[stork100]

I'll just offer my take on it for what it's worth. First off, bstanko6's tutorial on the Range Angle on Bow Finder (RAOBF) really is quite comprehensive in explanation of how it works, but as you've noticed, the Ahnenerbe WideGui version does render slightly differently leading to some confusion.

I'm interested that you've raised this thread because I've been working through this subject quite a lot lately and still have some questions myself. Unfortunately, as far as I can search, the discrepancies that exist with this particular version haven't been well documented, at least not correctly in my opinion. Since bstanko6's tutorial explains everything on how it works, I'll just offer a few of my own observations and some practical advice on how I'm using it in this Gui at the moment.

So the first thing, just some basics to always keep in mind:

1. Zoom: Use x6 when measuring range and aob for simplicity when entering your data (no need to convert). Zoom doesn't matter for speed.

2. Speed: Must be at 0 knots to get an accurate reading in most instances.

3. Remember that the units for range on the wheel are in hectometres (x100), the same as the range dial on the TDC.

Observations/Advice:
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* As far as I know at this time, the tick marks for range and aob work correctly, so you just simply count how many. No need to multiply or divide. So, where it says 10 on the scope is actually 5 out from the center. However, be sure to count any partial tick marks. For example the bow and stern of the ship might be overhanging the outer horizontal marks when you're doing the aob. So what I do is count all the marks that are definitely over the ship first and then add to that any partial ones. So for instance I might count 7.5 marks. The same applies to the vertical scale for doing the range.

* As far as using this tool for working out range is concerned, I believe that it's quite accurate and that there are no issues with the Gui. The biggest difficulties will arise from rough seas and longer ranges.

* Working out aob often works out well too, however I think it is heavily dependant on first obtaining an accurate range. If the aob is obviously greater than 90 degrees (i.e. the ship is going away) you need to subtract your aob answer from 180 degrees. For instance, you get an answer of 70. Your aob is 110 degrees.

* Sometimes when you've counted your tick marks for the aob, the answer will be off the scale (further to the left of the 90 mark at the top). This is the only thing that I have trouble with now and at present have no answer for, other than that perhaps it comes from an inaccurate range input, a Gui problem or some other unknown reason. This will happen to me about 20% of the time.

* Red mark for the speed: The location for this at the 29 mark on the inner ring is in my opinion completely wrong (at least that's where it is on my version). I have come across an old thread where the guys working on the Gui figured it out and released a fix for it placing it around the 57 mark I think. From my testing that is still wrong. The best that I can figure is that the correct place for the red speed line is on the 25 mark on the inner ring. Visually, this is exactly where it used to exist on previous GUIs. But one very important thing: When using the 25 mark with this Gui you must MULTIPLY your speed reading by 2. I've done a lot of testing on this and can confirm that this is usually pretty accurate with targets moving from anywhere between 2 and 16 knots.

Additionally, if you find this speed mark to your liking (or if you find one you like better), I would suggest making a copy of and editing the AOBFOuterDisc.tga file with your own red line.

* As a personal preference on technique, I usually like to do the speed first. Just seems good to get it out of the way early. I will also grab a final range reading just before I fire.

* For me, this tool is used in more of a tactical sense in that I find that it's best suited to medium to short range, because due to the closer proximity you'll get more accurate data. However, at shorter ranges things tend to change more rapidly so you've got to work faster. You don't want to neglect too much time in using your range calculation for working out your aob, otherwise errors are likely to occur.

* Practicing in the Naval Academy torpedo training mission with G7a T1s will really help you get good using this tool.

Hey, I hope this helps. If anyone else can shed extra light on how this tool works with this Gui, or correct any errors on my part, I'd be really interested to hear, because I'm still trying to perfect my game play using this tool. Cheers.