missing info Can't get datalink on after a cold start

[大垃圾]

Anyone's had the same issue ?? At the exactly same airfield , datalink works fine on a started F16 , but when I cold start another one , after I got everything done (things I think are needed to be done) , datalink still don't show up , no other planes on the display whatsoever .,.. I compared the buttons and settings on my plane and that of the started one , no difference , so what did I miss ???? That was so weird ...

[Tholozor]

Did you perform a NORM align or a STOR HDG align?

[大垃圾]

10分钟前,Tholozor说:

Did you perform a NORM align or a STOR HDG align?

Normal , I always go normal , no idea what the other one was about  

[Tholozor]

In a NORM alignment, ensure to confirm the LAT and LON coordinates on the DED with the ENT button on the ICP within the first 2 minutes of the alignment, or the computer will flag it as degraded and datalink will be inoperative.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Tholozor

[大垃圾]

17分钟前,Tholozor说:

In a NORM alignment, ensure to confirm the LAT and LON coordinates on the DED with the ENT button on the ICP within the first 2 minutes of the alignment, or the computer will flag it as degraded and datalink will be inoperative.

 

Wow , sounds a bit more complicated than expected ....so, what caused this was that the original LAT and LON was not accurate enough ??? Shit never thought of that ..... and I just tried the STOR align you mentioned and the datalink is back , awesome .... thx dude , a lot help and professional ..... 

[Tholozor]

2 hours ago, 大垃圾 said:

what caused this was that the original LAT and LON was not accurate enough ???

It's not that the starting coordinates are inaccurate, they could be accurate to the foot, they just need to be confirmed into the computer to say "I accept these as my coordinates."

 

The STOR HDG (Stored Heading) alignment doesn't require starting coordinates to be confirmed due to the nature of how Stored Heading works. After performing a full alignment, the aircraft is shut down and the location and heading are stored into the computer for a fast alignment later as long as the aircraft isn't moved. Cold start aircraft are spawned under the condition that they are already prepared for Stored Heading.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Tholozor

[jubuttib]

Hmm, is this also why I never reached "6 RDY" state for my alignment, and got stuck at 10 even when using normal?

[Machalot]

4 hours ago, jubuttib said:

Hmm, is this also why I never reached "6 RDY" state for my alignment, and got stuck at 10 even when using normal?

They recently changed it so you never get 6.  Both modes stop at 10.

[Frederf]

You need to do an EIA (special procedure) to get a status 6. Datalink should work fine on any alignment, standard or stored heading.

 

Honestly not entering L/L during norm alignment "flags the alignment as degraded" to quote the manual. I think DCS is being pessimistic that "flagged as degraded" causes combat functions to fail to work normally. As far as I can tell having an alignment flagged only has the consequences of not getting a RER calculation at the end. Obviously if you have really wrong alignment data that can cause big problems but I'm assuming the data's good, you just get flagged by not confirming (or re-entering) initial coordinates.

[大垃圾]

2021/9/23 PM2点59分,Tholozor说:

It's not that the starting coordinates are inaccurate, they could be accurate to the foot, they just need to be confirmed into the computer to say "I accept these as my coordinates."

 

The STOR HDG (Stored Heading) alignment doesn't require starting coordinates to be confirmed due to the nature of how Stored Heading works. After performing a full alignment, the aircraft is shut down and the location and heading are stored into the computer for a fast alignment later as long as the aircraft isn't moved. Cold start aircraft are spawned under the condition that they are already prepared for Stored Heading.

 

Noted , thx a bunch 

2021/9/24 AM10点13分,Frederf说:

You need to do an EIA (special procedure) to get a status 6. Datalink should work fine on any alignment, standard or stored heading.

 

Honestly not entering L/L during norm alignment "flags the alignment as degraded" to quote the manual. I think DCS is being pessimistic that "flagged as degraded" causes combat functions to fail to work normally. As far as I can tell having an alignment flagged only has the consequences of not getting a RER calculation at the end. Obviously if you have really wrong alignment data that can cause big problems but I'm assuming the data's good, you just get flagged by not confirming (or re-entering) initial coordinates.

Got it

[ACME_WIdgets]

Closely related, is there any way to get BACK to the INS alignment screen on DED (while INS is aligning) if I use the DED for something else?
I like to enter steerpoint, change othe ICP/DED etc. while INS is aligning.  But then I don't know if INS alignment is complete...

