VAICOM 2.0 for VoiceAttack

[FalconFSX]

Maybe you have setup issues and it's not correctly detecting the comms mode. International keyboards can be an issue also. Make sure vaicom is correctly reading the game data and setting the comms mode. It tells you in the voice attack window, easy comms on or off, and whether its having errors reading files and stuff.

 

Seems like no matter what I do it thinks easy communication is enabled. I've attached a jpg with the log I see on start.

[FeistyLemur]

The fetch data command is failing to fetch the settings. Therefore it defaults to easy comms.

 

This is usually related to the path of where those are stored. Are you using the open beta install? Or maybe even the alpha 2.0 version? There's a note on the first page for open beta client users regarding that possibility.

[SparrowHawk003]

trouble using Vaicom 2 & Voice attack for Huey

 

Hi Guys,

 

For the Huey, And VoiceAttack And Vaicom 2.0:

 

Have downloaded all the necessary and it all seems to work quite well. Mapped my HOTAS button for PTT on latest version and Vaicom profile is working.

 

My own commands, which I have added work well, but I can hardly get any of the Vaicom 2.0 Huey profile commands to work.

 

perhaps I am just a git, and need to polish up on my radio speak?

 

Are there any good instructional videos that show the inner workings of the Vaicom profiles in game?

 

How do I get to see the Menu options, without memorising all?

 

Please help,

 

MickvH

[BSpike]

As I've been practicing with JTAC it seems kind of like it triggers stages based on distance to target, like popping smoke etc.

 

I was doing a practice one with the generic practice mission that's linked a few posts above. Anyway it seems to work best if you fly out a couple miles, request target while orbiting, acquire the target and do all the appropriate calls. There are quite a few steps.

 

However I had a similar issue with my last target last night, even doing this I would approach the target and JTAC would call abort. But I think this was because they had given me an expected attack vector as well. They can also do this and then you're expected to attack from a specific direction. Use your course set knob when they do this. I was using the attack vector, but I was definitely not right on it.

 

It's possible another unit destroyed the target already. That happens a lot in "shooting gallery" because there are a lot of other planes in the air.

 

One thing to look at is the problem I was having. For type 3 JTAC after they say clear to engage you must call "no mark" to skip the IP inbound stage. Basically if it's type three and it goes right to clear to engage after the readback, immediately call no mark to progress the call. This is not documented in the manual. But definitely works with type 3.

 

I went and tried that mission just now, it's type 3 JTAC, so you have to call no mark after clear to engage. That mission is also probably not the best for training, its fast paced with moving targets and it looks like it hardly gives you enough time to attack each group. If you miss or take too long JTAC seems to abort and go to the next. I managed to make an attack run on the first column, but missed, they called abort and I still got stuck anyway.

 

Thanks for the response,

 

you're right, perhaps this mission is not a good one for such purpose, but aborting is something which may happen in any other missions although rarely.

 

Do you mean that "No Mark" is the key? I mean did you manage to go further with "Ready to Copy" for next task?

[Tic-Tac]

Am having problems getting ATC to respond to requests using VAICOM profile and Voice Attack, even though the commands seem to be recognized. I am using the latest DCS 1.5 beta and noticed the static ATC plugin needed for VAICOM does not seem to work with 1.5 as highlighted by the author (https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=138994). Does this mean VAICOM will not work with 1.5? anyone have it working?

Edited September 3, 2016 by Tic-Tac

[BSpike]

Both of them do work with 1.5 and Static ATC mod is a must.

Am having problems getting ATC to respond to requests using VAICOM profile and Voice Attack, even though the commands seem to be recognized. I am using the latest DCS 1.5 beta and noticed the static ATC plugin needed for VAICOM does not seem to work with 1.5 as highlighted by the author (https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=138994). Does this mean VAICOM will not work with 1.5? anyone have it working?

Edited September 3, 2016 by BSpike

[Tic-Tac]

Thanks for the response, as long as I know someone else has it working...back to the trouble shooting!

[FeistyLemur]

I use static ATC with 1.5 and it works fine.

 

Some quirks I've found with ATC.

 

1: Nalchick is misspelled as Malchick in the profiles, see note on first page. If you're practicing while calling Nalchick it will confuse and frustrate you.

 

2: At least with the A-10 module, It seems like calling the airfield you're already tuned to by name doesn't work. Like if you start your sortie at Krymsk and Vaicom is pre-tuned to Krymsk, and call "Krymsk startup", it doesn't seem to work right for me. Calling "Tower startup" when you're already tuned to a specific ATC seems best. You can sit on the runway and practice this with the radio off even. Just sit there and call "Anapa Options" "Batumi Options", etc, to practice tuning through the stations. Calling "Name Options" seems like enough to tune to a specific field. Keep in mind your radio tuning is separate from Vaicom "tuning" in hard comms.

 

3: I may be wrong on this but I think you are expected to always use VHF1 for ATC even in the A-10 which has 3 radios which can be configured to contact ATC.

