Troubleshooting XSquawkBox Issues¶
General¶
Be sure to check the XSquawkBox Website to see if your issue has been addressed on the Known Issues page, or in a recent post from the developer.
Warning
If submitting a bug report to the developers, You must not omit, edit or
shorten the content from Log.txt as the full content can be critical in
determining the cause of issues.
If it is clear you have omitted, edited or shortened the log, the developers will ignore your bug report.
Issues with Plugin Loading¶
Issues with the plugin not loading are usually caused by not following the installation instructions correctly.
When X-Plane runs, it creates a file named Log.txt Inside your X-Plane
installation folder which contains errors and information from X-Plane’s last
run. If XSquawkBox has issues loading, the cause or related information is
usually recorded in this file.
Linux
On Linux, the usual cause for this is a missing shared library. The
Log.txt file will indicate which shared library it failed to load. You
should then locate and install the version of that library as shipped by your
distribution. You can verify if all the necessary shared libraries are
installed by using the ldd tool against the linux.xpl file inside the
plugin’s directory.
If your system meets the system requirements, and you have followed the
installation instructions as written, and you cannot find any information
suggesting a known cause, submit a bug report on the XSquawkBox website,
including the contents of Log.txt in full.
Can’t see your desired input/output device¶
AFV-Native can only handle a specific subset of audio devices:
All devices must support a 48Khz sampling rate, or have OS-provided resampling. This accounts for the majority of USB headsets and most integrated audio devices.
In addition, input devices must be monaural or able to operate in a pure monaural mode. Similarly, output devices must be monaural or stereo or able to operate in a pure monaural or stereo mode.
In addition, bluetooth connected headsets are not supported - they might work if they support the necessary sampling rate and capture modes, but the developers cannot invest significant effort into trying to fix issues with them.
Note
The limitation is largely borne from AFV-Native audio interface code, and if you’re a programmer, you can attempt to remedy the limitations there and submit a patch to the author/maintainer.
Unfortunately, there’s just too many possibilities, and the requirements from the AFV system itself are fairly specific - the author cannot support every possibility on his own and has focused on the most common cases.
Some OS Specific notes on this are below:
macOS¶
macOS only supports one audio API - CoreAudio.
Run the “Audio MIDI Setup” utility (usually in /Applications/Utilities) and
make sure the sampling rate for the device you want to use is set to 48KHz.
Devices set to 44.1KHz (and presumably lower) will not be recognised as
compatible.
Windows¶
Windows supports multiple audio APIs. In terms of prefernce, it is recommended to use WASAPI first if possible, with the next preference being DirectSound, and the least preferred being WinMME.
5.1 Surround speaker sets that connect directly to your PC via 3 x 3.5mm jacks have been known to not work with some integrated motherboard audio. If you really want to output the radio to the speakers, change your speaker layout to stereo. This configuration is not recommended however - dedicated headsets work best for VATSIM radio communications.
To force the default sampling rate for a device:
- Open Control Panel (not settings)
- Open the “Sound” control panel
- Click on recording tab
- For each device you want to be able to use as a microphone:
- Locate the input on the device list and right click on it and select “Properties”.
- Click on the “Advanced Tab”
- Make sure the “Default Format” is set to “48000Hz (DVD Quality)”
- Click “OK” to close the device settings.
- Click “OK” to close the Sound control panel.
Linux¶
Linux presently only supports the ALSA audio API.
Whilst it is possible to connect ALSA to Pulse, or to connect audio processing that’ll generally overcome any mismatch problems, no support can be offered for the Linux distribution provided audio components by the XSquawkBox team.
I’m Not Hearing Any Voice¶
The voice support has been fairly heavily tested - there have been a lot of problems reported that were traced through to incorrect operation or compatibility issues.
Note
VATSIM has been suspending ATIS operation during periods of high activity.
A failure to receive voice ATIS is not an indication of problems with the client unless you can confirm that other users are receiving voice ATIS.
First, make sure you didn’t get a warning message from XSB when you connected that your audio devices weren’t set up correctly. If you did, you need to disconnect and access the Audio Setup option and select your input and output devices.
Next, check the aircraft compatibility information to see if there’s a known issue with the model you’re using - you may need to vary how you’re trying to use XSB or the aircraft if there’s an identified issue.
Once you’ve checked for known issues and compensated for any stated, ensure you have set the right frequency on the radio, using the panel controls only. (If already correctly set, set the radio away from the desired frequency, then back again).
If that doesn’t resolve the issue, next ensure you have set the radio to be
enabled for receive on the audio panel. Use the .rx command to force enable
it and see if that makes any difference.
Next, Adjust the radio’s independant volume control and make sure it’s turned up.
Finally, if you’ve exhausted all of those options, and it’s still not working, disconnect and access audio setup - and make sure the audio device selected is the one you are actually using. Check that the peak meter moves when you speak into your microphone.
I hear myself when I transmit voice¶
This is almost always caused by having both radios tuned to the same frequency, and both set with Rx Enabled.
Disable the non-transmitting radio for receive, or change it’s frequency.