Transponder Mode Charlie?

[Hypo]

Just when I thought I knew how to taxi to the runway in vatsim, the controller asks me to set my transponder to squawk mode charlie... I have NO idea what this means, but my transponder was set to the correct squawk and I kinda freaked out the quit the session and I kinda feel bad for the ATC because I was pretty time consuming.

[🐉 Ðŗąçø 🐉]

Squawk mode Charlie is a mode that transmits all the data an ATCer needs. In the 737, there's OFF, meaning the transponder won't transmit anything, STBY, which is used when the aircraft is parked up, ALT ON, which transmits just your position and altitude (I believe), and commonly referred to as squawk mode alpha, TA which stands for Traffic Advisory which let's you see traffic on the ND and get warnings, and then TA/RA, where the RA is Resolution Advisory. RA gives you instructions such as climb now which you must follow.

Squawk mode Charlie is TA/RA. In the US, always turn it on as you commence push back, and off at the arrival gate. Elsewhere, you'd usually turn C on as you enter the runway, and off as you exit it.