DCS: A-10C II | ARC-210 Radio (COMING SOON)
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In this DCS: A-10C II Tank Killer video, we’ll discuss the very basics of using the new ARC-210 radio. There is a lot of detail in this radio, particularly the menu system, but you’ll read about this in the manual. For this video, we just want to go over the basics to get you started.
The ARC-210 supports both UFH, VHF, and satellite communications, but support for satellite communications will come later along with other aircraft satellite radio communications. The control head is located on the left console, and it replaces one of the two VHF radio control heads. This leaves on VHF, one UHF, and one ARC-210 control head.
Let’s look at the most common functions that you’ll use on the control head.
In the bottom right corner of the control head is the Frequency Mode dial.
The Preset, or PRST, position that allows you to select a preset with its assigned frequency. On the display, the selected Preset channel is shown in the top right corner and the assigned frequency to that Preset is centered in the bottom of the display. Above the frequency is the AM or FM modulation indication.
The Manual, or MAN, position that allows you to manually enter a frequency using the five Frequency Selector Knobs. Also, to the left of the display are three line select buttons. If you press the top button, it will select the previously selected frequency.
The last two positions allow you to tune the radio to either the 243 MHz or 121.5 MHz guard channels.
To the left is the Preset Channel dial. If the Frequency Mode dial is set to Preset, rotating this dial allows you to cycle through the Preset channels.
In the bottom left corner is the Operational Mode dial. This can be set between OFF, Transmit and Receive, Transmit and Receive while doing the same on the two Guard channels, and changing your channel presets. To change the frequencies of your presets, the Frequency Mode Dial must be in the Preset position and the Operational Mode Dial must be in the Change Preset position. You can then use the Frequency Selector Dials to change the frequency of the active Preset channel.
Along the left side at the bottom are your display brightness controls.
On the right side is the squelch switch and the offset button. Pressing the offset button offsets the current frequency to a new frequency, generally in 5 or 8.33 kHz steps.
Last is the Menu button that is a rabbit hole of pages that you can explore but not necessary for normal operations. We’ll detail these in the manual.
Up on the HUD in the top left corner is the ARC-210 indication. V1 is the installed radio. This will either display the frequency when in Manual mode or the channel when in Preset mode. If you wish to change the frequency, using the Up-Front Controller, or UFC, type in the desired frequency and you’ll see it on the HUD scratchpad at the bottom of the HUD. Once entered, press the COM 1 button. To change the Preset, it’s just as easy. Select Preset mode, type in the Preset channel number on the UFC, and then press the COM 1 button.
You can also view all your Preset channels with their assigned frequencies on the new COMM page. Upon selecting COMM, then select ARC210 Presets. You now have all the Preset channels listed and by pressing the NEXT button you can view the second page.
To change a Preset frequency assignment, use the up and down arrow buttons to select the desired Preset channel row and you can then set a frequency, name, and AM or FM. For example: change the frequency by typing in a new frequency on the UFC and then pressing the FREQ button. In the same manner, type in a new name on the UFC and then press the NAME button. To switch the Present channel between AM and FM, just press the MOD, for modulation, button.
I hope this video was helpful for understanding the basic operations of this new radio for the A-10C.