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Any FIR using mode S/Squawk 1000 correlation at Europe?


Pavel Brodsky
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Oliver Gruetzmann
Posted
Posted

Pierre,

 

I'm looking at the equipment suffixes we consider as mode s.

Currently, we mix ICAO and FAA suffixes, but since we (unfortunately) still use the FAA format, I feel like we should stick to these for now.

 

Considering the FAA AIM (https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/aim.pdf), it should be at least W,Z,L (all RVSM with mode C), using all suffixes with mode C would add U,A,P,I,G.

 

If we still want to use ICAO suffixes, E,H,I,L,S apply. Those are safe to use, except S (GNSS/Transponder with no mode C).

I remember Q being used, but it seems this one is not valid anymore.

 

What do you think?

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Pierre Ferran
Posted
Posted

The code list I used is indeed a mix of FAA and ICAO transponder code, I made up the list using the most common codes sent by Simbrief, FSINN & PFPX at the time, PFPX was updated and now sends the FAA code, we could update it to be more realistic, but that'd mean less mode S a/c on VATSIM since the correct codes are rarely being sent, and still be a weird workaround. We'd either need the ICAO flight plan on the network, or p[Mod - Happy Thoughts] the ICAO equipment in the remarks? We could also just make a list of certain aircraft types, and [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ume they are mode S, since it will soon be a requirement for all IFR aircraft in Europe.

 

What do you guys think would be the most appropriate solution?

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Oliver Gruetzmann
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I was thinking about the remarks as well, but the only indication would be CODE/*, which is not filed by everyone. Would be easy to implement, but we'd need to change the equipment suffix in these cases for EuroScope to recognize it (to which code?)

 

Another thing: I'm currently working on an [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment for aircraft squawking a different than the [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned code. It will be a one time [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment, so if the controller enters a new code, this one will persist, also if the aircraft accidentally changes the code in flight for some time.

It's for two reasons:

1. I think it's okay, since these will get a new code anyway

2. I need to, because EuroScope is faster with code [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment for AC without [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned code. AC without [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned code will instantly get a new code by EuroScope when being tracked. In the current version, code 1000 will rarely be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned. I'm currently testing this, but it looks promising.

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Jonas Kuster
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What do you guys think would be the most appropriate solution?
To have accurate information available about the aircraft equipment, the only solution in my eyes is the introduction of ICAO flight plan on the network. But only together with real Mode S data downlink (providing values such as selected altitude, roll rate, rate of descend, ...) we can really enjoy the advantages Mode S offers. Otherwise it's just the [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment of a special code for certain aircraft without any further advantages for neither pilots nor controllers.

Jonas Kuster
Network Supervisor
Leader Operation vACC Switzerland | vacc.ch @vaccswitzerland
GNG Support Team | gng.aero-nav.com
ES Plugin Developer | CCAMS

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Oliver Gruetzmann
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What do you guys think would be the most appropriate solution?
To have accurate information available about the aircraft equipment, the only solution in my eyes is the introduction of ICAO flight plan on the network. But only together with real Mode S data downlink (providing values such as selected altitude, roll rate, rate of descend, ...) we can really enjoy the advantages Mode S offers. Otherwise it's just the [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment of a special code for certain aircraft without any further advantages for neither pilots nor controllers.
The advantage is to have some more individual codes available. The code range defined per station makes it easy (and rather common for some stations) to run out of codes. Seen it more than once in the last few months that EuroScope [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igns the lase code of my range over and over again, because all codes were in use.

 

Plus, it makes it feel more realistic. Not every system in RL uses all the features, some are simulated with this plug in. For now, it think it's better than nothing, but like every other plugin, noone will force you to use it if you feel it doesn't fit your needs.

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Martin Loxbo
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The advantage is to have some more individual codes available. The code range defined per station makes it easy (and rather common for some stations) to run out of codes. Seen it more than once in the last few months that EuroScope [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igns the lase code of my range over and over again, because all codes were in use.

 

This is more a question of having a code allocation system (if you can even call it a system) that's not fit for purpose given the traffic levels that we have online these days. There seems to be no interest on a European level to fix it, so in Sweden we have found ourselves forced to ignore the official code ranges and instead have codes [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned by the TopSky plugin. It has a fairly advanced logic to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign codes in a realistic manner, and checks if a code is in use before [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igning it. So far it has worked very well and I rarely see duplicate codes these days. Of course it's difficult to say whether any code conflicts arise when an aircraft enters other FIRs, but in this case [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igning a new code should be a simple matter if needed.

