F18/c radio presets in mission editor - enter 113.6

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 ā€˜insideā€™ the mission btw. As for setting them in the ME: thereā€™s a tab for that for the hi-fi aircraftā€¦standbyā€¦

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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 ā€œreal worldā€.

Canā€™t. 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 youā€™re going for realism recommend going with a UHF frequency for a military aircraft.

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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.

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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 itā€™s implemented on the mission editor though, but I reckon a Hornet radio set to AM can go lower than 100 MHz, but Iā€™m 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 youā€™re right, you should be able to dial in lower frequencies. I honestly couldnā€™t 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.

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Boomerang/Chipwich are absolutely correct.

Some (many?) Military aircraft donā€™t even have VHF radios. The Harrier didnā€™t. 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, itā€™s not merely that they arenā€™t designated for use in voice comm. Itā€™s 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 werenā€™t numbers for freqs you werenā€™t 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.

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Canā€™t. 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, wonā€™t accept them as a preset.

Ah. I didnā€™t realize we were speaking of NAV radios.

I may still be misunderstanding, but Iā€™m 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.

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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 ā€œXā€ means .00 and ā€œYā€ means.

I have found like tables with Google searches but nothing beats that RAZBAM tableā€¦and Iā€™m 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.

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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 Iā€™m being nit picky. But these are physically different ground stations and receivers that donā€™t necessarily talk to each other.)

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As others have noted, 113.6 would be a VOR frequency. Iā€™ve never thought about trying to tune a VOR frequency in the Hornet since itā€™s 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? Itā€™s amazing how much XM WX, Nexrad, and our iPads have changed things!

Iā€™m 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 thereā€™s still an annoying bug where if you select squelch off on 1 or 2 you canā€™t turn it back on, so you get to listen to the static the rest of the missionā€¦

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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 ā€œsoundā€ out).

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Not nit picky at all. I learned something new today. Many thanks! :slightly_smiling_face:

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