Does RC ever ask you to ident? Does FS even support that?JimCYWG

Does RC ever ask you to ident? Does FS even support that?JimCYWG

To be honest, I've always seen that Ident button on payware panels but never really understood how it works in the real world. I guess that's an indication that FS doesn't support it. RC will tell you to squak a transponder code (in FS that's just entering the given code into the transponder), but the result of pressing the Ident button is not checked by RC.For curiosity sake, what does the Ident button do?Subs

For curiosity sake, what does the Ident button do?

From Wiki:

All mode A, C, and S transponders include an "ident" button, which activates a special "thirteenth" bit on the mode A reply known as Ident, short for Identify. When radar equipment receives the Ident bit, it results in the aircraft's blip "blossoming" on the radar scope. This is often used by the controller to locate the aircraft amongst others by requesting the ident function from the pilot (e.g., "Cessna 123AB, squawk 0363 and ident").[7][6]Ident can also be used in case of a reported or suspected radio failure to determine if the failure is only one way and whether the pilot can still transmit or receive but not both (e.g., "Cessna 123AB, if you read, squawk ident").

FSUIPC has facilities to send Ident using an offset originally assigned to Squawkbox but also now used by Ivap, for on-line ATC. RC could use this too:

0x7b93 1 byte Transponder Ident pressed.When the user presses the ident button on your transponder gauge, you should set this value to 1. When SquawkBox notices it is set to 1, it will transmit an ident on the network and reset the value to 0.

The recent interim updates to FSUIPC include the setting of this offset as an assignable control. Before that folks did it by using FSUIPC's "Offset Byte Set" control instead.RegardsPete

Maybe down the development cycle of V5.x if RC does not see the assigned squawk it could request an ident in cases where the wrong code has been entered into the transponder. In V4 you just get a query from ATC as to why your aircraft is not showing up.

Maybe down the development cycle of V5.x if RC does not see the assigned squawk it could request an ident in cases where the wrong code has been entered into the transponder. In V4 you just get a query from ATC as to why your aircraft is not showing up.

Yes, but maybe RC should also ask for ident when requesting a change in squawk code -- i.e. as in "squawk XXXX and ident".Pete

This would be a pretty sweet feature. Ident is used (usually) when you change the squawk code or you are contacting a new control center.

I remember in real life being about 50 miles from CYWG. We asked to climb a couple thousand feet higher. ATC said squawk bla, bla, bla and ident. We hit the ident button and ATC said, radar contact, climb and maintain.... That's, as real as it gets.JimCYWG

Hello All We use it mostly to reidentify an aircraft we have lost radar contact of or to identify an aircraft if some other form of radar identification cannot be used.

What the IDENT button does, is send a special identification pulse on Mode A/C transponders for 18 seconds. This essentially causes the radar target to light up on the controller's screen to assist in establishing radar contact. It's typically used in helping to identify VFR targets

Here's another reply from one of our beta group real world controllers:"The pressing of the 'IDENT' button cause the transponder to transmit anadditional specific signal. This is picked up by the SSR ariel and processedby the radar computer and displays the ident symbol on the controllers radardisplay. The form of the symbol varies from country to country and dependson the particular ATS providers preference. It can flash, bloom, change etc."The question I put to them was one of policy/in-place procedure.On a side note I'm also not sure if today in the real world there are still facilities where the radar facility does not have transponder reading capability for squawk codes. In 1973 in Ohio I was flying VFR into an approach zone at a fairly large airport in Ohio and I had to fly the 2 minute identification pattern for the controller. When I informed him that I was transponder equipped he stated that airport was not yet equipped to read the coded returns of transponders. Thinking on a global basis perhaps there are some areas where flying an identification pattern might still be necessary. Do the IACO/IATA regulations now require the ability of radar stations to read and display transponder codes in order for the area to be IFR certified under international rules?I seriously doubt RC5 or later will contain the request to fly pattern identification.

Maybe down the development cycle of V5.x if RC does not see the assigned squawk it could request an ident in cases where the wrong code has been entered into the transponder. In V4 you just get a query from ATC as to why your aircraft is not showing up.

In the real world, if you enter the wrong code ATC will see this and just flat out tell you, you have the wrong code and were supposed to squawk xxxx. I know from experience! :(