Trying to figure out how to program chaff / flares to drop in this damn thing. RAZBAM was too lazy / incompetent to include training missions so I have no idea what is what. So what are the names I of the functions, and their order I have to set to automatically drop chaff / flares when needed?

And now I remember why I hate full fidelity flight sims and clickable cockpits. I wish both would die. If that means all flight simulators have to die, so be it. I'd rather all the flight sims go out of business if it mean less $hitty clickable cockpit products, where the gimmick of screwing around with a mouse is supposed to stand in for tutorials or properly labelled binding options.

With all due respect, Flogger23m, but just because you're having a hard time doesn't mean full-fidelity sims and clickable cockpits are "$hitty." Being able to click with a mouse saves from having to memorize a plethora of key combinations and allows more and more of the avionics to be modeled, thus being closer to a true "simulation" and less arcade. If you wanted simple, maybe you should've stuck with FC3 aircraft.

Also, I doubt that the control for chaff/flare dispensing is under a button you have to click with the mouse.... should it not be a HOTAS button?

I've programmed the "Panic mode" as a HOTAS switch so I can manually deploy as needed.

I second the idea of him sticking with FC3 aircraft.

I don't second the idea of sticking to FC3 aircraft.

Just enhance your calm, John Spartan.

One thing I remember missing from my "high fidelity flight sim" is the ability to program and select countermeasures programs. I could have one that was set for BVR A-A engagements, one for WVR A-A engagements, one for a ground attack run, and so on. My BVR program would be exclusively chaff, my WVR would be chaff but more flares, the ground attack would be a mix of both but again more flares.... and would be set so that I'll just "start" the program as I begin my run and it's set to be dispensing countermeasures for the legth of my run and I'll be dropping the last few flares as I break away....

IIRC, with the FC3 Su-27, you can set a button for chaff release and another button for flare release, but there is no way to set a countermeasure program so I'm stuck with pumping them out manually.

You can do this with DCS A-10C. Not sure about the M2K though.

False. All FC3 planes have an auto deploy, but there are no advanced programs, it merely releases a flare/chaff every 2 or so seconds. I have this mapped on every FC3 plane on my throttle. Was hoping to do similar with the M2000C... I even have it mapped and working fine on the MIG-21. Only difference between the Fishbed is I have to hold down another key on the base of my X52 to turn it on.

I'll check the M2k module today (if I don't forget) and I'll get back to you on how to program the CMS. You've probably just missed them in the control assignments or they are vague ... I just don't recall but stuff like this can happen.

It actually does. In real life, you don't have to memorize key combinations. "Was it ALT+SHIFT+H? Or ALT+CTRL+H??" No such nonsense IRL. If you know where the button/knob/switch is, you simply click that and you're done. You need to know WHERE things are but you don't have to memorize the key combinations to actually activate those things.



True, having to grab the mouse and aim and click on something while flying can be an issue.... hence HELIOS + touchscreen



Isn't that exactly what I said?

I believe the most recent manual has a pretty decent explanation of the CM system. There is system arming toggle on the right armrest panel (has to be in the middle if I recall correctly), a program select dial on that same armrest for selecting various combinations of chaff/flare. There is a switch with chaff/flare counter that has an off/on/auto on the left canopy. Finally there are two buttons on the HOTAS one CM release which will follow the program if it is in auto mode. The other button is the panic button which sends out a bunch of flares if in a panic. The manual does a decent job of explaining what will happen if you press the CM release or panic button when the other switches are in different configurations.

I believe the general idea is to use the CM release program mode when you have a planned maneuver... a series of chaff when you are beaming a missile that has radar lock on you or a continuous series of flares when you are making a ground attack run. You use the panic mode which dumps flares if you are in a panic trying to avoid an unexpected short range IR missile.

If you wanted to pick a chaff and flare button you could just set up the program you wanted ahead of time, make sure the system is armed then use the cm release button for chaffs and the panic button for flares

Hope this helps....info might not be 100% correct but it is close and from my recollection

Yeah, learning is a pain. It doesn't help that the manual reports: "Counter Measures Dispensers. To be described in next release" You have to be a forum hound to get the pre-gouge on this particular system. Since I have little idea myself I'll give you a summary as I figure it out myself.

