Radio AN/ARC-34 for FSX

[alain0568]

Hello all


-I am looking for an an/arc-34 radio gauge (FSX) which is mounted on F-84F!
-I have not found it to date!
-I found a real image:



-But I don't know how to do the.xml file!
Can anyone help?
Thanks!


Alain
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[tgycgijoes]

I had this is FS9 and the port-over FSX. See if the gauge you want is in one of these:

https://library.avsim.net/search.php...ads&ScanMode=0

[alain0568]

Hello,tgycgijoes,

I have this plane, but unfortunately, the radio does not correspond to the one I am looking for!

Alain
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[Mike71]

I do not know if it has ever been modeled, but - this is my best guess.

It appears to be a combination UHF COMM / ADF set, which would be standard for the era; UHF ADF was a common feature in tactical aircraft up until at least the 1980s. Many NATO air bases had at least one UHF ADF beacon / approach. Aircraft carriers also had one.

The "dial" and button below the individual frequency digit select knobs is to be able to snap a set frequency to a "Channel" number for that frequency using the push button at the 11 o'clock position. Once a freq was "snapped in", the pilot could use the dial to select a channel rather than set the whole freq using the top four twist knobs - flying a single man jet was a busy process, often in formation - channelized freqs made life at least bearable (note: UHF TACAN channels vice freqs- same purpose).

The card is where squadron maintenance would write down what channels were set to what use - ground, tower, guard, etc. The channels would be pretty standard for all the squadrons in the wing or whatever.

In my Navy career all the jets I flew had separate comm and ADF units, but could both be channelized as explained above. I never saw one of these dual use units.

[alain0568]

Hello,

-However, it seems that this radio was very used:

https://dbpedia.org/page/AN/ARC-34

And also on Certain Version of the T-33 and F-84!

http://aviation.watergeek.eu/t33-panel.html

https://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraf...-84f_pit.shtml


Too bad that this radio is not modeled!


Alain
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[tgycgijoes]

I was hoping that the Sabre had this radio not having it in my active hanger more to check it. Disappointing. It is not difficult for an xml experienced gauge programmer to create but time-consuming because of five rotary dials. Click gauges are much easier. Just the bmps are multiple creations to show them rotating and the correct results showing in the windows. Then each has to correspond to a radio frequency that the sim recognizes. It's a lot of work and testing. That is why the payware developers charge the "big bucks" for their products. I've done some xml gauges for myself but always for a panel that I use frequently that was not as complete as I would have liked it to be.

Never backing away from a challenge (NO GUARANTEES!) I downloaded the Navy Radio Information Manual and also the image enlarged and as soon as KANB Anniston Airport is completed and out for beta testing, I will give it a try starting with the bmp's for the working gauge. If that is successful, then the XML coding starts and I am sure I will be over at FS Developers before I having gotten very far into it LOL. I haven't done any gauges in a while and I am tired of airports and repaints. Wish me luck!

[alain0568]

-Hello tgycgijoes,


So yes, I wish you good luck!
Really nice to make this radio!
I think it will interest several Simmers!
Especially since it has been used on many planes and helicopters!
Good luck!

And thank you


Alain.
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[tgycgijoes]

I just dusted off my xml programming tutorials and notes to refresh my memory. I also created the bmp's for the knobs on the top in the respective "clicked" positions and am confident that I can create this as an xml gauge. It will be a challenge. I haven't done any rotating gauges since I did a flap handle for the BT-13 trainer. I have a few folks I can ask if I get stuck. Be patient and I believe it will be rewarded. Now I have a birthday to go to. Later.

Richard

[Mike71]

I just dusted off my xml programming tutorials and notes to refresh my memory. I also created the bmp's for the knobs on the top in the respective "clicked" positions and am confident that I can create this as an xml gauge. It will be a challenge. I haven't done any rotating gauges since I did a flap handle for the BT-13 trainer. I have a few folks I can ask if I get stuck. Be patient and I believe it will be rewarded. Now I have a birthday to go to. Later.

Richard

Good luck; just remember that the ADF function is for UHF vice LF ADF beacons (I believe),and there are no UHF beacons in any FS program that I know of.

I found this in a search: "The ARC-34 was a military UHF AMradio that operated between 225.0-399.9 MHz and transmitted at 8 watts. It featured a separate guard receiver for monitoring 243 MHz"

[MrZippy]

Good luck; just remember that the ADF function is for UHF vice LF ADF beacons (I believe),and there are no UHF beacons in any FS program that I know of.

