Hi,Scenario: I am flying over the fiords of British Columbia, Queen Charlotte Sound area, making use of the excellent Ultimate Terrain Canadian scenery and hi res FSGenesis 38m mesh. Typical BC actual weather has several low cloud layers and this is very well depicted in ASV so I am seeing very little so I select the WX Configurator to give me a nice cloudfree picture with 12SM vis apply it to a range of 100NM of CYZT, the nearest station, and update. Noting earlier comments in this forum I disable the TAF processing, have no update suppression and ensure that the Metar I construct does not contain a 000000Z timegroup which might invalidate it at 301045Z. Lo and behold the vis changes to 12SM but the view is still full of cloud, at least in the area forward of the plane, it appears to have worked correctly behind it (see screenshot). Repeating the process with a current DTG in the Metar doesn't make much difference, slightly more cloud if anything. What's going on? Accepting that the TAFs show cloud, surely disabling the TAF processing should work (before I disabled it ASV based its weather purely on the TAF)? I also have ICS and random sky effects enabled.

Hi,Did you click the Apply Now, and the Update and Close button? Did you get a message stating that ASV is now in Offline Mode?Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

Jim,Yes to both.Mervyn

Further to the above. The cloud cleared in the above scenario when I moved east to near Bella Coola which had no cloud in its Metar despite a TAF full of it. The cloud in the original pic was still visible towards the western horizon. I restarted the sim today with the saved earlier flight with similar clear conditions but cloud in the west. I then reset ASV to give online weather and TAF processing and got the latest from the obs which were still cloudy, in fact OVC. ASV changed the weather in the sim correctly for this OVC. I then tried my clear sky theme again in WX Configurator - No change. I then realised I had left TAF processing ticked so disabled that - No change (each time ensuring that the data were applied to within 100nm of the relevant nearest station, that applied was clicked. that update and close was clicked and that the metar changed in ASV). The attached shows the current view with the nearest Metar displayed in the sim by ASV, still cloudy when it should be clear. At least yesterday's effort cleared half the sky!Edit: attachment 2 shows the ASV main screen.Mervyn

Hi,Next experiment - I try using ASV default template of clear sky in the configurator, applying it to all stations. Whoopee! clear skies, apart from a few clouds around the horizon and a realistic looking visibility but still with a sharp horizon. I then try checking the FS9 Haze layer option. Still a sharp horizon and patchy cloud but vis changes abruptly to unlimited - template is 10SM? Attchment shows latest fiction.Mervyn

Hi,The best way is to clear FS weather by using the FSUIPC button before using the Configurator.What look are you trying to achieve? I went through all your posts and I can't quite figure this out! Please let me know.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

Hi Jim,Thanks very much for your time. I don't think it's a question of 'look', though in this instance I was trying to clear all of the cloud to give me a view of the mountains and myriad waterways with a nice amount of aerial perspective - mistiness in the valleys etc. I think overall ASV is great for realtime weather, using online updates, especially when there is a lot of cloud which looks a lot more realistic than the default. It doesn't seem to be as flexible when you want to design your own weather, so to speak. What I was trying to establish here is how the Configurator works. If I design a template with no cloud and 10 SM vis, apply it to a region 100 nm (radius?) round a station and then update the sim I expect to see that weather in my flight. I'm disappointed that you can't explain why this isn't happening. It may be that in this case the stations in western BC are so far apart (about 50 nm) that there is interaction (in ASV) with stations more than 100 nm away which remain cloudy. My second experiment using the (ASV) default 'clear skies' template seemed to work better, perhaps because I applied it to all stations, not just the few within 100 nm. Even then there was patchy low cloud. I don't understand your suggestion about clearing weather in FSUIPC. Do you have to do this every time you run the sim? I thought this was to clear the default weather and you only had to do it the first time you used ASV. The weather I'm trying to clear is being generated by ASV. On another occasion in a different part of the world I might want, say, a nice layer of SCT shallow Cu under a 5000 ft subsidence inversion, perhaps with this bottom 5000ft having a nice hazy boundary layer. I can do this quite easily in the default FS by controlling both the base and TOP of the cloud (which doesn't seem possible in ASV, but can I use the layer thickness option?) and the vis ceiling but the latter is too sharply defined and doesn't look realistic especially if the terrain sticks through it. I bought ASV on the (mistaken?) impression that as well as allowing better cloud representation, it would handle vertical visibility graduations better, but I haven't found anything in the options/configurator which allows any control over the depth of the haze layer (except to switch it off). Is it still possible to use the default FS weather controls to control the visibility ceiling while running ASV? The user guide says that ASV changes vis gradually from the surface to some unspecified height but this doesn't seem to be controllable. What is the height? Is it fixed above sea level? What is the difference between 'Disable Visibility Graduation' and 'Visibility Smoothing' on the Options page? I have tried various combinations of these options to no obvious effect. Thanks again for your attentionMervyn

