Radar elevation

[max22]

Radar elevation is not behaving consistently.

1. It covers up to -9 and no more (when set to 80 miles).
2. It sometimes uncontrollable, which means I can't change it.
3. When set to minimum elevation it often doesn't remember it and change elevation by itself.

Edited December 21, 2023 by max22

[draconus]

Track or video needed.

Can be either your controls (check the axis) or some radar modes that simply won't allow you to change the elevation.

[max22]

All videos refer to radar cursor. Radar range set to 80.

1. It covers up to -9 and not below it:

2. It sometimes uncontrollable, which means I can't change it (example is for after I break a lock):

3. When set to minimum elevation it often doesn't remember it and change elevation by itself:

 

[draconus]

Manual p. 307:

"Digital Altitude Coverage: shows the maximum and minimum scan altitudes which
the radar is covering in search (or in TWS). The numbers indicate thousands of feet
MSL (at the example above, the radar is “looking” at altitudes between 5 and 18
thousand feet). Maximum altitude is 99 thousand, and minimum is -9 thousand.
Digital Altitude Coverage depends on three factors: the antenna elevation, number
of bars set (see below) and the point of the Acq Sym on the display..."

...in fact it also depends on aircraft altitude, so the coverage changes accordingly when you descend.

[afnav130]

4 hours ago, draconus said:

Manual p. 307:

"Digital Altitude Coverage: shows the maximum and minimum scan altitudes which
the radar is covering in search (or in TWS). The numbers indicate thousands of feet
MSL (at the example above, the radar is “looking” at altitudes between 5 and 18
thousand feet). Maximum altitude is 99 thousand, and minimum is -9 thousand.
Digital Altitude Coverage depends on three factors: the antenna elevation, number
of bars set (see below) and the point of the Acq Sym on the display..."

...in fact it also depends on aircraft altitude, so the coverage changes accordingly when you descend.

Yeah sometimes it gets a bit confusing for me here and there still. The -9 is altitude below your aircraft correct? Also the dashed bars instead of a 2 digit readout means what exactly? 

[Ramsay]

7 hours ago, afnav130 said:

The -9 is altitude below your aircraft correct?

TL;DR:

No, it's the MSL altitude, so -9 is scanning 9,000 ft BELOW Sea Level.

Detail:

From page 311, DCS_F-15E_Flight_Manual_EN, 2023-12-12.pdf

Quote

Digital Altitude Coverage: shows the maximum and minimum scan altitudes which the radar is covering in search (or in TWS).

The numbers indicate thousands of feet MSL (at the example above, the radar is “looking” at altitudes between 5 and 18 thousand feet).

Maximum [displayed ?] altitude is 99 thousand, and minimum is -9 thousand.

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by Ramsay

[draconus]

9 hours ago, afnav130 said:

Also the dashed bars instead of a 2 digit readout means what exactly? 

You're scanning below the ground at the TDC posistion.

Here's some old tool that can help you grasp the whole idea of how it works: radar cone vs elevation vs TDC vs detection.

https://tawdcs.org/radar-f15/

Edited December 25, 2023 by draconus

[mechanick29]

Seems perfectly normal to me

[INDY69]

There are places on the planet that are below 0' Mean Sea Level (MSL), you need to be able so search those with a radar (Dead Sea for example).  The radar does not stop its elevation search coverage @ 0' MSL, the coverage stops @ its bottom gimbal limit.  The radar is telling you it is looking below 0' MSL when it gives you a negative number, and the digit tells you how many thousands of feet below.  -9 = 9000 feet below MSL.  In the second video you are in 2bar TWS and the elevation balls on the far left side of the Radar B Scope tell you the same thing you see next to the captains bars in RWS.  In the 3rd video you are climbing and descending.  The radar in RWS searches a space stabilized volume of airspace in front of the aircraft, but its relative to YOUR aircraft not the earth.  So when you climb or descend you need to reset your coverage once your maneuvers are complete.

Edited December 28, 2023 by INDY69