Member
Junior Member
Member
Well that's a little *strange*
Equip:
Type VIIB with KDB Hydrophone in March 1940.
After I posted the pic, I continued my interception, have a stop again to "Hydrophonize" and ..... NOTHING
Nothing till the target closes to around 30km.
And then surprise ! My sonarman announce me the contact !
So it seems he's ok, but when he is in a good mood
As for my 130km away sound contact maybe a bug since I lost them all ?
Junior Member
Do you really need to fill the green bar for maximum sonar efficiency?
I thought it was divided between the Sonarman and a Radio man, currently I have 2 SO qualified petty officers that take turns on the Hydrophone station, if I put one of them on the radio seat the bar gets filled but, why does a man sitting in front of the sub's radio would increase the capabilities of the hydrohpone or the skill of the sonar operator?
Did anyone tested visual detection range with full/minimal crew man on watch duty?
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What is maybe a not so know fact is that active sonars actualy were installed already prior to the war on german u-boats but were removed early in the war cose they were not mutch of use for the u-boat cose it would give away the presence of the u-boat anyway.Originally posted by Athlonics:
- I've got an active sonar on my type VIIB !!??
Not to mention in 1940 and it works : PING !
Deamon
Senior Member
Interesting thread, this one.
Dunno what the problems could be...After first patrol, designte a petty officer a a sparkie. Next patrol get another one. Promote frequently if you like. Give them your first & second German Gold Crosses when they come up for you. get that green bar all the way across. Install best performing sonar set available for the time and hang out for the real flash sucker that becomes available later in the war. Be underwater to use. Remember there are dead zones and hey, real life can be just like that you know?
Cpt. Shatenbrikenhaus says: "2.5 millions tonnes of shipping just can't be wrong!"
Senior Member
Yea - I know there should be dead zones but are they modeled in the game? I haven't run any specific tests, but over both my careers so far I've used both types of the early hydrophones (haven't survived past early 1942 yet) and while I have noticed the inability to use the 'phones while surfaced seems to be modeled but I have been able to pick up screw noises at my usual listening depths (12-25m) at all degrees/bearings around the circle with both types of 'phones without any apparent "dead zones" or blind spots.Originally posted by Baldricks_Mate:
Remember there are dead zones...
I've also noticed that even with well qualified soundmen, ahead slow at 20-25m depth, I can hear and identify contacts much better and farther away than my crew can. However, I've also noticed that it may just be a case of it taking a while for them to find the contact - e.g., I'll dive with a visual contact maybe 4000m away, order the soundman to track the nearest contact only to be told there is no sound contact - then, after a while (or if I order him to do a normal sweep), he will eventually report the contact. I'm thinking maybe he is in effect reporting "no contact" before he has finished actually sweeping the needle around (and therefore before he has "found" the contact).
When I man the 'phones myself I generally stop the engines, but I've never really stopped the engines for my soundman (if I'm gonna bother to sit there with the engines stopped, I'd just as soon do the sweep myself - nothing else to do after all) - however, while I'm cruising at ahead slow while submerged during the day I assume my soundman will alert me so it would be nice if he could actually hear the contacts at least close to how well I could.
Slightly OT for this thread, but has 1.4b or RUB 1.43 changed something about the watch officer's visual spotting ability?? All of a sudden my watch is spotting ships out at like 8,200m, even at night, well before I can see them with the binocs, which is backwards from the way it was before where I could always see them a few 100m before my watch could but I could never see them more than about 7,000m or so away, and never that far at night
Senior Member
OK, I'll park my sense of humour momentarily.
This is my thoughts, nutted out over a few careers. The program attempts in a limited way to simulate the real thing. Yes, you will pick up before the operator because you have human intelligence and the ability to extrapolate. The AI needs a sample of sounds over a shift in bearing for him to report it as a contact. The real thing on a modern warship uses the same principle. The scripting could be improved but I bet if someone tampers with it, they will go too far the other way.
The dead zones are modelled. Park your sub, pick up a contact passing astern, put the time "compression on, say 8 or 32x. Watch on the Gods eye view in the Navigation map. The contact line will mostly move as it should until it hits the dead zone, then remain stationary or fade or dissapear, then jump to the point where it leaves the zone. If you click on "report nearest contact" the report will reflect this as well. I have been fooled a few times, looking for a DD that was not there, because the information given to me was the last bearing it was on - 2 minutes ago. It was on another bearing by now. Doh! to me.
In a way we are all spoilt with dumbed down "computerised" game play making things easier for the masses. The real thing was far, far less precise.
As an experiment, start a patrol and un-tick the "Gods Eye" view for map updates. Adds a whole new dimension of difficulty!
There is an anomoly, If you ask the sonar to report nearest contact when the contact is in your visual range, eg: periscope depth & checking things out, he will report "no sound contact", even though the ship is obviously there.
Not in terms of programing & scripting (I'm too old school now!), but in the area generally, my background was warefare electronics tech, Royal Australian Navy.
