[TEC] Tweaking the SJ radar height

[LukeFF]

From http://www.usscobia.com/sj-1.html I read that the maximum reliable height the SJ radar could pick up aircraft is 500 feet. Using that information, which line in the Mini Tweaker program do I need to adjust? MaxHeight or MaxSensorHeight?

[Jace11]

MaxHeight

I believe the MaxSensorHeight together with MinSensorHeight is the y-axis values which the sensor must be within to be active..

eg hydrophones MinSH -500 MaxSH -9 so it works between -500m and -9 - infact I remember modding this to make hydrophones inactive when at shallow depths.. so it must be right..

[LukeFF]

Originally Posted by Jace11

MaxHeight

I believe the MaxSensorHeight together with MinSensorHeight is the y-axis values which the sensor must be within to be active..

Got it, thanks. I knew something wasn't right with the SJ radar picking up air contacts that high up, given that it can't be rotated vertically.

[Anvart]

MinHeight:
Minimum Detection Height (in meters);
MaxHeight:
Maximum Detection Height (in meters);
MinSensorHeight:
Minimum Sensor Working Height (in meters);
MaxSensorHeight:
Maximum Sensor Working Height (in meters);

[tater]

Would this change the effectiveness vs ships, or does it not really treat height the same way?

tater

[Mraah]

Originally Posted by LukeFF

Got it, thanks. I knew something wasn't right with the SJ radar picking up air contacts that high up, given that it can't be rotated vertically.

LukeFF,

Before you change the SJ values I might suggest changing the SD range values to below 1000 first because you need to make sure the SD is rendered useless before you experiment with the SJ.

I haven't played with the radar in v1.4 yet, but since the SD detects aircraft only now they may have changed which "objects" in the world can be detected by a specific sensor. My other guess would be they fixed the "elevation" problem and those values reflected the actual angles the radar covered, ie the SJ had a max elevation of something like 30, while the SD had 60 (if I remember correctly). Actually, the fleet sub site showed "lobe" data of 29 for the vertical on the SJ but lobes are not perfect angles ... my old radar drawings from the old posts. Think of lobes like the shape of a candle flame turned on it's side.

Let us know your findings!

Mraah

[LukeFF]

TBH I've not tweaked anything yet with the radar - the listings given in the tweak file are very cluttered and out of order (e.g., SD Improved seems to be the original SD, and vice versa, also for SJ). For now I'm playing with the stock values, but I may look into this more after I complete my current patrol.

Nonetheless, I still think the radar detection heights need to be adjusted to reflect their historical performance, given the values I found in that manual excerpt. SD radar performance is given as the following (from http://www.hnsa.org/doc/radar/part4.htm#pgSD-5 ):

Large planes above 1,000 feet: 12-20 miles
Small planes above 1,000 feet: 8-15 miles
Low planes: Not Detected

(I assume by "Low planes" that means anything flying below 1000 feet, thus necessitating a MinHeight value of 304.8 meters.


For SJ Radar:

-Bombers, 500 feet altitude: 5 miles (both types)
-Battleships and Cruisers: 8 miles (older set), 12 miles (newer set)
-Destroyers: 6 miles (older set), 8 miles (newer set)

From this, we can assume the SJ radar cannot pick up aircraft contacts below 500 feet, and thus should have a MaxHeight value of 152.4 meters).

Shame that detection capability can't be set by the type of target, but I digress...

Overall, those states make me suspicious that the SD radar is too good right now and picking up every aircraft that comes within range. This is certainly going to need some tweaking. Looks like some more radar tweaks just might be in order.

Comments?

[LukeFF]

From the tweak file, the following values are given (all converted from meters):

SJ (Early):

-Max Range: 5.282 miles
-Max Height: 49,212(!) feet

SJ (Late):

-Max Range: 69(!) miles
-Max Height: 16,404(!) feet

SD (Early):

-Max Range: 5.282 miles

SD (Late):

-Max Range: 34(!) miles

Of all those values, only the one given for the SD (Early) is correct. Also, what does Surface mean? Also, does anyone have an updated sensors_sub tweak file?