vPAR - FAQ & Forum
March 1, 2005
Michael
Oxner
While I don't intend to run a complete FAQ and Forum as
the name indicates, I am planning to provide for a little bit of discussion
to allow some feedback to be posted publicly. As of the release date
of February 1, 2004, all the questions I've received to date are explained
in the Downloads, the Compatibility or the History pages. New comments,
questions and concerns will be posted below.
March 1, 2005
- vPAR Version 2.0 is released! This includes changes to the QuadRadar,
the Transponder, and the QuadRadar Analog.
January 16, 2005
- Big news this time around. See the News section to read why vPAR
is moving to Version 2.0. Many new changes and enhancements on both the
QuadRadar and the Transponder, with a few on the QuadRadar Analog.
November 18, 2004
- Another minor update issued. This time, while trying to track down
another issue, I noticed that fullscreen Traffic and ASDE modes left airport,
fix, VOR and NDB labels drawn in the same color as the targets, instead of
the same color as the fix they are related to. Then I realized that the color
used was different even while not in fulscreen modes. I tracked down the
issue, and V1.51 was released of the QuadRadar today. Also, V1.51 of the
Transponder was released to fix the same problem that was thought to be solved
in V1.5 release detailed on November 14. It turns out that I missed a section
of code related to reading the file in the Transponder, so I had to reissue
this program. The Analog QuadRadar was updated to V1.51 for consistency in
version number, with no further changes.
November 14, 2004
- A minor update that won't affect most North American users, but
will help those who use commas as their decimal separators in their regional
settings in Windows. If "44.5" is used as a latitude value, for example,
but the user's computer represents this as "44,5", then vPAR_Q would fail
trying to read it. Now, vPAR will read the file first to determine if there
are any commas in the file, and change them to periods, since the period
has to be used with the mathematical computations within vPAR. It will automatically
change these commas in the file, wherever they are, and save the file with
periods instead. Thanks to Emiel Ekamper for helping me nail this one. I'm
sure he's not the only one who suffered this problem.
August 18, 2004
- Brian van Hout, from South Africa, discovered a flaw in the multiple
addresses of the Transponder. It seems that a simple typo managed to creep
into the code which forced the second and third connections to be made to
the IP in the first IP box. The controller at IP#1 would see 2 pilots connected,
but would see only one aircraft on the radar, and only one listed in the
Connection Manager. If he booted the listed pilot off, he would still see
him connected -- via the second connection in the pilot's Transponder. This
was a simple fix, but an important one for anyone using the mulitple connection
interface, one of the important enhancements over the orginal Transponder
version. Version 1.4, released this date, is actually an update to
the Transponder, and the vPAR QuadRadars remain unchanged.
July 24, 2004
- I received a request for what is called a RBL (ribble)
in Canada, or Range/Bearing Line. It allows a controller to draw a line
on the screen and indicate the range and bearing between the start and
end points. While the real world functionality is far superior in just
about every way, the feature is implemented. Hitting 'R' will initiate
the function, then the next two clicks on the Traffic display will draw
the RBL start and end points. After the second point is clicked, the line
will be drawn. To erase all RBLs, double-click within the Traffic window.
There is no way to erase single RBLs. RBLs are not saved to be redrawn when
the program is restarted. If the Traffic window looses focus after the first
point is selected, the RBL function is canceled. The same is true if the
range is changed or the window is panned (right mouse click) after the first
point is selected. Version updated to 1.3, with no changes being made to
Transponder or to QuadRadar Analog.
May 10, 2004
- Requests implemented, programs updated and website updated
with new Downloads and History sections.
April 28, 2004
- Some requests have come in, and I am in the process of updating
to version 1.2. The Analog QuadRadar will now have a 5 NM range in both
Traffic and Final displays, and the digital QuadRadar will have distances
printed under the elevation view under specific mile markers to aid controllers
in determining distances on final. The new versions should be out within
a month or so. Thanks to those who wrote in with the suggestions. So far,
no more major bugs have been reported, so I guess all is going well.
March 26, 2004
- The executable was re-built with the same version number,
but the correct key for FSUIPC included as part of the info in the file.
For more info, see the Release History on the Contact and History page.
February 25, 2004
- Here I was saying I had received no feedback, but in fact
I had. Two users had suggested the addition of range indicators in the
PAR view, just as I had placed altitude indications in the elevation
view on the linear scale. This shouldn't be too hard to add. We'll see when
the time comes to add some features to the next version, should another
issue be warranted. More feedback with more suggestions is welcome.
February 14, 2004
- So far, nothing to report. Nobody has contacted me to
say there are any problems since the release of V1.1 earlier in the
month. Either nobody has found any remaining problems, or there are
none.