XPlane - All airports with ILS/LOC approaches show "! No LOC available"

[Jiblet]

Hi,

 

Using:

• EFB 2.1 (build #118) - local machine - default path - licenced.
• XPlane 11.50b9
• AIRAC cycle 2006 (Navigraph) which matches what I have in XPlane (I also tried with the AIRAC cycle that comes with EFB and see the same thing)

 

I think I've done something stupid, though I'm not sure what!

Having had no problems with EFB2 in the year I've been using it, last night it started showing "!No LOC available" for all airports, or at least for the 10-12 I've looked at so far.

 

To reproduce I simply make a new flight plan, eg "EHAM LERT", then click the ARR button to see:

 

Note I'm using LERT as an example as it has lots of ILS approaches and I don't have any custom scenery for it, but I see the same issue for all airports including those with/without custom scenery.

 

To fix this I've tried:

• Rebuilding the database
• Adding modified sceneries (the "Start Scanning" button)
• Reinstalling EFB from scratch with its included Navigraph AIRAC cycle
• Updating that back to AIRAC 2006 
• Checked the manuals for any mention of "No LOC available"
• Checked the forums for the same error - I found this FAQ but it doesn't seem relevant as I'm seeing this in XPlane and across all airports)

 

None of which has any effect. Given that it was working just fine at the weekend, I don't think this is a  bug, I think its a user issue - I'm just not sure what I've done or how to fix it.

I've included the support package files in case those help shed some light on what I've done.

 

Thanks,

Simon

Server_202006020937.txt.zip Client_202006020937.txt.zip

[lonewulf47]

Hi Simon,

I see that the DbBuilding Process was not completed without errors. This is the first issue that needs to be cleared. You cannot expect EFB2 to work if the DbBuilding Process is not completed error free.

Furthermore I see a strange entry in the DbBuilderLogfile, that I'm unable to explain. When it tries to read the "earth_nav.dat" file it returns an error "

2020-06-02 09:33:47.578   Error   : Spec version '1150' is not implemented. Cannot read file! #2 (main)

Checking my Navigraph earth_nav.dat file from the last AIRAC Cycle I do not see  a specification 1150. Here it still reads "1100 Version - data cycle 2006, build 20200515, metadata NavXP1100."

I will have to check with the Navigraph Data Source whether there are two different data specs available. So far I have no knowledge of that.

 

Edit: I'm currently on X-Plane 11.50b9 and I haven't seen any Specifications change for the navdata.

 

 

[lonewulf47]

I have quicly recreated an X-Plane database with Navigraph Cycle 2006 and couldn't reproduce your issues. See here:

 

[Jiblet]

Thanks for the steer Oskar. I've deleted all the AIRAC data I can find on this machine, then reinstalled/updated the data from Navigraph, then finally rebuilt the EFB DB and though I still see some warnings like:

2020-06-02 11:15:25.655   Debug   : F:\X-Plane 11\Custom Scenery\arviatcyek\earth nav data\apt.dat
2020-06-02 11:15:25.659   Warning : Spec version '850#' is not implemented. Cannot read file.

 

I see no errors and ILS/Loc approaches are working again!

Should I be worried about the warnings, or are those normal for older custom sceneries?

 

Still no idea what I did to cause it in the first place but we're airborne once again!

Here's to another year of trouble free use

 

Thanks again,

Simon

[lonewulf47]

1 minute ago, Jiblet said:

Thanks for the steer Oskar. I've deleted all the AIRAC data I can find on this machine, then reinstalled/updated the data from Navigraph, then finally rebuilt the EFB DB and though I still see some warnings like:

2020-06-02 11:15:25.655   Debug   : F:\X-Plane 11\Custom Scenery\arviatcyek\earth nav data\apt.dat
2020-06-02 11:15:25.659   Warning : Spec version '850#' is not implemented. Cannot read file.

 

I see no errors and ILS/Loc approaches are working again!

Should I be worried about the warnings, or are those normal for older custom sceneries?

 

Still no idea what I did to cause it in the first place but we're airborne once again!

Here's to another year of trouble free use

 

Thanks again,

Simon

Thanks, Simon, for the update!

Even with the provided Support Files it is sometimes not possible, to find the REAL cause of the issue. In any case there seems to have been a mismatch between different databases.

 

As for the warnings: well, this is up to you. Sceneries below Specs 1000 cannot be displayed by EFB2. Therefore the Default or World Aiport layout will be used. To be honest, I wouldn't use those outdated sceneries anymore as they can create problems with the newest X-Plane specs. A remedy could be to recompile those airports by using WED whenever possible.