C172 GNS530 OBS Mode not working

[Garack666]

So i dialed in a VOR and the CDI shows it. Now i click OBS on the 530, nothing happens, no OBS Indicator or so.

When i move the OBS knob nothing happens. Click OBS Button again, nothing again when i move the OBS knob.

Why is that?

[OMICO4146]

Hello,

look to GNS indications, hope you have not set ILS freq instead of existed VOR station. Where is that VOR station on GNS screen? Tell us pls or confirm it’s freq.

[Ephedrin87]

Yep, IKHE is an ILS identifier, there is nothing to dial in.

[Garack666]

Hmm what? Hm ok there is no VOR😂 many thanks

But the cdi needle was working

This is EDHK

LOC/ILS	109.50	IKHE	81	08	ILS-cat-I
LOC/ILS	109.50	IKHW	262	26	ILS-cat-I
GS/ILS	109.50	IKHE	081/300	08	GS
GS/ILS	109.50	IKHW	260/300	26	GS

[Ephedrin87]

If you use an HSI you can/must turn the needle to the approach course but this is a visual guidance, no technical requirement in most aircraft. If you use the OBS in the top left of your picture it doesn‘t change what you see at all. A localizer as part of the ILS is not a VOR radial. The needle on the RMI will point towards the ILS emitter but that is a MSFS bug and nonsense.

[Currentwhammo]

I’ve been trying to find some information on this for the longest. Bottom line, does the OBS mode work with this autopilot or not?

Thank you.

[ComicQuasar5621]

The OBS doesn’t reply to VOR frequencies in f.e. the Cessna 152. Also when a tutorial is followed exactly the same the OBS doesn’t pick up the frequency from the VOR baken. Does somebody has an idea what’s wrong.
Thanks for any reply, Frans Close

[Scet106]

I had a VOR tuned in last night on the GNS530 and was using it for DME reference only. What I did notice was that it showed a “From” heading to the VOR, even when I turned to face the VOR. I can’t for the life of me figure out how to change it. I know that there is an OBS button, but is there a dial like the steam gauge. I might have to crack out the GNS530 manual and have a read.

[Habu2u2]

Hi @Scet106
A couple of things. First, it doesn’t matter which way the nose of the aircraft is pointing in regards to whether you’re getting a “to” or “from” indication from a VOR. In the simplest terms, it relates to whether you’ve got a radial selected that’s on “your side” of the VOR, or on the opposite side of the VOR. If you want to get a “to” indication, turn the OBS dial on the VOR head (not the pushbutton on the 530), until it shows a “to” indicator, and the course indicator is centered (or on the course you want to fly toward the VOR), then fly a heading to intercept the course you’ve selected and fly that course once the CDI is centered. There are a lot better explanations of flying a VOR than I’ve tried to summarize here!
I’ve attached a screenshot to help make sure we’re talking the same things!
Regards

Make sure you’ve got “NAV” selected on the upper panel, then turn the OBS dial to get the radial you desire.

[Habu2u2]

Hi @ComicQuasar5621
I’ve tested the C-152 with several VORs that I know, and it seems to be working fine. Can you tell me which VORs you’re having problems with the system not capturing, and I’ll test them to see what the issue is with them.
Screenshot 1. Flying to TOY VOR (116.0). Turn OBS dial to desired course, intercept that course, and turn toward the course until the CDI centers correctly.

The VOR training scenario also seems to be working for me.
The first screenshot basically shows the starting position. You continue to fly 240 degrees until the CDI starts moving (which will take a little while to intercept that course so don’t turn too soon!).

Once the CDI starts moving (note that it’s moved from the starting position down toward the course line), turn the aircraft to intercept the 170 degree course and center the CDI.

Once the CDI is centered, just keep it centered, which may require flying slightly left/right of the 170 course to adjust for the wind. Just work on keeping the CDI centered, and it will result in the correct heading.

If you’re still having issues, let us know and we’ll see if there’s something else going on that’s affecting the system.
Regards

[Scet106]

Hi Habu2u2, thanks for replying.What I am referring to is GNS530 side of things. I dialled in a VOR frequency into the GNS530 as NAV1 and it always gave me a “From” heading below the VLOC window in the VOR, RAD, DIS window. I was fly a “From” radial initially, but changed to a “To” radial using the OBS knob, but the GPS always showed a “From” heading. I was flying the Carenado 182RG which recently gave me an HSI problem of being 180Deg out when compared to the compass and GPS (now fixed), so it may be related. I read the GNS530 manual and clarified that the NAV1 GPS frequency ties to the steam VOR1 with VORLOC selected on the GPS (obviously), but didn’t think to try spinning the VOR OBS knob at the time as I was thinking that there may have been a way to do it with the GPS when you select the OBS button, but that’s not the case it seems. Hope that makes sense.

