Extra Beacons Mod

This mod contains a Beacons.lua mod for both NTTR and Normandy on version 2.1.0, to implement a number of currently working VORTAC, VOR/DME, VOR, and TACAN stations, as well as a number of historic and current NDBs in Southern California, Northern Arizona, and Western Utah.

For NTTR, all historic frequencies and identifiers were confirmed by the Western Historic Radio Museum, with documentation at http://www.radioblvd.com.

While a number of Nevada NDBs are no longer in operation (and all are slowly being phased out in the United States), I've implemented them

to give some navigation aids for non-NATO aircraft.

For US NAVAIDs, active NDBs and beacons were located based on data from AirNav's database. This should be accurate within a meter. For European NAVAIDs, I used a mix of web sources. All beacons are placed at ground level (mission editor altitude conversion), ignoring the height of any structure associated with an antenna.

In a few cases, I manually adjusted former/decomissioned NDBs to place them as runway markers. In real life, they may or may not have been

co-located with other navigation equipment.

NTTR Beacons added with this mod:

Modern/Currently Active:

• VORTAC: BLYTHE, CLOVIS, DRAKE, EDWARDS, EL TORO, FRIANT, HAZEN, HECTOR, LAKE HUGHES, PALMDALE, PALM SPRINGS, PARKER, THERMAL, TUCSON, TUBA CITY, TWENTYNINE PALMS
  
• VOR/DME: FLAGSTAFF, PAGE, TULE, VAN NUYS, VICTORVILLE
  
• VOR: HOMELAND, RIVERSIDE
  
• NDB: CHANDLER, COMPTON, EL MONTE, GEN WILLIAM J FOX, FALCON FIELD, ORANGE COUNTY, PACOIMA, RENO, SALYER FARMS, TOOELE
  
• TACAN: China Lake NAWS, Coyote (Twentynine Palms ELF), Fallon NAS, Luke AFB, Michael Army Airfield
  

Historic:

• VORTAC: Basecamp AEC (1985)
  
• NDB: Basecamp (2009), Cedar City (2006), Dugway PG (2006), Groom Lake (2006), RENO (October, 2013), Tonopah Test Range (2006)
  

View in mission editor ( version 8 ):

Normandy beacons added with this mod:

Modern/Currently Active:

• VORTAC: CAMBRAI EPINOY, EVREUX FAUVILLE, KOKSY
  
• VOR/DME: ABBEVILLE, CHARTRES LA LOUPE, DINARD, EPERNON, GUERNSEY, JERSEY, LQN, BERRY HEAD, DOVER, GOODWOOD, LYDD, MAYFIELD, MIDHURST, OCKHAM, SOUTHHAMPTON
  
• VOR: BEAUVAIS, BIGGIN, BOULOGNE SUR MER, CAEN CARPIQUET, DEAUVILLE, NORMANDIE, DIEPPE, L`AIGLE, MONTDIDIER, PONTOISE, ROUEN, SEAFORD
  
• NDB: ALBERT BRAY, AMIENS-GLISY, BEAUVAIS, BLACKBUSHE, BOURNEMOUTH HURN, BREST, BREST GUIPAVAS, BRISTOL, CAEN CARPIQUET, CALAIS, CHERBOURG, DIEPPE ST.AUBIN, DINARD, EPSOM, FAIROAKS, GUERNSEY, JERSEY, LANDIVISIAU, LANNION, LASHENDEN/HEADCORN, LE HAVRE, LE TOUQUET, LEE ON SOLENT, LILLE, LYDD, MANSTON, MERVILLE CALONNE, MERVILLE, MIDDLE WALLOP, PLYMOUTH, ROCHESTER, SAINT BRIEUC, SAINT INGLEVERT, SHOREHAM, SOUTHHAMPTON, VILLACOUBLAY, YEOVIL
  

Historic:

• NDB: NORTH FORELAND (1986)
  

View in mission editor ( version 8 ):

Version history:

1: initial list of beacons

2: added Base Camp VORTAC on 113.9MHz, decommissioned ~1985, per http://www.ufomind.com/area51/org/basecamp/

