It's lonly out there....

[Scotch]

Well I have just started flying MP sessions on SB and have found there are not a whole lot of ATC out there.

Am I just flying into the wrong air ports?  Just 15 mins ago (21:30L/04:30GMT) I landed in an empty Las Vegas (Mac intl.) air port. Also, when I left Denver (KDEN) the ATC signed off before I ever left the ground.

So, are there servers with more ATC on them or is it just luck of the draw on if an air port is "open"? Or is it more active on weekends?

Thanks,
Flying the lonly sky's....

Kevin "Scotch" McGlothlin
Denver

[PH_AJH]

What network are you connecting to? I fly a lot with the Vatsim network. I use ServInfo to check out the airports and usually there is a lot of very busy airports with a lot of ATC positions manned.
ServInfo can be used with the Vatsim and IVAO network by the way. It has numerous features:
There's a world map that shows all pilots and ATC connected worldwide. Also you can see Eurobook - the ATC booking tables so you can see how long ATC will be active at airports. Very handy for flightplanning. etc etc
Just take a look at www.vatsim.net.
Al this stuff and membership with Vatsim is free. I find it very very good.

Cheers
AJ

[Scotch]

I have been logging in through Squawkbox.  Not real sure how to log into a VATSIM server.

[PH_AJH]

ehmmm....This explains a lot. Squawkbox is a program, not a server.  You need it to log into a network and see other players.... You were not connected to anything I think. Squawkbox will run by itself but all it does then is monitor your flight.
Take a look at the link I gave you. I promise you, you won't regret it. At first it seems terribly difficult to get it all working but then....You will never want anything else. There are very good tutorials at the Vatsim site. You'll have online ATC (that's real people), other pilots (hundreds worldwide at the same time), real life procedures....
It is the best step I ever took with Flight Simulator.

It is very realistic though. I do not know if that's what you're after.
AJ

[PH_AJH]

At the Vatsim site, look at the left part of it. Under Member Services you'll find  "About Vatsim". Read this and if you like it, look further down in the same column under "Pilots downloads". You'll find everything you need.

Cheers
AJ

[Scotch]

[quote]ehmmm....This explains a lot. Squawkbox is a program, not a server.

[J3]

one suggestion I have is try an FShost server.
someof them have a dedicated hop list that start you out at an airport and tell you where to fly to, when you arrive at the next stop it will give you a new destination.
these servers run to all kinds from the most serious to the most casual
I fly most of the time on skysserver which is a 24 hour dedicated server.
to me it's a good blend, not too serious but not childish.
there is no ATC so every airport is treated like an uncontorlled or UNICOM.
the hoplist changes every saturday and runs all week with a mixture of hops from major airports to bush destinations like mountain tops and lakes.
the server is monitored and you are expected to stay on the hoplist.

[PH_AJH]

Scotch,
No worries . I know what you are going through. The same happend to me and quite a lot of other people. Some even give up. But believe me, once you understand it it is all really pretty easy and you'll be flying online within 5 minutes. The first tries took me hours..... Just a routine you'll have to master. So yes, I'll be patient. No problem at all.

Well, assuming you want to fly with Vatsim (as J3 pointed out, there are easier ways to do multiplayer but they are nowhere near as realistic. Vatsim is a serious but really nice, friendly and addictive environment which simulates real life flying extremely well) I'll try to talk you through the steps.

First: register with Vatsim. You'll need a Vatsim ID and password to log onto their servers. So go to the Vatsim site and apply. You'll have to read quite a lot for this as they have a couple of rules etc which you must understand and agree with.

Next. Go to the pilots downloads section and download the Squawkbox tutorial. It will explain exactly what software you need. This would be Squawkbox, SBRelay if you have FS2004, AVC, SBHost. I'd recommend ServInfo too.
Set it all up as described. You'll have to enter your Vatsim ID and password in Squawkbox and AVC.

Now you're ready to connect.
For this go to the Vatsim homepage and scroll down the middle part of the page until you see the Multiplayer Tutorial for FS2004 [Using SBHost]. Follow all the steps and you will be fine.

