Radar Lock

[dresoccer4]

Having some troubles getting a radar lock via HPT mode. As you can see in my screenshot, there are two bogeys just a little bit in front and below of me. I'm picking them up easily, however when I click on them, nothing happens. I've tried multiple times in both TWS and RWS modes. 

Can anyone see what's wrong with my setup from the screenshot? This happens to me pretty often, while othertimes it will work. 

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Edited August 16, 2022 by dresoccer4

[Napillo]

if they're heading away from you, high profile is not what you want, you want medium. medium = slow rate of closure, high = high rate of closure. This is a slow rate of closure. You're going 279 kts at 36500 ft, they're about 10k ft below you at a range of around 30nm. That means your radar is looking down. That puts the enemy at about 4 degrees lookdown. Yea, you're not going to pick up the contact at a 4 degree lookdown in high profile. I can't see the sky from your screenshot, but judging from the light, it appears to be raining. Rain will decrease your range with the radar. Also, if you put it in tws auto and try to lock someone, it switches to tws hi, so you might as well put it in tws med and hope for the best. They're nearly notching you as well. You should go to radar school. 

 

https://www.ll.mit.edu/outreach/radar-introduction-radar-systems-online-course

and the playlist...

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by Napillo
added more detail

[Napillo]

I'd personally try 1 bar rws medium, but try whatever you want.

[dresoccer4]

hmmm i guess i'm confused as the radar is obviously picking them up (because i can see them) but am unable to designate as an HPT.

[dresoccer4]

still having this issue, but this time I know for sure I have a strong radar return in both RWS and TWS modes. however when i click on the bogey nothing happens. 

 

UPDATE: i just kept clicking over and over and finally got a lock. 

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Edited August 16, 2022 by dresoccer4

[Napillo]

oh yea I forgot, IRL you can lock up an aircraft before you even see it, but in game, you have to see it before you can lock it. It's dumb, but until ED fixes it, nothing we can do.

[dresoccer4]

11 hours ago, Napillo said:

oh yea I forgot, IRL you can lock up an aircraft before you even see it, but in game, you have to see it before you can lock it. It's dumb, but until ED fixes it, nothing we can do.

oh dang for real? didn't know that

[Napillo]

^ that radar systems course is good

[cmbaviator]

On 8/17/2022 at 10:27 AM, Napillo said:

oh yea I forgot, IRL you can lock up an aircraft before you even see it, but in game, you have to see it before you can lock it. It's dumb, but until ED fixes it, nothing we can do.

WHat do you mean by that ?

[Napillo]

17 hours ago, cmbaviator said:

WHat do you mean by that ?

Ever wonder why SAM sites need a search radar and a tracking radar? Search radar is more powerful, but it can spot targets further away, the smaller tracking radars can't but they can lock if the search radar spots it.  So, you can lock before you can spot, which should mean you can point your radar where you see a DL contact, push the lock button, and it'll lock, if you're close enough without you seeing a triangle or brick on your radar first (IRL). In game, your radar has to have at least a brick before you can lock, and you can only lock at shorter ranges than you get the bricks, which doesn't make sense at all.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Napillo

[cmbaviator]

8 hours ago, Napillo said:

Ever wonder why SAM sites need a search radar and a tracking radar? Search radar is more powerful, but it can spot targets further away, the smaller tracking radars can't but they can lock if the search radar spots it.  So, you can lock before you can spot, which should mean you can point your radar where you see a DL contact, push the lock button, and it'll lock, if you're close enough without you seeing a triangle or brick on your radar first (IRL). In game, your radar has to have at least a brick before you can lock, and you can only lock at shorter ranges than you get the bricks, which doesn't make sense at all.

 

but how can you lock a target if your own radar doesn't see it ?

[Napillo]

9 hours ago, cmbaviator said:

how can you lock a target if your own radar doesn't see it ?

you can lock it because you get those bricks / tracks when you are scanning, which puts less energy in a certain area of the sky. When you lock a target, you are putting a lot of energy in a smaller space, and listening for a return over a smaller area, so you're able to pick it up better. There's an entire video lecture on the subject of how radar systems work online, even a free mit ocw class on it.

[Tiger-II]

The point is, if you know where to point your RADAR, you can lock stuff further out without having to wait for it to scan first and build a picture.

Think of the RADAR beam a bit like a variable flood torch. If you set it to light a wide area, it is dimmer and doesn't go as far. If you set it to be a really intense beam, it doesn't light much, but shines much further, allowing you to see further.

Edited August 31, 2022 by Tiger-II

[cmbaviator]

6 hours ago, Tiger-II said:

The point is, if you know where to point your RADAR, you can lock stuff further out without having to wait for it to scan first and build a picture.

Think of the RADAR beam a bit like a variable flood torch. If you set it to light a wide area, it is dimmer and doesn't go as far. If you set it to be a really intense beam, it doesn't light much, but shines much further, allowing you to see further.

 

I don’t really understand even if I know where the enemy is thanks to datalink, I can barely lock targets above 30Nm

[Foogle]

5 hours ago, cmbaviator said:

I don’t really understand even if I know where the enemy is thanks to datalink, I can barely lock targets above 30Nm

Yes, as they said above, ED currently restricts locking to below search detection range. 

 

They're supposed to release a white paper on why they think that way at some point, but ED isn't known to be quick, so we'll have to wait until we get it. 

Edited August 31, 2022 by Foogle

[Napillo]

4 hours ago, Foogle said:

release a white paper

oh that will be the comedy of the year, can't wait for that to come out.

[J20Stronk]

So, can Deka and RAZBAM beat ED to the punch already and implement this phenomenon into their radars? AFAIK not even the RDI has this modeled.

[AeriaGloria]

4 hours ago, J20Stronk said:

So, can Deka and RAZBAM beat ED to the punch already and implement this phenomenon into their radars? AFAIK not even the RDI has this modeled.

You used to be able to lock at any range you could scan. It was only changed to 85% a while ago. It’s a simple LUA value, easy to change