Why can't I get a lock?

[SGCSG1 0]

VERY new at this sim. I'm trying to target lock and fire a sidewinder. I setup a TE with me and a recruit, but I cannot get the lock to work. It's keypad 0, right after you've lined up the crosshairs on him. I've tried RWS and TWS, I'm cycling thru modes and sub-modes (F1 and F11) and nothing seems to work. Wait a minute. As I write this I realize I'm seeing a little white hat and not a little yellow square. What's the white hat?

 

I'm reading the basic manual and the PDF, but not getting anywhere. What do I have to do to get that '0' to LOCK the target and switch over to STT?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

[ONETINSOLDIER 2]

white hat? screenshot please?

myself with the sidewinder, i wait for a tone and send it away, but in boresite mode ya gotta keep the target in front of you,or you will lose the lock, (the yellow square)

Edited March 27, 2009 by gwar

[Dagger1 7]

Hi everybody, SGC...

 

With a heat seeker missile u dont need any radar mode...(thats why most jets can carry them).

 

All u have to do is line up with the target and when u r in range u will hear a loud tone right then shoot...! thats all for the old lets say most pre 1979 sidewinders starting from the AIM-9L (its an all aspect shooter) meaning u dont have to follow ur target to get a lock from the heat signiture coming out of his engine thats for the old heat seekers the new ones as said befor from the AIM-9L and beyond u can fire it from any angle even if ur target is facing u...! hence all aspect shooter.

 

When the seeker gets a lock on target u will hear a loud noise indecating that the seeker has locked on its target when u hear the loud tone just shoot...

 

Good hunting...

[Preacher 0]

What Dagger said is correct however you will find it much easier to see the representation of the seeker head, this will let you learn when and when not to fire. When you call up your heaters (AIM 9's) press D on the keyboard to Enter the 'dogfight' preset.

 

This will auto switch your MFD's and change your HUD to decluttered mode, ready for a knife fight. You can also load the virtual seeker head onto the pilots 'helmet' (uncage the missle) so if you're using padlock or trackIR you'll see the same virtual seekerhead wherever you look. I think thats CTRL+U, but double check your options.

 

On a seperate note, if your joystick has enough buttons you should lock and breaklock so you can perform these actions while using your airbreaks/flaps incrementally and can focus 100% on the kill.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Preach

 

PS

 

Press 'C' to cancel dogfight mode and return to the last setup you had. Its also 'M' for the slammer preset setup, and to return to NAV mode I believe (double check your controls) its RightCTRL+ 'Del' on the keypad.

 

Preach

[+Piecemeal 450]

One simple suggestion:

 

PRACTICE ......... PRACTICE ......... PRACTICE ......... PRACTICE ......... PRACTICE

 

That's the only way you'll learn the ropes with anything :yes:

[SGCSG1 0]

What Dagger said is correct however you will find it much easier to see the representation of the seeker head, this will let you learn when and when not to fire. When you call up your heaters (AIM 9's) press D on the keyboard to Enter the 'dogfight' preset.

 

This will auto switch your MFD's and change your HUD to decluttered mode, ready for a knife fight. You can also load the virtual seeker head onto the pilots 'helmet' (uncage the missle) so if you're using padlock or trackIR you'll see the same virtual seekerhead wherever you look. I think thats CTRL+U, but double check your options.

 

On a seperate note, if your joystick has enough buttons you should lock and breaklock so you can perform these actions while using your airbreaks/flaps incrementally and can focus 100% on the kill.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Preach

 

PS

 

Press 'C' to cancel dogfight mode and return to the last setup you had. Its also 'M' for the slammer preset setup, and to return to NAV mode I believe (double check your controls) its RightCTRL+ 'Del' on the keypad.

 

Preach

 

 

Excellent tips, thank you for the info. I've decided I need to print out large chunks of the manual to read and use while doing the training missions.

[JediMaster 451]

PDF's suck for sims, basically. Unless you have either A) dual monitors or B) another PC to look at!

[M_R_L 0]

VERY new at this sim. I'm trying to target lock and fire a sidewinder. I setup a TE with me and a recruit, but I cannot get the lock to work. It's keypad 0, right after you've lined up the crosshairs on him. I've tried RWS and TWS, I'm cycling thru modes and sub-modes (F1 and F11) and nothing seems to work. Wait a minute. As I write this I realize I'm seeing a little white hat and not a little yellow square. What's the white hat?

 

I'm reading the basic manual and the PDF, but not getting anywhere. What do I have to do to get that '0' to LOCK the target and switch over to STT?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

ur mistake here is u r basing ur lock on the crosshair while radar lock (keypad 0) is basing on the radar cursor (the two vertical white stuff on ur radar screen) on ur MFD in RWS or TWS mode while ACM Boresight will lock whatever target in front of the extended crosshair on ur hud. The radar cursor can be move/slew by using keyboard's arrows.

 

sidewinder doesn't need radar lock to pickle, but it will be a big help to have one as you could get a DLZ and know when to and when not to pickle. but as long as you could get a good tone, even the DLZ showing u're too far or too close u're good to go (but of course if ur too close, it might affect u too)

 

what I usually do when going dogfight with a sidewinder is to go dogfight override mode (keyboard D) and check the HUD for "NO RAD" which means no radar and you won't get a lock but you can still get the tone. If the "NO RAD" appears, I just hit A-A weapon cycle (by default it is keyboard Enter if i'm not mistaken) until sidewinder comes up on the MFD and i'm ready to engage.

[estmil 0]

What is the difference between bugging/designating/tracking (i.e. pressing "0" once at over the target on the radar screen) and locking onto a target (pressing "0" second time)?

When a target is being designated, missiles can already be pointed at it, so why should i actually lock onto a target? While tracking target, radar still searches for other objects, which is also positive.

[MigBuster 2,887]

You go into a different radar modes depending on what mode you are currently in - the differences are in chapter 4 and 21

 

STT mode will give you the best lock and best chance of success because its only concentrating on that one target.

 

Bugged is SAM mode - not as good as STT but shows other jets.