jfri Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 In one of the tutorials I am supposed to set the TACAN to channel 67. I turn on it which is indicated with ON in the display. Then enter 67 and press enter. But that is not stored and the channel number is set in the display to the right with indication X as expected. I have tried pressing the button adjacent to X but nothing helps. Also after a short while the UFC display is extinguished. Is that normal ?
Solution Kang Posted October 17, 2023 Solution Posted October 17, 2023 The X display is for selecting whether you want X or Y band on your TACAN. Have you tried just holding the Enter key for a second? That usually does that trick. 1
rob10 Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 42 minutes ago, jfri said: In one of the tutorials I am supposed to set the TACAN to channel 67. I turn on it which is indicated with ON in the display. Then enter 67 and press enter. But that is not stored and the channel number is set in the display to the right with indication X as expected. I have tried pressing the button adjacent to X but nothing helps. Also after a short while the UFC display is extinguished. Is that normal ? 1st thing to try is holding the ENTER key slightly longer as Kang suggested. DCS seems to require more than a really quick tap to register key presses in a lot of cases. You won't get any indication on the UFC other than a quick flash of the entered channel (the UFC entry display flashes multiple times if you try to enter an invalid value). The channel # DOES NOT show up on the displays on right side of the UFC. Yes it is normal for the UFC to turn off after a short time. After it does you should be able to press the TCN button again and it will show you "ON" and "67" in the main (entry) screen on the UFC if it's been entered correctly. You can also check in the HSI / DATA/ TCN page which displays selected TCN at the top (or look for the 3 letter TCN code for that station on HUD or HSI) 1
Yurgon Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 As a quick update to the excellent advice already given, when you have the HSI or the SA page up on one of the DDIs or the MPCD, the top left corner will show information on the tuned TACAN station, provided TACAN is on and is receiving a good signal. In the attached screenshot, I've got the HSI up on the right DDI showing information for Batumi (TACAN channel 16X, identifier BTM) that I've just passed over in the Free Flight Instant Action mission. 1
jfri Posted October 17, 2023 Author Posted October 17, 2023 9 hours ago, rob10 said: The channel # DOES NOT show up on the displays on right side of the UFC. Makes no sense to me. Then what is the display on the right side for ?
Tholozor Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, jfri said: Makes no sense to me. Then what is the display on the right side for ? The option select pushbuttons are for displaying selectable options (the colon representing options that are selected). The scratchpad above the keypad is the designated area for data entry/display. Edited October 17, 2023 by Tholozor 2 REAPER 51 | Tholozor VFA-136 (c.2007): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305981/ Arleigh Burke Destroyer Pack (2020): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3313752/
Foka Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 11 hours ago, Yurgon said: As a quick update to the excellent advice already given, when you have the HSI or the SA page up on one of the DDIs or the MPCD, the top left corner will show information on the tuned TACAN station, provided TACAN is on and is receiving a good signal. In the attached screenshot, I've got the HSI up on the right DDI showing information for Batumi (TACAN channel 16X, identifier BTM) that I've just passed over in the Free Flight Instant Action mission. Correction - you get that info only on a HSI. On SA page you will have cursor position to BE. 2 hours ago, jfri said: Makes no sense to me. Then what is the display on the right side for ? To selecto options line band - X/Y, A-A mode and trasmit&receive or receive only modes.
Yurgon Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 19 minutes ago, Foka said: Correction - you get that info only on a HSI. On SA page you will have cursor position to BE. Are you sure? That's not what I'm seeing. SA page on the left, HSI on the right, both display TACAN information in the top left corner. Screenshot taken in 2.8.8.43704 OpenBeta.
Tholozor Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 (edited) The TCN data block on the SA page will switch to bullseye-to-cursor data when the A/A WP is set and the TDC is assigned to SA. Edited October 17, 2023 by Tholozor REAPER 51 | Tholozor VFA-136 (c.2007): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305981/ Arleigh Burke Destroyer Pack (2020): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3313752/
Foka Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 Probably as Tholozor said. I never fly without assigning A/A WP.
Yurgon Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 1 hour ago, Tholozor said: The TCN data block on the SA page will switch to bullseye-to-cursor data when the A/A WP is set and the TDC is assigned to SA. Good to know, thanks! 1 hour ago, Foka said: Probably as Tholozor said. I never fly without assigning A/A WP. Interestingly enough, both conditions need to be met: A/A WP selected and TDC priority assigned to SA page. Otherwise, the SA page will display TACAN information just like the HSI (as far as I can tell). Fascinating details. 2
rob10 Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 9 minutes ago, Yurgon said: Good to know, thanks! Interestingly enough, both conditions need to be met: A/A WP selected and TDC priority assigned to SA page. Otherwise, the SA page will display TACAN information just like the HSI (as far as I can tell). Fascinating details. Yep, the Hornet is "easy" to fly, but there are a lot of little details like this one to learn that make things easier. 1
Yurgon Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 5 hours ago, jfri said: Makes no sense to me. Then what is the display on the right side for ? Have you confirmed that the TACAN station is correctly tuned and you're getting a TACAN signal now, as described above? The "makes no sense" part in the Hornet's user interface will hopefully be the subject of a long list of future "don'ts" in human/machine interface design. But it is what it is, and once we've gotten over the initial hump of being forced onto unfamiliar habit patterns, the aircraft is quite mighty. And while I'm far from being a Hornet expert, I believe ED have modelled the DCS F/A-18C fairly close to the real jet. In turn, whether it makes sense to us or not doesn't matter.
rob10 Posted October 18, 2023 Posted October 18, 2023 (edited) 16 hours ago, jfri said: Makes no sense to me. Then what is the display on the right side for ? It makes sense when you realize the 5 buttons on the right side are called Option Select Buttons (OSB's) and then realize that the displays next to them change to what pressing them selects depending on context (i.e. it might be elevation of a waypoint or the band for the TCN or quantity of bomb's to release depending what you are inputting with the UFC currently). Edited October 18, 2023 by rob10
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