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View Full Version : Is Bouncing the Boat hampering hydrophones?


Reverie
06-13-11, 02:42 PM
On days when visibility is distressingly reduced by scud, overcast, chop, or outright squalls, the hydrophone is the best and only way to detect probable targets.

Occasionally, the real-time campaign is not palpable, and we can count our blessings for the gift of Time Compression. This is an SHIII feature that can be (and is...:shucks:) utilized to reel-in Ship Encounters at a Program Users endurance-preserving rate. The particular compliance I am interested in is the use of Time-X at periscope depth in sea swells.

At a speed-up that ensures Crew Fatigue is not accelerated, and one that is not punitive to Threat Detection, I have found that some time-zips provide the benefit of clearing the boat without User Management of any sort. The boat bounces so to speak, from periscope depth to the surface and back again with the time-compressed interim to repeatedly refresh the oxygen level. No action on my part is necessary.

The crux arose when coincidentally a wireless intercept stopped time-compression as the boat was surfacing. Duty calls; digest the message for any pertinence, understanding that the Watch Crew is now on duty because the swells have popped us to the surface. And without time-compression, the CO2 hasn't miraculously vacated. I intended to speed things up again, only the notice of a ship in sight disrupted the routine.

I have received reports of hydrophone contacts while bouncing the boat, but now I am concerned over how many have been missed through this accelerated surfacing/submerging all for the sake of not having to physically make the orders. Is the Hydrophone Operator hindered in some fashion? Are the hydrophones hindered in some fashion? I am in a canoe during the first year of the war with a relatively experienced crew.

Sincerely,
Reverie

Fish In The Water
06-13-11, 02:52 PM
Is the Hydrophone Operator hindered in some fashion? Are the hydrophones hindered in some fashion?

I suspect yes as the AI_Sensors.dat file sets the hydrophone sensitivity to only register below a fixed depth. (10m IIRC).

This is why in choppy seas it is often advisable to dive below periscope depth to get accurate readings.

sublynx
06-13-11, 03:01 PM
Nice findings :up: Now I have a reason to start cruising submerged in a depth of 25 or 50 meters.