 

4: The names of the stations differ by module. You can for example call Mozodok all day in the Black Shark and you won't get it, because the names are different. It's "Assistant" in that module. Always read the documentation specific to your module to learn the appropriate ATC names list for that module. What's even more confusing here, is they differ from what the map says. So in the shark you look at the map and it says Mozdok on the map, but that's not what calls it. My presumption is that he matched the call name to how the ATC controller voice over responds for realism. So you don't call Mozdok startup, and hear back Assistant, clear for startup.

 

5: Probably the most useful tip I can think of is learning the right cadence to speaking commands. On multipart commands try not to mash words. Don't call "Nalchick inbound", for example. Call "Nalchick", brief pause, "Inbound". Once you get used to the cadence of issuing the different commands it all works a lot better.

Edited September 3, 2016 by FeistyLemur

[Tic-Tac]

thanks for the tips! Seems my problem might have been/was a combo of the non US keyboard '\' issue and a conflict with F keys from my TrackIR...seem to be on my way now, at least A10C start up, taxi and clear for take off!

[kirk491]

Viacom 2.0 is amazing. I am pretty much computer illiterate. To put this in perspective

I had a hard time learning to use jsgme. I followed the instructions to the T and it works

No problem. I also have all the extra mods. Thank you for your time and effort put into this.

It is an awesome edition to an awesome sim.

[Tic-Tac]

Final part of the jigsaw (I hope!), if I enable 'chatter' I get following error in voice attack window (all other functionality continues to work as expected)

Sound initialization timeout: C:\Program Files (x86)\VoiceAttack\Apps\VAICOM\Sounds\Chatter\2014-07-24_14-38-46.aac

 

Any ideas? (I'm on Windows 10)

[FeistyLemur]

I've noticed the chatter gets quirky with the current version of voice attack. I never use it, but I accidentally turned it on and it timed out after a while too.

 

I never noticed the time out in the .8 version of voice attack I was using up till a week or so ago. But again I seldom had it on so not the best test.

[Tic-Tac]

in case anyone is interested, I tracked down the cause and solved the lack of 'chatter' problem. The path to the .aac files is hardcoded into the profile, so it's only a problem if you've installed Voice attack anywhere but default C drive. Easiest way to fix is to find each instance of 'C:\Program Files (x86)\VoiceAttack\Apps\VAICOM' in the profile and 'replace all' the path up to 'VAICOM' with {VA_APPS}, so all after edit each line should read <Location>{VA_APPS}\VAICOM\Sounds\Chatter\XXX.aac</Location>, where XXX is the name of each .ACC file. Works for me but back up first just in case, that means export your current profile (with joystick set up etc) not just save the file with a different name.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Tic-Tac

[Hollywood_315]

Thanks guys,

 

@nguludi PM sent. Feisty's tips are good, check #5 specifically

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2892067&postcount=434

 

@FeistyLemur

I may be wrong on this but I think you are expected to always use VHF1 for ATC even in the A-10 which has 3 radios which can be configured to contact ATC.

This is correct for Easy Comms ON but with Easy Comms OFF you can use any radio.

[BigMillerTime]

Hi guys. Looking for some help.

 

I'm getting the error: Could not find file 'C:\Program Files (x86)\VoiceAttack\Apps\VAICOM\Tools\TEMP\mission.lua'.

 

When looking in the temp directory that it is searching for, there is no .miz

 

I have seen another user post the same error, but his solution was PM'd. Thanks in advance.

[Hollywood_315]

The URI messages indicate that mission data could not be read by VAICOM.

This is normal if DCS is not running.

 

The messages should be gone after Start Mission voice command:

if they persist note which DCS version you're using and check the note for 1.5 openbeta users attached to first post.

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2671397&postcount=242

 

Grtz

[das Rindvieh]

First I want to say thx for this, it´s really great. I don´t want to fly without vaicom.

The UHF/VHF selection only works when EasyComms OFF and only with the A10C right? Any plans for an update for the mirage too? It´s only working with EasyComms ON... I´ve tried to import the A10C Push to talk commands, but i can´t get it working...

[Hollywood_315]

Hey thanks :thumbup:

 

The A-10C has separate PTTs for VHF and UHF radios, used in both Easy Comms ON and OFF modes.

 

The M-2000C profile also works with Easy Comms ON and OFF.

You may need to read the separate PDF that came with the profile.

 

The Mirage uses a single PTT radio transmit key: VHF1.

With Easy Communications set to OFF, user has to manually set the radio to be used (AUX or MAIN) using the HOTAS rocker switch,

and select the correct frequency/preset for the recipient.

[das Rindvieh]

Hey thanks :thumbup:

 

The A-10C has separate PTTs for VHF and UHF radios, used in both Easy Comms ON and OFF modes.

 

The M-2000C profile also works with Easy Comms ON and OFF.

You may need to read the separate PDF that came with the profile.