Please go through all these steps. If there is a problem you want help with please describe exactly what you did before the problem occured.
I'll be more then happy to help you as much as I can.

Good luck
AJ

[Scotch]

... I'd recommend ServInfo too. Set it all up as described. You'll have to enter your Vatsim ID and password in Squawkbox and AVC.

[br]
I have done all the steps you recomend except for the ServeInvo. I'll get that one when I get home.
[br]

Now you're ready to connect.
For this go to the Vatsim homepage and scroll down the middle part of the page until you see the Multiplayer Tutorial for FS2004 [Using SBHost]. Follow all the steps and you will be fine.

Please go through all these steps. If there is a problem you want help with please describe exactly what you did before the problem occured.
I'll be more then happy to help you as much as I can.

Good luck
AJ

I'll do that. And thank you!

Scotch

[PH_AJH]

Kevin,
You're welcome
5 minutes ago I finished a flight from Amsterdam to Dublin with a lot of traffic over the UK, ATC at Amsterdam tower, departure and radar, 2 controllers over the UK, Dublin approach was online and Dublin tower as well. Plus the weather at Dublin (which is realtime with Vatsim) was terrible. It was so cool.
Just so you know what to expect.
Once you get it running the hard part starts...you'll have to talk, fly and navigate at the same time. This game just isn't the same as off-line.

I'll check this post again tomorrow.
Good luck

AJ

Cheers
AJ

[Scotch]

Thanks for all of your help!

Looks like I have it all set up.  I managed to launch out of Seattle (no ATC) but by the time I was close to Denver there was an ATC there.

All was going well untill about 50 mi out, clear streaght in, I did something wrong trying to communicate and crashed. Also, the AC noise was so loud I had to turn the sound off to hear the ATC. So in the process of flying, turning the sound on and off and text communicating back to the ATC I fell out of the sky. Three hours for nothing.

Payday I am off to get a decent head set and mic. Mine has so many shorts that the ATC could not hear half of what I was saying.

Well maby not a total loss. I know now that it's all working even though it still needs tweeking.

I will have to say this though.  With as long as FS has been around and it's obvous popularity, you'd think we could do all of this with one program, two at best. This whole thing of having to operate 5 diffrent programs is nuts.  But that's MS for you.

I play half life (DoD actualy) and all I do is log into a game on-line and I am in, voice comm and all, with players from all over the world.  Maby the nature of FS prevents that but it's still there has to be a way.


OT:  AJ, I see you have a P-2 photo and go by PH-AJH, by any chance are/were you a Navy Photographer?

Thank you again all and esp AJ for all of your help.

Kevin "Scotch" McGlothlin

[PH_AJH]

Kevin,

Glad you worked it out.
Some suggestions:
Sound. On my system I have a soundcard to which the flightsimulator sends it sounds, so they come from my desktop speakers. AVC gives you the option of receiving/sending through different sound devices (in the "audio setup" section) so under "output device" I selected the onboard soundsystem and I plugged my headphone to this device. Now I have engine sounds from my desktop, and ATC through the headphone (which is a regular Hifi headphone with adjustable volume). This works very very well without the need for installing a second soundcard. Well worth the try if you have a soundcard.

About all the programs: the next release of Squawkbox will have FSRelay, FShost and AVC integrated I believe. That will be a major improvement. All the current programs were developed for FS2000/2002 so yes....lot of work just to get it running.

You should really try ServInfo because you'll be able to see in a minute where ATC and traffic can be found.

About the Neptune: I used to be in the Royal Dutch Navy...but I'm a psychiatric nurse now. The love for grey aeroplanes & ships never died though

Kevin, enjoy Vatsim and e-mail or PM me if you want to ask or share something!!

Cheers
AJ

[Poseidon]

One suggestion is to have a look at a VACC. They have several ready documents describing all the staff about connecting and flying online. I would suggest one from UK or USA or of your country (if other) because some documents are written in native language of each VACC.

[jpw]

HI im trying to get logged on to vatsim

[jpw]

sorry im Just blind about the AVC got that now,  but will the squawk box i have work

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