Radar "lock" question
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Hello!!
My question is this……While flying single player often my wingman will lock up an enemy aircraft. On my MFD the radar cue will go from a white dot to a yellow square with a direction line indicator thingy. The problem is that if my wingman has a target locked up I cant seem to get a lock on it myself. I’ve noticed in ACMI that often enemy aircraft will be locked by several of aircraft at one time. So if my wingman has locked up a target, how do I also place a radar lock on the same target?
Thanks for having patience with a rookie question. I appreciate everyone’s dedication and hard work put in to this community and sim.
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Hello!!
My question is this……While flying single player often my wingman will lock up an enemy aircraft. On my MFD the radar cue will go from a white dot to a yellow square with a direction line indicator thingy. The problem is that if my wingman has a target locked up I cant seem to get a lock on it myself. I’ve noticed in ACMI that often enemy aircraft will be locked by several of aircraft at one time. So if my wingman has locked up a target, how do I also place a radar lock on the same target?
Thanks for having patience with a rookie question. I appreciate everyone’s dedication and hard work put in to this community and sim.
I’d say you don’t have a contact at all, maybe because you’re not scanning in the right sector. I suppose your direction is good, so it would be the choice of altitude range of scan. The contact your wingman locked, in that case, would be higher or lower.
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I’d say you don’t have a contact at all, maybe because you’re not scanning in the right sector. I suppose your direction is good, so it would be the choice of altitude range of scan. The contact your wingman locked, in that case, would be higher or lower.
Hmmm. Well I will certainly look harder at that aspect of it but I am sure that Im in correct altitude/range scan, but with that said It is obvious that im missing something that is for sure. I will make sure to verify correct attitude and range setting on the radar MFD.
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Staying tuned.
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It’s something we’ve noticed in MP as well. When one locks an aircraft (soft- or hardlock doesn’t matter), it’s very hard for the other to get a lock on the same or nearby contact(s). Doesn’t matter who locks first and who tries to lock after.
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Just did a quick test. ……Im flying at 22000 feet, wedge formation. Im scanning my radar out at about 35 miles between 0 and 26000 feet. My wingman declares enemy contact 10 o’clock low and request permission to engage. I don’t have the contact on my radar so I adjust my scan until I locate the bogey at 1000 feet and 15 miles out. The bogey is already locked by the wingman and I can not get a lock on the target.
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1000ft? Helicopter?
Could u please try at 10000ft to 20000ft?1kft might be terrain obstacle or if helo low speed.
Your altitude and attitude to the target?
Acmi file?AI kinda have the gods eye radar so they spot a metal fly when within range while u (I) stragle to spot - lock a b52.
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If you scan between 0 to 26.000ft at 35NM, of course you will not be able to see a contact at 1000ft at 15NM. Your radar is a cone, then for the setup you propose, at 15nm, your FCR scan maybe (I didn’t compute it, just some quick shot) not below 10.000ft.
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yeah. this is a common mistake.
your radar cursor’s max/min look altitude(s) are only valid at the range of your cursor.
if you move it down the screen (closer to you) the ranges fold towards the middle, that’s because the radar spreads in a cone that covers more area the further away you are looking.
it works like a flashlight. if you point the flashlight at a wall an inch from the wall, you get a concentrated beam. if you step back 5 feet, the flashlight can “see” more of the wall. if your wingman is locking something and you are getting a DLINK report of it, simply move your cursor on to the contact and then adjust your antenna so it’s altitude is right in the middle. you’ll see it then, save perhaps if it is very low, very slow or in the beam.
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Your flashlight example is a very good and easy to understand way of describing the effect Cik (I already knew this but like the way you put it, hence the Thanks)
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Wray, I think Lorik had got it. Think of it like the jamming “x” symbols or data link icons that show up. You can’t lock on those , either, they are not your own radar’s returns.
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Why is everyone focussed on explaining how to employ the RADAR to get a contact in the detection area?
He clearly says he has a contact (his “white dot” in the quote below) so that (most likely) isn’t his problem…On my MFD the radar cue will go from a white dot to a yellow square with a direction line indicator thingy.
