News

SATCO Upgrades Servers

On Saturday, October 23, the SATNET team added a METAR server to the network to process the weather for the system. With this server now online, weather update frequency has been reduced from as long as 4 days to less than 3 hours. In fact, the new system has been keeping the weather updated to within the hour most of the time. Now it really is possible to look outside and go fly in what you see.

Along with the server add, an update patch was applied to the other servers to further combat the lag issue that has plagued SATNET. From initial reports, the results appear pretty remarkable. The "lag monster" hasn't been quite eliminated, but there is a definite improvement.

German Translated ProController Manual Available

We'd like to thank Oliver "Viper" Basarke for providing a German translation of the ProController manual. If you prefer to read Deutsch (sorry this had to be written in English <g>), you can get your copy at http://www.btronic.de/spiele.htm.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Mentions SquawkBox

In an article by G. Chambers Williams III, he interviews Ray F. Jones and R. R. Whistler of SATCO. You can find out more about SATCO and the virtual air traffic control environment by visiting
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:NE73/1:NE73082899.html.

Next Version of SquawkBox Demonstrated at SATCO's KC99 Convention

At KC99, Jason Grooms and Joe Jurecka demonstrated some of the new functionality of the next version of Pro-Controller and Squawkbox. Among the features demonstrated were SB peer-to-peer position updates,. the CSL model aircraft, and interactive voice communications (using Roger Wilco from Resounding Technologies).

The peer-to-peer position updates specifically address the frequency of position updates for FS98 multiplayer mode. The position updates are now five times faster than in the previous version of Squawkbox.

The CSL (Common Shape Libary) models are also used with FS98 multiplayer to represent the aircraft being flown by other pilots. Currently, there are around 65 models which may appear. The new system uses the aircraft selected in the flight plan from a listing of 450 aircraft. If the exact aircraft is not available, a model of similar type has been chosen by Brett and Sean (and editable by the user as well). While the library, at this time, does support many models, it does not accurately represent the livery of the other player. This feature has been created dynamically such that new aircraft, which may be added by the CSL team, do not require a new release of Squawkbox.

The voice project was demonstrated to a room of about 30 individuals (all who could fit into the conference room.) Jason Grooms and Joe Jurecka demonstrated the ability of Pro-Controller and Squawkbox to integrate Roger Wilco into the virtual ATC environment. The audience was pleased with the voice quality of the system. While testing so far has proven successful, there is a significant amount of work to be done to ensure that voice loads are distributed evenly. It is estimated that this testing and development will take a couple of months. If testing proves fruitful, the simulated aviation community will have a new method in which to communicate with the real time, real people, virtual ATC environment.

At this time, no release date has been decided. Watch the Pro-Controller/Squawkbox home page for further details as they become available.

SATNET System Back Online

The SATNET system has been brought back online with a new user agreement in place. Use of the SATNET system constitutes your acceptance of their terms of use. Visit http://www.satnet.satco.org.to review the terms.

SATNET System Shut Down Until Further Notice

Due to the threat of a lawsuit by one of the members, the senior supervisors of SATCO and SATNET have decided to suspend operations until further notice. More information is available at http://www.satnet.satco.org.

Help Being Sought for Future ProController Development

In an effort to ensure timely enhancements to the ProController software, as well as keeping time for personal matters, Jason is formally requesting help from experienced developers with the future development of ProController.

ProController is written in Borland's Delphi 4.0, and qualified candidates should have the following skills:

• Delphi 3.0 or 4.0 programming experience (4.0 preferred)
• Knowledge of socket programming and socket based protocols
• Strong object oriented design skills
• Experience writing and using custom VCL's
• Experience with COM, CORBA, Automation, ESRI Map objects a plus

ProController 3.0 is going to be a complete rewrite of the code so new developers have a chance to get in on the ground floor and not only code, but design the software. If you are interested in development, you should e-mail Jason at jgrooms@simdevelopers.com with a brief description of your experience.

Work Continues on UN*X Port

Ralf Gerlich's team continues development on the UN*X port of ProController, now named "KProController." As of this writing, the current version is 0.1.2m, but the updates are coming fast and furious as bugs are taken care of. The next version, 0.1.3 may be released as early as next week.

The files are no longer available for direct download, but you can receive the URL to obtain the files, along with the policy for using the program, by contacting Ralf via e-mail from his website. Please remember that this is a developmental program and is strictly forbidden from being used on live networks. Ralf can answer any questions you might have about the policy.

Version 0.1.1 of UN*X Port Released

This initial public release allows you to use Pro Controller on UN*X based systems. The compilation system uses autoconf/automake to make it easier to compile on different UN*X systems with different KDE and Qt paths.

To download a copy and try it out, visit http://www.d-design.net/rgerlich/atc/. Version 0.1.2 should be coming out shortly.

UN*X Port of ProController Announced

Ralf Gerlich has started working on a port of ProController to UN*X based systems, and is actively seeking contributors to the project. The port is using the Qt Toolkit from TrollTech and the KDE libraries. If you would like to help in the effort to make ProController available to the UN*X operating system, check out Ralf's page at http://www.d-design.net/rgerlich/atc/.

SquawkBox/ProController Integrated Site Launched

In an effort to provide better online support for the users of the virtual air traffic control environment, SquawkBox and ProController are making a new home on the site of Avsim Magazine. The new site, designed and maintained by Transitions Flight Service, a new organization in the field of flight simulation, will feature enhanced interactivity and more up to date information while allowing Joe and Jason to concentrate their efforts on what they do best... bringing the best Flight Simulator add-on products to the world.

ProController 2.2 Build 5 Released

Honolulu CERAP Facility Opens

Virtual Stock Exchange Listing

Fullerton Open House

New Ground Sectors

Japanese Manual Available

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