12 Feb 09

ATCA.INI Files updated to AIRAC 02/2009

Two 'ini' files are now available, the standard one with mostly civilian and a few of the larger military bases and a purely military file that contains many more UK military airfields (my thanks go to Chris Norman for producing this file).

The files are now available on the 'Downloads' page.

25 Jan 09

ATCA v2.8 released

This version adds real world runway rotation procedures for London/Heathrow as well as improved functionality when searching the databases. In addition there has been a bug fix for the way the aircraft databease handled small wake category aircraft, a change to the colour scheme for the RPS map and a new button on the squawk window to revert to the main window (due to previous problems when using Windows Vista).

11 Jun 08

ATCA v3.0 Progress

As hoped, I have managed to spend some time working on version 3 of ATCA over the past few weeks. Work is still on-going but progress is being made.

As a further taster of what is to come I have now added a voice ATIS facility that uses user preferences and the latest ATCA METAR data to produce an automatic voice ATIS transmission that can be recorded into the radar client.

A sample for the Glasgow METAR 'EGPF 111050Z 28011KT 9999 FEW028 SCT040 15/08 Q1022' can be heard by clicking here.

26 Apr 08

ATCA Server Problems

The problem reported with the ATCA server 2 days ago has now been fixed.

I appologise for any inconvenience caused to users of ATCA.

24 Apr 08

ATCA Server Problems

There appears to be a problem with the way the ATCA server is currently processing scripts. This is causing problems with the automatic generation of squawk codes for the ATCA application and for the count of file downloads on the Downloads page of this site.

Initial investigations have failed to find the cause of this problem and therefore it is taking longer to fix than anticipated. The problem is now with the server owners. A fix will be implemented as soon as possible.

31 Aug 07

ATCA v2.71 released

This version corrects some parsing errors caused by the auto-generated METAR's as well as adding some small functionality updates as follows...

METAR's are now displayed in alphabetical order of airfield ICAO. METAR's that have been updated in the most recent data retrieval are indicated by an asterisk in front of the ICAO - those that are the same as the previous data have no asterisk. A couple of updates to the ATCA Help system.

24 Aug 07

Some people seem to be confused as to how to handle errors that sometimes occur when errors are present in the data downlowaded from the VATSIM data server. These errors are usually identified by an error message similar to '///// is not a valid integer'.

The first thing to do is follow the instructions in the ATCA help file, accessible from the main menu. If this does not help then follow the instructions below...

Find the 'met.dat' file in your ATCA folder and open it in a text editor. Delete every line of text ABOVE the final 'ZZZZ' (make sure you leave the 'ZZZZ' line) and save the file. Next time you start ATCA the software will download a completely fresh set of METAR data.

23 Aug 07

ATCA v3 development is still progressing extrememly slowly. Work, home and the final year of study for my OU BSc(Hons) is taking up most of my life! My study ends at the end of this year and so I hope to pull out all the stops and complete v3.0 beta in the spring of 2008 with the full release as soon as testing is complete.

In answer to several questions from non-UK controllers, once ATCA v3 has been released I will make a start on a version for our foreign friends.

Thank you for your patience and support.

13 Nov 06

The 'Mail me' page added. Users now have a quick and easy way of contacting me with comments, questions or problems.

07 Nov 06

Due to the recent failure of the ATCA v2.63 server a new v2.7 has been released.   The release also coincides with the creation of this dedicated ATCA web site.

06 Nov 06

A glimpse into the future - ATCA v3.0 screen shots...

(Please keep in mind that the code is still being developed and so some changes may occur with the final release!)