Rangefinder
Rangefinder is the system by which the tank or tank crew determines range to a designated target.
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General Info
The rangefinder is used to determine range to target. Depending on the tank several methods and equipment may be used: visual estimation, optical rangefinders, and laser ranger-finders. On using the rangefinder a small bar will fill up (located up and to the right of your reticle in binocular or sniper view) and on completion the estimated range will be displayed (located up and to left of the binocular and sniper view). If what you have attempted to range is beyond the maximum range-able distance of you rangefinder then the result will simply be displayed as >[maximum range]
Visual Estimation
Visual estimation is the most basic form of range-finding. In its simplest form it involves a person estimating the distance to a target without the help of any extra tools. However this is commonly assisted by the use of some reference material, like stadia lines, which give the user an idea of roughly how large or small certain common objects will be at a given distance. In game this applies to tanks without any other form of ranging equipment, has a maximum range of 800m - 1200m depending on crew skill, and takes roughly six seconds. It is also both the slowest and least accurate type of ranging. This inaccuracy is especially problematic for vehicles that use low velocity shells like HE, HEAT, HEAT-FS, and HESH where the drop of the shell is severe enough that small differences between the displayed range and actual range will result in a missed shot when aiming at targets that are further away. The degree of inaccuracy for visual range-finding is also directly related to your gunner's range-finding skill. As an example, at base level any range estimation beyond 400m will be off by ±50m which with low velocity shells can make it unhelpful for long range shots.
Optical Rangefinder
While coming in a few different forms, such as the stereoscopic and the coincidence rangefinder, optical rangefinders can be found on many tanks. They begin to become more common on post World War 2 vehicles but exceptions do exist. These were more accurate than visual estimation especially out to longer ranges. In game optical rangefinders are a clear improvement. The optical rangefinder has an increased maximum range and decreased maximum error over tanks without ranging equipment, with their maximum distance topping out at 2km, and substantially faster at only around three seconds
Laser Rangefinder
Laser rangefinders are the most common form of range-finding equipment in modern tanks. It is often part of a larger Fire Control System, a computerized system that allow a tank to automatically adjust the gun to compensate for (depending of the particular system) distance, weather, target movement, and/or projectile type. In game the laser rangefinder is the best available being the fastest, most accurate, and having the furthest maximum range at 5km. It takes roughly 1 second to get the range making it possibe to use quickly, even mid-fight. In addition to this most vehices with laser rangefinder do have some form of fire control system modelled, allowing the vehicle to automatically adjust the zero of the gun to the range measured making rapid and accurate long range shots much easier to hit consistently.
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