Type IX-D, 1943 - and my active sonar disappears?!?

bsalyers · 03-02-06, 10:22 AM

Yeah, I knew that in the real world, active sonar was a calling card of sorts.

I thought in the world of SHIII, it went something like this:
there are two buttons you can access under your hydrophone station to get information on the range to a contact. It is reasonable to assume that these do different things, as not only are their icons different, but it also stands to reason that if they did exactly the same thing, there would only be one button. If you press the one on the left, you are given the approximate range to the contact; if you press the one on the right, you get the precise range. Since "pinging" a contact gives a pretty accurate picture of where that vessel is (it is how the DDs find us, after all), I assumed that the button that resulted in precise range must be the equivalent of ordering your sonar operator to "ping" the ship. I thought the most likely explanation for the other button, then, was that (since it only resulted in approximate range) it was like the captain saying, "Hey, Mr. highly-decorated hydrophone operator with years of combat experience, what's your best-guess on how far away that contact is?"
Couple this idea with the fact that I have asked for and received approximate range to contacts without giving away my position many times before, and you can see where my confusion is understandable.
No matter; I sank ships before I had active sonar - I'll sink them now that it's gone away.
Thanks for all your replies.

03-02-06, 10:22 AM	#1
bsalyers Sparky Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 152 Downloads: 46 Uploads: 0	sim world vs. real Yeah, I knew that in the real world, active sonar was a calling card of sorts. I thought in the world of SHIII, it went something like this: there are two buttons you can access under your hydrophone station to get information on the range to a contact. It is reasonable to assume that these do different things, as not only are their icons different, but it also stands to reason that if they did exactly the same thing, there would only be one button. If you press the one on the left, you are given the approximate range to the contact; if you press the one on the right, you get the precise range. Since "pinging" a contact gives a pretty accurate picture of where that vessel is (it is how the DDs find us, after all), I assumed that the button that resulted in precise range must be the equivalent of ordering your sonar operator to "ping" the ship. I thought the most likely explanation for the other button, then, was that (since it only resulted in approximate range) it was like the captain saying, "Hey, Mr. highly-decorated hydrophone operator with years of combat experience, what's your best-guess on how far away that contact is?" Couple this idea with the fact that I have asked for and received approximate range to contacts without giving away my position many times before, and you can see where my confusion is understandable. No matter; I sank ships before I had active sonar - I'll sink them now that it's gone away. Thanks for all your replies.