Navigtion Aids: ILS marker beacons, ADF

Question

Having issue on how to turn on ADF in the C-172, I put in freq and select to turn but ADF does not seem to work, this is at KSAC.

Also, at KSAC during an ILS approach to rwy 02 C172 outer marker, middle marker does not work, ILS glide slope and deviation needle works find.

Is this over sight that need to be address since this is still in beta?

Answer 1

Hi,

As far as I understand, you are trying a second attemp to the topic you already started 10 days ago here :

http://questions.x-plane.com/8587/how-to-operate-adf-ndb-in-x-plane-11

I can not answer anymore on the previous topic, so I will do it here :

Tell me if I am wrong, but I understand that you are wondering why you can receive a NDB signal with your default C172 ADF tuned to 356kHz, while flying over KSEA Seattle, but not while flying over KSAC Sacramento.

In real life, NDBs have a widely variable range, mainly depending on the emission power, the altitude, and the electrical property of the atmosphere. This range is usually between 50 and 150Nm I would say. In X-plane, I do not think all these altering effects are simulated.

I had a look at the charts : the only NDB I could find, in the "vicinity" of KSEA-KSAC was called PND, for Portland. From Seattle, you are 115 Nm North of Portland, and 540Nm North of Sacramento!!! I then performed a test in X-plane 11 rc1 : With the default C172, I could receive PND in a range of 60Nm only. So I could receive PND neither from KSEA, nor from KSAC, which seems to be perfectly plausible.

Comments

And about the markers, They do not seem to work for me neither. I would rather think it is a deliberate choice made by Laminar Research not to implement this system anymore, given the fact that it is bound to be abandonned in real life. But it is just a guess, I might be wrong.