Auto-targeting

[pmcmull]

I am a recent arrival and still new to the sim. My question here is about the automatic targeting. There seems to be two kinds of 'locks' but I don't see a full explanation for them. The first is for the periscope. Use the L key and the periscope will freeze on the target, if it recognizes the target. Except for fog and rain situations, pretty simple.
The second 'lock' is the S button on the torpedo fire control. It lights up when the TDC recognizes a good or fair firing solution. But it can be clicked. Seems to be a toggle. The message next to it will change from good to good:locked or back again. Same with poor and poor:locked. I thought clicking it to locked was a good thing but I don't really know what it does. I know when I click the S button and it says locked, then the periscope lock is released and the scope view starts drifting again. Any tips would be appreciated.
Also if I want to aim at the bow or aft section of the ship, with the auto-targeting, that means to not use the L lock at all?


Pat