Quote:
Originally Posted by gollum65
Thanks guys. I think that's my problem is I don't know what direction the contact is heading in, so I do end up chasing my tail so to speak. I think part of the problem is on my nav map the contacts aren't showing up. All I'm seeing is a line drawn to where the contact was last observed.
And I always go to 1x time compression if it was faster when the contact was made, and I will usually stop the boat to try to figure out where to go to track the target.
I'll give this mission another run today and let you guys know what happens. Thanks again for the help.
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Even with Map Contacts turned 'On' in the realism settings, sonar-only contacts won't display on the map as a clickable square showing speed, course, etc, until you have another form of detection - be it RADAR, or a visual.
I would suggest, and this is just my humble opinion, to keep your speed to Ahead Standard (8/9kts surfaced in most boats I think) when you pick-up the contact. If you're surfaced and you get a sonar contact, get to periscope depth or 90ft if there's enemy air cover, and head to your nav map. Sonar works much, much better underwater in my experience (as it should!).
Then follow the black line to the end, that's where your sonarman is saying he can hear the propellor of the contact. Using the pencil tool, place a mark on it. At the same time you do this, have the stopwatch out (there's a button to show/hide it on the map toolbar) and start the timer by clicking the protruding button on top of it as you place the mark. Now keep watching the sonar as it updates, if the contact's close enough it'll be a smooth movement or if its a distant contact it might jump every few seconds. I put another mark on it every minute until 3 minutes, but you could do anything... every time it updates, every 30 seconds, anything. It's purely to find out the contact's course. Making sure you have the tool helper (it's that compass looking thing above the ruler and pencil) 'open', use the ruler and draw a line through the marks of your contact, getting as close to the middle of all of them as you can - it's a rough science! Look at the course the ruler shows you on the circle marker you should have at your mouse pointer (the tool helper), remember this, then zoom out a bit and extend that course until it's long enough that you're happy you can intercept in that distance. Before you exit everything, when the stopwatch says 3 minutes, mark the contact again, and take a measurement from the start to that specific mark. Take 2 tenths off that measurement (1100yds becomes 11, 12500yds becomes 12.5, etc), and that's a rough average of the contacts speed.
Now you know, approximately, the target's course and speed. If it were me i'd be surfacing and intercepting as best I could at that point.
RockinRobbins' videos can show you everything i've said much better, and much more than that (he taught me most everything I know without ever speaking to me, heh!), but I hope it's helped at least a little!