Radar Contact and PMDG 737

[Guest mikemcbee]

I had an Idea, as I think this might be related to system resources. I am going to set my Vid Card settings to a different setting and try again. I will let you know later, what I did and the results... Thanks for your help again. Mike

[Guest mikemcbee]

Well, Still no go. Also, the audio is very choppy and broekn up coming from RC3. I'm giving up and going back to FS9's ATC. At least it works and doesn't shut down the engines. Do you think something's wrong with my Sound Blaster Audigy Card? By the way, I have flown the PMDG successfully without RCV3 and If I fly it with just RCV3 and no other custom gauges, the problemis still there. There really is something wrong here with RCV3 on my system. Can you recommend a procedure for a complete uninstall of RCV3. I might try to re-install it from scratch, but I want to be sure I get it all out first. Thanks again. Mike

[Guest mikemcbee]

Ah Hah, now my FS9 is shutting down engines without RC3. I think I am going to remove everything and start from scratch. God I hate doing this but I have something wrong in my sys. Thanks for all your help guys. you can close this thread now. Mike

[jd 57]

i guess this is good news :-)when you install, from scratch, install the minimum stuff. fs9, pmdg and try it.what key strokes could shut down the engines? fuel selector, engine off? i don't know on this plane.if this works, install rcv3try it again. if it works, then install one thing at a time, and see what breaks your setup.we'll be waiting for an update. we're now all curious :-)jd

[Guest mikemcbee]

The wait is over, it's fixed! I removed it all. I uninstalled FS9, deleted the dir, cleaned the registry, defragged. Then I installed FS9, copied back my backup of the No-CD fs9.exe( I hate the CD dependency), installed PMDG SU2, Then did a flight. No engine shutdown.(Even with the extra guages) All is cool. But, I did notice a few querks. I can only use the cloud setting set to "simple" or RCV3 is very choppy and stutters badly. This is a bummer as I can't simulate IFR bad weather flights. Do those cloud texture tweaks really help? Also, I noticed that if you accidently press the number that corresponds to the particular controller in the ADVDisp, too fast, (before it is displayed) the controllers voice drops out and i only hear my responses, not theirs. I can live with that, but the cloud thing is a real bummer. You can experience it as soon as you punch thru one of those clouds. All of a sudden the Voice and the sim in general gets very choppy. I have an FX5600 card with the latest nvidia WHQl drivers. I turned the AA to 4X and that seems to keep the SIm running smooth. My sliders are moderate to Med-high settings. IS this a problem with FS9, or is RCV3 pushing it too much? Let me know. Thanks for your help. Mike

[Guest mikemcbee]

I also noticed that the RCV3 descent doesn't follow the PMDG FMC. Even though I used FSbuild2 to generate the *.pln and PMDG *.rte and the RCV3 files, one would think they are all in sync, but ATC clears me for lower altitudes way sooner than the FMC Descent path. Is that just a design limitation or am I doing something wrong? Thanks Mike

[jd 57]

not everyone has a fmc. some planners don't include the tod. bottomline, i calculate when to start your descent.and in real life, controllers will decide, not your fmc. they'll try to accomodate, but....you're not doing anything wrong. but without seeing your .pln, i'm not sure how many miles of flight plan you have, that aren't relevant to your true distance to the airport. remember, i add up all leg lengths, when calculating the tod. not just the direct distance to the airportjd

[Guest bigun]

I am really interested in RC but have a question. Will it work with the PMDG 737NG in FS2004? That's pretty much all I fly.Thanks

[Guest mikemcbee]

I agree, ATC controls that, but I feel when using PMDG with RCV3, its a little bit unrealistic. On every flight, ATC clears me for lower levels Way too soon on the approach. It seems very mechanical and a set point for every flight. Tell me if I'm wrong on this. Thanks

[jd 57]

it is just math. i know how high you are, and i know i want you at 10000 40 miles from the airport. i calculate where you should start your descent.jd

[Guest emookie]

I think some of this is a perception problem due to inaccurate FMS programming by PMDG drivers (like me). Most flight plans I see generated or posted do NOT have waypoints with crossing restrictions at 10,000 anything like 40 miles from the airport. The 737, for all it knows, thinks you want to make an idle descent (read steep) straight from cruise altitude to runway.That said, being directed by ATC to "descend now" is cake in the PMDG 737. If you hit the "Descend now" (bottom right on the DES page of the FMC), you'll get a 1,000 ft/min descent until you intersect the calculated descent path (better make sure you make your altitude on time or you'll be vectored away). Even better, add the crossing restriction on the LEGS page, and the calculated path won't be outrageously different (a little different is expected and true to life, ATC can't calculate descent path like your own FMC)Eric Courtney

[Guest mikemcbee]

Thanks Eric, This is very helpful . . .Mike

[Bryn 72]

Why not allow the descent at pilot's discretion? I heard and got this all the time in real flying.BrynA potential user.

[jd 57]

that happens routinely later in the descent. in the real world, you can't have pilots deciding when and where to start descents.jd

[bobbyjoh 11]

Hi to the original MIKE and this Mike, I am one of the beta testers for Radar Contact, I use ONLY the PMDG 737 when testing all phases of RC, and I have NEVER had a conflict between the two either. I was going to suggest that there may have been a key stroke conflict. Mike since you found it everything is OK.The sound problems with RC with the PMDG737 are related of course to clouds. The FS9 wx engine with either default or add-on weather generators produce clouds that just pull FPS down. I suggest if you have not installed them go to the FSX web site and install Chris Willis, performance clouds, but better on frame rates and "reduces" the sound problems.Any other problems don't hesitate to post, there are a lot of us PMDG users now.Don't ever hesitate to ask us anything with these two very POPULAR addons (smile)Bob