snorkel

[duke121005]

Do U.S. boats have snorkels? Even at depth less than 60 my batteries go down. Do i need to be going a certain speed for snorkels to work?

[Strikor]

No, they didn't have them.

[Ducimus]

Nor did they really need them

[duke121005]

How are you supposed to sneak into places without a snorkel? Also, justi n general hwo do you find merchant shipping? I get those occasional reports on the radio but im never in position to get them, or they seem to vary from there course. Do the U.S. boats have radar? I can't seem to get it to work. Only the first two buttons in the radar station are lit and the rest are always grayed (i'm surfaced, not sure if i need to do something else to get them to work).

[duke121005]

Just seems i spend so much time looking for **** on patrol that I don't have enough fuel to do much of anything.

[FritzHeinz]

Hi mate,

You could try to patrol at 30m depth, because you sonar will not pick up any sound while you are surfaced.

Happy hunting

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by duke121005

Do the U.S. boats have radar?

Thats precisley why I say US boats didn't need a snorkel. One of the biggest contributers to the success of american sub operations in the pacific was the technilogical advantage of radar they enjoyed. Japan, like germany, was a bit behind the technological curve on this.

[Hartmann]

Radar was an important factor but there are two more:

aircraft number if compared with allied in atlantic
the scenario differences, more difficult make an effective air cover.

[duke121005]

2 Things

1) I can't really patrol at 30ft because i have no snorkel so I will run out of batteries....
2) My radar doesn't seem to work (at least in 1941 boats, not sure if its later than that) I go to the radar station when surfaced but only the first two buttons are lit and the ones to turn them on are greyed out.

[sean705]

Originally Posted by duke121005

2 Things

1) I can't really patrol at 30ft because i have no snorkel so I will run out of batteries....
2) My radar doesn't seem to work (at least in 1941 boats, not sure if its later than that) I go to the radar station when surfaced but only the first two buttons are lit and the ones to turn them on are greyed out.

Anyone correct me if I'm wrong here:

I find it best to stay on the surface when looking for contacts, early or late war. The only time I go submerged is when I'm in heavly air patroled sectors. As for the radar, I'm not aware of any boats (here's where I may need correction) that have surface radar in 1941. You probably have air radar (only usefull in detecting aircraft, SJ I think?) if so, it's not going to work until the game gets another patch (know bug).

Hope this helps

[Nightmare]

Originally Posted by duke121005

2 Things

1) I can't really patrol at 30ft because i have no snorkel so I will run out of batteries....
2) My radar doesn't seem to work (at least in 1941 boats, not sure if its later than that) I go to the radar station when surfaced but only the first two buttons are lit and the ones to turn them on are greyed out.

You typically don't start with radar in 1941. Even then, until mid to late 1942 you are stuck using SD radar, which will only detect aircraft. Once SJ radar becomes available, you'll be able to use the radar stations and detect ships.

Some good tips are cruise on the surface as much as possible. Staying at 10 knots speed will get you the best gas mileage. When submerged, anything over 3 knots will drain the battery quick. If you have to make a long run submerged (like in a heavily air patrolled area) run at 2 knots until the sun goes down then run on the surface at 10 knots to charge the batteries. 2 knots submerged will easily get you from sun up to sunset.

[t0maz]

Battery problems:
Use realistic battery life mod.
Cruise on surface not submerged.
Submerge only when enemy are near enoght to spot u (bad weather and night decrease enemy visual detecting).
When u want to use hydrophone to check sound contacts (engines stop, after checking surface the boat)

Fuel problems:
use 1/3 ahead, somtimes 2/3.
use full or flank only when needed to intercept enemy ships
use keyboard mod to have SHIFT+G feature that tell u what is max distance on actual speed.
Remeber that u can refit fuel, torpedos and ammo at nearest friendly port (anchor icon)

[-Pv-]

So-called "realistic" battery mod isn't necessary. I've proven by careful testing the default battery enduance is very close to real world historical data.

It isn't SPEED that gets you contacts, but working your best assets: stealth, radar and sonar. There is a mod that corrects the radar problem that prevents contacts showing in 180 degrees of heading. You can use slow speed submerged and hide from airplanes while searching for sonar contacts for up to 48 hours from a full charge at 2 knots. Hide from planes submerged during the day while using sonar, charge at night searching with radar and visual. Traveling submerged in a storm is necessary to prevent excessive crew fatigue.

In most of the US subs in the sim, you need to be 56' in depth or lower for sonar to activate. You can determine the exact depth (which varies by sub type) by submerging while sonar head is pointing directly to the rear. The moment you hear your own props, you can detect other contacts and your crew will report them depending on their skill. The faster you travel, the more limited the effectivness of the sonar.

The other thing you need to do is patrol areas where Japanese ships were historically common. The game has a target-rich environment once you get a technique going. The skill and health of your crew also influences submerged and radar contact effectiveness.
-Pv-