Radar questions

Rockin Robbins · 08-19-15, 12:18 PM

But how can a radar detector prevent a submarine from making contact. It's not like the radar detector has a screen with a submarine shaped pip on it. The detector has a needle that says signal detected, strength x. No direction. No range. No avoidance possible. As Shinano shows, any attempt to evade is as likely to put you in more danger than if you had never intercepted the radar signal.

We're making a boogyman out of a simple radar detection where all you have is (at best) some idea of the strength of the signal and no supporting data.

The reality of the situation is when you intercept the signal you can draw a circle of a certain size that we can't agree on fifty years later and say "there's something with radar somewhere in the circle." How do you maneuver to avoid that?

ColonelSandersLite · 08-19-15, 01:15 PM

Not sure why you think that a radar warning system doesn't let you determine direction. It's simple radio direction finding, which was well understood by everyone at the time. It is true that it doesn't provide distance, but there are two major ways to do so.

1: Multiple ships detecting the direction allows triangulation. At those ranges the angles involved would cause inaccuracy, but gives a general idea, probably to within a mile or two.
2: Passive TMA. Check here: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i...iew=1up;seq=38 page 26.

08-19-15, 12:18 PM	#1
Rockin Robbins Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: DeLand, FL Posts: 8,900 Downloads: 135 Uploads: 52	But how can a radar detector prevent a submarine from making contact. It's not like the radar detector has a screen with a submarine shaped pip on it. The detector has a needle that says signal detected, strength x. No direction. No range. No avoidance possible. As Shinano shows, any attempt to evade is as likely to put you in more danger than if you had never intercepted the radar signal. We're making a boogyman out of a simple radar detection where all you have is (at best) some idea of the strength of the signal and no supporting data. The reality of the situation is when you intercept the signal you can draw a circle of a certain size that we can't agree on fifty years later and say "there's something with radar somewhere in the circle." How do you maneuver to avoid that? __________________ Sub Skipper's Bag of Tricks, Slightly Subnuclear Mk 14 & Cutie, Slightly Subnuclear Deck Gun, EZPlot 2.0, TMOPlot, TMOKeys, SH4CMS

08-19-15, 01:15 PM	#2
ColonelSandersLite Captain Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 481 Downloads: 74 Uploads: 3	Not sure why you think that a radar warning system doesn't let you determine direction. It's simple radio direction finding, which was well understood by everyone at the time. It is true that it doesn't provide distance, but there are two major ways to do so. 1: Multiple ships detecting the direction allows triangulation. At those ranges the angles involved would cause inaccuracy, but gives a general idea, probably to within a mile or two. 2: Passive TMA. Check here: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i...iew=1up;seq=38 page 26. __________________ My SH4 LP