GASTON VAN CONG TRANG Posted August 20, 2021 at 06:19 AM Posted August 20, 2021 at 06:19 AM Hello all, hope you are doing good. Let me introduce myself, I will be 70 at the end of the month, I've been flying simulators since MS started it's first FS, yesterday I decided to join VATSIM to have a glimpse on how is flying in the real world. I know the aerodynamics of aircraft, master the art of flying but lack in communication with ATC and the like. My actual concern for the moment is how to get my SELCAL code which is required to connect Vpilot to MSFS200. Thank you for your inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Shearman Jr Posted August 20, 2021 at 07:34 AM Posted August 20, 2021 at 07:34 AM It's not required. You can leave it blank. Cheers, -R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASTON VAN CONG TRANG Posted August 20, 2021 at 11:11 AM Author Posted August 20, 2021 at 11:11 AM 3 hours ago, Robert Shearman Jr said: It's not required. You can leave it blank. Unfortunately without the Selcal I can connect only as an observer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Hansson Posted August 20, 2021 at 12:24 PM Posted August 20, 2021 at 12:24 PM Selcal is not and has never been required to connect so something else is going on with your setup. Can you please describe in detail what software you are using and what error you get when you are trying to connect? Tomas Hansson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASTON VAN CONG TRANG Posted August 21, 2021 at 04:56 AM Author Posted August 21, 2021 at 04:56 AM 16 hours ago, Tomas Hansson said: Selcal is not and has never been required to connect so something else is going on with your setup. Can you please describe in detail what software you are using and what error you get when you are trying to connect? Hi Tom, I have MSFS and Vpilot. It’s working now without having to enter the Selcal, may be because I did not enter the route correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Christie Posted August 21, 2021 at 07:48 AM Posted August 21, 2021 at 07:48 AM 2 hours ago, GASTON VAN CONG TRANG said: may be because I did not enter the route correctly. You can connect to the network before filing a flight plan, so that is not the issue here. Kirk Christie - VATPAC C3 VATPAC Undercover ATC Agent Worldflight Perth 737-800 Crew Member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurent Samson Posted October 31, 2022 at 10:49 PM Posted October 31, 2022 at 10:49 PM (edited) Hello, I'm new too but have no problem to connect that said. But why don't you answer that simple question anyway even if it is not required? I'm a curious guy so I never backup when the answer is... not important. 😉 Thx Well there's an extend explanation of what it is and for what it is for. Enjoy a newbie curiosity... Edited October 31, 2022 at 11:04 PM by Laurent Samson answer is here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Crowley Posted October 31, 2022 at 11:04 PM Posted October 31, 2022 at 11:04 PM 14 minutes ago, Laurent Samson said: But why don't you answer that simple question anyway even if it is not required? Just curious... who's going to selcal you? 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurent Samson Posted November 1, 2022 at 04:30 AM Posted November 1, 2022 at 04:30 AM 5 hours ago, Andrew Crowley said: Just curious... who's going to selcal you? 😁 Ahah sure not. But interesting to know what it is instead of always asking or being not sure what we should put in that field. Now I know exactly why I will ignore this field. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Flemming Hansen Posted November 28, 2022 at 01:54 PM Posted November 28, 2022 at 01:54 PM On 8/20/2021 at 8:19 AM, GASTON VAN CONG TRANG said: Hello all, hope you are doing good. Let me introduce myself, I will be 70 at the end of the month, I've been flying simulators since MS started it's first FS, yesterday I decided to join VATSIM to have a glimpse on how is flying in the real world. I know the aerodynamics of aircraft, master the art of flying but lack in communication with ATC and the like. My actual concern for the moment is how to get my SELCAL code which is required to connect Vpilot to MSFS200. Thank you for your inputs. To answer your questions in sequence: SELCAL is not required to be entered to connect to VATSIM. Both on xPilot and vPilot, what you need to enter is your callsign (airline icao + max 4 letters/digits, for example DLH22AB or DAL64) and which plane you are using. Just be aware that, at least for xPlane, you usually have to select the plane in the dropdown list. SELCAL is an older form for communication between pilot and atc, mostly used on trans-oceanic flights or where HF radio is the only form for connection. It comprised of 4 letters, in grouping of two, where the first letter in a group has to come before the second letter, alphabetically. So DF-EH is a valid SELCAL but EB-GF would not be a valid SELCAL. The purpose of the SELCAL is for the pilots to be able to turn the radio volume completely down (because there could be a lot of chatter and there is a lot of noise on HF) and when the ATC needs to reach the plane, they send a SELCAL (SELective CALling) request. The request is comprised of two sounds, which is made of two distinct tones, from the letters. You can try it out here: https://www.avdelphi.com/selcal.html As I understand it, SELCAL is still used and planned by the pilots and ATC, but only as a backup solution. The primary way of communication is via CPDLC which is kind of a text message system for planes. On the VATSIM network (at least with xPilot) you get a "ping" from the software, when the ATC needs to reach you. But the reason behind it is the same. That you can turn down the volume of your radio while flying trans-oceanic (or similar routes). Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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