How do you operate in an area with many contacts?

[Nexus7]

Originally Posted by Doc Savage

Any tips on what to do if there are several contacts on roughly the same bearing (signals overlapping) and you want a tracker on a particular contact?
e.g. if I need to attack a CVBG and I'd want to assign a tracker to the CV. Unfortunately, the CV is usually in the middle of a bunch of other stuff and I never seem to be able to get the darn tracker on the contact I want. This is especially a problem with the waterfall display.

Regarding the original question, struggle to gain as many master contacts as possible as they are truth. If you don't yet have a goot tactical control don't be the first to shoot. If you suspect the presence of air treaths don't raise the Radar or the ESM, while you can use the periscope to improve your tactcon. If you see contacts changing position very quickly on the navmap and they are TA tracked, they're probably false contacts, drop them.
When the hell breaks out and there's air treath go under the layer if any (best thing, fire while under the layer already). If under the layer the signal is to weak, stay right over it. Drop an UUV over the layer. Maintaint tactical speed for the time needed to assign trackers to the incomings (get masters). If you notice something is close and closing in then retract your TA and get out of the hot area fast. While doing so you can drop some CM.
While leaving the hot area remember to check your baffles regularly and check the signal strength of the inbounds in the active control (AI will fire actives).
Once you're in a safe position regain tactical control and prepare for a second run if needed.

As for overlapping frequencies, turn off the auto filter to classify overlapping contacts, better of course would be a visual ID. If you are say 8+ nm away you can dare to raise the ESM mast, for 10-20 seconds. To assign 2 trackers on 2 overlapping contacts simply put the marker over the frequency of the first and assign track, shift to a freq of the second and assign track. Concretely the CV is quite noisy and you could manage to assign with the SA and periscope too remaining undetected. There's not much else you can do, except close in and maneuver in order to have the contacts on a wider bearing segment