Is radar completly useless?

[Spruence M]

Winter 1943.

When I got back to Bergen, I fitted my Typ VII with the 4th edition conning tower. (What is the best AA assignment?) New radar, and radar detectors.

I have yet to get a single contact, from radar detector, or the radar itself. What good are they? Or is this a bug that is limited to my own additions?

[NiclDoe]

Radar can help you find planes and Destroyers so i think you should get it

[Spruence M]

I have them. No avail, useless...

[Kptlt. Neuerburg]

Do you check to see if they where on? I've used radar before and always had to turn it manully.

[dcb]

I've used radar before and always had to turn it manully.

In heavy seas, the radar shuts down itself when washed by waves. It's no use to restart it, as the next wave will turn it off again.
About its utility, during three patrols I've got only one radar contact reported. After chasing it, I found it was a single neutral.:-?

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Player radar is very short ranged and rather ineffective as it was in real life.

Just the other day I manually used it to spike a contact that I had already visually acquired... and took a screenshot of the radar spike.

I will post it tomorrow. (about to get some sleep here.)

Keep in mind that radar is most useful to you in bad weather or night conditions. During the day, your watch crew should be able to see farther than the radars can... as it was in RL.

[urfisch]

hard to change the radar values? must be possible, right?

[Jimbuna]

As Kpt. said earlier....your lookouts are more effective/efficient. :yep:
Now in fog, that's another matter ;)

[von Zelda]

There seems to be a little confussion between radar and radar detectors.

A radar detector gives you sufficent warning of ship or plane radar in your area. You will receive the warning before the sender gets a return from you. The first detector was Metox (FuMB-1 or Biscay Cross) and is available around August 1942. It is a must have! You will not live in 1943 without it. In the game, Metox works automatically where in real life the wooden cross had to be rotated 360-degrees manually and thrown down into the control room for a crash dive. In the game one can differentiate between aircraft radar and ship radar, and get a pretty good bearing and range; in real life this was most likely not possible.

The first radar set was FuMO-29 consisted of 12 dipole antenna (6 send and 6 receiver) wrapped around the front of the conning tower. It had an arc of approximately 60-degrees directly in front of the boat. One would have to turn the boat to get 360-degrees covergae.

The second radar set was FuMO-30 which had a rotating antenna which lowered for storage when not in use. A big improvement since it has 350-degrees of coverage.

As others have stated, u-boat radar seems not very effective and in my opinion not worth the renown.


As a side note: has anyone else noticed that the FuMO-30 antenna does not always line up properly with the storage area. Is this something that the GWX team can fix?

[Spruence M]

Player radar is very short ranged and rather ineffective as it was in real life.

Just the other day I manually used it to spike a contact that I had already visually acquired... and took a screenshot of the radar spike.

I will post it tomorrow. (about to get some sleep here.)

Keep in mind that radar is most useful to you in bad weather or night conditions. During the day, your watch crew should be able to see farther than the radars can... as it was in RL.

I see. Kpt, do the escorts run out of depth charges? This is something I must know.

[melnibonian]

do the escorts run out of depth charges? This is something I must know.
I'm not 100% sure but if I remember correctly they can run out of Depth Charges. They do carry quite a few though ;)

[mic1184]

hm i got my radar not so long ago, but i've had some situation in which it helped to detect a plane sucker. i wouldnt wanna miss it anymore, its okay.

the radar in SH4 is quite the central element of the whole game, i found 2/3 of all contacts by radar in that game (played it a good 2 months before returning to sh3) it was really boring in the end.

"aaah radar contact again? bearing 347.43°, range 13,345.26 meters? course 174,4, speed 9.03 knots. *yawn* WO get there and sink it please. i'll continue watching my wife's picture."


no, really, i like the way it is in SH3 (gwx)

[Jimbuna]

do the escorts run out of depth charges? This is something I must know.
I'm not 100% sure but if I remember correctly they can run out of Depth Charges. They do carry quite a few though ;)

They have anything from between something like 40 to 140 (depending on type/class of vessel.
What's more alarming is the fact they call for air or surface assistance before they exhaust their supply :o

[papa_smurf]

I've found radar/detectors really usefull, as it gives me a warning of potential attacks before my deck crew spot it. This gives me more time to crash dive.

Also you have to remember that in real life, German radar was less advanced than allied radar technology. They (Germany), got most of there radar technology from captured allied radar, and used this to develop there own radar sets.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

@vonZelda... the FUMO 30 Matress type radar does not automatically align itself when you retract it. You must have good timing when you retract it. If it is misaligned, just extend it again and retract it until you are satisfied. This is not a bug, nor is it a problem that we can fix.

To all others, this the following screenshot shows what a RADAR contact spike looks like in game... NOT TO BE CONFUSED with radar warning receiver contacts.

IIRC I was using a FUMO-29 radar set at the time this screenie was taken about three days ago.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f117/KptLehmann/radar.jpg

[Water boy]

Escorts do run out of wasserbomben..........:D
They dont go away having done so though even if there are no mates of theirs in the vicinity...............:huh:
You still have to get the evade right or they just keep running over you, bit of a beeyitch if your low on amps and O2.
I've had lots of radar warnings that have saved my boat, as others have stated its great in fog as its better than nothing but rough seas shut it down and your lookouts are better in fine/moderate weather.:ping:

I dont know if its modelled in game but it could be the same for him as it is for you.:huh:
Your radar could be detected before you can detect whats detected you, thats how the in car gadgets worked on the police radar traps, they pick up the residual radiation before you run into the main 'beam'.:yep:

Whilst on the subject, anyone had the escorts blow their own stern racks off with depth charges?.:oops:
I've had it happen lots of times which is great if they have no side launchers as they can run over and over and over you dropping nothing, those with side launchers keep letting go to port and starboard while you just amble along the line of attack as nothing comes off the stern:rock: . I'd have thought that if it actually happened this event would likely be terminal for an escort yet not one has sunk yet.:cry:

Oh, before cranking up the gramphone and reloading your torps because the dude topsides cant touch you just be sure they haven't got hedgehog fitted though OK?.:doh:

See above though as you still have to get away and hopefully before his mates get there................

[Jimbuna]

Thanks for the tips :up:

[Spruence M]

Whilst on the subject, anyone had the escorts blow their own stern racks off with depth charges?.:oops:

Yes, love this. :rock: