How do you enter a radio preset for the F18/C in the mission editor presets that :
is LESS than 118.0 ?
contains a decimal e.g. 113.6 ?
Seems ??? the only way is to create a mssion, rename the mission file to .zip, edit the mission file, change the freq there, and replace the mission file in the zip file, renam it to miz?
Working from [a very old] memory here butā¦
While doing some LUA stuff I came across a limitation, or two, concerning the freq range. First, IIRC, you are limited to 1 decimal place (or was it 2?). The answer to that was buried deep. The value actually gets converted to an integer āinsideā the mission btw. As for setting them in the ME: thereās a tab for that for the hi-fi aircraftā¦standbyā¦
That tab circled (for the Harrier in this case, same for the Hornet), then type in the values, again noting the range is limited compared to the āreal worldā.
Canāt. Reason being is that falls below the band of VHF used for aviation radios (118-136 MHz).
Just type it in the frequency, such as 121.8, and click or tab out of the field.
Side note, but if youāre going for realism recommend going with a UHF frequency for a military aircraft.
What is the VHF band used for in military aircraft? Why is it there?
I would imagine that military aircraft need to fly in airspace controlled by civilian authorities, as well as use civilian navigation aids just like everyone else.
Do you mean UHF? On the F-16 the VHF radio can definitely go below 100MHz.
I think in the Hornet it is referred to AM or FM modes? Not sure how itās implemented on the mission editor though, but I reckon a Hornet radio set to AM can go lower than 100 MHz, but Iām not so sure.
As @chipwich mentioned, primary use would be for going into a civilian airfield.
I did a bit of digging and it seems youāre right, you should be able to dial in lower frequencies. I honestly couldnāt say what the practical use would be but it does seem that it should be capable of it.
I believe the ME jumps from 118 to 87-something.
Boomerang/Chipwich are absolutely correct.
Some (many?) Military aircraft donāt even have VHF radios. The Harrier didnāt. The T-45 did but it is a trainer after all.
Most civilian ATC has/had the capability of operating on both VHF and UHF.
As for the lower freqs, itās not merely that they arenāt designated for use in voice comm. Itās that they are designated for other uses.
Below 118.0 (or so, I forget) is the VOR band which runs down to 112.0ish? Below that is ILS territory.
On old hardware radios there just werenāt numbers for freqs you werenāt able to use (e.g. Transponders had a first digit selector that went 1-7, no 8 or 9)
More modern ones generally fail to accept the entry.
Individual planes of course will vary.
Canāt. Reason being is that falls below the band of VHF used for aviation radios (118-136 MHz).
Well the freq is supposed to be for a VOR.
The VOR/ADF frequencies CAN be entered in the plane/cockpit / radio.
The issue is that the Mission Editor, wonāt accept them as a preset.
Ah. I didnāt realize we were speaking of NAV radios.
I may still be misunderstanding, but Iām not aware of any NAV radio that stores presets.
Is this a feature that the Hornet is supposed to have?
Nope, and I completely forgot that was the range for VORs.
The F-18 does not have a VOR receiver.
Strictly speaking, you are correct, however, it kind-of, sort-of does. It has a TACAN system where you enter the TACAN channel via the UFC.
TACAN Channels are just another name for VOR/VORTAC frequencies.
Those of us who purchased the RAZBAM AV-8B for MS FSX may recall that the manual (PDF file) contained a TACAN Channel-to-VOR Frequency table (since all the NAVAIDS in FSX were civilian). IIRC the āXā means .00 and āYā means.
I have found like tables with Google searches but nothing beats that RAZBAM tableā¦and Iām showing my age.
That said, I have no idea if this will work with DCS and the FA-18C mod.
AM and FM refers to amplitude or frequency modulation.
Sort of, but not quite.
Yes, it has a TACAN - which is similar to a VOR/DME receiver.
But if the ground station is a VOR or VOR/DME, you cannot receive and navigate with it with the F-18. It would have to be a straight up TACAN or a VORTAC. VORs alone do not broadcast signals that a TACAN receiver can use.
I remember the VRS Bug having a similar translation guide for VORs but that was a workaround for an FSX limitation and does not translate to real-world, nor would I expect it to apply for DCS.
(And, yes, I know Iām being nit picky. But these are physically different ground stations and receivers that donāt necessarily talk to each other.)
As others have noted, 113.6 would be a VOR frequency. Iāve never thought about trying to tune a VOR frequency in the Hornet since itās got TACAN, but the one scenario that comes to mind would be listening to a HIWAS, if we had those in DCS. Remember how we used to have to do that for weather? Itās amazing how much XM WX, Nexrad, and our iPads have changed things!
Iām not a .mil pilot, so I have no idea what the answer is, but does the Hornet have the ability to listen to a TACAN station audio? Is that a thing (identifying the station via morse code identifier)? I know we can do so on the ADF (who uses those anymore either?), but I think thereās still an annoying bug where if you select squelch off on 1 or 2 you canāt turn it back on, so you get to listen to the static the rest of the missionā¦
I used it in a SAR mission with the Hornet. Found a clip of an ELT to go with it; you had to use the ADF to find them (crashed chopper). Something different. Was fun. And pleasantly surprised it actually worked in DCS (broadcasting via a freq and not use āsoundā out).
Not nit picky at all. I learned something new today. Many thanks! 