Set your own TACAN

[RDDL405]

So, I have a question regarding the TACAN on the 18C; does it have the capability to perform air to air TACAN ranging for, let's say, practice fights? From what i understand, two aircraft can have reciprocal TACAN settings, ie: one is set to 12X with A/A receive, and the other has 21X A/A receive. The TACAN provides ranging between the two. Is this modeled? I want to learn ACM with friends and this would be better than having someone check F10 and plot the range from the two.

[HawkeyeHHDF]

Yes you can do it, the tacan can be either on x or y but needs to be on AA, ad the numbers have to be 63 apart, an easy one to remember is 29Y and 92Y. But works with 1Y and 64Y or whichever, there is a limit to how high you can go but I don't remember off the top of my head, this should work with all Tacan equipped A/C

[RDDL405]

Yes you can do it, the tacan can be either on x or y but needs to be on AA, ad the numbers have to be 63 apart, an easy one to remember is 29Y and 92Y. But works with 1Y and 64Y or whichever, there is a limit to how high you can go but I don't remember off the top of my head, this should work with all Tacan equipped A/C

 

Awesome, thanks! I was reading up on that and was wondering about it! good to know! :thumbup:

[mcfleck]

I am using this quite often in multiplayer. It works fine.

 

The maximum you can use is 63/126 btw.

[Zyll]

i don't quite follow here. What does the "63 apart" rule mean? Like, if I setup my aircraft with one TACAN, and my opponent has a different TACAN channel for their aircraft, why do they need to be 63 apart?

[Frederf]

TACAN has a talk and a listen frequency. Distance is sending on the talk, receive on the listen, and take the time to calculate.

 

If you are 80Y then you talk 1104 and listen 1041 (MHz). If your wingman was also on 80Y then he's listening 1041 and won't hear your talk on 1104 and vice versa. But 17Y is 1041/1104 so your talk is heard on his listen and his talk is heard on your listen.

 

The AA mode switch is to fix some things about the pulse train so two "end users" can communicate with each other and to shift the X frequencies so it's possible. 80X and 17X is 1104/1167 and 1041/978 respectively which would never have a chance without AA mode which changes the frequencies used.

 

https://www.flightsim-corner.com/wp-content/uploads/VOR-Frequencies-to-TACAN-Channel-list.pdf

[raelias]

I dont understand, how should i set it up to broadcast a tacan channel and get tacan berings from another hornet?

[drPhibes]

I dont understand, how should i set it up to broadcast a tacan channel and get tacan berings from another hornet?

 

 

You can't. You need a TACAN beacon for the bearing, and fighters like the F18 don't have TACAN beacons. A/A yardstick is range only.

[Frederf]

Both set AA, same X/Y choice, and your channel numbers are 63 different.

 

You will only get distance information (reason it's nicknamed yardstick). Bearing information requires equipment that's not installed on the F/A-18.

[Kayos]

Set your own TACAN

 

How do you set your own TACAN so your wingmen can see you on the HSI?

I was watching the video in this thread: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=223560

The wingman sets TACAN to channel 69 and can see where the lead (the guy in the video) is.

 

I can obviously set a TACAN and follow one etc but how do you set your own in the first place?

[Revelation]

How do you set your own TACAN so your wingmen can see you on the HSI?

I was watching the video in this thread: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=223560

The wingman sets TACAN to channel 69 and can see where the lead (the guy in the video) is.

 

I can obviously set a TACAN and follow one etc but how do you set your own in the first place?

 

You set the TACAN on your UFC as you would if you were tuning into a tanker or airfield. You have to have a separation of, if I remember correctly, 63 channels.

 

There was a post a while back that explains how the transmit of a receiving frequency is 63 channels apart. This is how things are and nothing you need to change. I don't remember the technical details of how this comes to be.

 

If you set your TACAN to 69 and your wingman set theirs to 6, they will be able to get range on you. You will only get information on the closest wingman - if there are more than one.

[Eldur]

Has been discussed here already, found it to be a good read.

 

Edit for anyone wondering, linked thread has been merged into this one.

Edited November 21, 2018 by Eldur

[Mover]

Pick two channels 63 apart. I chose 6 and 69 in the video for laughs.

Pick X or Y.

Select A/A.

Box TCN.

 

Should come up as a range to the other guy/gal (no azimuth or elevation info).

