for Grifter - data cartridges

[Hammer]

3rd parties seem to be doing well. We know that Deka/JF-17 has it.

Found this in the notes for the last open beta release:

Mirage 2000:

Added : MIP data cartridge support (BETA)

Not sure yet what it means, I will need to dig around a bit.

[Xpendable]

Does it play this?

[Hammer]

it probably does!

[PanzerMeyer]

Whoa! A Robocop reference!

[Grifter]

It really begs the question why the third parties can do it but not Eagle Dynamics? What is the hangup? Anyway, since I’m re-learning the Mirage 2000, it’s exciting to know that I could mess around with a data cartridge. Thanks Hammer!

[Bones]

Does it play this?

I'll buy THAT for a dollar!

v6,
boNes

[PanzerMeyer]

So Kurtwood Smith went from playing a cold blooded killer/hit man to a jovial and happy go lucky dad raising a family in the 1970's. He's got quite a range!

[Hammer]

so I need to dig into what exactly this cartridge is, and what the functionality is.

[Trichome]

Every reference can find in Chucks Guide talks about a "Data Cartridge Module" in the Mission Editor.. for CCRP and waypoint inputs.

https://www.mudspike.com/wp-content/upl ... 0Guide.pdf

[Hammer]

Yes, I did the same. It looks like data cartridge emulation by setting waypoints in the mission editor. But I can find no reference on how to actually do that. In the JF-17, they have to be labeled in a certain way and that is covered in the users manual. Did you see something specific about setting them up in the mission editor?

[Xpendable]

The Harrier sort of simulates a piece of the data cartridges. You can use the F10 map to designate target points by using the label function in the map. You have to drop a "T00" label that basically does nothing, then you drop subsequent labels that you label as "T01", "T02", "T03" and so on. Then back in the airplane, you have to a 3-fingered salute of "RALT+RSHIFT+8" to simulate those positions loading from either a data cartridge or being sent to you by a datalink which isn't modeled. If you do this with weight on the wheels, it will automatically assign target points to each of these coordinates. If you do it in the air, you have to manually assign target numbers to each data point which is easily done but takes about 3 clicks per data point.

I happen to have a PDF manual for the MMC for the Harrier (Moving Map Composer), circa 1998. This is the software the Harrier pilots would actually use at the base to setup their data cartridges. They would begin by selecting the map areas they want to include on the data cartridge. Apparently they could even scan new maps on a flat bed scanner and ingest them into the software. They could also import in reference images and photos, which all would be accessible inside the aircraft apparently (not modeled in DCS). They would program in the navigation waypoints, routes, target points, ingress and egress, radio frequencies, etc. Interestingly, they could even edit the checklists that are available in the plane. When they were done, the MMC software would burn the data to a CD-ROM. They would then take the CD-ROM over to a DEC AlphaStation that had an attached Honeywell DMU. They would insert a fresh data cartridge, and all of the mission data would be transferred to the write-once, read-many data cartridge. That's right... these cartridges were apparently one-time use. I'm assuming they disposed of the data cartridge after the flight.

The graphical interface looks pretty old... maybe based on Windows 3.1 or possibly Linux. Actually, I just found a more recent manual from 2008 and it looks like it got ported to Windows XP, and also appears to be the same software the F-18 pilots use, but probably with some configuration to account for differences between the F-18 and Harrier. Probably works with a few other plane types as well. The F-18 uses little cards that are a lot smaller than the data cartridges used in the Harrier (probably accounting for the advances in technology since the earlier manual). Here's the manual from the 2008 version which is for F-18, presumably edited for the Finland:
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA489385.pdf

[Bones]

So Kurtwood Smith went from playing a cold blooded killer/hit man to a jovial and happy go lucky dad raising a family in the 1970's. He's got quite a range!

Well he did play a blend of both--a cold hearted dad--in "Dead Poets Society."

v6,
boNes

[Bones]

The Tomcat has a data cartridge of sorts in DCS...Jester.

If I go to the F10 map and liek Xpen, drop a target marker on it, then I tell Jester "Map Marker X to [steerpoint]", he will automatically set that map marker coordinates to the Tomcat's WP1, WP2, WP3, FP, IP, etc without me having to put the coordinates in myself.

Now with a human RIO, I don't have that luxury. The human RIO would have to put the coordinates in manually. Get to work, Grifter!

v6,
boNes

[Xpendable]

Oh, yeah, interesting tid bit... In multiplayer, anyone can drop the T00, T01, T02, etc, and every player can then see them on their F10 map, and any Harrier can load them in.