Sonar operator reporting ranges
 

Ok, so I'm trying to figure out exactly under what circumstances my sonar man will report and follow contacts, and what I'm seeing doesn't make much sense to me:

There is a merchant about 9 nm away from my sub, at 28 degrees.

I only know it's there because I went to my hydrophone station and found it myself -- if I turn the hydrophone to 28 degrees, the green light goes on.

At first, the contact said 'Type: Unknown' on the hydrophone screen. So I clicked the "SEND BEARING TO TDC" button. (That's the one on the hydrophone screen in the lower-right of the paper-textured panel with the Bearing and Type, with a black arrow pointing right.)

When I hit the "SEND BEARING TO TDC" button, my sonar operator immediately reports the sound contact to me:

"03:29 SO Sound contact, sir! Merchant Moving Slow Moving away! Bearing 28! Long range!"

This doesn't make any sense. Why should my sending the bearing suddenly improve my sonar man's apparently terrible hearing? And on top of that, suddenly he's able to discern that it's a merchant, and that it's moving away from us slowly, as well as roughly estimate how far away it is? All that when just a second ago he couldn't hear it at all?

So now that the sonar man knows about the contact, I want an update, so I press the "REPORT CONTACTS" button on the sonar command panel. It's been a few minutes and the ship has moved a bit, so he responds with:

"03:35 SO Nearest sound contact: Merchant Moving Slow! Moving away! Bearing 031! Long range!"

That's great, so now I want him to follow that contact so I don't have to keep requesting it over & over -- I hit the "FOLLOW NEAREST CONTACT" button, and my sonar man replies with:

"03:36 SO No sound contact!"

What does he mean, no sound contact?! The sound contact we were talking about just a second ago, you moron! But I think maybe I'm being to harsh on him, maybe the sound contact has just gone out of range & he can't hear it anymore -- so I ask for another report via the "REPORT CONTACTS" button... my sonar man dutifully reports:

"03:37 SO Nearest sound contact: Merchant Moving Slow! Moving away! Bearing 32! Long range!"

I tried this several times over -- asking for "report contacts" and always getting a response, while "follow nearest contacts" always yeilds "No sound contact!".

What gives?

nomad_delta