Timeout Settings

The RadarBox Timeout settings are accessible from the Preferences | RadarBox menu.

Timeout Settings window

The Timeout settings are arranged in 2 groups, MyFlight settings and Network Flight settings. The Timeout settings can significantly affect the way that RadarBox performs and can improve or confuse what is displayed.

Timeout for MyFlights

MyFlight aircraft are live tracks detected by the RadarBox hardware in real time. The aircraft are displayed on the map in their actual positions.  When aircraft are in areas of good reception, their position will be updated regularly, dependant on what you have set as the Screen Refresh Rate.  Users normally set a refresh rate of between 1 and 4 seconds.

When an aircraft is at the edge of reception cover, sometimes it will not be detected when the screen refresh is due. If the aircraft is not detected, then it will be marked for timeout after the set time expires. The aircraft will still be visible in the aircraft list and on the map until the end of the setting in the 'Seconds to hide timeout flights'.  If you set the timeout to 30 seconds and the hide after timeout to 60 seconds, then the aircraft will be removed from the list and the map after 90 seconds. If the aircraft is detected during this time, then the timeout is canceled until the aircraft fails to be detected and then the process starts again.

It can be seen from this, that the MyFlights timeout settings can be adjusted to produce the best 'picture' for the live traffic you are detecting. If the settings are too long, then aircraft will be "frozen in space" long after they have flown out of cover.  Too short, and aircraft will disappear and reappear producing a confusing display.

Timeout for Network Flights

Network flights have their own timeout settings and these are more critical that those for MyFlights.  Network data is only downloaded every 30 seconds and is also updated on the map every 30 seconds.  Because the network data has to be processed from a number of different providers (other RadarBox users sharing data), it can result in some plots being missed.  If the timeout setting is set to less than 30 seconds, then every network flight will timeout before the next data refresh.  If the setting is too long, then flights which are no longer providing information will be frozen for an extended period before they are finally hidden after the 'seconds to hide' time.  If aircraft that have flown out of cover (either landing or flying to an area where there is no RadarBox network coverage) are not being hidden, then reduce the hide timeout setting.

Both the MyFlight and Network Flight timeout settings need careful thought to produce the best 'picture'.  Experiment with these settings to see what is best for you.

Testing has shown that the figures in the diagram above work well - 30 seconds and 60 seconds for MyFlights and 35 seconds and 60 seconds for Network Flights.