[Mover]

IRL we use 29 and 92 X-ray … it's easy to remember as 29.92 is the barometric standard day.

 

Standard answer - it depends.

 

It's set by the flightlead. Sometimes it's callsign (11/74X and 13/76X). Sometimes it's fragged. Sometimes it's just random.

 

I haven't seen 29 and 92 set that often though. If ever.

[Tiramisu]

Can we use this TACAN navigation in singleplayer? I have always problems to find and help my wingman, when he is engaged in a combat. How can you make the AI use a certain TACAN frequency?

 

 

Btw. I wonder if your TACAN reveals your position for enemy aircrafts.

[Frederf]

Yes but no. AI can be TACAN beacons but only group leads so no wingmen.

[Tiramisu]

So if you can assign a TACAN number to a group, then it should be possible for the human player to find his closest wingman using TACAN navigation. Right?

I just have to find out how to assign TACAN to a group. In the mission editor I could not find any option to do that.

[Frederf]

Some units can do it (F/A-18, F-5E, KC-135) some can't (A-10C). And it's a little broken in terms of the details.

 

I set 1Y activate beacon on F/A-18 flight, I can see him but only if set to 1X A/A on A-10C. Now it's perfectly reasonable for "1" channel to work because it's setting a beacon which works for "1" channel on your end. You can ignore the 63-channel thing since it's done for you.

 

However if you set him Y, you have to be X. This is not how it works really. And I think if he is set X then it will never work for you X or Y. This is not realistic either. A/A TACAN should function for both X and Y for all channels for 252 independent modes of connection.

 

As for "his wingman" again no. If a group has 4 members and group has beacon activated, only leader of that group can have functioning beacon.

 

To have a group activate beacon make a waypoint task, perform command, activate beacon. Make sure to set unit equal to group leader. If set not to group leader nothing works (brief test).

[Tiramisu]

To have a group activate beacon make a waypoint task, perform command, activate beacon. Make sure to set unit equal to group leader. If set not to group leader nothing works (brief test).

 

Now I have tried exactly that for an AI F18-group leader, but it did not work. Its task is also greyed out in the mission editor. I tried the same with a refueling tasked airplane and it worked. So I believe that setting the TACAN in the mission editor is only working, when the missiontype of the group is for refuel supply only.

[Frederf]

F/A-18C can't, F/A-18C Lot 20 can. F-5, F-5E-3 both work. See how nonsense it can be?

 

F/A-18C Lot 20 seems to provide correct range 1X when set 1X and 1Y when set 1Y. Don't know why I had the X/Y mismatch before.

 

Receiver is A-10C, player.

[Ramsay]

A/A TACAN should function for both X and Y for all channels for 252 independent modes of connection.

My understanding was that X and Y shared the same 126 channels, as shown in this diagram

 

 

Y band transmit/receive channels overlap with a 63 channel separation and X band wasn't used for A/A.

 

Do you have a source that contradicts the above ?

[Frederf]

My understanding was that X and Y shared the same 126 channels, as shown in this diagram

 

Y band transmit/receive channels overlap with a 63 channel separation and X band wasn't used for A/A.

 

Do you have a source that contradicts the above ?

 

The fact that two channels may share some or all frequencies is not especially relevant. Channel is a name given to a bundle of specifications so it is not wrong to call 1X and 1Y two difference channels because they are two different named bundles which are able to be discriminated.

 

Channelization purely in frequency of X, Y, X A/A, and Y A/A do have some overlap. By distinguishing pulse train characteristics the other bands or modes are filtered out. The whole point of the Y band was to increase the available channels. It would defeat the purpose of the expanded band if e.g. 1X and 1Y would interfere. Similarly A/A and A/G operation doesn't interfere.

 

X channel has 12μs spacing and Y 36μs (Y ground reply 30μs). But A/A Y modes changes pulse spacing to 24μs while X remains the same. X A/A has a different frequency channelization than X ground while Y A/A doesn't need frequency change for air to air.

 

MIL-STD-291C, AC 00-31A

[Ramsay]

By distinguishing pulse train characteristics the other bands or modes are filtered out. The whole point of the Y band was to increase the available channels. It would defeat the purpose of the expanded band if e.g. 1X and 1Y would interfere. Similarly A/A and A/G operation doesn't interfere.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that.