What is the best way to learn JTAC/datalink?

[Bahger]

Great work, Revelation. One question: You mention that at night the JFAC unit lases the target. Can it be set to laser-designate the target so that the pilot can search with the TGP and home on the designatiion?

[Nixer]

But what about using an A-10 as a FAC?

 

Should be really straight forward in ME, freq and callsign already set fo you, BUT it isn't.

 

Sometimes he won't mark target for you or will stop communicating.

 

I just set him to invisible so he lives.

 

Seems buggy and/or very hit or miss as to what happens.

 

Another known issue??

Edited November 11, 2010 by Nixer
speiling

[Revelation]

Great work, Revelation. One question: You mention that at night the JFAC unit lases the target. Can it be set to laser-designate the target so that the pilot can search with the TGP and home on the designatiion?

 

At night the JFAC automatically use the laser designator and yes you can put your TGP in to LSS mode and locate the laser that way.

 

But what about using an A-10 as a FAC?

 

Should be really straight forward in ME, freq and callsign already set fo you, BUT it isn't.

 

Sometimes he won't mark target for you or will stop communicating.

 

I just set him to invisible so he lives.

 

Seems buggy and/or very hit or miss as to what happens.

 

Another known issue??

 

You can use any vehicle. Make sure that you have set the freq, callsign, and target in the correct order.

 

Remember the sim sees each step in the order in your list. If you set the JFAC target as your first step, it will never go onto another step in the list. Whereas setting callsign and frequency, once "set" it moves on, it doesn't need any input from the player to continue to the next step. Whereas the FAC role does.

[Bahger]

Armed with your excellent tutorial, Revelation, I am definitely going to make a FAC mission in DCS A-10, although we should bear in mind that every Beta update will invalidate all mission files made in the last.

 

Odd that JFAC laser designation is only activated at night, unless I am misunderstanding you. I wonder if there is (or will be) an option in the ME to get the JFAC unit to lase during the day.

[arteedecco]

Thank you so much @Revelation! I'm continually impressed by the deep level of understanding many of the community members have!

 

I think the thing that was the biggest breakthrough for me was that the ordering of the commands you set for the JFAC vehicle matter. Of course it makes sense now that I know, but it certainly didn't when I tried it the first time!

 

Kudos! Great comprehensive description of it all.

 

I'd really like a similar guide on how to setup triggers. I'll review your videos after the dreaded "work" (yargh!).

[andysim]

Great videos. Very helpfull. Rep inbound.:lol:

[Revelation]

I didn't want to start a whole new thread on this, so here's the next video.

 

Adding Radio Menu Items in-game. Remember these appear in the F10 "other" menu option.

 

[kylania]

How do you get UTM coords from the editor, like the ones in that message? The editor has LAT/LONG on the bottom, but I can't find anywhere in game or on the forums for figuring out the UTM coords without MegaMath™... Anyone know?

 

Seems it displays on the TAD, so you can start a plane there, Active Pause over the location you want and copy down the coords, but that seems like a lot of work! :)

Edited November 12, 2010 by kylania

[Revelation]

Kylania I use Earthpoint. When you type in your coords from the bottom of the ME, you type:

 

Lat: 42 13 38 Long: 41 48 59

 

Look down in the box for the MGRS coords;

 

MGRS 37TGG3242478846

 

Hope it helps.

Edited November 12, 2010 by Revelation

[kylania]

Oh, Great link! Thanks. Kind of weird they use MGRS in game, but don't provide a readily available method of determining it. They also call it UTM, but ok. :)

[Revelation]

Oh, Great link! Thanks. Kind of weird they use MGRS in game, but don't provide a readily available method of determining it. They also call it UTM, but ok. :)

 

Yeah, I'm not sure if the website is "wrong" or if someone in ED simply, by accident, hit the wrong button for assigning values to variables. I just know that the MGRS output on the site will match the Lat/Long that you type in from the A-10C map and that you can input it into your A-10C CDU under the UTM option within waypoint.

 

*Edit*

Come to think of it, I'm not sure in other parts of the world if these coords are referred to with different names either.

Edited November 12, 2010 by Revelation

[aceflier]

Good stuff my question is if you are making this for multiplayer how is it working for you I can not get JTAC or Refueling working in MP for anyone but the host. Whats the secret?

[Furia]

Is this mission avalaible for downloading?

