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#3096255 - 09/18/10 05:16 AM Tutorial: Plotting your own route. *****  
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TacResSpec Offline
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Hi guys heres my first try at a tutorial, hope it is helpful.
I got inpiration from Parrabellums awesome Dummies guide to blowing stuff up.
Mine is on Navigation and route plotting.

http://specs-game-tips.blogspot.com/

Guide to Waypoints and Planning in DCS Blackshark

Hi, welcome to my blog, Im going to go through how to set up your ABRIS and your PVI to plot a new route in DCS Blackshark.

Ok lets start with the real basics. If you look down and to the right you will find your ABRIS and PVI systems. Although these systems don't work directly in conjunction with each other (they are not electronically connected) used together they are a powerfull tool for navigation.



Dont be intimidated by how complicated it looks. At first I looked down and saw it and thought "bugger that". But after a little experimentation and reading I soon learnt how to use these two tools in conjunction with each other and with DCS Blackshark's autopilot system to plot my own course.

Setting up the ABRIS.

We'll start with the ABRIS. The five buttons along the bottom are FSK buttons used for selecting modes, and the knob on the right is the manipulator, used for cycling through options and moving your waypoints.The far right FSK toggles the main mode and the others have different functions depending what mode you are in (the functions are labeled above).



First we have to set the ABRIS's coordinate system to decimal places ( the same as the PVI ).
To do this click the OPTION FSK ( far right ) , then the SETUP FSK (same one), click and drag the Manipulator Knob (MK) until the pop up menu is on UNITS and click the SETUP FSK again.
Now using either the MK or the UP and DOWN FSK's select both latitude and longitude
and click the CHANGE FSK on each. Finally click the NAV FSK to return to the main screen. ***Thanks LukeFF***



Now we will unload the current plan from the RAM. Click the PLAN FSK then the SELECT FSK , now click and drag on the (MK) to select UNLOAD from the pop up menu and select it using the FSK key underneath.



Now we have a clear map to work with.

Now lets add our waypoints.
Click the DRAW FSK now a green cursor will appear on the map, to move this turn the MK by left clicking and dragging it, to change the movement between vertical or horizontal right click the MK then turn it.
Move the cursor to the desired waypoint location and click the ADD FSK.



Now you can change the name of the waypoint by turning the MK or continue on by pressing the ENTER FSK. Next is the option to change the type of waypoint.



Here is a graphical representation from the DCS Blackshark manual showing different waypoint types.



Continue adding the waypoints you want, try to keep the amount of waypoints under six as your PVI can only store six.
Ok now click the PLAN FSK to go back to plan view, then click the ACTIVE FSK to make this flight plan the current plan. Then click the SELECT FSK scroll to SAVE and click it.

Now the ABRIS is all set.
*NOTE* This only saves it to the RAM memory, which means that if you quit the mission it will be deleted, there is a section on permanent saving in the DCS Blackshark manual and Ill add it to this one later.

Setting up the PVI.

When flying the steerpoint marker on your HUD is controlled by your PVI.Which means that it will not automatically direct you to those ABRIS points you plotted earlier (because the two systems are totally separate.). Route mode also relies on the PVI for its navigational information.




To change our PVI waypoints we are going to copy the Coordinates from our ABRIS and enter them into our PVI manually. To do that first change the PVI mode to EDIT.



Make sure the waypoint button is pressed, (this also works for Target points, I haven't tried the other two)



Click 1 to select waypoint one, press either 1 or 0. Zero to enter a positive number or One to enter a negative number. The little indicator on the left of the display lights up if it is set to negative.
Now copy the Latitude from the ABRIS plan into the PVI (round the last digit off) and click ENTER.
Then do the same with the Longitude. You can start again by pressing the RESET button



When your done, remember to set the PVI mode back to Operation.

And thats it, I know it seems like a lot but after a few missions it takes no time at all. Ive found it really useful when doing CAS missions, I can avoid the front line and sneak around the back to my targets.

I hope you found this stuff useful. Ill be adding more tut's on DCS Blackshark and other games in the future.
If you find any mistakes send me a message at seeker783 at hotmail.com.
Feel free to republish this tutorial as long as you give due credit.


