F-15 Navigation / Radio simulation

[Zaretto]

From Raider1:

Radios: Both the primary and auxiliary UHF comm radios can be tuned to ADF signals rather than voice signals. There is a switch on the control panel that will allow the voice UHF radios to be displayed on the HSI. Both UHF radios can be tuned to ADF signals, but not both can be displayed. Only one at a time, or none. I don't know where this switch is... but assume comm control. I am looking to see if the UHF radios can be switched to VHF (I know they can in later models)... don't know how they'd comm over civilian aerospace without a VHF capability...

TACAN and ILS: ILS is VHF, so obviously there is a VHF receiver in the F-15. I cannot find much more than that, but we know there is one. It may be that the only VHF-capable receiver in the F-15 is the TACAN (which can be tuned to a TACAN, VORTAC, or VOR/DME) via the left comm panel. If that is the case, then triangulation would have to be done using that radio plus one of the UHF radios rather than 2 VHF radios.

Pg. 1-46 of the TO

can monitor "all guard channels"... and civilian guard is 121.5 in VHF

also, looking in the cockpit you can see a selection for AM (meaning VHF AM 118-130) on the right side mode selector, and on Radio 2 you can see it in the Mode Chan selector both AM and FM. Also, the switch for the R1/R2 ADF is bottom right of the left comm panel

At any rate, the only way to get two directional/distance at the same time would be to tune the ILS to a VOR/DME and the TACAN to a TACAN or a VORTAC. Otherwise it is one or the other , plus an ADF using the comm radios.

pinto: Airband or aircraft band is the name for a group of frequencies in the VHF radio spectrum allocated to radio communication in civil aviation, sometimes also referred to as VHF, or phonetically as "Victor". Different sections of the band are used for radionavigational aids [1]

so between Pinto's points and the TO, this is maybe how the radios should work (kinda):

• COM1: Any voice channel between 118-399 "OR" an ADF channel between 225-400 but not both.
• COM2: Same as above:
• COM1 and COM2: Only one of them can be used to tune to an ADF beacon. If they ARE used for an ADF beacon, that beacon always takes directional indicator Add maximum-takeoff-mass-lbs and max-gear-extension-speed limits #1 in the HSI. The TACAN or ILS/VOR selected I guess bumps to indicator 2... but it doesn't say that explicitly. Sort of inferred by target/dest. in the table and I suppose whatever mode is selected.

NAV 1 and NAV2: Hmm... These maybe should become ILS NAV and TACAN? The ILS NAV should be able to be tuned from 108-118 and the TACAN should be able to be tuned to any TACAN or VORTAC. Should only be able to take a channel (like the panel). I'd assume that the channel is the two-digit number listed next to the freq on charts.

The ADF space in the radio control menu can go away, or it can have a clicker btween radio1 and radio 2... IDK what is best, but the radio can't be used for both voice and ADF so there would need to be some control there. The DME box (which currently auto-populates with whatever freq is in NAV1 really isn't needed as both TACANS and VORTACs have DME capacity, so whatever is in use is what is giving distance, right? Between the ILS and the TACAN/VORTAC?

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[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airband