Some frustrations

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Okay, I got Pilot2ATC installed, got my microphone and PTT button working.  Have the following issues.

 

1.  Ana is talking out of my speakers instead of my headset and she's difficult to understand.  How do I get 'her' to talk through my headset.  Tried various settings but, perhaps, not the right ones.

2. Sometimes it understands me the first time...sometimes I repeat it 10 times louder, slower, faster, steadier, and it doesn't do anything...doesn't acknowledge that it heard a sound.  The PTT button turns green but nothing.

 

So, it's pretty difficult at this point.

 

Gregg

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Some other things:

 

1.  when you're in the bounce pattern it seems to always want you to climb to pattern altitude before calling crosswind.  Pretty unusual.  Controllers use that for spacing.  I like that it would do it from time to time...does it do it all the time?  

2.  it always wants me to report final from downwind.  Again, not a bad thing but, all the time?  Often controllers will use that if they have a departure or a truck to get off the runway.

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 864]

Hi Gregg.

Glad you got it installed.

On the headset vs speakers issue, Pilot2ATC uses whatever the default playback device is for its output.  You need to set your headset as the default playback device in the windows sound settings.

 

Voice Recognition is an interesting endeavor.  Many things can cause it to misbehave.  Here are some tips:

 

-Speak in a normal tone and rate

-Pause a half-second after pressing the PTT button before starting to talk

-Hold the PTT button down a half-second after you stop talking

-Use the "Listen" feature on the windows recording device setup window to see if you have a lot of background noise that might be interfering with recognition

-Practice with the Grammar Help window (accessed with the ? button)

-If you are getting no response at all, cycle the Active/Standby Freq to be sure you are being listened to by the correct controller.  If a controller is active and is not set to respond to what you say, you may get no response at all.

 

Thanks for the suggestions on the pattern interaction.  I agree that some randomness to the instructions when in the pattern would be good.  I've added it to the enhancements list.

 

If you hit any bumps, don't hesitate to contact me directly - admin at pilot2atc.com

 

Dave

[w9nwrwi 26]

Hello Gregg,

 

I to had a fair bit of trouble with speech recognition.  My first solution was to change to a USB headset as my old headset was falling apart anyway.  This seemed to help a bit, your Mileage May Vary.

The 2nd thing I did was go to the Configuration and Maintenance area of P2ATC, the  Voice Recognition tab, and change the Initial Silence Time out to 50% and the End Silence Timeout to 60%, as recommended by another user.

That helped dramatically and works extremely well unless I say something stupid or don't have the right command. Usually its in a Readback Request.

 

Chuck

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

On the headset vs speakers issue, Pilot2ATC uses whatever the default playback device is for its output. You need to set your headset as the default playback device in the windows sound settings.

 

Hi Dave,

 

Hmmm...could this be changed to use the "Default Communications Device"? 

 

 

 

-Pause a half-second after pressing the PTT button before starting to talk

 

-Hold the PTT button down a half-second after you stop talking

 

-Use the "Listen" feature on the windows recording device setup window to see if you have a lot of background noise that might be interfering with recognition

 

-Practice with the Grammar Help window (accessed with the ? button)

 

The 1/2 second thing seems to help.  Also, doing some experimenting with the 'phraseology' and it's nice that there are some options that work and make it simple.  If you just say "turning final" it clears you to land, if you then say "requesting the option" it clears you for the option without fuss.  If you say "going around" it says roger and gives the pattern instructions.  Pretty cool.  It might be nice to have a little debug window so a pilot can see the phrase the software thinks it heard.  I've gotten a number of CTDs...nothing critical, really...lesser used stuff.

 

Note that a tower will rarely say anything about an aircraft's altitude unless it looks dangerous or stupid (unless Approach tells them to for IFR aircraft).  Their agenda is visual separation, sequencing.  They might tell a pilot pattern altitude when they're first arriving or taking off but not after that.  It's not a big deal that they do, though.  Controllers are quirky.  Also, if an airplane has landing gear they're likely to say "with the gear" or "gear down" when they make their landing request.

 

It's unreal being able to actually talk to "ATC" and that it actually kind-of works.  I'm going to try out some instrument approaches and see how that goes.

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Okay, tried my first ILS practice approach.  I dialed up Norcal Approach and requested an ILS to Runway 34 at KRDD.  It showed on the screen but I got no response.  Tried several variations, some of which it showed.  I flipped back to tower and asked for an ILS to 34 and they vectored me to the ILS.  (Shouldn't approach do that?)  Anyway, got a good downwind, then a turn from downwind directly onto dogleg (should have been a base in there but it's okay).  My assigned altitude was 2,900 and it put me exactly on the GS before I intercepted the localizer so, perhaps, need a bit more room to get on the localizer with the GS needle above the GS.  Still, not awful.  I'll try some other kinds of approaches at other places and then try a full flight plan.

