whats your favorite way to calculate speed?
 

topic says it...also where and how do you reset the tdc so i can put new numbers in, when i need a new range i cant do it cause the device to line up the pictures does not pop up.

very hard to use manual tdc with no detailed guide and the only way to calculate speed as said in the game manual is bugged.

The only and real guide was kindly put together by Neal Stevens,

Thanks Neal! :rock:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=108689

Otherwise I don't think I Would of ever tried the manual TDC myself, looking forward to the implementation of the speed chronometer one day. Until then doing ok with my guessmates at close range and having a blast. :D

that stinks

oh yea, if u read in the manual they said they purposely made the ruler inaccurate to simulate how hard it was to calculate speed using the map... doing that, using the chart someone posted, and just starting at half are the only ways i know how to calculate speed and all are very inaccurate :shifty:

This is how I do it. I get distance and AOB. I then guess on the speed. I click the PK. If the PK shows AOB changing to fast as to what my scope is showing, I know my speed is off....either fast or slow depending how the AOB has changed since first input. I adjust the speed until the PK shows AOB not changing as I progress towards the target. In other words, if my PK AOB does not change I know I have the speed down to actual speed.


Another way to explain. If I show the AOB at 90 degrees. speed 8kts and feed this to the PK I watch actual scope and PK movements. If the AOB starts to move higher than 90 degrees yet my scope still shows me at 90 degrees then I know I have judged the speed to fast. I drop it a kt or two and watch it again. Once that AOB stays consistent with what I see I know my speed is correct.

That is how I do it anyway. I use the time piece to determine when dinner will be ready:smug:

That there's no working magical auto speed stop watch? I don't recall there being one in WWII either. If you're going for the challenge/realism in manual TDC I don't understand why people use the speed chrono.

PD

If you're going for realism the primary way speed was input was from sonar turn-counts. On-line sonar manuals give precise methodologies, down to determining three- or four-bladed screws. It was a fire-control PARTY--a team effort.

Since I read here that the game doesn't allow sonar to be used at PD (!!!) there is no "realistic" way to determine speed.

I wish there was blade counts too... But there's not. Distance = Speed X Time is realistic enough for me. It's not tough to get a good range/AOB with practice. You can then use error in the position keeper to adjust for speed.

PD

Gosh, I just said that but you said it in fewer words:yep::up:

Exactly! A Fire Control Team Effort.. So the so called "magical" stop watch simulates this team effort....Plus the fact there is no way in the game to count propeller revolutions.

But the Fire Control Party could also determine speed by how long it takes the target to get from one point to another based on its range. Is that not what the stopwatch also simulates? Timing the target as it travels?

But, back to the original topic, I also use AVGWARHAWK's method. If the TDC position keeper bearing is wrong then i know I screwed up. In fact I was watching the Silent Hunter Series last night and the actual skippers also said that they knew their data was wrong if the TDC Bearing solution was off, so they would input new data....So AVGWARHAWK wins the Realism Award!

I understand that works in the game; I was merely commenting on the belief here that, after two weeks, "TDC cowboys" are thick on the ground.

The game is the game. In reality, real-world, sonar speed data is far more accurate than AOB calls and is what the solution tracks around, not course. The game presents nice, clear, hull-up pictures. In real approaches initial contact was by smoke, and initial AOB calls were often from masts alone. I've tried surfaced periscope AOB calls using two VERY tiny sticks above the horizon (try maybe three pixels) and been off by sixty degrees. And forget port or starboard on the first call using masts. You don't have an ID.

The order of accuracy in an observation is always 1) bearing (duh) 2) speed (sonar) 3) range 4) AOB. Error-tracking on the PK is most often to refine the track, not the speed. Given that target course can change quickly (zigs) while speed changes slowly (inertia), error-tracking against bearing is usually an AOB check.

Game graphics are amazing compared to 1982 Silent Service, but in some ways they're too good. At sea you get glare, mist, whacky paint jobs, environmental lighting on the target, waves and spray, etc. that makes AOB calls hellish. Even very, very experienced COs wouldn't claim to be within ten degrees on a consistent basis at 10,000 yards. On an initial look of 5-7 seconds being within 30 degrees is pretty good. In the real world.

Most the time I just halve the speed for merchants and fire a spread, been getting good at it. If I want to be precise, I use a bearing change over time chart. Since I usualy attack from about 90 degrees off bow, It is pretty accurate. Longer Observation = More Accurate Speed Guess.

http://www.topshotgta.com/images/sports_radar_gun.gif

Cost me a heck of a lot of renown, but it works for me. :cool:

(Seriously, I'll have to try AVG's method...)

I plot the contacts on the map and use the 3-minute(15s)-rule to calculate speed. Works like a charm. Since I rarely fire from beyond 1000 yards a knot or two doesn't make a difference when firing a three-spread salvo.

:rotfl:

It works pretty well mookiemookie. If that AOB does not change then you should be dead on for speed.