Dick O'Kane lead angle calculator

[badger_ken]

hi everybody,
My apologies if this has been done many times before, but I couldn't find it - I love the O'Kane targeting method, but the perfectionist in me was frustrated by the rough rules of thumb in calculating the lead angle.
So, I wrote a little web page that figures it out exactly - you can alt-tab to it from the game as need be. Here's the link (http://www.couscouscrabcakes.com/okane.html) - enjoy! :salute:

[magic452]

Nice little tool there thanks for posting it.
If you want to shoot at AoB other than 90°
Check out Gutted's Solution Solver 1.3 in Rockin' Robbins
Sub Skippers Bag of Tricks thread here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=146795

Magic

[I'm goin' down]

The Solution Solver is a brilliant piece of work.

[magic452]

IGD Happy New Year. :salute:

Magic

[I'm goin' down]

Thanks magic. You too. Two comments.

Badger Ken's tool can be implemented quickly.

It duplicates the function of the Solution Solver at 90 degree angles. However, the Solution Solver works at other angles as well, plus it aids in determining course and Aob. It takes longer to set up, however. If you have plotted a 90 degree attack, Badger Ken's tool may be the way to go.

[Urge]

Sherman, turn on the way back machine.
Check this out...
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=138312&highlight=gutted+lead+angle+calculator

I wanted to show only a single post(15) but I don't know how. Can anyone clue me in?

Urge

[badger_ken]

Sherman, turn on the way back machine.
Check this out...
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=138312&highlight=gutted+lead+angle+calculator

I wanted to show only a single post(15) but I don't know how. Can anyone clue me in?

Urge

It's the URL inked to by the little number on the top right of the post, for example for post #15 it's this (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=884634&postcount=15).

Thanks for the pointer!

And just a note on the comparisons to 'Solution Solver'. This certainly isn't designed to replace that, it's just an extremely lightweight thing you can use for one small part of it - nothing to download, no manual to read, etc. Just thought I'd mention it if anybody finds themselves wanting such a thing.

thanks again for the feedback!

[I'm goin' down]

A similar lead angle sheet was prepared by Old Tex for the Cromwell attack. It may not be needed if the Solution Solver is employed. Badger must have come up with his formula on his own, not realizing that Mr. Gutted had been there and done that. But, I had forgot about Gutted's chart, even though I nominated his Solutiton Solver as a program/mod of the year along with Easy Aob (the later, which was runner up to mod the year.) Any tool that is handy for use in killing ships is a good thing in my opinion, and the tool promoted in this thread serves that purpose as noted in post 7.

[gutted]

Thanks magic. You too. Two comments.

Badger Ken's tool can be implemented quickly.

It duplicates the function of the Solution Solver at 90 degree angles. However, the Solution Solver works at other angles as well, plus it aids in determining course and Aob. It takes longer to set up, however. If you have plotted a 90 degree attack, Badger Ken's tool may be the way to go.

doesn't take long at all...

just rotate the outer (own ship) dial so it's blue arrow is 90 degrees to the target ship dial.

so from a fresh program launch:
1. Rotate the outer dial so its arrow is 90 degrees to the target dial (According to which side you are on)
2. Input Torpedo Speed
3. Input Ship Speed
4. Read off Shoot Bearing.

orientation of the wheels doesn't matter if you just want to get a shoot bearing. all that matters is the angle created by the outside and inside dials.



But, I had forgot about Gutted's chart

haha you aren't the only one. that chart is a few years old now :)

[gutted]

handy tip for the wheel:

Finding a convoy's course from the radar screen:


1. Rotate Own Ship dial so it's blue arrow points to your correct course on middle dial.
2. Orient the wheels (right click + drag all of them) so the outer dial's arrow is under the periscope line.
3. Look at the convoy on the radar screen.
4. Match the target dials orientation to that of the convoy on the radar.
5. Read off the convoy's true course from the target dials blue arrow on the middle dial.

To parallel the convoy.. follow the target dials blue arrow across to the outer ownship dial to get the relative bearing to turn on to. Turn your scope to that bearing and issue the turn-to command. Don't forget to update the own ship dial to the new course afterwards if you intend to keep using the tool.

I probably mentioned that before.. but i dont think i put it into the manual, so i figured i'd just throw that out there again.

[Urge]

One of the points made in post#15

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=884634&postcount=15

was that hitting the target exactly at 90° results in more duds.

Urge

[gutted]

One of the points made in post#15

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=884634&postcount=15

was that hitting the target exactly at 90° results in more duds.

Urge

well.. then rotate the dial so it's at 85 instead of 90 :)

[I'm goin' down]

yes, gutted, it does not take long to set up the Solution Solver, but it takes a little longer than just plugging the data for a lead angle calculation. I have become proficient at using the program, except I do not use the ship's length feature, so the time factor is not an issue for me.

It is especially not a problem now, as my game computer got screwed up by a mod and is not functioning, I lost sectors when I ran chkdsk, then windows would not boot, then my son reset the Beta switch, and as of this weekend I have lost all data on the disk.:wah: Be careful with the NMMO mod to TMO 1.9. I suspect it may be is the culprit, especially the new real environment option, as I received corrupt file notices.:hmmm::wah:

[Rockin Robbins]

You miss the point entirely by confusing lead angle with aim bearing. In the Dick O'Kane method the TDC is the lead angle calculator and it is always correct, not matter what aiming bearing you choose, so long as the data input into the TDC is accurate.

With the Dick O'Kane method you may aim on just about any bearing you choose, really. Your lead angle will be correctly computed by the TDC, which will send the torpedo on the correct bearing to intercept the target.

The advantage of using the TDC instead of a chart is that human error is eliminated.

[I'm goin' down]

Captain Robbins, why did I figure that you would post in this thread? :haha: If you were addressing my post, I was assuming the TDC was not activated. But I will think about what you wrote, which I assume to be accurate.:know:

By the way, Happy New Year.

[Rockin Robbins]

Actually I was replying to the very first post. If you want a lead angle chart, the first one for SH4 was gutted's

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/OKane90_FiringAngles.png

However, after stupidly picking the slow speed column for a fast torpedo, I decided that other people could do that as well as I and sought a method that dispensed with the chart. The TDC makes that child's play, as it knows what torpedo you have selected, Mark 14 slow, Mark 14 fast, Mark 18, Mark 27, whatever and computes the lead angle exactly, not even rounded to the nearest half degree. That was the genesis of the true Dick O'Kane method, which always uses the TDC with PK off.