Hi,1. The best way to clear out any weather in FS is through FSUIPC.2. There is a bit of randomness built into AS where conditions may not exactly match the METAR. It is like this in real life as well. Just because there are no clouds reported in the METAR does not mean there be not a cloud in the sky. That could be what you saw.3. Cloud tops cannot be manually controlled. That is determined by weather conditions.4. Haze layer cannot be specifically defined. I believe it is set at 3000. However, you could define a low stratus layer for haze.5. You can use the FS controls, but on the next ASV update your changes would be lost.6. Disable Visibility Graduation

Hi Jim,Thank you for your answers. I would like to make a few observations about them if I may. >1. The best way to clear out any weather in FS is through>FSUIPC.I've never used FSUIPC to clear out weather before getting ASV. I thought it was an interface. Is there somewhere I can read details of this functionality? Are you saying that if I don't like what ASV gives me and I want clear skies to view the scenery then FSUIPC will clear the ASV generated weather also (presumably though this will result in no cloud, no winds, and unlimited vis). How long does it stay cleared before ASV reinserts the clouds etc I don't want? Presumably until the next update? I suppose I can change the updating interval.>2. There is a bit of randomness built into AS where conditions>may not exactly match the METAR. It is like this in real life>as well. Just because there are no clouds reported in the>METAR does not mean there be not a cloud in the sky. That>could be what you saw.I'm an experienced operational meteorologist (retired). With the greatest respect, I don't think I need a lecture on the deficiencies of METAR reporting as far as real weather is concerned. That's why I was a little surprised to find that ASV has thrown away the layered approach to cloud and vis that FS uses for creating your own weather in favour of a pure METAR/TAF based approach (although this is understandable for realtime downloads as this is the only data available). Is is possible for me to request a rethink of the way the WX Configurator works to make it more controllable? If my examples are anything to go by there's far more than a 'bit' of randomness. >3. Cloud tops cannot be manually controlled. That is>determined by weather conditions.When you use the WX configurator what 'weather conditions' are used to determine the cloud tops? You would need fairly detailed temperature and dew point profiles to determine this and you don't have these, even in downloaded weather. I hope I'm not being unkind but I suspect you mean that's random also. In my view it's a major deficiency not to be able to control cloud depth. What is the purpose of the layer thickness option?>4. Haze layer cannot be specifically defined. I believe it is>set at 3000. However, you could define a low stratus layer for>haze.Sorry, is this the FS default haze layer or the height at which vis is increased by ASV to the max set in Options?So if I fly in a mountain valley with the ground at 5000ft, I am above the haze layer and vis will be the max I have set right down to the surface? Or is it 3000 ft above the terrain? If I wanted haze in this valley how would I set a stratus layer in the Configurator? As far as I can see there is no scope there to define cloud type, or does the program look at the optional cloud specifiers in the METAR - normally only for CB? If I am using 'favor cumulus vs. stratus' which I think looks more realistic in most scenarios I would just get patchy cloud on the surface. >5. You can use the FS controls, but on the next ASV update>your changes would be lost.That's what I thought. Though I also thought the purpose of turning off the weather in FSUIPC was to disable the FS controls.>6. Disable Visibility Graduation

Hi,Further to my query re the impact of the cloud layer thickness option, I fairly successfully doctored a Metar for Juneau (PAJN), which I was approaching to give FEW at 400 and BKN at 2800 ft with 10SM vis (removing an OVC layer at 4000) which I applied at all stations (earlier experience suggests the 100nm option doesn't give the right answers). ASV responded with approx the correct cloud bases and amounts but as layer thickness was set at 20,000 ft and I had Cumulus preferred to Stratus the BKN layer showed quite large CU going way up. I then changed layer thickness to 2000 ft and after the refresh cloud tops came down to around 5000ft (with some refreshing variability + or - 2000 ft or so, but nothing on the scale of the earlier towering Cu). Interestingly when the first change was made the refresh produced much better vis than 10 SM (it had earlier been 7 on the previous nearest Metar) possibly my max setting value of 40 but as I approached PAJN the vis gradually deteriorated to around the 10SM mark as per the Template. The message seems to be to use the layer thickness to give some control over cloud tops. Once again changing the vis options (both of the smoothings and the FS9 haze layer box) had no perceptible effect on the vis. Flying at 4000 ft I was above the 3000 figure quoted earlier. The sudden change to 40 or so SM followed by gradual vis decrease around 10 SM occurred with Disable Visibility Graduation checked and Visibility smoothing unchecked throughout.Mervyn