Heres a link to the PDF version for printing...
PDF version

Till next time.
[tR].Spec
www.tactical-response.net
http://specs-game-tips.blogspot.com/

Last edited by TacResSpec; 09/20/10 03:21 AM.
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3096302 - 09/18/10 09:29 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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LukeFF Offline
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One important thing to note is that the ABRIS by default uses DMS for coordinates (Degrees, Minutes, Seconds), while the PVI-800 uses decimal degrees. In order to avoid frustration copying coordinates from the ABRIS into the PVI-800, one needs to set the coordinate display on the ABRIS to decimal degrees.

#3096303 - 09/18/10 09:30 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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Bundaberg Australia
Ok thanks, I was wondering why there was an extra number and I was always slightly off course biggrin. Ill wait a little until other mistakes and ommisions are found , i'm sure there'll be some lol. Then Ill update it.

Last edited by TacResSpec; 09/18/10 09:32 AM.
#3096309 - 09/18/10 10:23 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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TacResSpec  Offline
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Couldnt wait, I updated it.

#3096406 - 09/18/10 03:28 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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Very nicely done sir. That is an excellent guide.. thumbsup



#3096732 - 09/19/10 02:43 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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LukeFF Offline
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Originally Posted By: TacResSpec
Couldnt wait, I updated it.


smile

It saved me a lot of frustration once I figured out all one had to do was change the display to Decimal Degrees. Until that point I thought that I had to do some crazy mathematical conversion from DMS to get it right. hahaha

#3096931 - 09/19/10 01:39 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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letterboy1 Offline
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Awesome!!! Thanks, this is just what the doctor ordered. I've been shying away from the more in-depth aspects of the ABRIS and this will jump start me to the next level. smile


The issue is not p*ssy. The issue is monkey.
#3097178 - 09/19/10 08:57 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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TacResSpec  Offline
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Thanks guys. Lol know what you mean luke, because I'd only tried this over short distances I kept going slightly off course on Route mode, I figured maybe the internal navigation was out or something.

#3097221 - 09/19/10 09:52 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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Panther Offline
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Cool thanks! Awesome tutorial.


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#3097376 - 09/20/10 03:22 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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Ive added a link to the PDF version down the bottom.

#3097498 - 09/20/10 12:39 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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Para_Bellum Offline
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Excellent stuff!

yep


"...late afternoon the Air Tasking Order came in [and] we found the A-10 part and we said, "We are going where!? We are doing what!?"

Capt. Todd Sheehy, Hog pilot, on receiving orders during Operation Desert Storm

#3097823 - 09/20/10 08:36 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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TacResSpec  Offline
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Chers Parra_bellum I was inpired by your tutorial. Hadnt played for 6 months, I had given up on it. Since following your tutorial Ive got 20 hours up this week and learning so much more now that Im over the initail stumbling block.

#3099286 - 09/22/10 08:22 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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Tbag Offline
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Thanks TRS, excellent tutorial!


The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. - Douglas Adams
#3100266 - 09/24/10 07:35 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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Frederf Offline
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You can set the ABRIS to DM.M setting by default with an LUA edit: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=37116 It saves you the trouble of having to do it every time. Now that we have the Flight Planner module in-cockpit ABRIS flight plans are less useful than before but it's good to know. It's such a shame that the VNAV stuff is broken for in-cockpit plans. VNAV only works with data from the ME (MP?)

#3100279 - 09/24/10 08:30 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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Good thinking, save a little time in setup especially If your taking off in a relatively hot zone.

#3102786 - 09/28/10 06:49 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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mirage2310 Offline
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Thank you ! btw I have 2 question !

1. why there're positive and negative longtitude, latitude ?
2. After entering the Nav Point, does the system automatically calculate the distance between points ?


-- LQA --
#3102791 - 09/28/10 07:41 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: mirage2310]  
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LukeFF Offline
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Originally Posted By: mirage2310
1. why there're positive and negative longtitude, latitude ?


Positive and negative longitude and latitude refer to whether the coordinates are either east or west of the Prime Meridian and either north or south of the Equator.

#3103313 - 09/28/10 11:21 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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Im not 100% sure but heres what it says in the manual-

"Automated route calculations based on entered parameters: true airspeed, altitude, weather information, distance between waypoint legs, fuel level, and fuel flow data."

#3122592 - 10/24/10 10:53 AM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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The Punisher Offline
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PDF link doesn't seem to be working...

Error 500 - Internal Server Error
The server encountered an unexpected condition which prevented it from fulfilling the request.

frown

#3126748 - 10/29/10 10:06 PM Re: Tutorial: Plotting your own route. [Re: TacResSpec]  
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TacResSpec Offline
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Cheers Punisher, Ill fix it now.

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