Hey there,
I was wondering what’s the correct procedure to set up the SELCAL code properly for flying on VATSIM?
At the connect window, can I leave “SELCAL Code” blank if I have SEL/xxxx in the flightplan?
Or am I required to fill out SELCAL Code and skip it in the SEL/xxxx in the Flightplan in order for VATSIM ATC to send me a SELCAL?
You need to enter it in the connect window for vPilot to recognize it when ATC sends it. vPilot will automatically add it to the flight plan remarks.
Thanks for your reply Ross!
I’ve done a few tests and I’ve noticed that if you file a flightplan with SEL/AB-CD in the remark section on https://my.vatsim.net/pilots/flightplan prior connecting, you can leave the SELCAL Code field empty when logging in to the network.
VPilot then pulls the selcal code from the flightplan, I guess 
Yes, that’s right … I just checked the code, and if a selcal code is found in the remarks when you file, it’ll use that, even if it’s different from the one you connected with.
Hello Sir,
Just for an “extra help” to you, if you want you can check eventually, all the procedures for the SELCAL code, directly from the official GanderOceanic forum-page here → https://knowledgebase.ganderoceanic.ca/atc/selcal/
Hope to have help you 
Not all aircraft need a SELCAL; it’s primarily those which fly outside of radio reception areas, i.e., if you were flying across the ocean. If you’re in a Cessna, staying on the same continent, you don’t really need a SELCAL.
Not all letters are available for SELCAL codes. From Wikipedia:
“The code is a sequence of four letters, written or transmitted as an ordered two sets of two letters each (e.g., AB-CD ). The letters are chosen from a subset of the Latin script comprising A through S , excluding I , N and O . The letters within a given pair are written or transmitted in alphabetical order (e.g., AB-CD is an allowable distinct SELCAL code, as is CD-AB , but CD-BA is not). A given letter can be used only once in a SELCAL code; letters may not be repeated (e.g., AB-CD is allowable, but AA-BC and AB-BC are not).”
Some cautions, gleaned from experience:
If your aircraft has a SELCAL code printed on the panel, don’t use it. No doubt someone else is using the same aircraft/livery and will try to load the same SELCAL. Especially if you’re flying an event.
I tend to put a consistent SELCAL for all my saved airframes in SimBrief; my initials arranged in a manner that reflects the SELCAL format (alpha order). Not realistic, I know, but I only need to memorize one SELCAL. If I fly an event like Cross The Pond, though, I use the SELCAL they provide rather than my own.
I could probably count on one hand the number of times a VATSIM controller has contacted me by SELCAL over the past 15 years, save for the SELCAL check.
Is that feature no longer working?
Why would it not be working?
The SELCAL field in vPilot no longer autofills using the SELCAL code from the flight plan, as it used to
the answer is here, above.
So yes, the feature does work, you have to input the code manually on the connection window
I know it does work if you input the code manually. What I’m saying is it used to be pulling the code from the flight plan remarks so you didn’t have to fill it manually in vpilot. please read the next two posts after the one you quoted.
the post after does not say it autofills the connection window, it just says that the code on the fpl is used, regardless of what you put on the connect window
Yes it did autofilled. When one connected with blank selcal field but the flight plan contained the code in remarks next time you connect the code was there in connect window, or if it filled with a code different from the one in the flight plan it would have been rewritten. now this logic does not work at all, and you have to input it manually. checked that yesterday with the ATC and didn’t received the selcal check until I reconnected with manually entered code.
It wouldn’t autofill for that particular connection, because you’re already connected at that point, because you can’t fetch your flight plan if you’re not connected. However, it would autofill if you subsequently disconnected and reconnected.
This feature was removed in February of 2024 when the flight plan form was removed from vPilot. Now, vPilot has no awareness of when (or even if) you filed a flight plan. You simply need to ensure you put your SELCAL code into the connect window, and it must match the code you filed.
makes sense. thanks