" and then he does nothing. I'm trying to do something in the backseat and he is rolling right and diving. So yeah, Ice ignores pretty much any command I give him but he always acknowledges them. What is the problem? v6, boNes

When I use eyeballs and head control to point out a target, then tell Jester designate, I hear the beep, I see the command get accepted, but Jester does nothing. No symbology comes up for the drop and no talk on. What's wrong? Running V 2.5.27.0 v6, boNes

I did that but after I told him to designate, no symbology or talk on occurred v6, boNes

I was bombing a powerplant last night in MP and using eyeballs and fine tuning it with head adjustment, I had Jester designate the powerplant, but the symbology never came up so I had to drop manually without laser guidance. What's the best way to have Jester target "non-traditional" targets such as buildings? Thanks v6, boNes

In the cases where VAICOM Pro wasn't working, if I tuned ATC normally or use the menu it would work. v6, boNes

Yes, I do. AS for the scan range thing, when saying 2-5 it does work. v6, boNes

Thanks for your response! OK let me try saying 2-5 instead. I did not have import new module checked, but I did now and restarted it but it didn't do anything. v6, boNes

I have radios set to realistic and "select" function is activated. Whenever I say, for instance, "Nellis, select" it doesn't tune Nellis and I get a message from VAICOM Pro saying "Recipient Nellis AFB is currently not available." Also when I ask Jester to scan range say 25, he leaves the display at 50. It's hard to get him to scan the right range sometimes. What am I doing wrong? v6, boNes

Sorry, I can't get Jester to change range display to less via VAICOM Pro otherwise they wouldn't be so clustered together. But the radar would still see them the same regardless of the way it's displayed on the TID right? v6, boNes

IronMike, Still not having much lcuk. This time I did Dragon Tooth and I climbed up to nearly 40000 ft, gave a crank, saw the 4 bandits at 35000 or so. Got valid launch cues, turned nose back on, raised it about 15 degrees in full burn to give the Phoenixes as much oomph as possible, and launched all 4. I kept them illuminated on the nose, then with a slight crank. All 4 missiles missed. One looked beamed, the others looked chaffed, but some didn't even care about chaff or maneuvering, they just sailed on by. I dunno. What did I do wrong? Or is this just the AIM-54A mk47 being easily chaffed? v6, boNes Tacview-20220214-153429-DCS.zip.acmi

OK, thanks. I see in the one where you cranked, you only cranked maybe 20 degrees or something small like that and it still hit. So what would you say is the ideal amount of crank you should use? I've been using 40-50 ATA so that it would be harder for them to lock me (and easier for me to escape with only 40 deg left to beam) while still allowing my radar to see them. Is that excessive in this case being I'm shooting a Phoenix? OR is a little bit fine since the real point of the crank is to get the targets to separate as one tries to intercept me? Thanks. v6, boNes

I just watched it but is it the right tacview (20220204-210819-DCS.zip.acmi)? In it you are flying straight at them the whole time and get the 2 Phoenix kills. v6, boNes

IronMike, Again thanks, I'll practice this some more. With non Mk60 missiles, is there a different tactic? v6, boNes

Thanks again for the quick response, but I thought earlier you said to crank before firing so that the radar can see the targets as separate contacts better and thus give the missles better targets to see? That is why I fired off bore. I wanted to crank 40-50 ATA before getting the valid lock and firing. If we crank on the target then fire, are we to hold that crank the whole time until the missile goes pitbull to insure it sees the target fine? I would think so but then my question becomes what is the point of the T? It's supposed to be centered to keep the best amount of targets in the scan volume, but if we crank like that, there really is no point of the T anymore. So are you basically saying to crank all the way up to missile fire time in which case, go back nose on and then fire? Wouldn't that make the targets a mass of blips again and not give the Phoenix good distinct targets to seek? If doing it that way, after firing, can I crank to make it more difficult for the bandits to lock and fire on me? Or will that also screw up the phoenixes since my radar is off bore to see the targets? If the Phoenixes were AIM54As or AIM-54 (not C) what would be the procedure then? Also as a safeguard I flew up to 30,000 and fired as I was passing through 15 deg nose up so that by the time the missile fired I'd be 20-30 nose up to give them that toss. v6, boNes