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Why is everyone focussed on explaining how to employ the RADAR to get a contact in the detection area?
He clearly says he has a contact (his “white dot” in the quote below) so that (most likely) isn’t his problem…Perhaps, E-E. I for one was interpreting “will go from white dot to yellow square…” to mean he did not have a radar return (white square) at the moment he tried for a Lock. If both symbols are there, you would be correct. It just sounds to me like he’s trying to lock on a datalink symbol.
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I understand how the radar works. I posted the test of that one particular incident, which I think has confused my problem to everyone,
This is what always happens……I see the contact on radar, before I get a chance to lock it up my wingman locks the target while requesting permission to engage. The white dot on the radar then turns yellow and I cant get a lock on it after that. Im left observing my wingman engage the target because I cant lock the radar return once it has turned yellow. And it isn’t just a yellow dot, once wingman has locked the target it goes from white square to yellow “u” shape with a direction indicator line.
I don’t claim to come even close to knowing the ins and outs of the systems of any aircraft and I am definitely a rookie. Just trying to understand what im doing wrong so I can get a lock on the target and shoot something down for crying out loud
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Perhaps, E-E. I for one was interpreting “will go from white dot to yellow square…” to mean he did not have a radar return (white square) at the moment he tried for a Lock. If both symbols are there, you would be correct. It just sounds to me like he’s trying to lock on a datalink symbol.
Hello drtbkj! I do always have my datalink on. It very well could be a datalink sysmbol. This same symbol shows up on my HUD as well as my radar screen. leading me to now believe that it is a datalink symbol. So next question……if my radar return gets locked by my wingman and then the datalink overrides my radar displaying this symbol how do I get a lock on the target? Do I have to turn datalink off?
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the datalink symbol has nothing to do with your radar, really. they exist independently of each other. if the white dot at any time disappears it means he has exited your radar beam and is no longer trackable by the FCR. the datalink only says “here is a thing that your wingman is locking in this position at this altitude” turning off the datalink doesn’t matter at all as the datalink does not interfere with the radar, or effect it in any real way.
i’m still thinking you’re just not manipulating the radar correctly. are you using antenna tilt to move the radar to the bandit’s altitude? what range and aspect is the bandit? you shouldn’t have any trouble tracking a hot bandit inside 40 miles. the datalink / wingman is a red herring, they have no effect on anything.
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If the datalink symbol is getting in the way you can try a short COMM outboard to declutter the datalink symbology from your FCR. You can later toggle it back on with another COMM outboard.
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@Cik:
the datalink symbol has nothing to do with your radar, really. they exist independently of each other. if the white dot at any time disappears it means he has exited your radar beam and is no longer trackable by the FCR. the datalink only says “here is a thing that your wingman is locking in this position at this altitude” turning off the datalink doesn’t matter at all as the datalink does not interfere with the radar, or effect it in any real way.
i’m still thinking you’re just not manipulating the radar correctly. are you using antenna tilt to move the radar to the bandit’s altitude? what range and aspect is the bandit? you shouldn’t have any trouble tracking a hot bandit inside 40 miles. the datalink / wingman is a red herring, they have no effect on anything.
Yes!! You and Lorik (and others) are right. I was manipulating the radar incorrectly. The datalink was showing up on my radar but my range was incorrect. Once I adjusted my range the yellow symbol suddenly had a white dot in the middle of the datalink symbol and bam……I was able to get a lock!!
Thank you guys so much for the help. This community is friggin awesome!!!
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you’re welcome buddy. glad you got it worked out.
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Yes!! You and Lorik (and others) are right. I was manipulating the radar incorrectly. The datalink was showing up on my radar but my range was incorrect. Once I adjusted my range the yellow symbol suddenly had a white dot in the middle of the datalink symbol and bam……I was able to get a lock!!
Thank you guys so much for the help. This community is friggin awesome!!!
Good job, Wray, that makes perfect sense. The MFD is giving you datalink info, but your radar’s return would depend on range(and antenna elevation for that matter).
That raises an interesting question…When you see a jamming x or chevron, then get a return, are you seeing burn through , is it now within your radar’s scan, or both?
