Hiya, two things,firstly, why do I keeo getting timeout errors when trying to downoad offline weather cycle files, and second, what is the difference between defcycle.wxd, expcycle.wxd etc....also, if I were to download an offline file t 15:00Z and then another at 16:00Z I would have two offline files, but if I downloaded again at 15:00 and 16:00 the next day, would these files be overwritten? I am still confused about how all this stuff works because I have just bought it, but this timeout error is anoying, whats causing it?riciedit: Also after the failed download attempt I face a barrage of warnings about 'Metar get request' - problem reading offline files, download another set.

Hi there,Timeouts happen when the NOAA servers are unable to provide all 3-5MB of METAR, TAF and winds aloft data for the entire world over your current internet connection. Either you are having a local comms problem (check firewall software, proxy server settings, etc.) or there are problems with the stability of the internet connection. Usually this is temporary and can be caused by many things, such as internet congestion or local ISP problems, and occasionally the actual NOAA server has problems. What kind of connection do you have? Have you tried the low-bandwidth winds option? This may help.. Remember that even if you have a timeout wxRE will continue to operate fine in most circumstances, just with less resolution of data.Defcycle files are the ones included with wxRE... expcycle are automatic files created for FSFLIGHTMAX export (and they do NOT work with OFFLINE MODE, which is why you would get the error you mentioned - make sure you select a normal cycle not an EXP cycle).Hope that helps!-Damian[table border=0" cellspacing="30" cellpadding="0][tr][td align = "left"]Damian ClarkHiFi Simulation SoftwareDeveloper of ActiveSkyThe next-generation weather environment simulation for FS2002!http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky[/td][td]http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg][/td][/tr][/table://http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/ima...[/tr][/table

I'm running a satellite connection (broadband) and I'm getting timeouts as well.

JP,Based on your situation that we talked about a little bit, your best method my be in Offline Mode:1. Start up AS.2. Go to Options, select Offline Mode.3. Click on Low Bandwidth Winds Download.4. Click on Auto Download and Create New.5. Let the download happen.6. Choose the cycle file that was just downloaded.7. Start up FS02.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Support

Just to add something here. Yes, if you downloaded a 15z and 16z file today and did the same thing another day, your first files would be overwritten. Users have found that renaming the files is a work around.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Support

Which files can safely be deleted to keep the Active Sky folder from becoming cluttered with numerous downloads?

All exp files if you are NOT using FltMax. It will never get too full because the METAR cycle files will keep over-writing themselves, and not build up, so the most you could have is 24 sets unless you start re-naming them.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Support