Martin Loxbo

Director Sweden FIR

VATSIM Scandinavia

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Oliver Gruetzmann
Posted
Posted
The advantage is to have some more individual codes available. The code range defined per station makes it easy (and rather common for some stations) to run out of codes. Seen it more than once in the last few months that EuroScope [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igns the lase code of my range over and over again, because all codes were in use.

 

This is more a question of having a code allocation system (if you can even call it a system) that's not fit for purpose given the traffic levels that we have online these days. There seems to be no interest on a European level to fix it, so in Sweden we have found ourselves forced to ignore the official code ranges and instead have codes [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned by the TopSky plugin. It has a fairly advanced logic to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign codes in a realistic manner, and checks if a code is in use before [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igning it. So far it has worked very well and I rarely see duplicate codes these days. Of course it's difficult to say whether any code conflicts arise when an aircraft enters other FIRs, but in this case [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igning a new code should be a simple matter if needed.

Sure, it helps to ignore the official ranges (that's what I usually do when I run out of codes). But I think using 1000 is also a way to add some more realism. It should be safe to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ume that all traffic in RVSM airspace is capable of mode S, actually it's hard to find any IFR flight in Europe that is not capable.

 

I'd love to start a centralized code distribution, but for this to make sense there need to be some regions interested in this.

A good solution might be to write a library which can be included in other plugins. My own C++ skills will hardly be enough, especially for the server side, but i'm willing to contribute.

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Pavel Brodsky
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Posted

Andreas,

thank you for your effort, but I have a serious bug report.

 

For IFR aircraft the plugin works as expected. I added the Mode S PlugIn / [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign Mode S/A squawk to my departure list mouse click and it works nicely. For Mode S zone it automatically generates 1000 on first click, for non-Mode S zone departures it offers the traditional Euroscope squawk [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment.

 

BUT - when the aircraft has VFR flight rules, I am unable to get anything from the plugin. Regardless of destination being inside or outside of Mode S zone and regardless of equipment suffix, the plugin just does nothing - so I am unable to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign even the traditional Mode A code to just any VFR departure.

 

Could you check this?

 

Pavel

Pavel Brodsky

VACC-CZ

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Oliver Gruetzmann
Posted
Posted
Andreas,

thank you for your effort, but I have a serious bug report.

 

For IFR aircraft the plugin works as expected. I added the Mode S PlugIn / [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign Mode S/A squawk to my departure list mouse click and it works nicely. For Mode S zone it automatically generates 1000 on first click, for non-Mode S zone departures it offers the traditional Euroscope squawk [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment.

 

BUT - when the aircraft has VFR flight rules, I am unable to get anything from the plugin. Regardless of destination being inside or outside of Mode S zone and regardless of equipment suffix, the plugin just does nothing - so I am unable to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign even the traditional Mode A code to just any VFR departure.

 

Could you check this?

 

Pavel

Thanks for the report, I will check this (even if I'm not Andreas )

EDIT: Easy one. Will be fixed in next release.

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Oliver Gruetzmann
Posted
Posted

Just released v1.3.6e32

 

  • *Fixes bug that prevents [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment of discrete codes to VFR traffic
    *[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment as well for aircraft sqauwking a different code than the [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned one

 

The second point only applies once (just after starting to track the aircraft). If code 1000 is [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned and you prefer a discrete code for whatever reason, simply [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign a code a second time and it will persist.

 

There's one situation where code 1000 can be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned accidentally: An aircraft gets a new code while being untracked and gets tracked afterwards with the [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned discrete code not being set.

I hope this will not be an issue, but please let me know if it is.

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Pavel Brodsky
Posted
Posted

Hi Oliver (sorry for Andreasing you)!

Thank you for a quick fix. I just tested the latest release on my sweatbox testing scenario and it seems to be doing what it should. I am deploying it into our VACC-CZ Euroscope for other members - will report back if we find any problems.

 

Best regards,

Pavel

Pavel Brodsky

VACC-CZ

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Erik Wachters
Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

When I try to load the plugin I get an error : "Unable to load plugin DLL: ....... dll"

The last version that worked was 1.3.3e32. Any newer version gives the same error.

I have the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 installed.

 

Any idea?

 

Erik

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Andreas Fuchs
Posted
Posted

Hi Erik,

 

I had the same issue with the previous version of Oli's DLL, but installing the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 solved it. Maybe try running the installation again?

