First, take a look at a screen shot of the Traffic Display.
The radar display is drawn on the left hand side, while the information
boxes on the right control information about how the display is drawn,
and how connections to the network (typically the internet) are managed.
The targets are drawn with a bright "slash" where the target was at last
"hit", and up to ten trail spots (not user configurable) showing target
trail history. Each slash will successively (and marginally) thinner and
lighter in color than the previous dot. The slashes will be wider further
from the display center since the targets are drawn by angular width. Also,
the dots will fade slightly the longer they are on the display. This is especially
noticeable on the current position dot. The Traffic Display plots targets
at 5 second intervals, by default.
The boxes on the right describe the approach and touchdown area. The only
parts of this information that are used in the plotting of the Traffic
Display are the Latitude and Longitude pair, the Final Approach Course
(in combination with the Magnetic Variation), and to a lesser extent, the
GPI, or Glide Path Intercept. The center of the display is the GPI.
The GPI, in turn, is determined based on the latitude and longitude of the
runway threshold, and the distance along the final approach course specified
in the GPI box. That will be the center of the display. More information
on setting up approaches is available on the Final display's own page. While
not having a map drawn in the background, the Traffic display does have
a dashed line, extending from the GPI to 10 NM on final, depicting
the Final Approach Course for easier vectoring. Support for a background
map is not anticipated at this time. The ranges selectable are only 5,
10, 15, and 20 NM, adjusted by the Range sub-selection in the Radar
Display Control box under the Approach Setup box. Changing the range in
the Traffic display also changes the range on the Final display. Use the
Change button next to the Range Selection buttons to toggle between
the Traffic and Final displays. See the Final Display write up for more
information on setting up approach values.
Every time the display is plotted, the boxes in the right are read. This
means the display can be adjusted on the fly. That is, if the final approach
course is a little off, you can place your cursor in the Final Approach
Course box and change the value, instantly updating the screen. Also, the
latitude and longitude of the display can be changed similarly. One more
important point: All decimals in all fields must have a period instead
of a comma to ensure that the value gets converted properly. This goes
for both the "approaches.ini" file and the text boxes on the Quad Radar
screen. A comma will end up truncating the value, turning "44,64334678234"
into "44". This will have the effect of either not seeing the aircraft,
since they will be too far away, or it will help you vector them to final
nowhere near where the runway really is. If an aircraft is showing as connected
in the Connection Manager at the bottom right (see the next paragraph for
more info), but not showing on the screen, check the values in the boxes
if you believe he is within the range being displayed but not showing up
on the Traffic display.
Lastly, the Connection Manager. This is accessible regardless of
which mode the Display is set to. It allows the controller to open and close
the port to the network, meaning you can control the program's willingness
to accept connections. It also shows a list of connected aircraft callsigns,
reminding you who is connected, since you don't have "data tags" on the
display itself. Also, it gives a facility to disconnect individual pilots
by clicking on the callsign to highlight the aircraft's callsign and then
clicking on the "Boot Pilot" button to remove his connection. Note that
if a position report from the pilot's Transponder is delayed by internet
traffic and is received after the boot pilot button was clicked, it may
show up as being connected again, and the pilot may have to be booted again.