Generic GCA uploaded to SOH Library

[mjahn]

Hi all,

A generic GCA module is now available at the library (see New files). It can be added to the panel folder of a large variety of planes, default, freeware or payware. Other than some knowledge of editing panel.cfg files and a willingness to study the 6-page Manual PDF nothing else is required.

http://imghst.co/91/qCNMGlhPK0.jpg

From the release blurb:

This package contains a custom autopilot and two GCA (Ground Controlled Approach) gauges: Approach Pattern Control (APC) and Precision Approach Radar (PAR). You can request Pattern Control from 15 to 30 miles out, and the Approach Controller will set you up for a downwind, dogleg, or straight-in approach leading to a point eight miles from the runway at the proper altitude for a 3-degree glideslope. At the intercept point, the PAR Controller will take over and talk you down to the runway threshold. The GCA and PAR processes can be run in auto or in manual mode; that is, the panels can be visible or hidden and autopilot assistance can be turned on or off. As a consequence, serious realism challenges are possible, including hands-on approaches flown in proverbial pea- soup weather. The project is hugely indebted to Karol Chlebowski's powerful AILA (Airborne Instrument Landing Approach) gauge, adapted by permission of the author, and Doug Dawson's equally powerful sound DLL gauge. GCA gauges and manual by Manfred Jahn, historical research by Tom Harnish and compatibility testing by Ralf Scholten.

Introductory video by Tom Harnish:

https://youtu.be/MkCGDW1idm8

[DaveWG]

Excellent! Looking forward to trying this out on a variety of aircraft.
Thank you very much Manfred, and everyone involved in the project. :applause:

[ejoiner]

I looked and couldnt find it. must not be posted up yet to the Library

[tailspin45]

GCA add-on has been upload but not released yet by SOH. Expect it soon.

[tailspin45]

Now available here (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?linkid=25172&catid=218) (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?linkid=25172&catid=218) or search for genericGCA.zip

[pbearsailor]

Thanks so much for this. Been having a blast with it in the C-47. Cannot wait to get it going with Mike’s Dc-4 and others.

Steve :wavey:

[falcon409]

Well, not impressed. . .here's why. I took off from the Texas Gulf Coast and headed for Armstrong New Orleans Int'l. Set up the display per the PDF, selected the desired airport and rwy and then sat back and enjoyed the scenery. When I was 15.8nm from the airport I selected APC. . ."Sorry not available at your distance from the airport. . .minimum distance is 15 miles". By the time she had finished I was now at 14.5nm. . .tried again. . ."Sorry not available. . .yada, yada, yada" so I flew about 200nm to get GCA to tell me I'd missed being able to use GCA by fractions of a mile. lol

[mjahn]

Well, not impressed. . .here's why. I took off from the Texas Gulf Coast and headed for Armstrong New Orleans Int'l. Set up the display per the PDF, selected the desired airport and rwy and then sat back and enjoyed the scenery. When I was 15.8nm from the airport I selected APC. . ."Sorry not available at your distance from the airport. . .minimum distance is 15 miles". By the time she had finished I was now at 14.5nm. . .tried again. . ."Sorry not available. . .yada, yada, yada" so I flew about 200nm to get GCA to tell me I'd missed being able to use GCA by fractions of a mile. lol

Yes, I have had that happen to me too, many times. Let's just say Alice can be unforgiving. Sometimes she will even tell you "Radar contact lost, service terminating", which is really embarrassing especially to the one who programmed her ...

[falcon409]

Yes, I have had that happen to me too, many times. Let's just say Alice can be unforgiving. Sometimes she will even tell you "Radar contact lost, service terminating", which is really embarrassing especially to the one who programmed her ...
Good to know, but is there a cure for her temperamental outbursts? lol

[tailspin45]

Good to know, but is there a cure for her temperamental outbursts? lol

Strange experience, that. I've flown several dozen hops testing this thing and never had her turn me down outside of 15 miles. But she'll do it every time at anything less, or if you're flying up the departure path.

