Transponder Not Working

Kaydet

I have the same problem :(
Send a ticket to JF early this morning, lets hope they can fix it for the next update.

Martyn

Just to confirm, we believe that we are setting the MSFS transponder correctly based on the selections made in the 146 cockpit, but are trying to establish how these various clients intercept/interpret the MSFS transponder.

N293WK

@martyn I believe the cause of the issue is that the TRANSPONDER STATE SimVar is constantly being set to 5, which corresponds to "Ground" mode. It should be set to 3 when on, or 4 when in alt mode. I don't think the PE client understands what state 5 is, so it just assumes the transponder is off.

Con7inuum

@N293WK In the interim, while @Martyn fixes this on their end, is there someway we the end user can fix this in our local installations? This problem is inhibiting a number of people from enjoying this product.

N293WK

@con7inuum Something is continuously setting the SimVar to 5, so I don't think so. I think we'll just have to hang on a bit longer until they come out with an update to fix it.

SimCaesar

@martyn I have some new information regarding the transponder and PIlotEdge and Vatsim.

As it turns out the BAE146 transponder DOES work on PilotEdge as long as you're in the air. It does not work on the ground. As @N293WK said, it is continuously setting the TRANSPONDER STATE SimVar to 5 regardless of the transponder mode selected in the sim. You can get away with this at most airports, but it means that you technically can't fly at airports that require you to squawk mode C on the ground (any class B airport and some class C).

In vPilot on Vatsim the transponder is constantly squawking mode C on the ground regardless of how the transponder is set in the sim. Once the wheels come off the ground at takeoff the transponder then squawks whatever is set in the sim.

So as long as you're in the air, the BAE146 transponder works correctly. On the ground it does not.

jmarkows

@simcaesar I haven't yet tried it with VATSIM, however I have used Pilot2ATC with it and I do indeed see transponder set to GROUND in that while on the ground.

I see the same with the Aerosoft CRJ though, does that work with Pilot Edge?

Martyn

Thanks for the additional information. So there are two issues:

The ground detection logic in our code prevents you from selecting mode C until you are airborne. That logic was based on some reference material but I can't remember where I found it. In any case, I've now removed that so mode C is available on the ground.
vPilot is interpreting TRANSPONDER STATE == 5 as being mode C, which is incorrect based on the MSFS SDK which states that is the ground mode. They need to fix that in their code.

Martyn

Here is a replacement WASM gauge that will allow mode C selection on the ground: Download Here

The WASM gauge replaces the existing file in: \SimObjects\Airplanes\JF_146_100\panel\

Kaydet

@martyn Thanks!

Transponder seems to work on Pilotedge!