 

Gregg

 

EDIT:  Tried the same ILS again, flew further on crosswind 5 miles to see if I'd get a base on the other end of the pattern but it flew me direct to dogleg again....again intercepting GS before LOC.  Hopefully a small thing.  Also, I've tried all kinds of phrases to tell it I'm "established on final" but haven't found anything that works.  Still, very cool.  This app has serious potential!

[DrumsArt 270]

Hello Gregg,

 

Concerning :

"My assigned altitude was 2,900 and it put me exactly on the GS before I intercepted the localizer so, perhaps, need a bit more room to get on the localizer with the GS needle above the GS"

 

-Open the Pilot2Atc Configuration and Maintenance window

-In the Misc Settings tab "play" with differents parameters/numbers like IFR or VFR Pattern Size %, Minimum Approach AGL, VFR/IFR Pattern AGL and so on. It worked for me about the approach altitude above the glide needle.

 

Try "established on ILS runway xxx"

 

Regards,

 

Richard Portier

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

 

 

-Open the Pilot2Atc Configuration and Maintenance window

-In the Misc Settings tab "play" with differents parameters/numbers like IFR or VFR Pattern Size %, Minimum Approach AGL, VFR/IFR Pattern AGL and so on. It worked for me about the approach altitude above the glide needle.



Try "established on ILS runway xxx"

 

Thanks.  I'll try this next time I'm on my sim. 

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Well, I'm trying to try it.  I loaded it up just now and a different runway was active.  I changed the wind to force to favor the runway I needed but they continued to say the wind was not changed.  (I checked the ATIS and it had, in fact, changed.)  I shut it down and restarted and it continued to say the wind was the old wind even after that.  Where is it getting this wind from and why won't it change runways?

 

Gregg

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Hello Gregg,

 

Concerning :

"My assigned altitude was 2,900 and it put me exactly on the GS before I intercepted the localizer so, perhaps, need a bit more room to get on the localizer with the GS needle above the GS"

 

-Open the Pilot2Atc Configuration and Maintenance window

-In the Misc Settings tab "play" with differents parameters/numbers like IFR or VFR Pattern Size %, Minimum Approach AGL, VFR/IFR Pattern AGL and so on. It worked for me about the approach altitude above the glide needle.

 

Try "established on ILS runway xxx"

 

Regards,

 

Richard Portier

 

I got it this morning.  The solution was to set IFR Pattern Size to 120%.  Thanks for your help!

[Dave-Pilot2ATC 864]

Gregg,

On  the wind / runway issue, Pilot2ATC for now gets its wind from real METAR data, not the SIM.  To select a different runway when the SIM weather is not the real weather, you can verbally request a specific runway for Taxi or Approach.  The Active runway should then change in the Active Rwy display at the top of the main window.

 

One of the enhancements, I would like to make is to get Weather from the SIM, but they don't make it available to external programs that I can find.  In the mean time, this will let you choose your runway for the best landing experience.

 

Hope this helps,

Dave

[DrumsArt 270]

Hi Dave,

 

Do you think it would be possible to choose to change the runway just in the Active Rwy at the top of the main window. (click on the window, enter XXX (L,R,C)) and go... ?

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Gregg,

On  the wind / runway issue, Pilot2ATC for now gets its wind from real METAR data, not the SIM.  To select a different runway when the SIM weather is not the real weather, you can verbally request a specific runway for Taxi or Approach.  The Active runway should then change in the Active Rwy display at the top of the main window.

 

One of the enhancements, I would like to make is to get Weather from the SIM, but they don't make it available to external programs that I can find.  In the mean time, this will let you choose your runway for the best landing experience.

 

Hope this helps,

Dave

That explains it.  Thought my sim was going bonkers.

 

Gregg

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Well, the issue with the turns to ILS with the glide slope continue.  At KSNS I was vectored to intercept way, way above the glideslope...no hope of saving the approach.  It did vector me very close to a mountain, but missed it.  I figured I'd try a different airport so I headed over the mountains to Modesto (KMOD).  I tried getting an approach from Norcal Approach.  They parsed the phrase but didn't say anytihng back.  So I switched to KMOD 28 miles out and requested again and they gave me a heading and altitude.  They kept giving me minute heading adjustments every 30 seconds or so: 035...036...036...037...038...039...040...040...etc. (an approach controller will almost always use 5 degree increments).  Got the dogleg and was given a 2000 foot descent down to pattern altitude and was cleared for the approach 30 seconds later, still at the beginning of my descent, again, way above the glideslope.  The area around KMOD is fairly flat and it could have descended me much sooner.  Not sure why it did that.

 

Gregg 

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

As much as I've pointed out the things (so far) that have not worked out so well with this app, I still think it has great potential.  I like how the developer has put serious focus on solving things in different ways than previous developers.  I like how he's focused on VFR some and left AI handling for, perhaps, some time later.  I like how IFR practice approaches are a piece of the mix.  I haven't tried an actual IFR flightplan yet so I can't speak to that.  There are issues but, by and large, they seem to be addressable. 

 

Gregg