I have, as Manfred indicated, had a handful of "radar contact lost" events, but when I clicked APC again (assuming I was still outside 15 miles) she would immediately take me under her wing.

Love to try to duplicate the incident. Was your route directly from KLBX to KMSY? What were you flying...not that it matters, I suppose?

Hmmm, I have on a couple of occasions accidentally selected the airport just below the one I wanted...meaning closer. If you were just beyond 15 miles the closer one would have been less than fifteen and she'd have said she can't help you. I wonder if that's what happened? [Oops, no. You said you were at 15.8 when you called. So much for that theory.]

Try selecting New Orleans right after takeoff? You'll have to listen to Alice giving you heading calls ever 30-40 seconds all the way (the Q key turns off sound), but at least you'll know you're in good hands.

[tailspin45]

Just flew from KLBX to KMSY in the B-50.

Discovered I couldn't select New Orleans right after takepff because the AILA gauge won't accept more than three characters of the ICAO identifier. Gotta figure that out.

But the flight over at 11,000 put us above the haze and we estimated 300kt groundspeed.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=67072&stc=1

Started letting down 25 minutes out and called Approach as soon as KMSY showed up on the AILA gauge, when it 29 miles away.

Approach gave us a dogleg vector to final and GCA talked us down in 500 and 1/2 conditions. We broke out a bit right of centerline (my fault, not theirs) and landed successfully.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=67073&stc=1

[falcon409]

. . . . .Was your route directly from KLBX to KMSY? What were you flying...not that it matters, I suppose?

Actually "Texas Gulf Coast" was only meant as the general area I departed from, the Airport was KGLS (Scholes Int'l). I was flying the Falcon 20, cruise alt. was 5000.


. . . . .Try selecting New Orleans right after takeoff? You'll have to listen to Alice giving you heading calls ever 30-40 seconds all the way (the Q key turns off sound), but at least you'll know you're in good hands.
Everything was turned on and airport selection and runway selections were also dialed in before I ever left the ramp. I flew direct GPS until I was about 100 miles out then switched to hdg mode for the remainder.

[mjahn]

FWIW ... and unless I am much mistaken ... there are some hidden functions to the custom small AP that you might want to explore. One is, after you have dialled in your target airport and runway it's one click on the distance number that will set a direct course there, all without any flight plan and no mention of GPS. Then, when 30 or so miles out, APC and PAR can do the rest. Alright naviagting on two clicks is not really flying, but at least it gets you sorted when lost. Should Alice refuse to give service because you are too close then simply fly a circle (click on the angled arrow for a succession of 45-degrees turns), wait until you are 20 miles off, then call APC/Alice again. As a real last resort, slew back a few miles when nobody is looking, I do that, purely for testing purposes only, of course. She will pretend nothing has happened and guide you in, hopefully without "radar contact lost".

[D5turbi]

Hi Mjahn,

The zzDAT37.xml file causes some errors in P3D v4.4

1 / lines 57 to 59 "Macro define" are not placed in the right place:
the macro "g" is already used line 43. "0 (& gt; @g: enteringInput)"
Thus, P3D does not recognize this line of code.
By moving these lines at the beginning of the file the error disappears.

2 / Several buttons are defined twice with different instructions:
Buttons 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 and 18.
I renamed the second definitions by adding an "A", either

Button 1 -> Button 1A
And so on.

Hoping it helps you.

Best
Jean

[mjahn]

Thank you Jean/D5turbi. Nice name! I have looked at the error log, too, but didn't risk di5turbing Karol's complex code without testing all of the associated functions. At the moment AILA delivers what we need for GCA, and on the strength of the saying if it's not broke don't fix it I didn't. That said, your mods look good and are certainly worth trying on the original version.

[D5turbi]

Thank you Jean/D5turbi. Nice name! I have looked at the error log, too, but didn't risk di5turbing Karol's complex code without testing all of the associated functions. At the moment AILA delivers what we need for GCA, and on the strength of the saying if it's not broke don't fix it I didn't. That said, your mods look good and are certainly worth trying on the original version.

