"Slow modem" option

[Guest]

Hi all, firstly wanted to say that I think VATSIM is the best thing to happen to our hobby period. Great fun and makes it feel "as real as it gets".I've noticed a couple of controllers posting messages saying to configure Roger Wilco to slow modem no matter what speed your internet connection is, is this to avoid comms problems? if it helps it should be more widely circulated.I was flying into DC the other night which became very congested and although I could hear the controller and was responding he could not here me and became very frustrated with me and some of the other pilots, quite understandably, but the problem was not that I was not flying as instructed it was that he could not hear my readback, RW is imperitive when it gets busy as typing and flying don't mix, I suppose you could always let the AP have it but that's not much fun and it still takes some time to configure the AP if you need to use it quickly. In short does the slow modem help with RW when its busy?WaldoAAL174

[marcom 139]

Hi WaldoRoger Wilco is a tricky software. Roger wilco will try to share bandwidth with all users connected to the channel, so that the server has less work to do. It then uses those users who use RW with fast internet connections set as servers.Sounds like a good idea? Why not leave it?Here's the problem:a)A user is behind a firewall or router. The packets that are now sent to this user are not forwarded to all other users on the channel. They are lost. What happens? In a worst case scenario no one will hear anyone on the channel! (Except possibly the person behind the router/firewall):(The user has everything configured correctly, but sits on the other side of the Earth. Ping rates are awful, and every packet is first sent around the globe and then possibly back. When packets travel a long way they can get lost and the delay is very long.The voice servers used (at least in Europe) are usually capable of handling all voice data and have good ping rates. To use these servers to their full efficiency it is important that only these servers act as servers. Therefore every user has to set his RW to slow modem!We controllers can't stress this point enough as one pilot who has set his RW to a fast modem connection can kill an entire channel!You can't imagine how frustrating this can be for an approach controller during peak times!So to keep things short:Everyone set RW to slow modem to achieve maximum performance!!Regards,Mark

[Guest]

Thks for the informative response Mark. Modem is now set to slow, actually I did it a few nights ago, might be worthwhile a note about this in the sqawkbox screen when you sign in, you know the one about using your real name and all that, I read all the documents minutely before venturing into the on line world so I wouldn't foul up, don't remember anything about this but I may be wrong.I hear You about the frustration point at busy times, comms is everything to make the system work smoothly.Hope to see you in the virtual skiesWaldoAAL174

[Mats_J 2]

Hi WaldoYou might want to check out this thread as well:http://www.scandva.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcb...D1&viewmode=allAs I understand it, RW is very senitive regarding the individual setup on each connected PC.Hope it helps