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Pavel Brodsky
Posted
Posted

Oliver,

is there any chance to re-compile the plugin so that it works without the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015? We are using it in our centralised VACC-CZ Euroscope updater (so it gets automatically loaded into all our members scopes when starting it), but those who dont have this Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 are unable to load that plugin. It would be handy not to relay on it, as long as the original version from Pierre worked without it

 

Pavel

Pavel Brodsky

VACC-CZ

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Oliver Gruetzmann
Posted
Posted
Oliver,

is there any chance to re-compile the plugin so that it works without the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015? We are using it in our centralised VACC-CZ Euroscope updater (so it gets automatically loaded into all our members scopes when starting it), but those who dont have this Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 are unable to load that plugin. It would be handy not to relay on it, as long as the original version from Pierre worked without it

 

Pavel

Hi Pavel,

 

sure it's possible, and since it seems like MS is pushing updates to Visual Studio without notice (couldn't find any in Windows Update), it might be the better solution.

 

Can you (or someone else) test this file? I currently have those runtimes installed on all of my systems via VS.

 

http://www.cherryx.de/modes/ModeS-static.dll

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Oliver Gruetzmann
Posted
Posted

Pavel, any feedback on this? Or does no feedback mean "working fine"?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Pavel Brodsky
Posted
Posted

Hold on, very busy at work, will report back in few days! Sorry

 

Pavel

Pavel Brodsky

VACC-CZ

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  • 2 weeks later...
Pavel Brodsky
Posted
Posted

Reporting tested the -Static version of your plugin and works great on a PC where the original version did not run because of the Microsoft something libraries. Thank you

 

Pavel

Pavel Brodsky

VACC-CZ

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Oliver Gruetzmann
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Reporting tested the -Static version of your plugin and works great on a PC where the original version did not run because of the Microsoft something libraries. Thank you

 

Pavel

Thanks for the feedback.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Gergely Csernak
Posted
Posted

The new beta supports S/Squawk 1000:

  • The code (1000) can be set in the settings dialog - leave empty to disable the functions below

  • No DUPE for A1000

  • RT with A1000 always correlates to FP

  • Using auto [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign squawk to S-mode plane [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igns A1000

Gergely.

EuroScope developer

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Pavel Brodsky
Posted
Posted

Nice!

Does the code 1000 [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment reflect any equipment suffixes? Does it reflect any destinations (ModeS zone)? Or is it just for any IFR planes?

 

Pavel

Pavel Brodsky

VACC-CZ

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Gergely Csernak
Posted
Posted
Nice!

Does the code 1000 [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ignment reflect any equipment suffixes? Does it reflect any destinations (ModeS zone)? Or is it just for any IFR planes?

 

Pavel

 

The plane should be detected as S mode capable. The suffixes can be defined in the settings as well. The zone is not detected, it works for all planes.

Gergely.

EuroScope developer

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Pierre Ferran
Posted
Posted

The plane should be detected as S mode capable. The suffixes can be defined in the settings as well. The zone is not detected, it works for all planes.

 

Great work Gergely, good start on implementing the system, but without any region setting, the function is useless, you don't want to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign 1000 to a/c going to non mode S zones or countries who are mode S, but don't want to use it on VATSIM. It should also only be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned to IFR aircrafts, hopefully you can improve the function to implement those filtering system.

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Jonas Kuster
Posted
Posted (edited)
Great work Gergely, good start on implementing the system, but without any region setting, the function is useless, you don't want to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign 1000 to a/c going to non mode S zones or countries who are mode S, but don't want to use it on VATSIM. It should also only be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned to IFR aircrafts, hopefully you can improve the function to implement those filtering system.

A solution might be an additional setting item with regions like the enumeration of squawks which contains (parts) of location indicators similar to the plugins existing.

If we are discussing about an improvement, the entire routing should be considered to determine whether squawk 1000 should be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned or not. Not sure if this can be done and if the plugins available do this already. But [Mod - Happy Thoughts]uming an aircraft flying from an airport in a Mode S region to another airport in a Mode S region, but through airspace not supporting Mode S, would it be recognized by the plugins that squawk 1000 should not be [Mod - Happy Thoughts]igned?

Edited by Guest

Jonas Kuster
Network Supervisor
Leader Operation vACC Switzerland | vacc.ch @vaccswitzerland
GNG Support Team | gng.aero-nav.com
ES Plugin Developer | CCAMS

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