Radar v2.0
for FS2004 and FSX

Table of Contents

For the general usage of the radar, see the following sections:

• Introduction
• Registration
  
• Usage
• IBNet Support
  
• Keyboard Control
  
• Some images...

If you are a panel designer and want to know more about the radar integration, see this page, which covers the topics:

• Panel Integration
• Replacing the old radar in existing panels

Introduction

Some of you may already know the radar I have developed for FS2002/2004. It has been used in many panels to let the virtual pilot see the AI traffic generated by FS2002 or 2004... Unfortunately, the old radar required FSUIPC, which was causing some installation problems sometimes, and it was not compatible with FSX.

This is why the new version (2.0) of the radar is born. This version brings many new features:

• no need of FSUIPC
• full compatibility with FS2004 and FSX
• displays the AI traffic generated by FS2004/FSX
• displays other player aircrafts during mutliplayer sessions
• based on GDI+ for smoother graphics
• available as a rectangular and circular screen for a perfect integration in any panel
• available in 2 colors (green and amber) to fit any aircraft generation
  
• optimized performance for a low impact on the FS frame rate

Registration

The radar gauge must be registered before it can be used. The radar installer suggests that you register just after the installation is finished, but if you have not done so, launch the registering application through the Start menu: Radar for FS > Register.
The following window appears:



You just need to enter your e-mail address and the key that were provided to you by mail when you purchased the product. Then click 'Register", and a message window should indicate the registration is successful. If not, please contact the author (his e-mail address is indicated in the error message).

Important Note:
If you have both FS2004 and FSX, you need to install and register the radar twice with the same key: once for FS2004 and once for FSX.

Usage

This radar has 4 operating modes:

• Off: the radar is turned off and the screen is blank
• Global: the radar displays all the targets around the aircraft
• Horizontal: the radar displays targets in front of the aircraft, perfect for target tracking
• Vertical: the radar displays the targets in front of the aircraft on a vertical plan

Global Mode (green rectangular radar screen)	Horizontal Mode (green rectangular screen)	Vertical Mode (amber circular screen)	Global Mode (amber circular screen)

For each mode, the radar range can be adjusted from 5 to 40 NM.
Each target is represented with a cross symbol and a line. The line shows the direction in which each target flies, and the line size is proportional to each target speed.

Target Information

If no target is selected, no additional information is displayed on the radar screen. You can select a target by clicking it. As soon as a target is selected, it is shown with a frame and its information appears on the screen.

On a rectangular screen, the target information is displayed in the 4 corners:

• Top Left: target vertical speed and current altitude
• Top Right: target bearing and distance
• Bottom Left: target identification
• Bottom Right: target airspeed (true airspeed)

On a circular screen, less room is available to display the target information:

• Top: target distance
• Bottom: target altitude if global/horizontal mode is selected, target speed if vertical mode is selected

Global Mode

In this mode, the radar displays all the targets around your aircraft, within the selected range.

Horizontal Mode

In this mode, the radar displays the targets in front of your aircraft, within the selected range, and in a cone of 60° on the left/right.
The selected target information is the same as in global mode.

Vertical Mode

When this mode is selected, the radar shows the targets on a vertcal plane insead of horizontal. The targets are also shown with a cross symbol and a line, but in this case the line is vertical and its length is proportional to the vertical speed of each target.

In this example, the selected target is to the left and above your aircraft (approximately at 35° on the left, 100 feet above).

IBNet Support

If you don’t use IBNet, you can ignore this section. IBNet is a tool that manages multi-player sessions with high fluidity and effect rendering, allowing formation flying. It works under FS2004 only. To know more about it, you can have a look at the IBridSoft page here.
Opening an IBNet session does not stop the AI traffic generated by FS, so the radar lets you see the AI traffic and the IBNet traffic at the same time, with different symbols: the AI aircrafts are shown with a cross, and the IBNet-managed aircrafts are shown with a diamond, as shown on the following image.

Important Note:
If you want to have the radar working with IBNet, you must update the IBNetPlayer gauge available here. Backup the existing file named IBNetPlayer.gau (located in the FS2004 installation directory), and replace it by this one.

Keyboard Control

The radar mode and range can be controlled using the keyboard (or any other control device, such as joystick buttons).
In order to do this, you must define key assignments in FS (FS2004 or FSX) to some specific events, which are linked to the radar control. These events are very rarely used in common aircrafts, this is why they can be used to control the radar.

The following specific events have the following actions:

FS event	Radar Action
Autopilot pitch ref increase up	Increase mode
Autopilot pitch ref increase down	Decrease mode
Helo governor beep increase	Increase range
Helo governor beep decrease	Decrease range

So you just have to assign keys or joystick buttons to these specific FS events, using the FS pulldown menu Options > Controls > Assignments...
Note that if you want to have this feature working properly, you must integrate a specific gauge in the panel, as explained here.

Example:

The numpad / and * keys have been assigned to the Autopilot pitch ref increase up/down events	The numpad + and - keys have been assigned to the Helo governor beep increase/decrease events

With these key assignments, the numpad / and * keys control the radar mode, and the numpad + and - keys control the radar range.

For any additional question, have a look at the radar page here.

Some images...

The following screenshots show the integration of the radar into some existing jet fighter panels.
(click on any screenshot to see the full size image)

The target is visible, exactly in front of the aircraft, almost 1000 feet above. The vertical mode is perfect when the selected target is close.	The target is in the center of the screen in vertical mode. It means it is exactly in front of the aircraft, at the same altitude. The interception is close...	The target is a small and slow Cessna (hardly visible through the HUD). In horizontal mode, the selected target is shown with a small tail (slow target).	The selected target is 3.9NM from the aircraft. It is visible on the outside view. It is descending at 200 ft/min for landing.	The global mode shows a selected target at 11.8NM from the aircraft. It is not visible yet.	The target is very close and it is visible outside.

When you use an aircraft equiped with this radar, you will be able to experience situations like these...