Been playing for awhile and have some questions that I need help with, thanks

[undctiatc]

hello all,

My buddy and I have been playing this simulation now for about a month and we are ok with it. there are still several things we do not understand or a situation will pop up and we have no idea what it means or what to do about it. Here are several things we have encountered and would like any help that you all can give:

 

Co-op missions will not show complete or let us know the objective has been completed.

for example on the CSAR co op mission before I changed the helicopter routes, the helicopters would get caught in the mountains, now they actually make it back to base. They pick up the downed pilot and leave the area. My buddy and I will fly around and destroy pretty much everything. Nothing happens, no completion or anything.

 

IAM LAUNCH ABORTED

Had this happen to me tonight. I was launching CBU-105 naked (no JDAM info) and they were killing stuff, but after two that aborted message shows up and I have no idea how to get rid of it or what it means.

 

Autopilot switch will not stay up after departing until after the 2nd or 3rd waypoint then it will say on.

 

Lights wont work if you start up cold

 

Radios

I will turn the radios on just like the tutorial, I will set the freq and if it is AM i will change the dial on the radio to am and on the big dial of the intercom i will change to FM or vhf. Neither will allow me to contact the tanker/awacs or other aircraft. how do i get the radios to work? The options for the tanker/awacs is always blacked out no matter what freq or am/fm/vhf/ blah blah blah

 

Is there a way to move the HUD visuals down? I see the horizon and maybe 2-3 degrees up and 30 degrees down. is that normal?

 

When using laser designated GBU's, I turn the laser switch on, I lock the TGP on Point, its tracking the target, I have the laser time set to 20, laser in the profile is on just like the tutorial. Do i need to hit the <insert> key to lase the target for the bomb or will it do it automatically. I ask cause my laser bombs are always 10-30 feet off target. Once in a great while they will actually hit.

 

I apologize for the many questions. If there are places for me to look up information i would appreciate a point in the right direction. Thank you for your help!

[Leto]

Co-op missions will not show complete or let us know the objective has been completed.

There is a chance that the mission will not work correctly with any new update of DCS due to broken instruction commands, triggers, etc. You can try to open the mission in the mission editor, save it and try again.

 

Look for the software "TACVIEW" (no worry, it's free). Aside of beeing the best way to improve your tactical skills this will perhaps give you a hint if you really finished all tasks.

IAM LAUNCH ABORTED

Had this happen to me tonight. I was launching CBU-105 naked (no JDAM info) and they were killing stuff, but after two that aborted message shows up and I have no idea how to get rid of it or what it means.

Make sure you press the release button until the bomb is actually gone or the ripple sequence is completed.

 

Autopilot switch will not stay up after departing until after the 2nd or 3rd waypoint then it will say on.

Autopilot can only be engaged if you are within certain limits. For example:

Alt/HDG: --> you have to be nose and wings level

Path: --> Nose can be up or down to a certain degree but wings have to be level

Alt: nose has to be level, but you can have bank to a certain degree

 

In all cases it helps if your plane is trimmed correctly which means: you can take the hand off the stick and the plane remains in attitude.

 

Lights wont work if you start up cold

Set pinky-switch on the left side of the HOTAS in aft position. If I remember correctly this is RShift+L. Then set your lighting as desired on the lighting panel on the right back console.

 

 

Radios

I will turn the radios on just like the tutorial, I will set the freq and if it is AM i will change the dial on the radio to am and on the big dial of the intercom i will change to FM or vhf. Neither will allow me to contact the tanker/awacs or other aircraft. how do i get the radios to work? The options for the tanker/awacs is always blacked out no matter what freq or am/fm/vhf/ blah blah blah

Only dial the "big" to intercom if you want to talk to your ground crew while on the apron. Otherwise leave it as it is, then you should be able to talk to the mentioned radio stations.

 

Is there a way to move the HUD visuals down? I see the horizon and maybe 2-3 degrees up and 30 degrees down. is that normal?

Not that I know of, but you can move your seat up and down to achieve the similar effect. The switch is on your 10o'clock position in the cockpit between left console and front panel.

 

 

When using laser designated GBU's, I turn the laser switch on, I lock the TGP on Point, its tracking the target, I have the laser time set to 20, laser in the profile is on just like the tutorial. Do i need to hit the <insert> key to lase the target for the bomb or will it do it automatically. I ask cause my laser bombs are always 10-30 feet off target. Once in a great while they will actually hit.

