Disable FSX ATIS

[Ferrari308guy]

Hello all-

I am trying to find a way to disable the default ATC voices in FSX, specifically the ATIS, and I would like to do it through SimConnect or FSUIPC (SimConnect is preferred though...), although I'm open to any suggestions. The trick is that my program has to work in Multiplayer mode, so simply disabling the voice slider in the FSX sound settings won't work, since that will also disable the ability to hear any other players in Multiplayer. I have looked through the SimConnect variables, and I can't find anything ATC related other than the key strokes for the ATC menu, which does me no good. I was thinking about WeatherRemoveStation, but I am pretty sure that has nothing to do with the ATIS in FSX.

Has anybody achieved this? Like I said, I'll take any method that anybody knows of.

Thanks, Phil

[Pete Dowson]

I am trying to find a way to disable the default ATC voices in FSX, specifically the ATIS and I would like to do it through SimConnect or FSUIPC (SimConnect is preferred though...), although I'm open to any suggestions. The trick is that my program has to work in Multiplayer mode, so simply disabling the voice slider in the FSX sound settings won't work, since that will also disable the ability to hear any other players in Multiplayer.

Does it really? That's a bit of an oversight on Microsoft's part.

I have looked through the SimConnect variables, and I can't find anything ATC related other than the key strokes for the ATC menu, which does me no good.

Apart from the normal response controls (for the dialogue selections), there's no ATC control whatsoever exported from FS. I've always replaced it by Radar Contact, and some folks prefer VoxATC. Of course if you fly on-line (not "multiplayer", but on-line ATC) then you have real ATC voices anyway.

I was thinking about WeatherRemoveStation, but I am pretty sure that has nothing to do with the ATIS in FSX.

FSX allows additional weather stations to be created, through SimConnect. Programs like ASA uses the facility to create weather stations in the Atlantic, for example, so the weather can vary on transatlantic flights. FS only sets weather at WX stations -- everywhere else it is interpolated. The facility to remove the created stations just does the reverse.

WX stations are of course completely to do with ATIS as it is the weather stations which supply the weather being reported by ATIS.

Regards

Pete

[Ferrari308guy]

Interesting, thanks for the reply Pete. It looks like I'm going to have to try some pretty unconventional methods here.

When I mentioned that WeatherRemoveStation has nothing to do with the ATIS, I meant actually removing an ATIS from Flight Simulator. The thought was to try and remove the weather station for KSFO, and see if that also removed the ATIS along with it, so that you would no longer hear any KSFO ATIS on its ATIS frequency. However, after reading, it appears that you can only remove Weather Stations that you have previously created in SimConnect, so it is my understanding that you can't remove any default weather stations that FSX has already generated, since you don't create those in SimConnect. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you know how Radar Contact disables the default ATC? I had VoxATC for FS9, and I remember having to disable the voice slider in order to eliminate the ATC, but as stated, that doesn't work for my situation.

[Pete Dowson]

However, after reading, it appears that you can only remove Weather Stations that you have previously created in SimConnect, so it is my understanding that you can't remove any default weather stations that FSX has already generated, since you don't create those in SimConnect. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

That is correct. In fact it is even more restrictive -- only the SimConnect client which added the WX station can remove it.

In any case, I'm not sure that removing a "real" weather station (if it were possible) would remove the ATIS -- the ATIS is a radio aid built into the BGLs, so if you tuned it in it would try, at least, to tell you the weather. Maybe it would get an error when it asked for the specific WX ICAO weather and crash FSX.

The FS weather stations are listed in files in FSX folders. You could try deleting (or renaming) those. They are icao_pos.bin, wxmapping.bin, and wxstationlist.bin in the Weather folder, and wxstationlist.BIN in the same folder as the FSX.CFG file. I suspect you'd crash things if they aren't there at all, so experimentation might be needed. You could start with the one in the FSX.CFG folder, as I think that is a dynamically created subset of the one in the Weather folder, being updated from the MS/Jeppeson website when & if you download FSX "real weather". If you delete that and don't download weather, maybe it will remove those stations.

However, none of that defeats the ATIS radio frequencies and worrying what FSX might do when you tune into a station. If there's no current weather for a station (which can happen), it probably just gets either the default ("global") or the interpolated weather. Thus defeating your object.

In the end probably the only way is to remove the ATIS frequencies from the BGLs. You could probably write a BGL which did that using the "delete frequency" codes, and have it running at the top layer, so processed last.

Do you know how Radar Contact disables the default ATC? I had VoxATC for FS9, and I remember having to disable the voice slider in order to eliminate the ATC

Same way, turn the voice slider down and/or uncheck it.

Regards

Pete

[Ferrari308guy]

Thanks Pete. The file changes didn't crash FSX, but they didn't stop the ATIS recordings either. Your mention of the .BGL to delete the frequency was interesting. I'll look into it. If you have any links / information, it would be much appreciated.

