Updated for 4.34

Text about purpose of blog post

One aspect of getting involved in Falcon that can't be learned or prepared for in single player is the configuration and use of voice comms.

Here I attempt to describe basic and advanced configuration and use of IVC.

Setting up the IVC Client
    
    Basic Setup

• Input and Output

            In the "Sound Devices" section at bottom of IVC Client program, select your microphone in "Capture" list and speakers/headphones in "Playback" list.

            This is usually the only required setup step, and if you have the correct things set as the default devices to use then even this should take care of itself.

    Advanced Setup, in \Bin\x64\IVC\IVC Client.ini

    Inserted at the bottom of this section is my own configuration file

• Sidetone and sidetone accesories

            We can add a Sidetone that will let us hear our own voice when we transmit. We use the "tone = " option in the .ini, and set it to "loop:#", where # is a number.

            To find this number, right-click on the volume icon and select playback devices. Click on your playback device of choice (here it is "Speakers"), and in the "levels" tab find your microphone.

            Each entry has a number starting from 0 at the top, and in this instance our microphone would be 1.

            Following the above, we would set our loopback in the .ini file using "tone =  loop:1".
            
            We can also use "toneVol" option to raise or lower the sidetone volume. Usable values as defined in the manual are +6 to -6. I use "toneVol = +6".

• Loudness

            Setting "loudness = 1" adds compression to incoming audio, making it easier to hear other players.

• Outsiders

            Using "outsiders = all" is the best option for listening to players who are in 2D while we are flying. Other options are detailed in BMS-Manual.pdf on pages 257-258.

Using IVC in the map screen

• Connecting

        When connecting to the server, enter the IP address of the IVC server as well. Once clicking connect, the game should take control of the IVC Client window and connect to the IVC server automatically.

        For most users it's not necessary to touch the IVC Client window beyond the initial setup steps.

• F1 and F2

        Once in-game and connected to the server in 2D, the F1 and F2 keys let us communicate by voice to others who are either in 2D with us, or in the cockpit and have their UHF radios tuned to preset 14.

        F1 will communicate with anybody in-flight who is on the UHF 14 preset, F2 is for people hanging out at the map screen only.

        Make sure you use the right one, if you have a conversation in 2D using F1 then people in-flight will be able to hear you.

Using IVC in flight

• Coordinating with other players

        None of this is useful unless everybody knows how stay in contact with everybody else. 

        Members of each flight need to know what VHF channel to use to talk to one another, and multiple flights should know which UHF channel to use to coordinate with one another.

• Using preset channels

        We normally use preset channels for radio comms. By default the F16 has a frequency assigned to each preset, we don't normally change any presets after the 4.34 update.

        To change preset using the ICP, press COM1 for UHF or COM2 for VHF and type in a preset, 1 to 20, and press ENTR.

        For most uses UHF is set to 6 normally, or 14 to talk to people in 2D.

• Using frequencies

        We use sometimes use frequencies when having radio problems, sometimes there are issues with somebody's presets and they have a preset assigned to a different frequency.

        To change frequency, press COM1 for UHF or COM2 for VHF and type in a frequency, without the decimal point. 

        For example, to dial in the Kunsan tower frequency (292.3) we would type in 2923 and press ENTR.

• Talking

        Once we're in the cockpit, we use the Comm switch to broadcast on UHF or VHF. When we do, either UHF or VHF will be highlighted in the DED depending on which one we're using. 

        See the first "Keybindings for new players" post for more details on the Comm switch.

• Comms volume

        Comm1 volume is for UHF, used mainly for inter-flight comms and for AWACS. Comm2 is VHF and is used for communicating with your flight.

        The tiny volume knob on the backup UHF panel balances the volume between AI radio comms and player voice comms.

• Guard frequency

        UHF guard frequency is 243.0 MHz, all UHF receivers also listen to guard frequency by default, making it useful if we need to transmit to as many people as possible.

        VHF has a guard frequency as well but people must choose to listen to it.

        We can transmit on Guard by switching either COMM mode knob to "GD".

• Backup Radio

        87th Tripp made a good video on the backup radio.