[FIXED] AN/ARN-6 Radio Compass

[AH_Sid]

The 'Scale Light Switch' on the AN/ARN-6 Radio Compass is 'clickable' and 'mapable' in the control bindings, but doesn't appear to function.

 

Moving the switch has no effect.

 

 

 

 

The Scale Light brightness being controlled by the 'Instrument Panel Primary Light Rheostat' instead.

 

 

 

The function switch won't rotate to the 'CONT' position (yes I know it had no function in the F86F, as there was only one controller. But I think the switch position would still have been selectable, much like the 'ADF' position on the AN/ARC-27 UHF Radio is selectable but had no function on the F86).

 

 

From the F-86F Flight Manual (pdf pages 135)

 

 

From the Radio Compass AN/ARN-6 Manual (pdf pages 49)

 

 

And the CW/VOICE switch is non-functioning (neither clickable or mapable), but should produce a 900-cycle continuous tone when correctly tuned and the CW position selected (morse indent with Voice selected).

 

 

[ame]

[/ame] Edited December 10, 2015 by =AH=_Sid

[AH_Sid]

I couldn't get the links to the manuals to work in the above post, but here they are if anyone's interested:

 

F-86F Flight Manual

 

http://www.aceshighsquad.co.uk/DCS-F86F/F-86F_Flt_Manual.pdf

Radio Compass AN/ARN-6 Manual

 

http://www.aceshighsquad.co.uk/DCS-F86F/ARN-6.pdf

[derelor]

The 'Scale Light Switch' on the AN/ARN-6 Radio Compass is 'clickable' and 'mapable' in the control bindings, but doesn't appear to function.

 

Moving the switch has no effect.

 

The Scale Light brightness being controlled by the 'Instrument Panel Primary Light Rheostat' instead.

This is already reported (ticket #27823).

[derelor]

The function switch won't rotate to the 'CONT' position (yes I know it had no function in the F86F, as there was only one controller. But I think the switch position would still have been selectable, much like the 'ADF' position on the AN/ARC-27 UHF Radio is selectable but had no function on the F86).

Thanks - reported as ticket #32963.

[derelor]

And the CW/VOICE switch is non-functioning (neither clickable or mapable), but should produce a 900-cycle continuous tone when correctly tuned and the CW position selected (morse indent with Voice selected).

Thanks - reported as ticket #32964.

[derelor]

Thanks - reported as ticket #32963.

 

Thanks - reported as ticket #32964.

Both fixed in internal version.

[AH_Sid]

Great News

 

I look forward to testing it in the next public build.

 

Many thanks to you and the team at Belsimtek for continuing to sort all these little issues.

[AH_Sid]

Many thanks for adding the working "CW-VOICE" switch along with the 900 Hz tone.

 

 

 

It's not quite working correctly yet though; placing the switch to the "CW" position makes the 900 Hz tone audible regardless of current tuning state, which it shouldn’t.

 

 

 

The 900 Hz tone should only be audible when a station is tuned. i.e. it's just like the signal strength meter.

 

If no station is tuned you would just hear static (the same as in the VOICE position), and the signal strength meter would be fully to the left.

 

With the station tuned in perfectly you would hear a nice strong clear 900 Hz tone, and the signal strength meter would be fully to the right.

 

With the station almost tuned but not quite, you would hear a weak 900 Hz tone, and the signal strength meter would be around the middle of the dial.

 

It's just like tuning in any old style AM radio where you adjust a tuning knob to change the frequency, you adjust it until you can hear the station you want the clearest (or in this case the tone). It’s an audible way of tuning it where as the meter is a visual way (and you have to be heads down looking at it). The VOICE position then lets you correctly identify it, but there are pauses between the Morse transmissions so it would be difficult to tune in while listening to the Morse alone.

Edited February 8, 2016 by =AH=_Sid

[Bob Denny]

[REPORTED] AN/ARN-6 Radio Compass

 

This is incorrect. The CW mode introduces a "beat frequency" tone that changes pitch as you tune.The idea is to tune for "zero beat" the lowest pitch. This really does help tuning a weak station.

 

It's called CW for "carrier wave", a radio on-off mode used to transmit morse code. The beat frequency makes the signal audible at the receiver by converting what would be a hissing sound of the radio signal being keyed on and off into a tone that you can read. It happens to be useful for tuning an always-on AM signal like a non-directional beacon (which has its morse code as AM audio not carrier keying). I hope this makes sense.

 

I know this because I am an old pilot who used the ARN-6 for ADF as well as old 4-course Adcock range navigation (which went away when I was a young teen).

[AH_Sid]

Thanks Denny, it's not like any equipment I've used before then. I'm still having trouble picturing what you’re describing though, does it have a constant pitch as you tune, that only drops in pitch as you pass a frequency with a transmission?

[Bob Denny]

[REPORTED] AN/ARN-6 Radio Compass

 

I looked online but couldn't find a sound file that works. Basically you tune for lowest pitch if that makes sense. With no signal, no tone at all. As you near a signal you get a high pitch tone, and as you tune closer and closer, the pitch lowers in proportion until the pitch is super low when you are perfectly tuned. Then as you continue and start to get off frequency on the other side, the tone rises in pitch proportionately higher and higher, weaker and weaker until it again becomes silent.

[derelor]

Fixed in internal version