Do you know if SimConnect can change the FSX settings? I was thinking that I could disable the FSX Voice just when the user is on the ATIS frequency, and then re-enable it when the user switches back to a COM frequency. This would work fine for my program's purposes, but I have never seen any options like this in SimConnect.

[Pete Dowson]

Thanks Pete. The file changes didn't crash FSX, but they didn't stop the ATIS recordings either. Your mention of the .BGL to delete the frequency was interesting. I'll look into it. If you have any links / information, it would be much appreciated.

To edit and recompile BGLs you'd need the FSX SDK to start with. There are some useful, even freeware, programs around too like Airport Design Editor (ADE), but I don't know if they deal with ATIS frequencies as well as those specific to airport functions.

Do you know if SimConnect can change the FSX settings? I was thinking that I could disable the FSX Voice just when the user is on the ATIS frequency, and then re-enable it when the user switches back to a COM frequency.

No. There appear to be no provisions for doing anything with sound in SimConnect. You'd be better off simply using non-ATIS frequencies, maybe just automatically adding .05 or something to de-tune them. It really depends on what you are substituting for the transmitter, doesn't it? If you are writing a program to read the frequencies, just re-adjust them internally. Or simply choose arbitrarily different frequencies in the first place.

Regards

Pete

[Ferrari308guy]

If you are writing a program to read the frequencies, just re-adjust them internally

Hey Pete. Could you explain what you mean by this a little more?

Right now my thinking is to put every ATIS .25 higher than the real one. So if the ATIS is on 135.00, the recorded ATIS would be on 135.025. I was hoping that I could change somebody's frequency without them knowing (not sure if that's what you mean by internally) but as far as I can tell, anything that I change to the frequency will also be changed in the radio stack in FSX.

[Pete Dowson]

If you are writing a program to read the frequencies, just re-adjust them internally

Hey Pete. Could you explain what you mean by this a little more?

Simple: use frequencies which FS won't recognise as ATIS in the vicinity.

Right now my thinking is to put every ATIS .25 higher than the real one. So if the ATIS is on 135.00, the recorded ATIS would be on 135.025. I was hoping that I could change somebody's frequency without them knowing (not sure if that's what you mean by internally) but as far as I can tell, anything that I change to the frequency will also be changed in the radio stack in FSX.

Yes, but if everyone knows that and uses the same off-frequencies that would work, right? You all want to avoid FS's ATC voice, correct? You will all be using your application, whatever it is, right?

Maybe I'm not understanding what it is you are trying to do. what will you be using the COM frequencies for if not for your own ATC and ATIS?

Regards

Pete

[Ferrari308guy]

We won't be using the COM frequencies for anything besides ATC and an ATIS. Having every frequency off by .25 does work just fine (as long as that does not happen to be another ATIS frequency within the vicinity of your aircraft), but I was hoping that I would be able to use the real world ATIS frequencies rather than having to make it slightly off. However, you have confirmed that to not be possible for me (at least as far as we know).

Thanks. I appreciate your help.

[Ferrari308guy]

After thinking some more, I was wondering if there was a way to create a new key command in FSX. I looked in folder with the FSX.cfg file in it, and in the controls folder, there's an XML file with all of the hot keys in there. Is there a way to create a new hot key in that file? If I could add a hot key for turning off the FSX voice in the sound settings, then it would solve my problem.

Q

SOUND_TOGGLE

The q key toggles the sound, which is SOUND_TOGGLE in the XML file, would there be any way to find out what the method is for turning off just the voice settings within the sound rather than all of the sound?

[Pete Dowson]

After thinking some more, I was wondering if there was a way to create a new key command in FSX. I looked in folder with the FSX.cfg file in it, and in the controls folder, there's an XML file with all of the hot keys in there.

They aren't so much "hot keys" as simply your current Key assignments, which you can access via the Options-Settings-Controls menu in FS. They merely assign keypresses to FS controls, just as you can do for Buttons and as you can do for a greater range of controls in FSUIPC.

Is there a way to create a new hot key in that file? If I could add a hot key for turning off the FSX voice in the sound settings, then it would solve my problem.

You "create" key assignments in the FS key assignments menu. You have access to all of the possible controls in FSUIPC, and additional ones created for you by FSUIPC. There are no FS or FSUIPC controls for individual sound settings because they are not exported by FS and no one has found a way to do it. I expect you would need to write a program to hook into the DirectSound calls.

The q key toggles the sound, which is SOUND_TOGGLE in the XML file

"Sound toggle" is simply one of the well known FS controls, all of which are listed in my FS controls lists and assignable in FSUIPC, and some of which are assignable in FS's assignments menu. There are none for separate sounds.

Pete

[Ferrari308guy]

Thanks Pete. I'll look into the DirectSound calls, I'm not sure if it will yield anything, but it's worth a shot.