Setup SRS in DCS

DCS SimpleRadio Standalone or SRS is a great way to communicate inside DCS. It’s used in many public servers as well as squadron servers. It acts as the primary radio communication service in each platform used in DCS as though they are real radios, including having various channels and modes to communicate with. DCS developers are currently working on a system that uses an in-game system to do what SRS does presently, but it doesn’t have the same ease of use yet, making SRS the primary way to communicate in-game. 

SRS takes a bit of setup to get it working correctly due to its 3rd party installation. If you search the internet and DCS forums, you may need help understanding the basic installation instructions. We created this essential guide to help reduce some issues you may encounter while setting up SRS in DCS.

Installing SRS

1. First, go to SRS’s main website at http://dcssimpleradio.com/ and download the most recent version of the 3rd party software. Once downloaded, install the file to the location that you desire. Another box will ask you where your saved game files are saved for DCS. If you are running DCS open beta (which is required for our squadrons), you will find this location at “C:\Users\[username]\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta” If you are using Steam for your installation, you may find that there is no open beta folder in the “Saved Games” folder but rather just “DCS.” You would use that location instead. The same can be said for someone installing SRS into the non-open-beta versions of the game.
2. Once the location is set, click install/update.
3. Once the application is done installing, you can launch the application.

General Setup in SRS

1. Once you run the application, you can set the microphone you will be using in the general tab. If the microphone is not listed, you will need to plug in the desired microphone and restart SRS for it to show up. The microphone will be selected in the first box, whereas the output is left blank to pass through.
2. In the server option, you can leave this blank, as it is automatically provided to SRS once you connect to an online server. This information is provided to SRS even if a server is password protected. Suppose SRS does not automatically connect to a server you are connected to in DCS. In that case, you can manually fill in the information, typically with the same IP and password as the server listed in DCS. Also, SRS will start up automatically if not open when connecting to a server in DCS that allows for SRS.
3. EAM name is your in-game name displayed through SRS. You can set this to any format you would like. In the 218, we ask our users to put their name as follows: TACG281 | Callsign | Modex, for example, “TACG281 | Turbine | 105”

 

Controls in SRS

1. In the “Controls Tab” in SRS, the radios options must be bound to a keyboard or a HOTAS button. In the 218, primarily for the F-18, we use radio 1,2,3,4 and the modifiers. Radios 1 and 2 are used for HF frequencies, and Radios 3 and 4 for FL-16 MIDS channels A and B. 

Setup in SRS

1. Set “Radio Switch works as Push To Talke (PTT)” to ON.
2. To distinguish radio comms, adjust Radio 1 through 4 balance as desired. We suggest having the balance set, so you hear one radio in one ear and another in the other.
3. Set “Allow INCOCKPIT DCS Controlled PPT” to OFF.
4. If using VaicomPro, turn “Allow Vaicom TX inhibit” to On.

Finalizing Setup in DCS

1. Launch DCS Open Beta.
2. Go to game options.
3. Click the “Special” tab.
4. Scroll down and select “DCS-SRS.”
5. Check “Show DCS SRS Overlay by Default.”
6. Check “Auto Launch SRS.”

DCS should now recognize SRS in-game. The first time launching SRS, you should also see an overlay in DCS showing that the SRS system is hooked to the game. This overlay will go away once you restart the game due to removing the “Show DCS SRS Overlay by Default” option. If you would like that back, check that box again and restart DCS.

Hopefully, this short guide helped those trying to get SRS to work for their squadron or new to the 218 to install SRS into DCS.

To see our full visual instructions, you can view our visual instructions: here