Hi mjahn,

I have not tested all of the associated functions either, apart from creating an ILS on a takeoff runway that does not have one.
(Result not perfect anyway) :banghead:
However, when a line of code, a macro redefinition, or anything else is detected by P3D, it is not processed and can lead to malfunctions in the gauge.
But it is true that my changes did not bring any visible change in the operation of the GCA.

P.S. my name does not mean "disturbing", but it's the type of plane I helped build and piloted: the Druine Turbulent two-seater D5 Turbi :lemo:

Jean

[mjahn]

Good to know ... and with that implication the name's even better!

[Essex]

Only tried PAR so far, but impressed enough to add this to my default minipanel.

Just needed to replace all the =\panel\ with =.\gauges\ in gcacalls.ini

[kdl]

Well, installed this gauge successfully but I wondered why I didn't hear any GCA calls.
I opened \calls to ckeck - I played some of the sounds but there is nothing but silence.

I basically don't have any sound problems sounds on my system.
So what might be the problem?

Dieter

[tailspin45]

Had the same no-sound problem myself several times, as we tested updates before release. Turned out each time I had the wrong sound .dll installed

There are two folders in the download, one called "Install to FSX panel folder" and one called "Install to P3D V4 panel folder."

Make sure you copy GCA folder and especially the sound .dll in the folder that matches your sim (not the whole folder, just the files in it). If you're running P3D and copied the GCA folder and the GCA_dsd_fsx_xml_sound.gau in to your aircraft's panel folder, like I did, you won't hear the controllers voices.

Another possibility, I suppose, is that the changes you made to your panel.cfg file aren't quite right. Double check the window and gauge numbering, for example.
.

[kdl]

Thanks for answering but I'm adfraid no success.
I'm using P3Dv4.4 - so I copied the whole \Gca folder of "Install to P3D V4 panel folder" in my Douglas_C-47 \panel folder.
Additionally I copied "GCA_dsd_P3Dv4_xml_x64_sound.dll" into the Douglas_C-47 panel folder.
I changed the panel.cfg as described in "Add to P3D V4 panel.cfg.txt" - gauge numbering is correct.
GCA gauge is coming up . But I already fail to hear Alice's voice after battery ON and clicking APC in the custon AP panel.
I don't experience hearing those sounds that are based on "C47_dsd_P3Dv4_xml_x64_sound.dll" which is in panel.cfg, too.

I still wonder why I cannot hear any of these GCA wav-sounds when playing them with a sound software.

Dieter

P.S:
Just tried in FSX - same problem

[kdl]

Additional observation:
- When clicking APC in the custon AP panel the first wav sound that seems to be played is:
- APP_skytrain.wav
which I don't hear.

I took another wave file which I renamed APP_skytrain.wav and copied it over the original wav file.
Now when clicking APC I hear this sound. Very strange ...

[mjahn]

Additional observation:
- When clicking APC in the custon AP panel the first wav sound that seems to be played is:
- APP_skytrain.wav
which I don't hear.

I took another wave file which I renamed APP_skytrain.wav and copied it over the original wav file.
Now when clicking APC I hear this sound. Very strange ...

That seems to suggest that your audio system cannot play 22050 Hz Mono wav files, which all of the GCA files are. Can that be checked or enabled in your audio setup?

[kdl]

Ahhh, well I have to inform myself about this.

Dieter

[kdl]

I got it working now! What an excellent software - well done - many thanks!!!
Dieter

[DCA1161]

Is there a way in P3D to send the aircraft sounds to the speaker and the GCA-voices to my headset?
Roy

[mjahn]

Maybe! Sounds like an excellent idea. Can't try it out myself, but Doug Dawson offers a SoundConfiguration file here https://www.douglassdawson.ca/

The readme states this:


Application: DSD_SoundConfiguration.exe

Use this utility to set the DirectSound devices which will be used to play sounds from gauges or other modules based on my sound libraries or gauges released after June 1, 2011. By default, these sounds will be played using the Windows default sound and default voice devices.
For most users, this should be sufficient. If it is not, you can use the utility to select the devices you want. It will enumerate all the DirectSound devices on your system and present drop down lists of the devices. It will write the choices you make into a configuration file: %APPDATA%\dsd_sound\sound.cfg. On my Win7 system, that works out to:


C:\Users\Doug Dawson\AppData\Roaming\dsd_sound\sound.cfg


You can delete this file (and the containing folder) at any time. If you do, the sounds will again be played from the Windows default devices.


