When I tune comm radios to the airport tower freq listed in the GPS or any flight planner, I get nothing. So I look in the "nearest airport" list in the ATC window and as suspected the frequency is in fact different than what the GPS shows. Does FS assign tower frequencies randomly?

can you be more specific?

which version, airport, flight planner?

may indicate different source of info is being used in case of 3rd party gps/planner?

When I tune comm radios to the airport tower freq listed in the GPS or any flight planner, I get nothing. So I look in the "nearest airport" list in the ATC window and as suspected the frequency is in fact different than what the GPS shows. Does FS assign tower frequencies randomly?

 

That's possible, if you ar using a 3rd party version of the airport or AFCAD. Many times these are updated with current frequencies that won't match the older FS database, The ATC window will always use the current freq defined in the active AFCAD, so use that one!!!

I'm using default airports and default gps. Tuning to the Tower freq listed in the GPS doesn't trigger the atc dialog to "contact xxxx tower", but when selecting the station after FSX makes the station available via ATC transfer or airfield in-range), it is a different freq than listed in the GPS which obviously is why that freq doesn't work.

ATIS and ILS are no problem, it's just ATC that seems to work independently from actual published frequencies, like FSX just sets the freq to whatever, and only when the engine makes that freq available can it be tuned to and selected to make the dialog available ("contact xxx tower").

AFAIK, the GPS gets exactly the same data as the map or ATC. You can tune the tower and hear whatever is being transmitted. Tuning the tower won't let you transmit, though, unless the ATC state of your aircraft assigns you to a tower.

 

scott s.

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If you're flying VFR and use the nearest airport list to select the airport tower you can contact them. But getting the frequency fron the ATC window is the only way to get an active signal. Tuning to the frequency listed in GPS gets me nothing. I also just started using Plan G, so on my next flight I will compare the GPS info with the navlog, although I'm confident they'll be the same since I'm sure they all use the FSX database.

 

The reason I want to get this figured out is to get around having to use the "nearest airport" list to contact tower. It's unrealistic and more importantly just too hectic fumbling with that list so close to the destination.

I understand that you are using default aircraft so this may not apply. Nonetheless, I use a lot of add on AFCADS and add on scenery and I have found that the only reliable way to get the current ILS frequencies is to look them up using the map view. I don't know why but I have been doing it this way for years.

I was wrong, the frequencies are all the same, it's just that there's no way to interact with ATC unless it's initiated through the ATC dialog options. I was just tuning the radios and thinking ATC would be on, just like you can do with ATIS and ILS.