(Probably) dumb UFC question

[Raisuli]

I have a formation training mission set up; ~500nmi, 1:13 to complete, low alt, turning bits, etc, etc, etc.  The upshot is the only controls I touch for that hour and a quarter are pitch, roll, left and right throttle, and head tracker.

Every once in a while the UFC will light up with AP commands, uncommanded, of course.  No idea why, and I haven't been able to correlate that with much. 

Anyone have any brilliance to share?  It's not a problem, just really odd, like the airplane thinks I shouldn't manually fly that fast so low...

[razo+r]

Check your controls. Maybe something is bound to the UFC/AP by mistake.

[Raisuli]

1 hour ago, razo+r said:

Check your controls. Maybe something is bound to the UFC/AP by mistake.

That was my first thought, but none of the axis are bound to the UFC.  I also went through the binding on the AP button and the only thing there is the one that belongs.

I think the flight computer has become aware, and isn't happy about the meat sack behind the stick.

[SickSidewinder9]

Is it when the waypoint advances?  Altitude warning?

[Temetre]

Or X52/56 stick with phantom command?

[mongo52]

On 7/24/2023 at 7:55 AM, Raisuli said:

I think the flight computer has become aware, and isn't happy about the meat sack behind the stick.

Damn stick grip actuators 

[Raisuli]

On 8/11/2023 at 4:46 PM, SickSidewinder9 said:

Is it when the waypoint advances?  Altitude warning?

Nope.  Straight and level.  Relatively level.  The darn AI is bugged and keeps changing altitude.  That or I'm changing altitude, but calling it a bug makes me feel better about myself, even if it isn't true. 

It's also pretty random.  More than once I was just holding position off the AI's wing.  I know where the way points are because the AI changes direction at every one.

 

On 8/17/2023 at 6:56 AM, Temetre said:

Or X52/56 stick with phantom command?

Virpil, no third party software involved - everything is mapped directly.  Crosswind pedals, but my feet are on the floor.  Thrustmaster throttle.

[tityus]

On 8/23/2023 at 2:53 PM, Raisuli said:

Nope.  Straight and level.  Relatively level.  The darn AI is bugged and keeps changing altitude.  That or I'm changing altitude, but calling it a bug makes me feel better about myself, even if it isn't true. 

It's also pretty random.  More than once I was just holding position off the AI's wing.  I know where the way points are because the AI changes direction at every one.

 

Virpil, no third party software involved - everything is mapped directly.  Crosswind pedals, but my feet are on the floor.  Thrustmaster throttle.

Just to make sure, you`re engaging AP barometric (BALT) and not (RALT), right?    and there`s nothing interfering with altimeter settings ...  

[Raisuli]

5 minutes ago, tityus said:

Just to make sure, you`re engaging AP barometric (BALT) and not (RALT), right?    and there`s nothing interfering with altimeter settings ...  

I'm not engaging anything.  AP is off.

I'm chasing after some whack job in an F-14 that never tells me when, or in what direction, she's about to turn.  I'm six inches (for very short values of 200 feet) off her starboard aft side and she turns into me!

I should see if I can get OBS to run one of those hops.  I'd do a track, but it would be a really long track.  Actually...I have a few of those.  Besides, that would disclose what a suck job I do at formations.

[tityus]

I'm definitely curious... don't forget to share once you find out whats is happening

[Raisuli]

22 hours ago, tityus said:

I'm definitely curious... don't forget to share once you find out whats is happening

The plot thickens.  I don't know how ED did this, but they are masters of creating bugs that diminish with practice so it was probably trivial.

In the Ka-50, actually mine is an AH-50 license built by Boeing but that's a different story, just flying around not using the Squall targeting system, it will go into test mode at random intervals.  This makes me think one of my boards is randomly sending a signal, and I can probably track that down because I know what button would have to be sent to kick off the auto-pilot on the F-18.  I'm guessing DCS has 'helped' me by binding that button on the KAH-50.

<edit> Or not.  If I push that button nothing happens (don't have it mapped to anything on the AH-50 yet)</edit>

As I originally suspected that makes this more of a me problem because ED isn't going to fix that bug until I eliminate the spurious input.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Raisuli

[MAXsenna]

The plot thickens.  I don't know how ED did this, but they are masters of creating bugs that diminish with practice so it was probably trivial.
In the Ka-50, actually mine is an AH-50 license built by Boeing but that's a different story, just flying around not using the Squall targeting system, it will go into test mode at random intervals.  This makes me think one of my boards is randomly sending a signal, and I can probably track that down because I know what button would have to be sent to kick off the auto-pilot on the F-18.  I'm guessing DCS has 'helped' me by binding that button on the KAH-50.
Or not.  If I push that button nothing happens (don't have it mapped to anything on the AH-50 yet)
As I originally suspected that makes this more of a me problem because ED isn't going to fix that bug until I eliminate the spurious input.

The shkval does self tests on its own actually.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

[Raisuli]

29 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

The shkval does self tests on its own actually.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk
 

Well.  That was a bit of plot thinning.  Back to the drawing board. 

Thanks for the info!

[BuzzLine]

4 hours ago, Raisuli said:

an AH-50 license built by Boeing

 role-playing it all the way, I love it !!

[Raisuli]

10 minutes ago, BuzzLine said:

 role-playing it all the way, I love it !!

I read Russian like a bloody third grader and don't know the aviation vocabulary, especially all the abbreviations, anyway.  This does nicely explain why everything in the main office is labeled in English, and I am a huge fan of causal logic. 

Besides, it says MARINES on the outside. 