Sounds just right, but not 100 percent certain if that's all there is to it ... Please let us know if you can make it work.

In other news, Tom Gibson and I have successfully ported the GCA modules back to FS9 and in the process made some corrections. We are also exploring ways to let the user determine the intercept distance (making it shorter or longer than the current 8-mile default). Will keep posted...

[DCA1161]

Thanks Manfred. I tried it by placing the following instructions in the sound.cfg:

[DEVICE]
PrimaryDevice={7109e620-ac2c-4fc9-8da1-f8d82dee67f5}
VoiceDevice={7109e620-ac2c-4fc9-8da1-f8d82dee67f5}

That is my headset. The result: engines via the speakers, Checklists and GCA via headset. But also the cockpitsounds and that's not something you want. If there were sound.cfg fot the different groups of sounds it may work well, but not now.
Roy

[mjahn]

Ah, that's a pity, sorry about that. Perhaps we can ask Doug for help. What about the Sound options in P3D itself?

[DCA1161]

I’ve already tried that, but no joy.
Roy

[mjahn]

Roy, would you be willing to try again, this time using a small code modification? In GCA\APC.xml, right at the beginning of the code, find the line


<Macro Name="play">1 (>L:@1, number) 0 (>L:paused, enum) </Macro>

and change to:


<Macro Name="play">11 (>L:@1, number) 1 (>L:@1, number) 0 (>L:paused, enum) </Macro>


This supposedly plays the sounds from Windows' sound device. If it does the trick please carefully check if there are any side effects, such as slowed-down gauge reaction, frame rate drop, anything unusual.

If okay then also edit that same Macro in PAR.xml.

Very interested to hear what you find!!

--Manfred

[mjahn]

Yes, it's three steps back to the future! Rick Piper's FS2002 Varsity flying a GCA approach in FS9!! Sorry, guys, couldn't resist...

http://imghst.co/75/l6a==1y3ur.jpg

[DCA1161]

No Luck, Manfred, it does not work. But as it is I still very much enjoy this GCA.
Roy

[pbearsailor]

This is truly a great addon. Cannot thank you enough. :applause:

PMDG DC-6A approaching in heavy rain at Faleolo in Samoa.

steve :wavey:

[mjahn]

Thanks, looking good and exciting. Glad to see it working on the PMDG 6. The only plane so far that won't play along is the A2A Connie due to a sound conflict, apparently.

We are working on a FS9-compatible V2 with some improved functionality. Will post here when it's ready.

[MZee1960]

Hi !

I just downloaded this GCA gauge and trying to install in the Douglas C-117D V3 with the MVC, hence the 'panel.modern' file.

The instructions say :
'If your plane's panel folder is not called "panel" but, say, "panel.modern", you need to
run a search-and-replace on the lines in file gcacalls.ini in folder GCA in order to set
the correct path to the .wav files.'

Can someone tell me where the 'gcacalls.ini' is located as I can't see anything in the GCA folder with that specific name ? Also, what is meant by 'search and replace' ?

Thank-you.
MZ.

[mjahn]

Believe me, gcacalls.ini is in the GCA folder. Open it with a text editor, do a search on the phrase "panel" and replace by "panel.modern".

Example, the line Sound00=\panel\GCA\calls\APP_0.wav should become Sound00=\panel.modern\GCA\calls\APP_0.wav.

FYI, we are preparing a V2 that can be installed in the Gauges folder rather than in the aircraft's panel folder. This can be accessed by all planes and does not need any name changes.

