Radio Tuning
Radios are used both for communication, and also for navigation.
This tutorial will teach you how to tune the radio of the aircraft to pick up
the ATIS - Automatic Terminal Information Service. This is broadcast by all
but the smallest airports and provides information on the current ground-level
weather, the altimeter setting and the runway in use.
Aircraft/c172p/tutorial/radio
morning
KLVK
1
12
-9999
37.6952
-121.8167
175.0
0
0
0
0
/controls/gear/brake-parking
1
/controls/flight/flaps
0.0
/controls/engines/engine/magnetos
0
/controls/engines/engine/throttle
0.0
/engines/engine/running
false
/instrumentation/adf/frequencies/selected-khz
340
/environment/weather-scenario
Fair weather
/controls/flight/elevator-trim
0.17
In this lesson, you'll learn how to tune the radio to the Livermore ATIS.
The radio is in the middle of the center console.
There are 4 radios on this aircraft - two for communication (COMM1, COMM2) and two for navigation (NAV1, NAV2).
Each radio has an active frequency and a standby frequency.
We tune the radio by changing the standby frequency, and then swapping the active and standby.
To change the standby frequency, you can click on the left side of the knob to decrease it, and the right side to increase it.
14.0
336
-20
-0.3444
0.0907
0.0053
1.0000
Using the middle mouse button changes the number on the left of the decimal place, while the left mouse button changes the number after the decimal place.
14.0
336
-20
-0.3444
0.0907
0.0053
1.0000
Set the standby frequency to 119.65 MHz. This is the ATIS frequency for Livermore, and is printed on sectional charts.
14.0
336
-20
-0.3444
0.0907
0.0053
1.0000
/instrumentation/comm[0]/frequencies/standby-mhz
119.64
/instrumentation/comm[0]/frequencies/standby-mhz
119.66
Now, switch the active and standby frequencies by pressing the swap button so the active frequency is 119.650MHz.
14.0
336
-20
-0.3444
0.0684
0.0142
1.0000
/instrumentation/comm[0]/frequencies/selected-mhz
119.64
/instrumentation/comm[0]/frequencies/selected-mhz
119.66
Listen to the ATIS message. If you cannot hear it,
look at the Sound Configuration dialog on the File menu.
It will tell you the current weather conditions, the runway in use, and the altimeter setting.
Once you've heard it, you can switch it off by swapping the frequency back to standby. Do that now.
14.0
336
-20
-0.3444
0.0684
0.0142
1.0000
/instrumentation/comm[0]/frequencies/standby-mhz
119.64
/instrumentation/comm[0]/frequencies/standby-mhz
119.66
Great job. COMM2 is located immediately below COMM1 in the radio stack, and is tuned in the same way.
The NAV radios work in exactly the same way, except they use a different frequency
range, and their output goes to the navigational instruments.