First there is the built-in counter measure dispenser "Spirale" which can hold up to some chaff and flares. There exists an "Eclair pod" which holds more. The quantities are a bit confusing. If you set flare 16 in ME you get 14, 32 = 28, 48 = 42. You're not supposed to be able to carry more than 12 flares without Eclair but I can cary 42... more bugs. 7/8ths as much. But at 64 you get 63 (4x7+7). Probably a bug. In any case standard load is 112C16F without Eclair.

You've got two buttons on your HOTAS, joystick has the "Decoy program release" which does the program numbered 1-10 and the throttle "Decoy panic release" (I refuse to all-caps the word panic). The dial on the countermeasures panel selects programs 1-10 or A. The "L.L." system is countermeasures and it has A which I think is automatic program selection based on threat. A. is arret (off), S.A. semi automatic (manual control), and AU is automatic. "A" program and AU automatic dispense don't appear to function unless I'm missing something. "A" is a null program and "AU" is the same as "SA".

So when you want to dispense a program, select it 1-10 on the LL panel and press the joystick button. Program panic is activated by a button on the throttle.

I'll agree on tutorials and manuals. The Razbam manual is incomplete and poor because they use whatever word they want every time they talk about something specific. The names of buttons in manual do not match the names in the DCS controls and tooltips. All three should match down to the letter, capitalization, and punctuation. You must be able to type in a control name as seen in DCS GUI or tooltip on a character-exact and case-sensitive search in manual and find it. There is no excuse for sloppiness.

EDIT: OK "A" program is a null program on purpose it seems. The idea is that on "A" program only panic release button functions.

So the button I must map is the "Decoy program release" and then I also must map my preferred program? I recall number 6 being a decent all rounder (I may be wrong, I read this in a .PDF file on a forum). Currently I don't care to map every single program, I am just looking for a decent automatic profile that will work as a decent catch all for both heat and radar guided missiles.

Usually you would mouse click the 1-10,A dial to pick what program to use before the engagement and then the joystick button to run it. Programs seem to be (using this CMP editing tool someone made to read the defaults):

#1 6C @ 500ms
#2 6C @ 500ms two cycles interval 2s
#3 6C @ 500ms three cycles interval 2s
#4 2F
#5 1C 1F
#6 12C @ 750ms
#7 20C @ 250ms
#8 6F @ 250ms
#9 20C 6F @ 250ms
#10 32F @ 250ms
Panic 6C 3F @ 500ms

I'd probably use program 7 or 10 against anything semi modern airborne missile threat. Radar SAM #1 or #2 if it's not too modern. Chaff is usually pretty useless in small quantity. Flare I would just use the panic button on the throttle. If I anticipated going against something that was airborne IR only I might use #4 or #5 to have a fine control economy of flares but then I'd have no chaff at hand. Switching programs on the dial in any sort of hurry isn't a good game plan.

Ah!! Cool that the M2000 has different countermeasures programmes!! Is there any way you can also tweak/adjust these programs to the user's own preference? Or are they hard-coded?

Flogger, I think the best solution here is to program a "dial up" and a "dial down" command on your HOTAS so you can switch programs without having to grab the mouse.... much easier to do when you're somewhat "busy" in the air.

Frederf, how many "run" countermeasures buttons are there in the M2000? I mean in the Falcon, you have the slap switch, CMS UP and CMS LEFT, so that's three countermeasure programmes on-hand all the time. What's it like in the M2000?

It's in lua in the mods/aircraft/M200C directory. Someone made a little program to do it but it thinks my release branch is in the openbeta folder so I have to do it more manually. Panic program seems hardcoded.

2 buttons, it's basically CMS forward on joystick and slap on throttle.

So just 2 programs available at one time, eh?

Is it different in real Mirage?

Yeah 2 vice 3 in F-16. But hey, 11 programs instead of 6.

There seems to be some sort of automatic dispense and possible an automatic program selection by threat (a la A-10C) but I can't get it to work for the life of me. It might not be in.

I hope the pilot has a cheat sheet in his cockpit!

It's either a kneeboard page by default or one is available.

Makes sense.

"Switch to PRGM 5 on IP"