[MZee1960]

Believe me, gcacalls.ini is in the GCA folder. Open it with a text editor, do a search on the phrase "panel" and replace by "panel.modern".

Example, the line Sound00=\panel\GCA\calls\APP_0.wav should become Sound00=\panel.modern\GCA\calls\APP_0.wav.

FYI, we are preparing a V2 that can be installed in the Gauges folder rather than in the aircraft's panel folder. This can be accessed by all planes and does not need any name changes.


Thank-you, Manfred, I will take a closer look.

Looking forward to 'V2' as I'd like to try this with a ton more of the aircraft in my virtual hangar.

[MZee1960]

Found it, Manfred :encouragement:, ... and replaced all 'panel' with 'panel.modern' using notepad edit menu.

Thank-you, for your guidance,
MZ.

[MZee1960]

Hi Manfred,

Is there any way of getting the APC and PAR buttons to be a part of the aircraft status/ control panel bar, as shown in Tom's video in post #1 ? https://youtu.be/MkCGDW1idm8
I am currently accessing these via the FSX drop down menu, but may be easier to access if they were a part of the panel itself.
I am interested in having it in both the C-117D V3 and C-47 V3.12.

Thank-you.
MZ.

[mjahn]

Hi Mzee,

Sure, there are several ways of invoking the GCA, including adding it to an already existing 2D panel, but they are all aircraft-specific. The easiest way is to take a close look at the panel.cfg and see if you can define a WindowNN section where NN is less than 9; in which case you can simply use Shift + the NN number.

We are in the process of final testing of V2, which has an improved installation procedure (no renaming etc) and many other tweaks, so maybe wait a bit until that's finalized. We will in fact suggest to deinstall any earlier version version files in the panel folder.

--Manfred

[MZee1960]

Hi Mzee,

Sure, there are several ways of invoking the GCA, including adding it to an already existing 2D panel, but they are all aircraft-specific. The easiest way is to take a close look at the panel.cfg and see if you can define a WindowNN section where NN is less than 9; in which case you can simply use Shift + the NN number.

We are in the process of final testing of V2, which has an improved installation procedure (no renaming etc) and many other tweaks, so maybe wait a bit until that's finalized. We will in fact suggest to deinstall any earlier version version files in the panel folder.

--Manfred

Thank-you. I will use my current setup until V2. A very nice software addon, and quite addictive, I must say, lol ! :adoration:

[mjahn]

Just uploaded V2 (check Library > New), now FS9 compatible as well, thanks to Tom Gibson and the testers at Calclassic. Any older version will have to be removed/uninstalled for this one to work, but otherwise installation is faster and more economical. I hope. New features:
- some new sounds; APC to identify planned approach type
- intercept distance settable (6 to 12 miles)
- better APC > PAR handover
- improved AP readouts and handling
- revised Manual PDF

http://imghst.co/78/aY&KmoZ1GI.jpg

[kdl]

New version 2 installed, functioning properly without problems.
Thanks for this great work!

[ratty]

Great gauge and lots of fun, but I have an odd anomaly here. I've installed it into several A2A birds, and it works fine in the Bonanza, Comanche and Civ Mustang, but not in the Cherokee or Skylane. After I select Nearest, the airport list is not clickable, and the ICAO button just takes me to Epps Farm. (Perhaps it's because they're fixed gear and the others are retractables?)

[mjahn]

Sorry, I do not have those planes, so cannot check it out here. Looks like it may be something related to the keyboard input function? Any other users here encounter the same issue?

--Manfred

[mjahn]

Check out the NEW tab in the Library!

V2.1 changes include: quick sound setup test; menu items grayed out when not ready; activation of autopilot at user's discretion; 'semi-automatic mode' now available for both Pattern Control and Precision Approach; better setup options for straight-in Precision Approach; improved sequencing of glidepath and centerline callouts; synchronized heading callouts in autopilot and manual modes; "slightly above/below glidepath" added to height callouts; left/right orientation bug added to centerline offset number; revised manual.

--Manfred

[pbearsailor]

Thanks Manfred.