Automated Radio Check

Discussions surrounding the software that lets pilots connect to PilotEdge and the actual simulators
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ChuckOman
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:55 pm

Automated Radio Check

Post by ChuckOman »

Hi Keith -

PE controllers controllers always try to gracefully handle radio check requests. But if you are troubleshooting a connection problem, sometimes you need to make multiple requests which can be a hassle for everyone else.

Have you ever considered allocating a specific unused frequency for automated radio checks on PE ? In my other life afloat, I often use Sea Tow's free automated VHF radio check service. You tune the appropriate VHF marine channel, key your mic and broadcast a verbal radio check request. The service records your call, and repeats back your request as an incoming transmission, so you can judge what others would hear in terms of strength and clarity. Works great.

Not aviation real world, obviously. But then neither are the connection troubleshooting problems we all occasionally face when we install a new sim, aircraft or tweak our firewalls.... You're already recording voices on the server, so maybe it would require only a tweak to the code. I'll bet your busy controllers would love it.

Chuck O
FourMikeRomeo
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:43 pm
Location: Boston-ish, MA

Re: Automated Radio Check

Post by FourMikeRomeo »

+1. This would be terrific. Not just to offload most of the radio checks from busy controllers, but to know precisely what I sound like on the radio and adjust accordingly. Am I too close/too far from the mic? Are my speakers leaking into my transmissions? Is it distorted or muffled or noisy or hard to understand?

Skype has this feature, and I find that I use it to test my audio before almost every call or telecon I dial into.

I could also imagine it being a feature accessible directly through the PE client/plugin. Once connected to the network, there'd be a button for "Audio Test" and it'd work like Skype. Basically it prompts you to talk for a few seconds, then plays your recording back to you and then hangs up. (Bonus points for an audio level meter while recording, so you know if you're clipping.) This would be a way to implement the feature without breaking realism by allocating a radio freq for it. Once you record and listen back, you know you're transmitting and receiving and you're ready to call for clearance.
N314MR
CAT-11 | I-11
RonCraighead
Posts: 62
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:23 am
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Automated Radio Check

Post by RonCraighead »

This would be a great feature.

In RW as well! It's actually a realistic problem. Troubleshooting radio quality issues requires transmitting to ATC in real world flying, and they describe how you sound, or give you 'loud and clear' or 'five by five'.

But I see how it could be a value add to the client.

Cheers,

Ron
Ron Craighead
VFR and IFR Pilot, High Performance and Complex Endorsement (AT-6 Texan), Tailwheel Endorsement (Cessna 170), Spin Endorsement (Great Lakes) and survived some acro!
FAA Advanced Ground Instructor, Instrument Ground Instructor.
Keith Smith
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Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:38 pm
Location: Pompton Plains, NJ
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Re: Automated Radio Check

Post by Keith Smith »

this can be achieved in the xplane client by setting your com1/2 freq to the same frequency and setting com1/2 receive to ON.

Then, transmit on COM1 and you should hear your voice very quickly after playing back on com2 (basically whatever the roundtrip time is between your machine and the vox server, plus the protocol latency for buffering).
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