3: re-did conversion of all position information via mission editor scripting, and added a number of additional beacons

4: add EL TORO and COYOTE, fixes for ST GEORGE (channel), VICTORVILLE (callsign), China Lake NAWS (beacon position), Fallon NAS (ID, channel, beacon position), Luke AFB (beacon position)

5: implement Tarres' suggestions to improve navigation on the Ka-50 (eliminate AIRPORT beacon type at non-airport locations, and name all beacons)

6: add a name to the KTNX NDB to improve Ka-50 navigation (missed in v5)

7: update beacon list to work with NTTR 2.0.4 by removing duplicates: DAGGETT, HECTOR, NEEDLES, SILVERBOW, GRAND CANYON, KINGMAN, CEDAR CITY, COLORADO CITY, ST GEORGE

8: added full set of Normandy beacons, updated for 2.1.0

9: update name -> display_name in the beacon lua

Enjoy!

--gos

Extra Beacons Mod_v9.zip

Updated v2 with BASE CAMP VORTAC on 113.9MHz, decommissioned ~1985

Thanks! Appreciated.

You're welcome! Just did a ferry flight from Luke AFB to Nellis. =P

Going to go through airnav/skyvector and add a few more VORTACs I think. Been digging a few hours, and can't find the frequencies of some of the older NDBs, so probably will just leave them out.

Thanks, just what was needed (hope ED will make it standard for the NTTR).

Hopefully, ED will do something similar for the Caucus map and add "historical" RSBN beacons in Georgia to match the 1980? L-39/MiG-21.

Just wish there was a way to correct DCS's PAPI lights.

Great work mate:thumbup:

Great work mate:thumbup:

Unfortunately, while functional in the radio/nav systems, putting them into beacons.lua doesn't actually make the various VORTAC objects show up on the map. Need something like your mission template to be able to actually "see" the objects.

Thanks, just what was needed (hope ED will make it standard for the NTTR).

 

Hopefully, ED will do something similar for the Caucus map and add "historical" RSBN beacons in Georgia to match the 1980? L-39/MiG-21.

 

Just wish there was a way to correct DCS's PAPI lights.

My mod is a "hack" as I don't have the core mapping tools to provide exact coordinate conversion. I had to approximate all the positions of objects in-game, since the map is designed in meters of x:y:z for position, but what I had was latitude/longitude/altitude. My conversion is only an approximation to within 1km or so, then hand-tuned where I could.

As to historical Georgian/Russian data, do you have any source information? I wouldn't begin to know how to search in either of those languages.

(BTW, the MiG-21bis has its own, private RSBN implementation done by Leatherneck. It doesn't use any of the "standard" beacons. Are you asking for it to have fewer RSBN stations?)

in export.lua, you can call Ed function to do such conversion and print them out

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

in export.lua, you can call Ed function to do such conversion and print them out

seriously?

holy christ, I spent 5 hours adjusting them by hand

LOL

Great mod Gospadin.

PM sent.

As to historical Georgian/Russian data, do you have any source information? I wouldn't begin to know how to search in either of those languages.

I haven't found any sources (using Google) and given that AFAIK RSBN is only used on military AB, ED would need to use their knowledge of Georgia's '80s Nav aids prior to westernisation/upgrades and artistic licence.

(BTW, the MiG-21bis has its own, private RSBN implementation done by Leatherneck. It doesn't use any of the "standard" beacons.

I'm aware Leatherneck (and Veao) have their own custom beacon data files. IMHO it'd be better if each map had a standard data set used by all modules and Leatherneck, etc. didn't have to add special support every time ED or a 3rd party added a new map or made a change.

Are you asking for it to have fewer RSBN stations?)

The L-39 has no RSBN equipped runways or beacons in Georgia ATM.

Although perhaps accurate today I'm not sure it was always so.

I hope ED and Leatherneck make a compromise and switch to a common data set for DCS 2.0 even though doing so might adversely affect the number of MiG-21 Nav aids. It really depends on what was available in Georgia and if ED are going to "hard baked" a time period into the Georgia map (given we have WW2 to 2K aircraft in DCS and simulate many different conflicts in the sandbox that is DCS World).