So it worked OK then...but now, I do the same mission over and over and fly it the same way and now my missiles seem to hit only 20% of the time. Most of the time I watch the missiles go after they go bullseye and they always got close to the MiGs and never detonate even though they were close enough, or the MiG somehow just gets out of the way. He was chaffing, but well before the missile even got there. I don't get it I'm just starting to feel like this is literally hit or miss. v6, boNes Tacview-20220210-165233-DCS.zip

IronMike, Update: Well, I'll be...! v6, boNes

OK, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the insight that yes tactics and feel must be reconsidered. v6, boNes

I should be more clear and tell you that by 25 nm, I meant the missile went pitbull when the target was 25 nm from ME not when it was 25 nm from the missile. Anyway here is the video clip. I didn't record it until after missile launch but I think there is enough visible there to see the situation...including my getting shot down since I was watching the lost missile track the whole time, haha. I have some video of the previous tests from angels 20 or so, but since the angels 30 one was supposed to be the best case scenario for the Phoenix, I figured this is the better video. v6, boNes

1. The target was not extrapolated. 2. Targets went co altitude or just below me 3. TA was RT3 4. Phoenix went pitbull at 25 nm 5. at 15 nm the one Phoenix was in negative countdown, the other hit at about 15 nm from me After the missile missed, it was headed down to the water, then went level, then climbed up, then disappeared from external view Now if I lost lock on the second guy, would that had happened with him coming right at me instead of notching? Would countermeasures do that? I don't know but in the video I had a solid lock on him, no extrapolation, to the point that the countdown went negative. Your bandits were chaffing and flaring heavily and your missiles still hit. Could it be that my patch didn't have the update? I know HB mentioned before that they've submitted updates that for some reason wasn't in the patch but then was in the next one. Maybe I should check file integrity? I mean when you hit them, you seemed to be under the same conditions as me. Yet after 5+ tried, my missiles never hit until that one TacView I posted... Oh and you mentioned that when the AI realizes it has been launched on, they drop lock. I never knew that, is that all AI? How do you know that they realized it? The spike stops? v6, boNes

Here's a tacview of the last engagement I described where I climbed up to 30000+ and launched. As you can see, the MiGs weren't even maneuvering. The one Pheonix just lofted up and went over his head and came down into the water as he passed. v6, boNes Tacview-20220204-134017-DCS.zip.acmi

I'm not seeing any changes. Whereas the missiles seemed bonked before today's patch, they still seem the same now. I did the Persian Gulf Instant Action stock mission called "BVR". I fired 2 Phoenix-C missiles at MiG-29s in TWS-A. Target altitude was about angels 25, mine was about angels 23. Both missiles went pitbull at about 25 miles range and both missed. This occurred when I cranked after firing, placing the targets at ATA 50. It also occured when I didn't crank at all and left them on the nose ATA 0 and TA was 0. It also occurred when I told Jester to set the target size to large. Up to now, I can't get a single hit out of the Phoenix. EDIT: OK did another test, same conditions. They were at angels 25, this time I went up to angels 33 or so. No crank, TA ~0, ATA 0. One Phoenix hit, the other flew ahead in a dive, then it would climb, then it would dive, then it would climb, then it would self destruct or just disappear from external view. This was after the remaining Fulcrum had closed range to less than 20 nm from me and later merged. His TA was always between 0-3 RT pretty much the whole time so he wasn't even notching. v6, boNes

Thanks for the quick response! Now that's customer service! I would very much like the Final Countdown mission! Hope you get around to that. v6 boNes

Does anyone recall if it was Normandy 1944 or the Channel that had stock instant action Tomcat missions? I recall one where you went up against Mirages. Thanks. v6, boNes