I should probably spend less time goofing off playing video games and more time reading the shelf or three of Russian books we have, but I don't really need it for much anymore.  Would be cool to read Master and Margarita in the original, but I think the vernacular and cultural references would kick my butt.

Come to think of it now days the only Russian I read is on these boards.  Third grader, though...

[BuzzLine]

I get weird looks when people ask me what got me to start learning russian and I answer "to read the cockpit labels in my virtual plane".  

Back on topic : I flew in circles for 20' in an F18 and didn't get anything AP-related on the UFC. With wpt, without, auto sequence wpt, nothing. Try a full repair ?

[Raisuli]

24 minutes ago, BuzzLine said:

I get weird looks when people ask me what got me to start learning russian and I answer "to read the cockpit labels in my virtual plane".  

Back on topic : I flew in circles for 20' in an F18 and didn't get anything AP-related on the UFC. With wpt, without, auto sequence wpt, nothing. Try a full repair ?

Not the worst idea I've ever heard.  I was going to fly it again later today; maybe do some repetitive AAR and see if I can get it to pop up, but it's pretty strange.  The good news is it's not a problem, just a puzzle.  Since nobody else has noticed anything it's probably a puzzle involving either my installation or the myriad bits of USB attached to it.

I mean, obviously a bug.

So far I've only noticed it during formations, but those can run over an hour.

[Raisuli]

So, I completely unbound the UFC-> A/P control.  Not even a keyboard command.  Still pops up, which obviously makes it a bug and ED...you get it. 

#include entitledWhining.h

Or, I could try a full (slow?) repair as BuzzLine suggested.

Or I could just ignore it. 

As I've said, it's not a problem, just a puzzle.  Even if there is a glitch somewhere in the code they'd have to re-open the Kola super deep borehole to find anything that low on the priority list...

 

[Captain Orso]

On 7/24/2023 at 2:49 PM, Raisuli said:

8<

Every once in a while the UFC will light up with AP commands, uncommanded, of course.  8<

What exactly do you mean? Exactly what are you seeing?

[Raisuli]

12 minutes ago, Captain Orso said:

What exactly do you mean? Exactly what are you seeing?

Hop in a live F/A-18.  Push the A/P button on the UFC.

Looks like this, other than the only controls being used are the throttle and stick for pitch and roll (no buttons involved). <edit> Oh, and the CPL is live also </edit>

null

Edited August 31, 2023 by Raisuli

[Captain Orso]

When you say, "the CPL is live also", do you mean that the text CPL appears in the lowest UFC LED display? That only happens if on the HSI page, a WayPoint is selected and WYPT is boxed, which from the description of your mission, sound very odd.

Did you write this mission from scratch, or did you take over part from another mission?

[Raisuli]

31 minutes ago, Captain Orso said:

When you say, "the CPL is live also", do you mean that the text CPL appears in the lowest UFC LED display? That only happens if on the HSI page, a WayPoint is selected and WYPT is boxed, which from the description of your mission, sound very odd.

Did you write this mission from scratch, or did you take over part from another mission?

Wrote it from scratch, and it's not even a mission.  There are no waypoints (none that I pay attention to) on the -18.  I might have spurious waypoints that might get used for something else if I'm up for a different reason.

Ramat David got completely fouled up on that mission (it's about half red now, and doesn't work right), so I've gone back to Sinai.  I'll run one of the formations (and make sure there are no waypoints configured) a little later, then take a screenshot once the UFC lights up.  Since you're asking specific questions I am of course questioning my answers, and want to make sure they are accurate!

The whole point of the exercise is a portable TACAN station that sits on a small trigger point.  When the trigger is activated a lead aircraft appears and I chase it around for about five hundred miles.  During that chase I noticed the UFC lighting up with AP settings, which seems odd because all I do is throttle/pitch/roll to stay in formation with the lead aircraft, which has sevety or eighty waypoint/turns programmed into it's route.

[Captain Orso]

I'm not sure what you are talking about, half the time.

2 hours ago, Raisuli said:

Wrote it from scratch, and it's not even a mission.

I'm not talking about some abstract idea. I'm talking about actual technology.

If you opened the ME, selected a map, added units and then saved it under a unique name, it is a mission.

2 hours ago, Raisuli said:

 

There are no waypoints (none that I pay attention to) on the -18.  I might have spurious waypoints that might get used for something else if I'm up for a different reason.

I have no idea what a "spurious waypoint" might be. If you open your mission in the ME, select the FA-18 you are flying in it as 'player' or 'client' and there is a continuous yellow and/or white line starting at your aircraft, then you have a minimum of two waypoints--waypoint 0 where your aircraft starts, and a second waypoint connected to WP0; you may of course have more.

2 hours ago, Raisuli said:

Ramat David got completely fouled up on that mission (it's about half red now, and doesn't work right), so I've gone back to Sinai.  I'll run one of the formations (and make sure there are no waypoints configured) a little later, then take a screenshot once the UFC lights up.  Since you're asking specific questions I am of course questioning my answers, and want to make sure they are accurate!

The whole point of the exercise is a portable TACAN station that sits on a small trigger point.  When the trigger is activated a lead aircraft appears and I chase it around for about five hundred miles.  During that chase I noticed the UFC lighting up with AP settings, which seems odd because all I do is throttle/pitch/roll to stay in formation with the lead aircraft, which has sevety or eighty waypoint/turns programmed into it's route.

Maybe it would all be easier if you posted your mission so that someone could look at it.

One more thought. Do you have your control definitions modded? That would probably be 'c:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Mods\aircraft\FA-18C\Input\FA-18C\joystick\default.lua'. If yes, you should probably post the modded lua file also.