I found this in a search: "The ARC-34 was a military UHF AMradio that operated between 225.0-399.9 MHz and transmitted at 8 watts. It featured a separate guard receiver for monitoring 243 MHz"

These were the monsters I had to deal with on my first cruise in '69 with the Whales. Can you imagine carrying 2 of these up from the hangar deck (where the AT shop was) to the flight deck, during General Quarters? Could not use the aircraft elevators then. Thank gawd on the 2nd cruise we had AN/ARC 51's installed. Not a single UHF problem. Just to clarify....that was 2 together, one in each arm, up 4 ladders!

[tgycgijoes]

My GQ Station was on the bridge and berthing was on the 02 level. 7 levels...from near the bow to almost amidships in how many minutes? Watch those "knee-knockers"! LOL!

[MrZippy]

My GQ Station was on the bridge and berthing was on the 02 level. 7 levels...from near the bow to almost amidships in how many minutes? Watch those "knee-knockers"! LOL!

Thanks! Those knee knockers hurt like hell! Our berthing compartment on Saratoga was just above the forecastle ([FOHK] + [SUHL]) and just below the "wham" point of the forward cats! Hated those night launches!

[tgycgijoes]

Thanks! Those knee knockers hurt like hell! Our berthing compartment on Saratoga was just above the forecastle ([FOHK] + [SUHL]) and just below the "wham" point of the forward cats! Hated those night launches!

I was aboard America, CVA-66 in the OI Division about the same place 02-34-1-L how's that for memory about the same location. When I got out and went back home if Mom or Dad wanted to wake me up in the morning they could shake the bed forever and I would just keep on sleeping but whisper in my ear to get up and I was wide awake. CIC was 8on-8off 7 days a week at sea so sometimes we awoke at 0200 for watch and it was always dark and cold in there. Used to ask the lookouts on the sound powered phones if it was light outside to know if that was 0200 or 1400 LOL!

It's funny...a few years ago we took our Christian School class aboard the USS North Carolina which is here in Wilmington, NC. It was so similar in many ways to our carriers though they were built much later, still being NSFO that except for hammocks in many berthing areas I would explain everything and one of the dosents was really impressed that I knew almost as much about the ship as he did. The tours are self-guided normally for regular visitors, but because we were a group we could and did request the expanded version which gave the kids a chance to use sound-powered phones and take messages on "real WWII message pads" (reprints of course) from simulated radio transmissions and a sample of morse code and semaphore with the hand held lamps. Most kids are bored these days, but this made it really special. When I was talking the the director and she found out all I did with flight simulation, she asked me to volunteer and set up a sim aboard of the OS2U Kingfisher which they have on the rear catapaults, but its too far away for daily round trips (80 miles round trip) or I would have jumped at the chance especially with what I have done with the active catapaults in CCA I have a thread here about. The director, I met while we were waiting to begin, was a former CO of the USS John F Kennedy, our sister ship CVA-67. I had on my Vietnam Vet Ballcap and he asked me where and when. He was CO during Desert Storm on the Kennedy. Nice guy.

[simtech]

I worked on both the ARC-27 and ARC-34 many moons ago.
Zippy:ARC-27 under each arm?? Those units were over 70 pounds apiece, over three feet long, bulky and unwieldy. I know you Navy guys were tough.... but up a ladder??.

Anyways, If i can offer any insight into the inner workings of the control head pictured in OPs image, please contact me. Mike above has it pretty much dialed in. Be glad to shed some light. Good luck with the XML. Terry

[MrZippy]

I worked on both the ARC-27 and ARC-34 many moons ago.
Zippy:ARC-27 under each arm?? Those units were over 70 pounds apiece, over three feet long, bulky and unwieldy. I know you Navy guys were tough.... but up a ladder??.

No, not under each arm but sort of like carrying 2 extremely full paper shopping bags with no handles, one in each arm! Luckily it was only during General Quarters and continuing flight operations. Normally, we would be allowed to ride one of the aircraft elevators up to the flight deck to exchange out. They either had some tubes loosen in their sockets from the launch and recovery or they lost air pressure from worn case seals. This was the report we got from IMA. Keep in mind, this only happened about 3 or 4 times a week.

Actually, there were a couple of guys that carried the 2, one on each shoulder! That hurt my shoulders too much!

