Evolving Transmitter
This evening I have put the finishing touches to version 1.0.2.0 of Transmitter - the small windows application I originally wrote shortly after Flight Simulator 2020 was released.
It runs alongside the simulator and broadcasts your position to the internet alongside other users of Transmitter - meaning you can see each other on a map (more on that in a bit).
The new Transmitter client software
The new client is available to download from Github at the following link:
Here’s what the latest version looks like:
It comes “out of the box” ready configured to connect to VirtualFlight.Online’s own Transmitter server - so you have nothing to configure.
If you’ve used Transmitter before, you’ll immediately notice the “Servers” section on the left - which allows you to setup several Transmitter servers - perfect for if you are a member of several communities, each with their own Transmitter server.
The client is backwards compatible with older servers.
Who’s Online, and Radar displays
Hidden in the “Links” menu of the new client are links to all of the VirtualFlight.Online platforms (the website, newsletter, forums, discord server, facebook group, and so on), along with the pages showing “Who’s online”, and a Radar display.
Who’s online shows a static view of aircraft currently broadcasting at the moment - with a map you can drag and zoom. If you click on an aircraft it will tell you all about it. To refresh the view, just refresh the page in your browser.
Radar shows a live radar representation of aircraft currently broadcasting that updates every 5 seconds. It automatically zooms to fit anybody online when first opened, and shows labels next to aircraft at higher zoom levels (the labels appear after a few seconds). The labels can be dragged around, and will remember where they were placed.
Configuring LittleNavMap
You can still connect LittleNavMap to Transmitter - showing broadcasting aircraft directly on the map within LittleNavMap. To do so:
Run LittleNavMap
Click the "Tools" menu
Click "Options" in the Tools menu
Click "Online Flying" on the left side of the Options dialog
Select "Custom" in the "Online Service" section of the dialog
Populate the "Whazzup File URL" with
https://transmitter.virtualflight.online/ivao
(be careful you have no spaces on the start or end of the URL - use the test button to make sure it works)Set "Update every" to 5 seconds
Set the "Format" to "IVAO"
Click the "Apply" button, then the "OK" button
You should now be able to toggle online aircraft on and off in the map with the red aircraft icon in the LittleNavMap toolbar.
The source code is available to download
As ever, Transmitter is open source. You can download the source code of the client and the server from Github at the following URL:
Last minute update - I discovered a bug a couple of hours after the initial release and updated the client download.