I would learn even more how to set up some of this stuff if I could take a look inside from the ME

:thumbup:

[bulletproof]

Gents

 

I created a very simplified JTAC mission (thanks Revelation) to test with and it works great every time. However, when the 9 line is read to me it says "1,2,3 N/A" and than continues on perfectly with the rest of the 9 line starting at 4. When viewing Wags JTAC example video it seems to itemize each part of the 9 line.

 

How do I have the FAC read back the first 3 components of the 9 line? (IP, direction, etc)

 

Thanks for any help.

[nomdeplume]

They're only used if it has an IP to use (place nav points in the editor) and I think they're also only used in certain situations. For example if there's no friendlies near the target, they probably don't care what direction you attack from. I don't know anything about the algorithm the JTAC uses to come up with the attack profile though, so I can't give any more specific hints.

 

Best guess would be to place friendlies close to the enemy force you want the JTAC to engage you against, and to place one or more nav points at suitable locations for ingress/egress.

[bulletproof]

They're only used if it has an IP to use (place nav points in the editor) and I think they're also only used in certain situations. For example if there's no friendlies near the target, they probably don't care what direction you attack from. I don't know anything about the algorithm the JTAC uses to come up with the attack profile though, so I can't give any more specific hints.

 

Best guess would be to place friendlies close to the enemy force you want the JTAC to engage you against, and to place one or more nav points at suitable locations for ingress/egress.

Thanks for the info. Will give it a try.

[bulletproof]

So I modified one of my JTAC test missions and placed a Nav Point just to the North of the target zone and the 9 line skipped lines 1 to 3. I than took the Nav Point and placed it inline with my IP waypoint towards target area and the entire 9 line was read to me from the FAC.

 

Thanks for the help. :thumbup:

[Bahger]

Hey Bulletproof, any chance you might upload that JTAC mission with the complete 9-lin readout? If so, thanks!

[bulletproof]

Hey Bulletproof, any chance you might upload that JTAC mission with the complete 9-lin readout? If so, thanks!

I am currently at work and I will be taking my daughter to a Girl Guides function tonight. I will definitely upload it when I have a free moment. It is simply a JTAC test with some artillery bombarding an ammunition depot off in the distance with a Hummer operating as the FAC. Do not expect a complete mission. :)

[Bahger]

No prob, Beta sim, Beta missions, right?

[bulletproof]

Yep, created on Beta 3.

Anxiously awaiting Beta 4 though, for those graphical optimizations we were promised. :)

[OutOnTheOP]

A (partial) aside regarding UTM vs MGRS, as it was mentioned earlier: UTM and MGRS are, in fact, both the same geographical representation model. Both use (typically) the WGS84 geodetic data, and MGRS utilizes the UTM projection data.

 

UTM is a map projection. IE, the coordinate method used to represent a spherical earth on a flat map. MGRS is a nomenclature system- a way of "saying" UTM data over radios in a way that is less likely to be miss-read; if there is static in your transmission, you're much less likely to get confused and think the "37T AB" grid zone designator is part of the 10-digit grid than you would be if you just got a string of 13 digits badly garbled!

 

Recalling back to my Fire Support Officer days, the only difference between them is how the preface is written: in MGRS, you have, for example "12A BC 12345 67890", which in UTM is written (if I recall correctly) "1 12345 23 67890". In short, MGRS uses an alphanumeric grid zone designator (in this case 12A BC) where UTM uses a purely numerical grid zone designator (in this case 1 23).

 

Both are used in the military; the SCU fire-control computer on my FIST vehicle (circa 2007) output it's coordinates in the 13-digit UTM format, and communicated to the AFATDS artillery fire direction computers in UTM format.

 

Now that everyone is thoroughly confused by my terrible explanation, I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming

[LordWolf]

Can we use left MFCD in SOI to determine those coordinates? It's realy unrealistic to pause, alt tab and use the converter then open the map and look it up ...

[Steel Jaw]

On a related note, how do I as the Hawg pilot enter those JTAC coordinates into the CDU?

[bulletproof]

On a related note, how do I as the Hawg pilot enter those JTAC coordinates into the CDU?

Mower - You do not need to type the coordinates in but it is possible by entering waypoint mode and than changing from LL to UTM to type in the coordinates. I tried it and it works. but see below

 

After you read back the 9 line to the FAC they will transmit the coordinates to your TAD and you have the option of Wilco or Cantco on the TAD. When you accept with wilco you will see a red triangle on the TAD where the target is. Simply TMS Up long on the target with the TAD and it will be your target after you slave it. I hope this makes sense.