I noticed recently that certain "Approach" frequencies were not given a specified name by ATC. For example, the instruction "contact Fairford Approach on 119.0" was given as "contact Approach on 119.0". The three that I noted were RAF Fairford, RAF Northolt, and RAF Brize Norton. Now, a simple tweak of the entries in the COMMS list using ADE sorted out Fairford and Northolt, but Brize Norton is proving to be a stubborn sod. Even though there are audio files for "Brize Norton" and "Approach", I can't get it to work in FSX. Every time that I am in the area, I am asked to "contact Approach on 127.25".

 

This is bugging me, and I would like to solve it. Does anyone know if there is a way to edit the FSX Approach frequency audio files? I have EditVoicePack X installed, and this has helped with quite a few things (including specific aircraft names), but I do not know how to do this for the Brize Norton Approach frequency.

 

Can anyone help?

EVP will allow you to edit/replace the ATC phraseology, but I'm not sure that will fix the problem. That phrase will be a generic phrase into which FSX will plug the 'agent' name for the current airfield/frequency. If you change it specifically for Brize, then it won't work for other airfields.

It looks like Mildenhall Approach suffers from the same problem :(

I have to say I don't usually fly into airfields with Approach frequencies, so this is a bit of a long shot, but you might try editing the airfields so that there is only one 'Approach' frequency. On my system I see Brize has six (called Brize, Brize Radar, Brize Zone, Brize Talkdown, Brize Director and Brize Talkdown). I've certainly had problems in the past with airfields that had multiple Tower frequencies.

 

Other than that, I can only suggest taking a good look at the airfields that work and the ones that don't and identify any differences. Then maybe set up Brize exactly the same (inc frequencies) as e.g. Northolt and see if that works. Then change it back one step at a time until it fails. Might give you a clue.

Success!

 

I decided to try your suggestion, and it seems to have worked. I have no idea if these "extra" approach frequencies are required, but I couldn't care less at the moment! I deleted the extra approach frequencies, and added "Brize" to the normal Approach frequency name box in ADE. In addition, I also noticed that there was an entry for the Brize Norton approach frequency (127.25) in the Fairford COMMS list (although it was named Fairford). Interestingly, if I use the standard AFX file for Brize Norton (with the multiple approach frequencies) and remove this "127.25" entry in the Fairford COMMS list, I am asked to contact "Fairford Approach on 119.0" when leaving the Brize Norton airspace travelling East. This should not be the case. However, if I then delete those multiple approach frequencies for Brize Norton (leaving only the normal approach frequency listing of 127.25), I am rewarded with "contact Brize Norton Approach on 127.25"!

 

At last, I have found a way to get it to work!

 

Finally, we come to Mildenhall Approach. With this one, I considered the possibility that tweaking the frequency might just "wake up" the ATC controller.....and do you know what? It bloody well worked! I changed the frequency from 128.9 to 128.925, and suddenly I was being asked to "contact Mildenhall Approach on 128.925".

 

To say that I am pleased with myself would be an understatement.

 

I have EditVoicePack X installed, but I am not convinced that this has anything to do with my success. The words "Brize Norton", "Fairford", and "Mildenhall" are all used in default FSX (as prefixes for tower and ground frequencies), so the audio files clearly exist.

 

Thank you very much for guiding me down the right path B)

Delighted it worked, though it was a bit of a guess ! I agree that EVP is unlikely to be a contributor. When I did a quick test flight out of Brize on my system, I found that Brize correctly identified itself on the Tower frequency, but not some of the others. That at least confirmed the audio file was set up correctly.

 

I also noticed 127.25 appearing at several different airfields, some not too far from each other. That may have contributed too. I have also in the past seen an anomaly whereby frequencies were being rounded differently in ADE to another product I use, and causing a mismatch. So changing the frequency value is always something good to try too.

Forgot to say - the other thing that can cause problems in this area is if you inadvertently have two versions of the same airport active (with different frequency definitions). That can drive you mad until you discover it.