OnCourse Software

It seems to me (I'm getting old and CRS) that with PFE if your Transponder wasn't on or set correctly ATC would come on and tell you to get your act together. With PF3 it seems having the Transponder on or off doesn't matter. ATC doesn't seem to care?. Am I missing something or is my Transponder screwed up?

WWTowers wrote:

It seems to me (I'm getting old and CRS) that with PFE if your Transponder wasn't on or set correctly ATC would come on and tell you to get your act together. With PF3 it seems having the Transponder on or off doesn't matter. ATC doesn't seem to care?. Am I missing something or is my Transponder screwed up?

I think Transponder on/off (or even mode C) isn't checked, due to being hard to check across different aircraft.
There are LUA scripts to read aircraft-specific gauge vars and write them into offset 0x7B91, which in turn is used by SquawkBox and other ATC clients.

But the Transponder code should be checked. If it is not, this is a bug.
I haven't tested this in a long time due to either using VCP mode 2 or setting the transponder code correctly, but it would be good if this works (again?)

Can anyone confirm this bug?

ThomasAH wrote:

WWTowers wrote:

It seems to me (I'm getting old and CRS) that with PFE if your Transponder wasn't on or set correctly ATC would come on and tell you to get your act together. With PF3 it seems having the Transponder on or off doesn't matter. ATC doesn't seem to care?. Am I missing something or is my Transponder screwed up?

I think Transponder on/off (or even mode C) isn't checked, due to being hard to check across different aircraft.
There are LUA scripts to read aircraft-specific gauge vars and write them into offset 0x7B91, which in turn is used by SquawkBox and other ATC clients.

But the Transponder code should be checked. If it is not, this is a bug.
I haven't tested this in a long time due to either using VCP mode 2 or setting the transponder code correctly, but it would be good if this works (again?)

Can anyone confirm this bug?

In VCP 2 it works fine. It dosn't matter to what number the transponser is set to. When the controller says "Readback Correct" the VCP sets it correctly. My transponder is mode C and comes on with (K:TOGGLE_MASTER_BATTERY) so there is no separate on/off switch in my case.

vololiberista wrote:

In VCP 2 it works fine. It dosn't matter to what number the transponser is set to. When the controller says "Readback Correct" the VCP sets it correctly.

Of course, that was my point: VCP mode 2 sets it correctly so you can't check what PF3 does if it is set incorrectly.

I would hope for "pfchat217=Check your transponder. Squawk" (followed by the transponder code). If PF3 does not do that at some point, this would be a bug.

ThomasAH wrote:

vololiberista wrote:

In VCP 2 it works fine. It dosn't matter to what number the transponser is set to. When the controller says "Readback Correct" the VCP sets it correctly.

Of course, that was my point: VCP mode 2 sets it correctly so you can't check what PF3 does if it is set incorrectly.

Thomas that seems a bit contradictory. Are you saying if any other vcp mode is set? I can see that my transponder is set correctly. If I set it incorrectly because I have misheard the clearance then yes "Check your transponder" would be ok. Iàll try resetting my transponder after being set to see what happens.

To be a little more clear...my transponder is set correctly by the VCP and I have no issue with that. The transponder is not turned on (activated) until the aircraft is ready for takeoff by the PIC. If I fail to turn it on, ATC does not tell me to "pfchat217=Check your transponder. Squawk" (followed by the transponder code). If PF3 does not do that at some point, this would be a bug.
It is a bug....

WWTowers wrote:

If I fail to turn it on, ATC does not tell me to "pfchat217=Check your transponder. Squawk" (followed by the transponder code). If PF3 does not do that at some point, this would be a bug.
It is a bug....

Ah, ok. I'll try to give a precise short answer:
Transponder turned on can't be checked by PF3, because FSX does not provide this information. Therefore this is not a bug in PF3, but a missing feature of FSX.

Additional answer, unrelated to you original question:
Transponder code being correct can be checked by PF3, because FSX does provide this information. If this does not work, it would be a bug in PF3.

(and in all these answers you can substitute FSX with FS9 or P3D)

WWTowers wrote:

The transponder is not turned on (activated) until the aircraft is ready for takeoff by the PIC.

Nothing to do with PF3 hopefully/probably but do you mean switch from standby or actually turn it on as that is a bit late immediately before take-off!

Switch from standby to on at holding point.

Today, while in mid-flight, I turned my transponder OFF and within a split second ATC came on and told me to check my transponder and gave me the code. I guess you must be in the air for this feature to work.