[REL] Manual AoB Calculator Mod

[CapnScurvy]

I always liked the ability to find the Angle on Bow through a handheld device. There was one made some time ago for SHIII, but I haven't seen it lately. So necessity being the mother of invention, I made up my own.


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/AoB_Basic.jpg


This calculator has three parts that allow for the target ship course heading, your boat's course heading, and your view-to-target bearing. Once set, the angle on bow can be read and used to accurately input the Position Keeper in the game.

The tool can also be used to set up a future torpedo shot by using a predicted course heading and view-to-target bearing. If the target ship stays on course, the only variable is your boat's changing position. Plot in your future new course heading and view-to-target bearing and "swing to action". The AoB will be figured for you, and fire when your new heading is reached.

I revised this Calculator by reworking the dials for a better match up, plus put the downloaded pages into a PDF format that increases the clarity of the images. I removed the upper black Triangle for inputting the Sub's course heading due to a possible confusion with the smaller blue Arrow that does the same thing. There are three pages of revised instruction describing the parts of the calculator, and how to find angle on bow with the game play option of "Manual Targeting System" check marked. For those familiar with the calculator you may not wish to download the revised one. The PDF can be downloaded at the following site:


http://files.filefront.com/AoB+Calculatorrar/;9397504;/fileinfo.html



CapnScurvy

[joea]

Great so many modders here!!! :up:

[CapnScurvy]

When your retired you have time on your hands, and thoughts rattling in the brain.

[Old Dog]

Thank you Capn

I just retired from a job where the folks I got to associate with were both smart and generous with their knowledge.
What a great combination !
The modders here fit that mold too.

Thanks again,

Old Dog

[Von Hinten]

Very handy to have around when I'll finally start doing things the real way and go for manual patrols.

Thanks. :up:

[Hitman]

Your tool is superb, but it never ceases to amaze me how people always try to find the AOB once they have the target's course :doh: when historically exactly the opposite was done :know: . Trained spotters watched the target and made estimates on the AOB, with the only purpose of getting an estimate to the course, not the opposite :nope:

Anyway, since your tool also works backwards -from an AOB you can get an estimate of the course- it is helpful to plot course and calculate intercept points and manouvers. :up: As in real life was done :smug:

[davejb]

Thanks for the AOB calculator, it's easier than mentally drawing triangles in the early hours of the morning :up:

[CapnScurvy]

Your right Hitman, in real life target sightings, the AoB was determined by pure experitise. The well trained observer could do well in sighting direction of travel as well as range to target with just binoculars.

In the game though, the 2D effect of looking at a flat monitor, that is simulating a 3D image, causes one to lose the ability to preceive depth. It's like losing sight in one eye, you can still see images, but depth is difficult to master. This makes in-game sightings by visual observation difficult as well.

But, as you know, if you want to set the game for maximum realism, checkmark ON "No map contact update", "No weapon officer assistance" in the Gameplay Settings and make your own sightings and notations on the Nav Map.

For you newbies, to use the AoB Calculator with the maxium gameplay difficulity:
(It would be best if your sub is stopped or at least on a steady course)

First, find your sub's course heading (found at the TOP of the Compass in the Quick Controls Panel of the game) and turn the middle Compass Dial of the Calculator to match the black triangle of the outer (Blue) ring.

Second, site the target ship with the periscope; TBT; or binoculars. Take the view-to-target bearing (the degree numbers found along the top of the device), and find the same bearing along the outer most part (the Blue ring) of the Calculator. With this bearing number in front of you, turn the inner most Target AoB Dial to what you believe to be how the ship appears from your original sighting. The target ship's approximate course heading will be in front of the black arrow of the inner Target AoB Dial.

[Sailor Steve]

Looks cool! Great job.:rock:

[DCOg]

Wonderful - thank you for the great work!

DCOg

[Radtgaeb]

I'm sorry, my printer is being retarded. May I have some dimensions please?

[Schultzy]

quality tool! Thank you.

[CapnScurvy]

Hi Radtgaeb, the pictures will print onto a plain 8.5x11 inch sheet of card stock paper. What dimensions do you need? Are they too small, too large, can't get them to print at all? Does the small pop up box appear over the picture, with the printer icon in it? If it dosn't, perhaps your operating system (Windows etc.) needs to have a default setting changed.

The .jpeg format will usually produce an accurate reproduction once they are scaled for the internet. That was done when I put them on the site.