If you set the lase time and you want the system to automatically take action, you will also have to set "Auto Lase" to on. Otherwise you do not need to insert a lase time and can do it manually. Also 12-15 seconds lase time is more than enough. Edited January 12, 2014 by Leto

[Yurgon]

Only dial the "big" to intercom if you want to talk to your ground crew while on the apron. Otherwise leave it as it is, then you should be able to talk to the mentioned radio stations.

 

As an addendum, radio comms are currently somewhat broken in 1.2.6. They're fixed in the Open Beta 1.2.7, but I don't think there's a date for the next official release yet.

 

Regarding the in-cockpit controls, there is a 4-way button on the real A-10C throttle to activate the different radio sets. In Options -> Controls, these are:

• HOTAS Mic Switch Forward (VHF AM)
  
• HOTAS Mic Switch Aft (VHF FM)
  
• HOTAS Mic Switch Down (UHF)
  
• HOTAS Mic Switch Up (no function in DCS A-10C)
  

 

Make sure to hit the correct switch depending on whom you want to talk to. Generally speaking, ATC, AWACS and Tankers are usually on the AM frequency range, your flight is on UHF and JTAC on FM, but that may differ from mission to mission.

Is there a way to move the HUD visuals down? I see the horizon and maybe 2-3 degrees up and 30 degrees down. is that normal?

 

Sounds weird. Can you post a screenshot? Simply hit the "Print" key on your keyboard when in the cockpit. Screenshot files are usually saved in Saved Games\DCS\ScreenShots.

 

If you set the lase time and you want the system to automatically take action, you will also have to set "Auto Lase" to on. Otherwise you do not need to insert a lase time and can do it manually. Also 12-15 seconds lase time is more than enough.

 

And another addendum. :)

 

By default, you have to lase for yourself, but Auto Lase can be set up in the DSMS. I believe one of the (excellent, BTW) interactive training missions that come with A-10C includes this. Probably the one on Precision-Guided Munitions.

[Xavven]

When using laser designated GBU's, I turn the laser switch on, I lock the TGP on Point, its tracking the target, I have the laser time set to 20, laser in the profile is on just like the tutorial. Do i need to hit the <insert> key to lase the target for the bomb or will it do it automatically. I ask cause my laser bombs are always 10-30 feet off target. Once in a great while they will actually hit.

 

If you lase too early, your bomb will fall short of the target. This is because it tries to take a direct, straight line path to the target, when it needs to take a curved ballistic path, and it runs out of energy due to drag. For best results, drop your LGB from above 7000 feet altitude, and lase for only the last 12 seconds of its flight.

[Nume Noctre]

 

When using laser designated GBU's, I turn the laser switch on, I lock the TGP on Point, its tracking the target, I have the laser time set to 20, laser in the profile is on just like the tutorial. Do i need to hit the <insert> key to lase the target for the bomb or will it do it automatically. I ask cause my laser bombs are always 10-30 feet off target. Once in a great while they will actually hit.

 

 

Hi Undctiatc,

 

when using LGBs you have to make sure you are using the right release and lasing mode:

 

1.) Standard - Manually lasing the target (Latch Off Mode)

 

Once you released the LGB you manually have to switch on the laser by pressing AND holding the pinky switch. The laser will only fire as long as you hold the pinky switch. You will achieve the greatest precision when you start lasing around 8 seconds before the weapon impact.

 

2.) Optional - Manually lasing the target with Latch On

 

Before you release the LGB go into the CNTL Page on the TGP and switch LATCH to on. Once you released the LGB you manually have to switch on the laser by pressing the pinky switch ONCE. The laser will keep on firing AUTOMATICALLY until the weapon impact. You will achieve the greatest precision when you start lasing around 8 seconds before the weapon impact.

 

Make sure to switch off the laser after impact to prevent the laser from over-heating.

 

3.) Optional - Automatically lasing the target

 

Before you release the LGB go into the DSMS page and into the weapons-profile. Go into changing the profile settings and activate AUTO Lase and set an AUTO Lase time (at best between 8 - 12 seconds). Once you released the weapon the laser will automatically start firing until weapons impact.

 

To achieve the greatest precision it is essential to have a correct lading time (8 - 12s) before impact. Furthermore it is important to release the weapon in a good flight-position. Since LGBs are only released in 3/9 CR mode it is enough to have the solution cue pass through the reticle. However you will have more precision when you try to have it pass through the reticle to ensure the most stable flight position.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best

 

Nume