jaylw314

I have heard on the RAZBAM discord that using the laser for ranging was actually effective out just past 14 nm slant range, but I have not been able to confirm the laser for spotting and guidance is actually effective out past 8 nm. Has anyone heard this or confirmed this?

If it's a stationary target that is not at the programmed coordinates, you can lase briefly, then stop lasing and/or turn away MAYBE. The GBU-54 does not immediately nose down if it's conserving energy, so it may not be able to see the ground depending on the altitude. So lasing briefly then running only works if the area is within the GBU-54's FOV, and you don't really know when that will happen.

Ooooh, so when it says 'SP' for sequence point, it uses the one from the UFC? That makes sense

I think the designation uses the elevation of the target point or sequence point in PB17, not the UFC

I believe RAZBAM stated their plan was to prioritize keeping the online one here updated rather than the installed manual, since that one could be affected by patch delays

In the DCS manual, RAZBAM has some icons next to it to disambiguate it as well, but with all the other planes and languages out there, there's still bound to be some people who will switch the two.

And just to further the confusion, it's Auto Acq DEPRESS (or press) that returns to search, not Auto Acq down (or aft). I wish we had a standard terminology for those actions

A hypothetical example might be an instruction to stay west of the line between waypoint 4 and waypoint 5 (for deconfliction or politics, perhaps). If want to be in MISSION mode instead of FLT PLN mode for whatever reason, you can change the attribute of waypoint 5 to be TO-TO. Now you can just turn the CRS to vaguely the correct heading, and if you keep the needle on the right, you are guaranteed by the GPS database to be west of that line. OTOH, dialing in the expected course on the CRS while in TO-FROM mode requires you to be precise with the dial, and it doesn't take into account any compass or instrument errors. Even if you can dial in the precision of the CRS needle to within 1 degree, that's a mile of error if the waypoints are 60 miles apart. If you REALLY need GPS precision between two waypoints, TO-TO is the way to go. Of course, in most cases, FLT PLN would be the easier answer, but it amounts to the same thing

"TDC depress" isn't anywhere on the chart, but it should either go in the TDC section or the Trigger section Edit: just checked, not in the most recent manual update either

Then that's another fix to put in the typo bin for the manual

You can always remove the waypoint clutter from waypoints by flipping the STEERPT switch on the AAP to MARK, then you will only have markpoints and your one current steerpoint with the default HMCS setup. Given that many JTAC-coordinated CAS engagements are done by visual references, markpoints are pretty useful. I think you can still enter and edit waypoints as well. Of course, if you're like me and use markpoints liberally, you now have your HMCS cluttered by markpoints

IIRC, the other non-functional dimming controls are the UHF repeater and the clock

It's supposed to be just half-trigger in HRM for the expand function, according to the most recent manual. In Notso's video, you can hear him say "half-action trigger pull", so that seems to jive:

That being said, the WSO controls were previously AFU, and TDC press actually was inadvertently used for HRM expand. I don't think it's supposed to have any function according to the manual. I think they fixed this more recently, but haven't checked.

OK, that is hella cool info and pics, thank you! Did not realize some have adjustable f-stops

Out of curiosity, are the NVG's you used really unable to focus close up? I knew someone who claimed to have worked maintenance on A-10's, and he claimed the NVG's did not really have that limitation

Yeah, I remember a lot of questions about that earlier and didn't realize it was a core change since I never use it

That kind of defeats the purpose of the Easy Comms option?? I mean, realism but sheesh

OK, then the current implementation does look like that--I have enough space to peek under the NVG's. The implementation has changed over the years, there were some times the lenses took up 75% of the width of the FOV, which didn't leave enough room to peek under or around them, but this current one actually seems consistent with your description. However, it seems to be implemented this way with at least one other module, I assume different aircraft would have different configurations

Yikes, I remember there was some sound changes a couple years ago...

Hmm, most VR headsets have an FOV about 80-100 deg or so, so a 40 degree eyepiece would be completely doable in VR. Does the image go away when you are not looking directly at the eyepiece, or can you see the image in your peripheral view when you look away (like binoculars)? The first effect would probably be tough to do in VR but would be neat/annoying

I've heard opposite things about NVG's from two different buddies who worked in maintenance. I just haven't gotten them in the same room at the same time to hash it out FWIW, in VR, the NVG's now seem to subtend an angle of about 50-60 degrees, so if it's a 1" eyepiece, it'd be about 1"-1.5" away from your eye.

The most recent RAZBAM manual still notes the TACAN mode of the autopilot is not implemented yet. I know they've played with the altitude hold gains, but it still does seem a bit off. I've found messing with pitch trim after the autopilot is engaged helps, so I wonder if it has problems when you're not exactly trimmed to 1.0G before engaging it

If you LOAD DSMS instead of LOAD ALL, it takes about 5 seconds vs 15 seconds

IIRC it includes both, but they are downloaded separately, so you have to select both of them from the module manager. I am unsure how it works with DCS Steam version