[Radtgaeb]

They just wouldn't print in proper proportion. Each one was exactly the same size as the other ones. It doesn't matter now, beacause I just fudged the sizes a bit with Photoshop and printed them off. Thanks anyway!

This is going to be a great help to me (both for SH4 and GWX). Thanks!

[Camaero]

Thats strange... I had to adjust the sizes in photoship myself. The two bases were turning out much larger than 8.5" x 11".

This is really cool though, I have mine all made. Now I just have to figure out how to use it, and i'm good to go! :)

[Camaero]

Your right Hitman, in real life target sightings, the AoB was determined by pure experitise. The well trained observer could do well in sighting direction of travel as well as range to target with just binoculars.

In the game though, the 2D effect of looking at a flat monitor, that is simulating a 3D image, causes one to lose the ability to preceive depth. It's like losing sight in one eye, you can still see images, but depth is difficult to master. This makes in-game sightings by visual observation difficult as well.

But, as you know, if you want to set the game for maximum realism, checkmark ON "No map contact update", "No weapon officer assistance" in the Gameplay Settings and make your own sightings and notations on the Nav Map.

For you newbies, to use the AoB Calculator with the maxium gameplay difficulity:
(It would be best if your sub is stopped or at least on a steady course)

First, find your sub's course heading (found at the TOP of the Compass in the Quick Controls Panel of the game) and turn the middle Compass Dial of the Calculator to match the black triangle of the outer (Blue) ring.

Second, site the target ship with the periscope; TBT; or binoculars. Take the view-to-target bearing (the degree numbers found along the top of the device), and find the same bearing along the outer most part (the Blue ring) of the Calculator. With this bearing number in front of you, turn the inner most Target AoB Dial to what you believe to be how the ship appears from your original sighting. The target ship's approximate course heading will be in front of the black arrow of the inner Target AoB Dial.

Damn I hate to be so stupid but I still don't quite get what to do exactly. Any chance I could trouble you to add a few pictures to go along with the instructions?

[CapnScurvy]

Hi Camaero, I'll see what I can do about having pictures put with the instruction sheet. I plan to put them on the Web site the images were printed. I'll let you know when they are ready.

Cheers

[Camaero]

Thanks bud, I would really appreciate it. Sometimes I just need to visually see something to figure out how it works.

[CapnScurvy]

2 AM and I just finished the printable instruction pages for the calculator. They are at the same website as before. I realize the .jpeg format will be a bit fuzzy, I apologize. I tried to upload in .html. I couldn't get the images to show, just image place marks.

Computers you love 'm and you hate 'm, you just can't live without them.

[Probex]

I made the calculator. Gave it a nice wooden base and laminated it. Looks great, and now I just have to learn how to use it, lol!

Makes a nice table decoration as well.

[CapnScurvy]

I have revised the AoB Calculator by reworking the dials for a better match, plus I put the pages into a PDF format that will provide greater clairity of the images. The files are in a compressed .rar archive for ease of download. The download site is:

http://files.filefront.com/AoBCalculatorrar/;9359480;/fileinfo.html

[sqk7744]

Great work Capn!

You might be interested in this ol' thread:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=579018&postcount=115

Cheers,
:arrgh!:

[CapnScurvy]

sqk7744


I'm damn glad the wife's not here!! I would have to explain why I'm laughing out loud, and just pee'd my pants. The resemblance is purely coincidental.

Thanks for starting my New Year out with a good old belly laugh!!! :rotfl:

[WernerSobe]

In reality such tools were used in WWI but in WWII they were outdated. In case of fleetboats the stadimeter was not just capable to find range but AoB too. For finding range they used mast height and displaced the both images verticaly while when finding AoB they used the lenght of the ship and displaced the images horizontaly from bow to stern. Unfortunaly this is not modeled in SH4 we can only displace verticaly for range...

You can however easily find AoB when you know targets course, which is provided by Attack Course Plot when calculating speed. So when you have taken range two times and ask to calculate speed your attack officer will also tell you the course. I.E. "The plot shows a speed of 12 knots, course 140" Now all you have to do is turn the AoB finder until the small ship is showing to 140. Sending to TDC will set it up to the correct AoB. No math and no wizwheel is required.

[Thendash]

But wiz wheels are so much fun! I like using as much out of game stuff as I can, get's me into the game more(Does that make sense...). I even have a little note book where I write down every ship I sink/damage and where/when it happened. I also use your merchant speed finder and a modified version of your target worksheet(mine has a few more rows and is a text document so it's easier to print/less colour ink intensive since yours has a slightly coloured background). Thanks for your tools Capn Scurvy.