It really depends on what was available in Georgia and if ED are going to "hard baked" a time period into the Georgia map (given we have WW2 to 2K aircraft in DCS and simulate many different conflicts in the sandbox that is DCS World).

I'm actually working on a modification to my beacon mod, that would let you select a year, and only populate the beacons that were present at that time (for NTTR). Most of the navigation infrastructure has been unchanged for a while now, so it'd only affect 2 beacons unless you go back to 1984 or earlier.

However, I'm stuck in lua debug heck right now, so not sure it'll get fully baked.

Version 3 posted, up to 50 modern and historic navigation aids. Added an overview pic to first post too.

All positions have been modified to use the mission editor environment for X:Y:Z conversion from airnav or google maps data. All hand-positioning has been removed as it's no longer necessary.

Great work Gospadin!

Have you received the link that I sent you?

Ramsay, RSBN is for civil and military air navigation. PRMG is only for military use.

Until the breakup of the USSR, there was RSBN stations at Batumi, Tbilisi and other airfields.. I have sent the data to Gospadin.

Sounds good.

And it may actually help people navigating by radio beacons a lot.

Thank you!

Have you received the link that I sent you?

Yes, downloaded it but haven't gone through it in detail.

On a side note, I haven't been able to get the VOR/DME stations to work properly. Similarly, stations that use a "Y" TACAN frequency don't work either. Trying to see if it's something I can fix or not without changing the channels or converting them to VORTACs.

Maybe the Y channels are tied/reserved for Airborne or Naval TACANs in DCS?

About the VOR/DME, there is no airplane that uses the VOR/DME system, maybe it´s related to this.

Theoretically the Huey should be able to get bearing to VOR or VOR/DME beacons, but I wasn't able to get it to work last night. I must be doing something wrong.

In the USA, there are definitely VOR/DME stations that use the "Y" channels:

http://www.airnav.com/cgi-bin/navaid-info?FLG

http://www.airnav.com/cgi-bin/navaid-info?CSX

Yes you are right. Maybe some implementation bug.

Is the Huey VOR system working in the NTTR map with the last update?

About the RSBN in the Caucasus, these are the RSBN stations (only RSBN, not PRMG) in the Caucasus area before the breakup of the USSR (from FSX/Xplane soviet aviation data, but it´s the most accurate that I have found)

Format: LAT/LONG/Morse code/Channel

Anapa: 44º59.9/37º20.3/AB/36

Sochi: 43º24.1/39º56.9/RC/23

Min-Vody: 44º13.5/43º05.6/7NR/33

Sukhumi: 42º52.0/41º07.0/AV/24

Batumi: 41º36/41º35/not available/04

Kutaisi: 42º11.0/42º28.0/UY/21

Tbilisi: 41º40/44º57/RF/26

After the breakup, a lot of RSBN were closed and changed for western systems (VOR) to allow navigation for the newer western planes that the new airlines bought, and for political and cots reasons.

RSBN are now basically a military system, this is the reason that we only have RSBN stations in Russian AFB in the Caucasus map, circa 2008.

As you said, I hope that in the medium/long term we will be able to select "time frames" for the map navigation aids.

Hi gospadin,

great work! If I have an separate server, does any client need this mod or is it enough to install it on the server?

Navigation is calculated locally, so i believe everyone would need it.

Yes, we used it and everyone needs to have it installed.

Gospadin, I´ve made a small change in the definition of a pair of beacons to "Homer" to be able to make it work better, to have the beacon listed in the KA-50 right datacard of the ARK channels.

Yes, we used it and everyone needs to have it installed.

 

Gospadin, I´ve made a small change in the definition of a pair of beacons to "Homer" to be able to make it work better, to have the beacon listed in the KA-50 right datacard of the ARK channels.

can you PM me your change so i can include it in the base package? :pilotfly:

Edit: does your change force it to match one of the existing frequencies in the mission editor? If so, i'll maybe make that available separately, for those willing to sacrifice realism for usability.

btw I found a few typos that I need to clean up too.

Also, FAA is disabling a bunch of the VORs, so more will technically become historical during 2016-2017. =\

thx!

--gos

PM sent.