Radio Fundamentals

Just returned to FS after 10 years or more.

I have the original CD but loaded FSX - Steam.

How do you select the COM2 or NAV2 to select frequency?

Using "C" only takes me to COM1, "N" to NAV1.

Which plane? You should be able to hover your cursor over the dial and use your mouse scroll wheel to cycle the frequency up and down as will as switch sources.

In all aircraft, hit C 2 or N 2, this will select Comm 2 and Nav 2. Pressing CC will highlight the .00 part of the freq. Hitting NN will highlight the .00 part of Nav. CC2, NN2 will highlight the .00 parts of the Comm 2 and Nav 2. You can then adjust the numbers using the - and + keys.

And yes, using the mouse is much easier :pilot:

Thanks. Exactly what I needed. Just “flew” my first ILS approach to minimums in 11 years , and walked away!

Hi,

Super Newbie here, and don't like making new threads - this one looked pretty close, so..

About Nav2-- what is it for and how do you use it? I have been learning the interaction between nav radios and the HSI, as well as the autopilot. In *every case, the docs say HSI and autopilot are kind of "wired" to Nav1. Does Nav2 have a special purpose?

I noticed this thread refers to "selecting Nav2." Could any give me an example of when you might want to do that?

Sorry if this question is laughable - but seriously, the docs I have seen so far say "Nav1 does all this neat stuff and - oh, yeah, over there is Nav2, aint it cute!>"

Thanks in advance ... and I am not easily offended so, go ahead and boo me out if this is not an appropriate question for this gathering.

There are some addon gauges that folks have designed that use the NAV2 radio. I have played around in the past and while taxiing I have Nav1 tuned to Ground Control and Nav2 tune to Tower freq.

 

RFN Gauge that is used for Carrier Operations require a Nav2 radio.

Edited April 26, 2020 by mrzippy

I noticed this thread refers to "selecting Nav2." Could any give me an example of when you might want to do that?

 

In the days before GPS, two NAV radios were best for IFR, and helpful even for VFR. Aside from having a second radio in case the other one dies, tuning in two different VORs at the same time made finding your actual position easier, especially if you didn't have DME (and a LOT of VOR stations didn't, especially early on). Basically you'd be flying to or from one VOR (usually on NAV 1) and you tune NAV 2 to a different VOR (selected from the chart) that would provide the second point where it crossed the one you were flying to/from. You'd turn the OBS on the second VOR until the TO/FROM flag read FROM and the needle centered, then read the radial. Then you could plot that radial on the chart to pinpoint your location. Also, some instrument approaches list crossing radials that must be observed to be legal to fly the approach.

 

For more detail on this, check out Rudy_B's thread in the Outer Marker section titled Flightsim Navigation with NDB, VOR, DME, GPS, where he's currently posting videos on VOR navigation, to complement his series on NDB navigation.

Hello, mqytn-- I've been having these same simlar issues helping my dad with his flight sim, 2004. He's an experienced pilot and knows all about how everything works in real life, but we're confounded by the details of how the controls and selections work with the keyboard and mouse. All the tutorials talk about the flying stuff, but nowhere have I found a clear set of "computer" interface instructions, e.g. how to manipulate a radio knob. Does that exist somewhere? Is it specfic for each aircraft or is there something generic?

 

Thanks!

Hi Richie.

 

Broadly, it's specific to each radio stack and the preference of whoever created it.

 

Some have click spots on the knobs, outer ring for digits left of the decimal, inner ring for digits right of the decimal.

 

Sometimes adjustment is done on the display digits or the gauge itself.

 

Sometimes you can scroll, sometimes you have to click + drag, sometimes just keep clicking.

 

Sometimes L mouse button is decrease and R button is increase, and sometimes it's left or right side of the knob...

 

As you've found, the difficulty is compounded by the lack of instructions with any given panel and the fact that very often there are non-working dummy knobs & switches just for the sake of an authentic appearance.

 

If there's a specific panel or gauge that's giving difficulty, post a screenshot & a question specific to that panel. Someone here will know how to use it.

 

D