Datalink Range?

[fmedges]

So I was using the SLAM today and well it's not quite as good as I would of hoped. I had a real hard time making anything out from the data link connection and it just was kind of a mess. I was attacking a SAM and fired within the weapon rage and turned cold, set the D/L pod antenna to rear and waited for the SLAM to enable. When it did it was a static mess and was approx 30 miles from my plane (28k feet). I was on the correct channel, is this weapon just severely hampered by the need for the D/L pod?

[CAPT_Kirkpatrick]

30 miles shouldn't be an issue. The only times the slam will have some heavy noise to the degree you're talking is:

1. the missile is behind you, but you haven't set the DLink pod antenna to aft mode

2. the missile is diving, and thus the rear transmitter is angled up and thus away from you

3(?) you are to the side of the missile, and thus the rear transmitter cone does not reach your AC (Not sure if this is 100% accurate with the SLAM but its common to most similar DL weapons [AKG or Walleye])

4. you are out of range of the SLAM, which is not the case

[fmedges]

Can someone else confirm if I’m the only one with issues?

[mlb406]

Can someone else confirm if I’m the only one with issues?

 

I have also experienced this super blurry DL image from the SLAM but haven't tested it much, only fired a couple of missiles

[Hog_No32]

same here, even though I tried it at rather an extreme range. By TTS zero, I was about 80 miles from the target. The seeker opened 10 miles before the target so it was 70ish miles directly behind me (antenna switched to aft). I was at Angels 30 by then with uninterrupted LOS between me and the target. There definitely was the link and some kind of an image as I could somewhat make out the missile diving towards its target as per Wags video. But it was so blurry and „snowish“ that no control was possible.

 

Would really like to know at what ranges ED modelled this to be useful. It makes u wonder what the „stand-off“ portion of the SLAM is really worth it when you have to more or less fly alongside the missile to its target... Not complaining at all, just curious.

[kingfish]

Can someone else confirm if I’m the only one with issues?

 

You're not the only one! I've been doing some test launches on the PG map. Usable video from the DL pod at <35nm. Still a signal out to about 60nm (can see the crosshairs, barely), but its so fuzzy/snowy that its unusable. I've gotten the issue both with the missiles/target in my forward quarter and in my aft quarter with A ANT selected.

 

Not sure if this is an issue in procedure, an issue in ED implementation, or just how SLAMs work.

 

Edit: I should clarify that I tried this at ~15kft and about 30kft, same result.

Edited June 5, 2020 by kingfish
Added altitude of my test

[Photon]

Same here. Been testing in a custom mission with just me, a static target, and a few SLAMs, so no other interference.

Been firing at around 36,000 feet.

 

At around 30 miles it's nice, at 40 it's still ok, at 50 you can maybe make something out, but at 60-70 it looks like someone is aiming a jammer at you

(tried aft and front antenna, heading straight to or away from the target).

 

Line of sight at 36,000 feet should be well over 200 miles, so I guess they have modeled the signal to degrade rather fast?

 

Not sure if it's realistic or not, or what kind of tech they use on the SLAM-ER which has like double the range?

[toilet2000]

Wiki quotes a 45 nm range for the Walleye II datalink, which is the same datalink as in the original SLAM, so this seems correct according to public info.

 

The long range SLAM is the SLAM-ER, which we’ll get eventually.