[CapnScurvy]

But wiz wheels are so much fun! I like using as much out of game stuff as I can, get's me into the game more(Does that make sense...)

Yes, it does to me. The immersion factor of doing something with your hands besides moving a mouse, helps create the feeling of accomplishment. To find a target ships course by using a wiz wheel is just a bit of hands-on creativity that makes the simulation more real. Instead of the game coming to you, you'r actually putting something into it. That's something a simple mouse click just dosn't offer.

I've noticed lately, more people have mentioned they've used my Speed Calculator. I must admit the thing badly needs a revision, now the Navigation Map uses 50 unit measurements instead of 10th's of nautical miles to show distance. I think I'll start on it soon. Cheeeze, who knew?


Also from Thendash,
I also use.....a modified version of your target worksheet(mine has a few more rows and is a text document so it's easier to print/less colour ink intensive since yours has a slightly coloured background

That's the problem of having the worksheet in a .JPG file format. The clairity of the image suffers. I have recently revised the worksheet and put it bundled in a PDF download that accompanies my new "High Realism Tutorial" found at this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=128134

But, it's good to hear you have taken the time to make your own worksheet to whatever you like. That's the spirit!!!

[CapnScurvy]

I wanted to let you know that I have revised the AoB Calculator and it's instructions to be less confusing for the beginner. I was informed that a particular issue needed to be corrected due to a redundant point on the calculator.

My intention of making a tool that would be of help to a player would go for naught if the device is confusing to understand or use. The latest revision may be downloaded at the link of this first post.


Best regards.

[Prientje]

Hi

is this great mod for Sh3 possible for Sh4 too...?

AOB Range finder


http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123373&highlight=Range+finder

[LukeFF]

Hi

is this great mod for Sh3 possible for Sh4 too...?

AOB Range finder


http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123373&highlight=Range+finder

???

Why do you think it would work with SH4? The interface is totally different!

[Prientje]

Hi

is this great mod for Sh3 possible for Sh4 too...?

AOB Range finder


http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123373&highlight=Range+finder

???

Why do you think it would work with SH4? The interface is totally different!

you dont understand me

i ask is it possible to make such a mod for sh4 too..

[CapnScurvy]

Prientje, I have seen this mod for SHIII before, but I have not looked at the workings within to see how it's put together. It's possible to do for SH4, but that's just my first opinion. I see there is the additional feature of having an AoB finding tool for the periscope image which I knew Hitman had been working on. That all looks pretty sweet!! I must admit my time is limited with keeping up with the constent changes of various mods my manual Ship Centered, Accuracy Fix is compitable with. Seems as if I'll never catch up. For me, spring brings the farm duties that pulls me out of the computer chair and back to real life. I've still got my white wine from '07 to bottle and the grapes to prune as the weather allows!! :roll:

[raymond6751]

Without a doubt, this and your tutorial on High Realism Play are the best written and most helpful that I have come across. That includes all the SH3 and 2 stuff.

A big well done and thanks.:yep:

[CapnScurvy]

Raymond6751, where are you from in Canada? Over the years my wife and I have traveled throught out your vast country. From the Pacific Rim National Park to St. John's NF. Just last year, we drove the Trans Labrador highway east to Goose Bay, then south along the coast to New Foundland. Beautiful trip, Great people!!!

[joegrundman]

I've tried making a Submarine Attack COurse Finder and Speed Omnimeter

(see http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=106923&highlight=SACF)

but the menu 1024_768 file which i used to make the tools in SH3 is really quite different in SH4 (despite looking much the same)..

As a result, so far i haven't managed to get a satisfactory level of success with the project. So i guess you just build your own out of card and paper.

As for the AOB finder, in US subs that's a function of the stadimeter - but again it doesn't work in that way - you cannot manually rotate the range wheel, only the mastheight "bug" and so you cannot use it to get AOB. It wouldn't be too hard to make a separate whiz wheel that provides AOB however. Anyway, i think that US skippers preferred to practice on AOB by eye.

Joe

Hi

is this great mod for Sh3 possible for Sh4 too...?

AOB Range finder


http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123373&highlight=Range+finder

???

Why do you think it would work with SH4? The interface is totally different!

you dont understand me

i ask is it possible to make such a mod for sh4 too..