SJ radar depth

[Sniper297]

Got into another one of those rough seas where the surface search radar keeps cutting out, got irritated enough to try to find a solution again.



This is pathetic, on SARGO the SJ antenna is 50 feet above the keel, but the option to turn it on won't activate at less than 39 feet, and there's no option to extend it. And having it cut out in heavy sees is ludicrous, unless you're in a typhoon you're not going to get a wave to break over the bridge 40 feet high. Add to that the AI (Artificial Idiot) not programmed to automatically turn it back on again, the whole thing is nothing more than useless aggravation.


Hunted through the downloads to see if anyone had come up with a mod, found only an old one for the SD (air search) radar;

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...do=file&id=169

Reverse engineering that one, the main trick was to activate and change the command.cfg key for 158 toggle snorkel, then change the Sensors_sub_US.sim file for obj_extensible 15 and 17 from type = radarantenna to type = snorkel. I tried changing those back to radar and changing the third one, number 23, to snorkel and that doesn't work, the SJ mast doesn't seem to be extensible at all.

Need some genius to figure out either (1) what controls the depth the SJ cuts out so it can be adjusted higher, (2) a way to extend the SJ antenna mast, or (3) some setting that will make the lubber sleeping at the radar console turn the blasted thing back on after each wave has passed.

[ETR3(SS)]

I can answer #1. What you're looking for is in the SensorData node for that particular radar located in the Sensors_sub_US.sim. The value you'll want to change is MinSensorHeight=X. There's no reference as to the unit of measurement so you'll have to play around with different numbers.

[Sniper297]

Thanks.

Ran through all the nodes, found hydrophone set for -500, so I edited all the nodes that said "radar" to -5. According to the notes that's "Minimum sensor working height (in meters)", although I've occasionally found his notes to be wrong. Tried that, the little hand icon in the HUD to turn the radar on and off still goes out at the same 39 foot depth, but the 3D radar view in the conning tower the on/off toggle switch and all the controls work until the reflector actually goes under, and the sweep and target blips work. Have to set up something where I can try it in a flat calm, see what it does when I change it to something weird like -50. 5 meters is about 16.5 feet, 39 + 16 is 55, which would submerge the reflector. Obviously there are other files involved somewhere, not unusual for SH4 since they programmed it by loading data into a shotgun and blasting away while wearing a blindfold.

[Sniper297]

Aaaand, nope. -50 on all, no change. Icon goes out at 39 feet, 3D toggle switch works down to about 48-49 feet, radar shuts off when a wave breaks over the antenna.

So back to square one, the scientific method - restore the original file, run a control test to get a benchmark to see what the original unmodified program does - which is exactly the same thing, hand icon goes dark at 39 feet, on/off switch works until the antenna is submerged.

So good theory on the MinSensorHeight, but it fails MythBusters testing.

[ETR3(SS)]

[ETR3(SS)]

Just ran a test with the Sargo, late war CT, SD and SJ radar installed. As you said, option for turning on the radar cut out at 39 ft. But at this time I was still rotating and radiating on the SJ. Progressively took her down to 46 feet when I started taking hits on the antenna from wave action. Radar would shut down, and once the wave cleared would start up again. This is on a stock game with my test missions loaded.