[Tholozor]

15 minutes ago, ACME_WIdgets said:

Closely related, is there any way to get BACK to the INS alignment screen on DED (while INS is aligning) if I use the DED for something else?
I like to enter steerpoint, change othe ICP/DED etc. while INS is aligning.  But then I don't know if INS alignment is complete...

LIST -> 6 to go to the INS page.

[Frederf]

ALIGN will flash on the HUD when at the maximum aligned state as well.

[jubuttib]

I have tried following some of the instructions mentioned here but I haven't been able to get datalink to work reliably outside of the specific training mission (the second AMRAAM employment mission).

 

I have a specific training mission I use to learn new modules, which has all kinds of targets, and so far it has worked great (modified version of a user created Caucasus Free Fly type mission). It has an E-3 hanging around in the sky, supposedly providing datalink. This tends to work fine the vast majority of the time in the JF-17 (though sometimes I have issues with that), but I haven't been able to make it work for the F-16C whether I start from the ground cold, hot or already in the air. This includes waiting for the alignment to finish without doing anything to the starting co-ordinates on NORM start, as well as hitting ENT on each of them, and also inputting them myself. No difference.

 

I have included an archive with a track file from my recent attempt (just now), switching between the JF-17 (Aerial-1) and the F-16C (Aerial-5) starting in the air in the same area of the map. The Jeff has no issues getting plenty of enemy contacts on datalink with the normal procedure (2nd radio to channel 199, mode to MASTER and turn it on to NES), while the F-16C gets nothing. 

 

The only things I do in the mission:

1. Turn on autopilot, altitude and heading hold for the JF-17, altitude and steering point for the F-16C

2. Make sure there's enough throttle input

3. Turn on datalink

Jeff: 2nd radio to channel 199 -> MAST -> NES

F-16C: Check that MIDS LVT is on -> XMT to L16 on right MFD's HSD screen

(4. Sometimes turn off the radar emissions for the F-16C so that the TWS tracks don't clutter up my HSD)

 

I also tested turning MIDS LVT to OFF and then back on again before turning XMT to L16, and tested the other XMT mode as well on another flight that's not on this track, and nothing.

JF-17 and F-16C datalink testing.zip

[Tholozor]

Can't watch the track, needs the A-4 mod.

[jubuttib]

Oki, I'll make a version without it later.

[jubuttib]

12 hours ago, Tholozor said:

Can't watch the track, needs the A-4 mod.

Here's a new track and I edited the mission to take out the A-4, for whatever reason (I can't think of why) the A-4 had taken the place of an IL-78 as a refueling platform... Yeah, don't get it at all. =/

JF-17 and F-16C datalink testing 2.zip

[jubuttib]

Would anyone be able to give me a list of requirements for getting the datalink to work on the L16, if I were to make my own mission for testing? I would like to get this thing sorted out.

[Tholozor]

- Full alignment (either normal or stored heading).

- MIDS LVT knob on avionics power panel to ON.

 

IIRC the XMT option on the HSD only controls the network you are donating to, not the network you're recieving data from.

Edited October 11, 2021 by Tholozor

[jubuttib]

1 hour ago, Tholozor said:

- Full alignment (either normal or stored heading).

- MIDS LVT knob on avionics power panel to ON.

 

IIRC the XMT option on the HSD only controls the network you are donating to, not the network you're recieving data from.

Thanks, though I should have specified I meant more from a mission setup perspective. I know I need to have an AWACS plane in the air, but beyond that I'm clueless.

 

I have however tracked the issue down to the mission itself. I was mistaken before when I said that the datalink was working fine on the Jeff, there were certainly issues, there was just a coincidence with the spawn location of the plane that made it appear as if the datalink was working.

 

I tested a Liberation generated mission now and the datalink worked just fine on the F-16C.

 

Now I'm really annoyed though because the practice mission included in the archive I attached is really dang useful for practicing the planes on my own, as well as teaching my friend how to use various systems on the modules. I'm pretty certain that the datalink HAS worked in it, and probably could be made to work again, but I just have absolutely no clue how one would go about achieving that... The most progress I made was taking the AWACS plane in the mission and assigning it to Nothing, then back to AWACS task, and at least IT showed up as a friendly on the datalink after that for the JF-17. But nothing else did (the AWACS is doing its job, if I tune my radio to it it's giving me notifications of enemies in the area, they're just not in the datalink), and the F-16C still doesn't show even the AWACS on datalink...