IYP Push To Talk and Communications Features!
IYP's Push-To-Talk Feature!
A number of IYP users have stated that they don't fully understand the IYP Push-To-Talk feature, and want a clarification as to its proper use.

So... here we go. The PTT feature in It's Your Plane can be used for several purposes:

  1. Using IVAO/VATSIM, etc.
    PTT permits you to use voice communications with IVAO/VATSIM (or any other) Air Traffic Control system to increase your sense of "realism" by actually communicating with "live" people. e.g., Center, Approach, Departures, Tower, Ground, etc.

  2. A Simple Way to Deactivate an Open-Microphone
    Suppose someone calls you on the phone and you're microphone is still HOT. You can imagine what will happen! You'll say "Thank you" to the person on the phone, and Michelle/Mike will respond with... "You're welcome." Worse, Michelle may misunderstand your phrase, and turn off the Auto-Pilot, or set the Altitude to 100 feet. Not a good idea, especially if you're flying over the Rocky Mountains!

Microsoft ATC
Under normal ATC operations in MSFS, when you say, "ATC", the ATC window pops up. It is a MODE SWITCH. You issue you commands like "Select One", "Select Two", "Clear to land", etc., then say, "ATC" once again to close the ATC window. To reiterate, saying the phrase "ATC" is a MODE SWITCH.

VATSIM, IVAO, etc. If you have activated the IYP feature called "Activate Push-To-Talk", then by issuing the voice command, "ATC" the IYP system once again acts as a MODE SWITCH, and the screen displays a message, "ATC MODE". You communicate with the ATC controller on VATSIM by pressing whatever key you had assigned to this function in the FSInn or SquawkBox3 (NOTE: NEVER USE VOICE ACTIVATED ATC). After you have finished communicating with VATSIM (or whatever), you say, once again, "ATC" (which is the only phrase Michelle will recognise during this mode), and the screen displays "CO-PILOT MODE", and you're back speaking to Michelle. Hence, whether you are uding the MSFS ATC, or VATSIM, the operations are totally familiar and consistent. Activating Push-To-Talk:
The above uses have one thing in common: you need to Activate PTT. It's really easy. As soon as Michelle says, "It's Your Plane... We're ready to go!", simply say:

    "Activate Push-To-Talk."
The PTT feature status is "remembered", meaning that the next time you launch the It's Your Plane application, Michelle/Mike will say, "Push to talk is active."

The Scroll Lock Key:
By Activating PTT, the Scroll Lock key on your keyboard now acts as a "switch" to turn the Speech Recognition system On or Off. When the Scroll Lock is ON, your microphone speech is processed by the Speech Recognition system and Michelle will respond. When the Scroll Lock is OFF, your mike remains HOT, but the Speech Recognition system is now OFF, thus Michelle will ignore all voice commands (well, almost all... more later).

Air Traffic Control (ATC):

Let's address ATC functionality. As you already know, if you are running FS9 or FSX using the normal Microsoft built-in ATC functionality, when you say the simple phrase, "ATC", the ATC window will pop up if it's not up, and disappear if it's already up! In other words, saying the phrase "ATC " acts as a "voice toggle switch".

The above functionality only holds true IF the IYP PTT feature is DEACTIVATED.

Earlier I stated that if PTT is Active, and the Scroll Lock is OFF, Michelle will ignore your commands. Well, not exactly.

    She will still respond to the command "ATC".
Saying the command "ATC" with PTT Active will toggle the Scroll Lock. Here's the logic.

Keep in mind, that your microphone is ALWAYS HOT! Now, let's suppose that you've assigned the Top Hat button on your Joystick, or a button on your Yoke to act as the PTT switch to communicate with the Tower on VATSIM. Each time you push this button, your VATSIM program permits you to speak to the controller. When you release the button, you are then listening to their instructions.

    IMPORTANT NOTE:
    DO NOT USE THE "VOX" MODE ON VATSIM OR ANY OTHER ATC SYSTEM!
Naturally, you need to ensure that Michelle is not going to be listening to the conversations you are having with the controllers. So, before you speak to the Controller, you simply say, "ATC". This has the same effect as actually pushing the Scroll Lock key to the OFF position. After you have finished communicating with the Controller, you say, "ATC" once again, and the Scroll Lock is turned back ON so that you can speak to Michelle.

Employing this methodology seemed to make sense, since you have no need in the VATSIM mode to use the built-in Microsoft ATC system.

Deactivating Push-To-Talk:

Naturally, you can always Deactivate PTT by simply saying:

    "Deactivate Push-To-Talk."

I hope this overview has cleared up any confusion about the proper use of PTT and ATC.


Come Fly With Me Communications!
As explained in detail in the Come Fly With Me documentation, we have chosen the SHIFT Key as the Push-To-Talk key on your keyboard.

When you're flying with your buddies and you wish to communicate with them, you press the SHIFT key. This opens the TeamSpeak voice path and contemporaneously SUSPENDS the Speech Recognition system, so that Michelle or Mike don't get all confused! When we say it SUSPENDS the Speech Recognition system, we mean that it does precisely the same thing as saying, "Deactivate the system". When you release the SHIFT key, your Co-Pilot once again hears your commands.


CoPilot Intercom Microphone Switch!
In this new version, you can assign a key (e.g., the CONTROL key) as a Microphone Switch key. This is NOT a traditional Push-To-Talk (PTT) switch, because it only interacts between you and your Co-Pilot. Meaning, it will NOT act as a PTT for other applications.

You can setup this feature by clicking on the Options button on the IYP Control Panel (see below).

This will open the Options window, where you will see a new area called the:

    Microphone Switch Key Assignment

area (see below).

To assign a particular key to act as the Microphone Switch, simply press the Set button. The system will ask you to press a key. Let's say you press the CONTROL key. The name of the key will appear in the associated text box.

The facility is NOT active at this point. To activate the facility, simply place a check in the Active checkbox,

When you speak into the microphone, Michelle will NOT respond. Press the CONTROL key (in our example), and she'll respond as usual.














©2009 Robert Cezar and Pacific Feelings Media.