[simtech]

Quite the contrast between ARC-27 and the ARC-34: The 27's case must have been almost 1/4" thick. I think that beast was bullet proof. Whereas the ARC-34's case was a reasonable 1/16" thick. Would definitely bend if dropped. The ARC-27 would break whatever it fell on.

[tgycgijoes]

After studying this and trying to figure out how it could be created, I am sorry but it is beyond my xml skills to do. I studied my xml tutorials but its too difficult for my limited knowledge and experience to do, sorry. I apologize for getting your hopes up. I know there are guys at FSDevelopers who could do this but I think that they would want a use for it personally for the time it would involve. I spent a couple of hours searching through every panel for the planes I have in the hanger that actually used this radio like the F86, C-130 and the T28 but none of the developers of the freeware aircraft created it they just used default comm gauges. Maybe because of the time involved, too.

[alain0568]

Hello tgycgijoes

No problems!
It's already good to have tried!


Alain

[tgycgijoes]

After reading the comments above by Mike71 and Simtech about the operation of the ARC-34, I did some more online searching. Interestingly I found more pics of the panel you show and also one with 5 dials on top but I can't find it now, oh well. How are you going to use this gauge? If as a popup 2D panel, then I am thinking of click spots on the knobs with a tooltip for each of the four windows. You can "left-click" with your mouse on the knob which may or may not rotate depending on how sophisticated I can make them. Then once the freq' has been set, you can "right click" the rotary knob from OFF to MAIN (BOTH would be inop) and ADF which the four knobs would set as K1(0-9) K2(1-9) K3(1-9) K4(1-9) K4 being a decimal of the frequency for a COMM.

NDBs used for aviation are standardised by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 10 which specifies that NDBs be operated on a frequency between 190 kHz and 1750 kHz,^[2] although normally all NDBs in North America operate between 190 kHz and 535 kHz.^[2] Each NDB is identified by a one, two, or three-letter Morse code callsign. In Canada, privately owned NDB identifiers consist of one letter and one number.
Non-directional beacons in North America are classified by power output: "low" power rating is less than 50 watts; "medium" from 50 W to 2,000 W; and "high" at more than 2,000 W.^[3]
There are four types of non-directional beacons in the aeronautical navigation service:^[4]

• En route NDBs, used to mark airways
• Approach NDBs
• Localizer beacons
• Locator beacons

The last two types are used in conjunction with an instrument landing system (ILS).

So I have the XML code and gauge for the Bendix King ADF and am going to take another look at this after being overwhelmed on creating it completely from scratch. In the meantime, Alain, post here how and in what aircraft you are using this for me so I know what direction to go.

[alain0568]

hello tgycgijoes
Thank you for continuing the research!
In fact I want to use this radio in a 2D panel, to replace a VHF1 or UHF that is commonly found in FSX!
And I would like to use it, among other things, on the SSW F-84F!
I still fly in 3D cockpit, but I like to be able to call the radio board in a 2D window!
It is not necessary that all the buttons and rotary are active
Just on/off ,sound,and adjustment of frequencies at the footsteps of 25khz
Have a good day

Alain

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[tgycgijoes]

Here is a screenshot of the first step in a long...gggggg process to get this to work but I am pleased with the first success All of this is trial and error working in four different programs to get here which really doesn't look like much (4 hours work) to get just the background and place one knob. I am encouraged though and I do like a challenge. I have never done a gauge like this so its "baby steps" in xml for me one at a time. I am using my default Cessna as a testbed so that I can see it in FSX. This is shot in FSPanel Studio. The black box around the knob disappears in FSX. Black is invisible in FSX. I won't be posting every change just major ones. Next will be to place the other three knobs on top. What kind of steps in khz I will have to see what the gauge does in FSX-XML code. When I get to that point I will probably be over at FSDevelopers for a lot of expert help in programming this.

[alain0568]

Good evening,

Bravo, it arises well!


Alain
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[tgycgijoes]

Good evening,

Bravo, it arises well!


Alain
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I placed the other three knobs this afternoon and I am through for today with it. It is not going to be easy at all but I will continue working on it.

[tgycgijoes]

I was almost ready to give up on this when someone at FSDevelopers decided to help and showed me the first mistakes which I have corrected. So, I have another question over there for step two of this. At this stage I will make no promises but I will not quit trying either. I want this to work as a learning curve for me as well as a gauge for you. So, patience for us both

[alain0568]

Good evening,

-Yes, I will be patient !!
The community is mobilizing, it's very good!
Good luck for the future!

Alain -