Hi,I notice you have disabled update suppression but not local suppression.. thus you will never get your local area to update unless you are on the ground or "slewed". Update suppression is to prevent update sequences from starting below a certain altitude (on approach). Local suppression is what handles preventing changes to localized weather around the aircraft (to prevent cloud pops). The best way to get immediate wx changes via wx configurator (and airborne) is to leave default options, enter SLEW mode in FS, apply now, update & close, wait for update to complete and unslew. Or of course disable local suppression, but this will cause unwanted wx changes during subsequent auto updates.Seems ASV is working correctly in this regard.. can you confirm?Best,

Hi Damian, Thanks for your time, and congratulations by the way. >I notice you have disabled update suppression but not local>suppressionI think I may have inadvertently misled you. Although I didn't mention it specifically in my first post, in fact I have all update suppression disabled - I think! - the attachment shows my Options screen. I haven't changed anything in the 'Updates...' section throughout the cases discussed in this thread. I don't have any problem with the updates taking place, they're just not doing what I expect, and yes for the sake of my tests using the configurator I do get cloud 'pops' as you describe them. I will try your slew method as well to avoid this.>Seems ASV is working correctly in this regard.. can you>confirm?I'm not sure what 'regard' you are referring to.Edit: To amplify - the above is not quite correct - as I was alternating between real weather and the configurator, the online updates option was being switched off by the program then back on for real wx later by me.Mervyn

Hi,Ok I am a little confused, it appears we are discussing several different issues here?First things first, the wx configurator:Since you are flying in an area with relatively low report-station density, you are going to have some problems assigning exact wx to your immediate area. FS9 uses wx station zones which are exactly 2nm radius, and technically the wx can only be set exact within these stations. Between stations FS9 uses its own interpolation system which we cannot control. This could account for why even at 100nm range to your closest station, you're not effecting your localized wx during wx configurator writes. I don't think you mentioned in your example how close to the station you were?As for changing "options" during the flight, this can lead to unpredictible results (suppression, smoothing, haze layer, graduation, etc). You should be able to easily use wx configurator to alter your wx (except for limitations as discussed above).Does this help?

Hi Damian,I apologise for raising several issues at the same time. They are related in my mind but possibly not in yours. >First things first, the wx configurator:My main problem here is that we all accept that a Metar is a pretty poor way of describing the vertical structure of clouds and vis but its format is the only way, it appears, to specify what one wants in the WX Configurator. However I have to accept that this is how the program works. The scenarios I was trying to apply were pretty simple, in the first instance just clear skies with a lowish vis, so even the Metar approach should be sufficient. I didn't want to 'clear all weather' as FSUIPC does because this results in unlimited vis, but perhaps this is an essential prerequisite to getting the changes you want in the configurator.>Since you are flying in an area with relatively low>report-station density, you are going to have some problems>assigning exact wx to your immediate area. FS9 uses wx>station zones which are exactly 2nm radius, and technically>the wx can only be set exact within these stations. Between>stations FS9 uses its own interpolation system which we cannot>control. This could account for why even at 100nm range to>your closest station, you're not effecting your localized wx>during wx configurator writes. I don't think you mentioned in>your example how close to the station you were?This is a major disappointment. I was probably 30-50 miles away on my first example - the stations are well separated in that part of Canada/Alaska, but surely if all the stations have the same weather, as set up by ASV, interpolation should produce the same also. I thought it worked well with the second case based on PAJN weather as I applied it to all stations. >As for changing "options" during the flight, this can lead to>unpredictible results (suppression, smoothing, haze layer,>graduation, etc). You should be able to easily use wx>configurator to alter your wx (except for limitations as>discussed above).It does say in the user guide that you have to restart FS to pick up changes made in the AE. It doesn't say that for changes made in Options so I assumed it was reasonable to try these. It is disappointing if it's necessary to restart FS each time. Trying different options with otherwise the same situation is the only way for someone new to ASV to find out what effect they have. My experience so far is that 'unpredictable' would be a good way of describing results using WX Configurator - your comment about only getting the correct weather within 2nm perhaps explains why. I'm afraid I don't fly in any areas where the stations are less that 2nm apart. Your last sentence is therefore very questionable since effectively the limitations as you describe them apply 99 percent of the time. I agree I can 'easily use wx configurator to alter my wx' - I certainly get different wx - but that the chances of it being close to what I want are not high. >Does this help?It helps explain why I have had a problem. It doesn't help much to solve it. Seems like the limitations of FS can't be got around in this as in many other areas. I would still like some answers to some of my earlier questions e.g in post #8 about vertical variations in visibility and Jim Skorna's suggested use of a stratus layer to simulate this, but I know you've only got so much time and you've been more than generous with it so far, thanks.Mervyn