TARS

Not personally, no. We had a few folks on the SimHQ TS3 channel using and it seemed like it worked alright, except we could hear them and they couldn't hear us: hence the new TARS channel! The fact that TARS folks can only talk with other TARS folks doesn't make it a great social communication tool, but then, that's not what it's intended to do.

The 1st VFW uses TARS almost all the time when they fly. It just makes for realistic comms and very useful if you have more than 1 flight, you can sub-divide the flights into their own channel with a common UHF channel for when they need to call other flights. Very immersive for that purpose.

I wouldn't fly without it!

Not almost, we use it for every flight. I can only remember a span of a few weeks we didn't use TARs and that was a compatability issue. I'm with Eddie, flying just wouldn't be the same without it.

To clarrify what Ice said though, we are all in the same flight channel, we have squadron presets we use for all our missions. All pilots are required to monitor UHF Guard at all times for server wide communications. It works out great. Occasionally the distance causes issues with everyone hearing Guard transmissions but there is normally an ACFT between that can relay if needed.

Sounds like a great idea, pretty immersive. You operate with the mic switch?

Yup....

The people I fly with use Ventrilo and we have always been a more social bunch where friends join the VOIP server but don't have DCS. I did install TARS for whenever I might fly with the TS folk who use it, but I never really configured it and there is something I've wondered about TARS... functionally how does it work? Within the TARS interface there are 3 key bindings needed, UHF, VHF AM, VHF FM, do you set them to the same keys that you use to activate the respective radio in game? Do these act as Push to talk over their respective channels?

With TARS on, you will have to set your in-game radio frequencies appropriately to hear the same people on that frequency. At the moment, when you PTT, everyone hears everyone else so it can be confusing for larger flights. With TARS on, it will be like in the real world -- if you don't have the right frequency dialed in, you can't speak to them and they can't hear you if you are in the game. If you are on the lobby or just listening in, you will hear everyone but nobody can hear you.

As for the bindings, you press the appropriate binding so that when you press your PTT, you will be transmitting on that frequency/mode (UHF, VHF FM, VHF AM).

The last sentence was all I needed.

Note, there are two ways to use TARS and TS PTTs. You can either do the above and press the TARS keys to select which radio your normal TS PTT will broadcast on.

Or, you can use the more realistic method and just use the TARS keys to actually transmit over the relevant radio.

For example, if you set the TARS binds to Control + 1 for UHF, Control + 2 for VHF/AM and Control + 3 for VHF/FM. You can press Control+2 once and then use your normal TS PTT to talk on that radio. If you then want to talk on UHF, you'd need to press control + 1 to switch the TS PTT to talk on that channel. This methods is generally used, either, by people who have a very limited number of buttons on their stick/HOTAS or by people who don't know about the following.

The way I (any many others) use TARS, is to ignore the normal TS PTT altogether. I have my WH mic switch buttons bound to TARS for the respective radios as per real life, so mic switch down for UHF, forward for VHF/AM and back for VHF/FM. You just use them as 3 seperate PTTs for 3 seperate radios. As long as you are in the cockpit and TARS is running their is no need to touch the PTT button you have bound in TS. You'll only need the normal TS PTT when outside of the pit, or not running TARS.

Eddie,

When using the method you described, doesn't that also activate the in-game radio menus?

Not if you change the key mappings.

I have the in-game radios mapped to 1, 2 & 3 on the keyboard. I only really use them to call tankers & AWACS, and sometimes ATC for wind info anyway.

I personally remapped my TS3/TARS PTT using the TARS control panel to act like the real A10 with my Warthog Hotas:
Mic Switch FWD VHF AM transmits over TS3/Tars
Mic switch down UHF transmits over TS3/Tars
Mic Switch aft VHF FM transmits over TS3/Tars
I also remapped the in game comms menu to use a modifier(the modifier is the pinky lever on the warthog stick)
Modifier/Mic Switch FWD VHF AM ,menu pops up
Modifier/Mic switch down UHF menu pops up
Modifier/Mic Switch aft VHF FM menu pops up
This is using the latest beta 15 of TARS