Must a helicopter equipped with Dipping Sonar hover in order to effectively utilize this piece of gear? Must it be a Low Altitude or VLow?

 

Thanks,

Yeah, hover at Low or Vlow and energize that dipping sonar. Be sure to have your active sonar range circles turned on. I like a nice, bright yellow.

So, to be certain, I have a SH-60F OceanHawk ASW-LR. Under sensors, I have energized both the radar and sonar. With the Group Display "active", the helo is also depicted with the yellow sonar ring around it in the Unit Display. The helo is hovering at VLow.

 

Is the helo dipping the sonar at this point? Is pressing the "." key on the numeric keypad required as long as the ring is present? Or more appropriately is the ring present because I pressed the "."?

 

Please forgive the infantryman in me trying to understand all things "naval"

When the yellow range circle is present, your dipping sonar is actively pinging. Pressing the key will activate the sonar. It doesn't stay on constantly, because it is performing "sweeps". (Tony can fill in details about how this works in the code). Technically, I suppose, your dipping sonar should only be employed in the hover, but you will probably notice that helos performing formation patrols are happy enough to dip their sonars while cruising along at Low altitude.

When the yellow range circle is present, your dipping sonar is actively pinging. Pressing the key will activate the sonar. It doesn't stay on constantly, because it is performing "sweeps". (Tony can fill in details about how this works in the code). Technically, I suppose, your dipping sonar should only be employed in the hover, but you will probably notice that helos performing formation patrols are happy enough to dip their sonars while cruising along at Low altitude.

Respectfully disagree, here. I am just finished building a few test scens and about to report this to AGSI. The sonar will activate with the nice yellow range circle when you hit the "." hotkey while the helo is cruising along. However, I am pretty certain that it doesn't work until the helo is put into hover.

 

I think the fact that the range ring appears is a visual bug. Operationally, I think that the dipping sonar is properly simulated.

Respectfully disagree, here.  I am just finished building a few test scens and about to report this to AGSI.  The sonar will activate with the nice yellow range circle when you hit the "." hotkey while the helo is cruising along.  However, I am pretty certain that it doesn't work until the helo is put into hover. I think the fact that the range ring appears is a visual bug.  Operationally, I think that the dipping sonar is properly simulated.

 

Helicopters patrolling in formation WILL light up their active sonar range circles while they are moving, if you manually activate them. Otherwise, they come on while only in the hover (which is as it should be). Now, whether that sonar is actively pinging or not, just because the range circle is there, is a different story. The secret is in the code, as always.

Thank you to both of you for elightening me in regards to Helo-Dipped Sonars. I'm glad, in a weird way, to see that the question generated such a response.

No problem, Pete. That's why this forum is here.

Here's some more insight about how the code for sonar works ...

 

Active sonar sweeps are conducted every five (5) minutes, in accordance with submarine TMA analysis cycles. However, a dipping sonar will be "dipped" for as little as 90 seconds, thereby preventing it from performing any sweep at all. This can probably be fairly easily remedied in the code, in either of a couple of different ways:

 

(1) adjusting the sonar sweep frequency to occur less than every 90 seconds

(2) creating a new bit of code for dipping sonars

 

Also, as an aside, regarding Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD), detection range DOES decrease with the depth of the submarine.

Also, as an aside, regarding Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD), detection range DOES decrease with the depth of the submarine.

I can happily report that MAD does work on subs at Shallow depth and does Not work on subs at Deep depth.

 

I've tried to test MAD against subs at Int depth but can't seem to get the enemy subs to stay at that depth so that I can check on it! I'll let you know if I ever solve that one.

MAD detection has a range of 1.0 nm when the submarine is at Shallow or less.

 

This falls to 0.5 nm when the submarine is at Intermediate depth.

 

And, well, you know what happens when the submarine is at Deep.