FGCOM(1)

💖 FGCOM(1) 💖

okay bestie, so this is fgcom from the FlightGear man pages — the VoIP client for the FlightGear radio infrastructure. yes it's a manual page. yes i made it cute. no i did not lose a single flag. periodt. ✨

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

fgcom — VoIP client for the FlightGear radio infrastructure 🎙️🦋

---

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

fgcom [--server=server] [--host=listeninghost] [--port=port]
[--callsign=callsign] [--frequency=frequency] [--atis=frequency]
[--airport=code] [--username=user] [--password=pass]
[--silence-threshold=threshold] [--debug] [--help] [--version]

---

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

fgcom is the FlightGear utility you use to connect to multiplayer voice servers. that's it, that's the whole vibe 🫶

ngl, you usually do not need to run fgcom from the command line, because it's already integrated into FlightGear 💅 there are just a few specific cases where you'd do it manually — like recording ATIS messages, or doing a radio check (peep the EXAMPLE section below, i gotchu 🔥).

---

💅 OPTIONS 💅

• --server=server — connect to the FGCom server server. by default, FGCom tries to connect to fgcom.flightgear.org. it's giving "default bestie" 💖
• --host=listeninghost, --port=port — listen on the network interface that has the IP address listeninghost, on port port. by default, FGCom listens on the loopback interface (127.0.0.1) on port 16661.

and the way that port works?? an instance of FlightGear can use it to communicate with FGCom and update the pilot position as they fly ✈️✨ iconic.

• --callsign=callsign — use the callsign callsign during the session. by default, FGCom uses guest as callsign. lowkey anonymous main character energy 🙈
• --frequency=frequency — set the active radio frequency to frequency. it must be written in the format xxx.xxx and it must be given in MHz. no freestyling, bestie.
• --atis=frequency — record an ATIS message on frequency frequency MHz. same rules: format xxx.xxx, and it must be in MHz 🎧
• --airport=code — position the pilot/controller to the airport having the ICAO code code.

okay so this one is important: since some radio frequencies might be reused across the world, it is essential to set the pilot/controller position correctly so the FGCom server can figure out the correct voice channel. so always use this flag if you're not connecting a FlightGear instance to FGCom. no cap. 🗺️

• --username=user, --password=pass — log in to the FGCom server using the username user and the password pass. 🔐
• --silence-threshold=threshold — set the silence threshold to threshold dB. the value must be between -60 and 0. the default is -35.0 dB.

so what even is the silence threshold? it's the level below which the sound captured by the microphone is considered background noise (and therefore gets filtered out by FGCom) 🧹 setting the silence threshold to -60 turns the filter off; setting it to 0 filters everything (aka it mutes the microphone). choose wisely bestie 😭

• --debug — enable debug output for troubleshooting purposes. for when things are Not Working and you need the receipts 🔍
• --help — display usage information and exit. the classic 🫶
• --version — display the FGCom version and exit. ⭐

---

🦋 EXIT STATUS 🦋

fgcom exits with EXIT_SUCCESS on success, and with EXIT_FAILURE if the syntax of the command-line arguments is wrong or if an error occurs. simple as that 💀

---

🌈 NOTES 🌈

FGCom understands several special frequencies used for testing purposes or general chatting. here's the lore 📻:

• 121.000 MHz, 121.500 MHz: "guard" frequencies reserved for emergency communications 🚨
• 123.450 MHz, 123.500 MHz, 122.750 MHz: general chat frequencies 💬
• 700.000 MHz: radio station frequency. depending on the FGCom server in use, a recorded radio message will be played 🎶
• 723.340 MHz: French Air Patrol communication frequency 🇫🇷
• 910.000 MHz: echo test frequency. your voice gets echoed back after a short delay, so you can check that your microphone, your speakers/headset, and your connection to the FGCom server all work 🎤 the test is limited to a maximum of 65 seconds, after which you'll be automatically disconnected. so speak now or forever hold your peace 😭
• 911.000 MHz: "music on hold". this frequency continuously plays background music, letting you check that your connection to the FGCom server works 🎵 iconic honestly

---

💀 BUGS 💀

• at the time of writing, there is no mechanism in place to update the frequencies used by FGCom with the ones used in the real world, should those change. so the former might not always correspond to the latter. 😭

always use the frequencies listed in FlightGear under AI -> ATC Services in Range instead of the ones published on aeronautical charts. fr fr. do not trust the charts on this one.

---

🎧 EXAMPLE 🎧

connect to the default FGCom server, switch to the San Francisco International Airport (KSFO) ground frequency (121.800 MHz) and let FlightGear update the current pilot position by sending it to port 16661 (the default one):

$ fgcom --frequency=121.800 --airport=KSFO

perform a radio check by connecting to the echo test frequency:

$ fgcom --frequency=910.000

record an ATIS message on the San Francisco International Airport (KSFO) ATIS frequency (118.850 MHz):

$ fgcom --atis=118.850 --airport=KSFO

---

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• fgfs(1)
• the FlightGear wiki "FGCom 3.0" page

---

okay that's the whole page, you ate that 💅 this was FlightGear, dated 2017-06-04, and the manual page itself is FGCOM(1). go talk to the sky, bestie 🦋💖✨