[Habu2u2]

Thanks for the info. I’ll take another look at it tomorrow and see what I can find. I don’t have the 182 so not sure if it uses the updated 530/430 or the legacy model.
Regards
P.S. You should be able to use the OBS mode for GPS routing. I’m going to try and look at it sometime today.

[ComicQuasar5621]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I tested a route in Belgium started in the Netherlands on EHGR VOR 116.40, then Deurne EBAW VOR 113.50, then Bruno VOR 110.60 and OBS reacted positive on these frequencies. Second test I did was from Eindhoven EHEH VOR 117.20 to Volkel EHVK VOR 108.30 and then to Niederreihn EDLV VOR 115.50 and no reaction on both OBS. I used Navigraph with comparison on LittleNavMap for the frequencies. It seems that FS2020 has some frequencies not in the database? Thanks again for your reply. Frans Close

[Habu2u2]

Hi @ComicQuasar5621
The issues with the last navaids you identified is that they are not VORs (at least in the sim). You can double check them on the World Map by clicking on them and looking at the information about each of them:
EHV (117.2) is a TACAN (not VORTAC). VKL (108.3) is a TACAN (not a VORTAC). (both of these may have been VORTACs at some point, but later converted).
NID (115.5) is DME-only. (I suspect at one time this was a true VOR but was converted along with a lot of other navaids over the last several years).
What I haven’t done yet is to check whether that matches real-life. It could be that the information on the WM is wrong, and should be reported. I don’t use navigraph, so you might double check what type of navaid it’s showing in their database (not just the frequency).
Regards

[ComicQuasar5621]

Hi Habu2u2, thanks for your reply. I understand the reason now. Obviously there is a misunderstanding for me working with older VOR’s and the present ones. I will study Navigraph a bit more now.
Best regards

[N6722C]

No active flag when in range most likely means you are NOT tuned into a VOR…

[Scet106]

Hi Habu2u2, I jumped into the steam gauge version of the 172 and tuned VOR1 in the GNS530 to Adelaide Airport VOR and slewed the OBS to centre the needle with the “To” flag showing, and as you can see the heading to the VOR is around 202Degs as shown on the gauge, but the radial shown in the VOR window of the GPS is the “From” radial 022Degs as confirmed with the VOR2 gauge with the “From” flag showing. Slewing VOR1 OBS doesn’t change the shown heading. Selecting OBS on the GPS gives the MSG “OBS not available” as no flight plan is loaded. If a flight plan is loaded, the OBS selector on VOR1, slews the magenta flight path to suit the requested heading, but doesn’t change the from heading in the VOR window. Not sure if it’s user error or a bug. Both the Carenado 182RG and the steam Cessna 172 display this same behaviour.

[Habu2u2]

One thing I noticed is that it’s showing the actual radial you’re flying on (although we know, to fly “on” a specific radial, we have to select the reciprocal radial… if that makes sense to you ). I’ll have to drag out the manual to see if that’s what it should show. Showing the actual radial you’re on would make some sense in that it gives you better situational awareness as to where you are regardless of whether you’re flying toward the VOR or on a heading that just crosses that radial, e.g. “ATC, I’m on the AD VOR 022 radial crossing the xxxx river” (and you don’t need to do more mental math! That would give them (and you too on a sectional) a very close position fix of where you are located. Given the Garmin’s capabilities and the GPS environment we normally operate in these days, that would be some “old time” navigation!
Or it could just be a bug and reporting the wrong info!
I’ll try and see what the manual says.
Thanks for the update.
Regards
Edit. If you’ve got the 530 pilots guide and reference, check figure 3-1. It would appear the sim is displaying the correct information.

[Scet106]

Ok, in that photo, the aircraft is on the ground facing approx 210 deg. I tuned the VORs in to show what direction to and from the Adelaide VOR is. The thing is, when flying once the VOR1 is tuned to the Adelaide VOR, absolutely nothing I do changes that “From” radial. The only thing that changes is the DME. I guess the only thing you can do is do a flight from YPPF Parafield and see how it works for you and see if it does the same thing. 116.40 is the Adelaide Airport VOR frequency. It could be that I am doing something wrong, but I can’t figure that out.
EDIT: I get it now! I was mistaking heading to station over radial, as you said. Played around flying from one VOR to another and had an"ah ha!" Moment.

[Habu2u2]

Really glad it worked out for you! I know I like it when I hit one of those ah-ha moments and something clicks for me. Glad we could work it out! Now on to bigger things!
Regards