 

The Mirage uses a single PTT radio transmit key: VHF1.

With Easy Communications set to OFF, user has to manually set the radio to be used (AUX or MAIN) using the HOTAS rocker switch,

and select the correct frequency/preset for the recipient.

 

:doh: My bad... You are right...not slept enough..don´t know, what I thought :doh: THX

[sc_neo]

So i have set up Vaicom yesterday and it works pretty well with 1.5, although i guess i still have to train win 7's voice recognition a bit further. Thank you very much, i have taken a look into the VA command list....and this stuff looks pretty advanced and comprehensive.

 

Now, as stated in the manual and in the opening post, 2.0 is another story. Whats the current state of Vaicom 2.0 and NTTR?

 

I have a couple of questions towards the limitations of Vaicom and the Nevada map.

 

1.) Installing ''VAC_ATC_Menu_Mod_and_MacroBuilder-v1.1'' into DCS World 2 OpenAlpha does more harm than good and messes the radio menu up, right?

 

2.) For 1.5 i manually have to edit the VAICOM_fetch_data.cmd in Voice Attack and alter this line ''COPY /Y %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp\DCS.openbeta\tempMission.miz TEMP\tempMission.zip'' so it works with the 1.5 openbeta.

 

Do i have to change that line so it reads openalpha instead of beta? It seems to fetch the data alright in NTTR even when i leave that line ...\Temp\DCS.openbeta...

 

3.) Is the ATC communication the only problematic thing, or is everything affected? Coms with my wing, Jtac and Awacs seem to be working, right?

 

This can be absolutely incredible...especially the coms with the flight wing...

[Hollywood_315]

Hey neo - thanks, yes correct 2.0 NTTR is not fully working yet.

The static ATC mod is not updated for v2.0 (although I did hear from Wartsell that he was looking into it)

so there we need to have some more patience. Also the complete ATC build seems not to have been implemented in NTTR yet by ED.

 

Regarding the other stuff wingmen, AWACS etc. that should work in principle although also there ED may not have finalized everything so results in 2.0 can vary.

Indeed you should change to 'DCS.openalpha' to read the settings and mission data with 2.0.

If 2.5 becomes final and we hit the version merge that should no longer be needed.

[sc_neo]

ok, i play around with it a little bit. Atm i mainly play on NTTR, i guess it makes sense to wait until 2.5 is out for a couple of weeks and all the menu stuff is finalized before investing time into the needed mods. Thx for your help and hard work.

[Bahnzo]

AutoHotKey script example for use of pinky switch

 

Edit2: Actually this *can* work. I explain in the post below. Also cleaned up code a bit.

 

Edit: oh well...doesn't work. I mean, it works, but having the extra pinkie button causes issues with VAICOM somehow.

 

For people who use AutoHotKey, I thought I'd give my example on how to use two buttons with the pinkie switch to turn them into the four buttons you need for the radios.

 

2Joy4::
if GetKeyState("2Joy7") ;pinkie/switch button down
{
	Send {Numpad0 down}
	KeyWait 2Joy4
	Send {Numpad0 up}
	return
}
else
{
Send {Numpad1 down}
KeyWait 2Joy4
Send {Numpad1 up}
return
}

2Joy8::
if GetKeyState("2Joy7") ;pinkie/switch button down
{
	Send {Numpad3 down}
	KeyWait 2Joy8
	Send {Numpad3 up}
	return
}
else
{
Send {Numpad2 down}
KeyWait 2Joy8
Send {Numpad2 up}
return
}

Edited October 26, 2016 by Bahnzo
Doesn't work

[Bahnzo]

So, after some work and a little back and forth with Hollywood, I was able to make VAICOM work with the use of a pinky switch to toggle radios between only two buttons instead of 4.

 

The problem is since I also use the pinky switch as a modifier in the game, it causes problems when VAICOM tries to issue the radio command. The way to fix it is to add another command to each of the radios (in DCS) including the pinky switch (or whatever other modifier you use).

 

Ex: VHF1 radio is Lalt + Num+, so you would simply keep that and add another command for that radio of Lalt + Num+ + Pinky. And do that for all the radios and the "/" and the "Pause" key as well. Seems to work fine and can save you a couple buttons if you need them.

[paulu013]

I solved this problem by creating a Autohotkey longpress script for the Warthog Hotag Mic Switch button. So when pressed for longer than 0.5 seconds it triggers the VAICOM 2 AUTO/UHF/VHF1/VHF2 commands ( mapped them to the virtual F-keys F13-F16 ). When pressed for a shorter time the mic switch buttons execute the commands setup in the DCS controller profile ( I use the Solaris & Schnix layout with some tweaks ). This way there's no need to re-assign the Pinky switch and I can still use all the commands that were assigned to the mic switch by the Polaris & Schnix profile for all modules. If you want I can write a little Howto if you want to set it up like this too.

Edited October 27, 2016 by paulu013
minor rewrite