"New Signal Source" alert, but where the heck is it?

[Angus]

Howdy, I'm attempting to chase down some materials from USS's at the moment and I'm having a bit of a problem.

I'll be heading out to the back of beyond in supercruise and the info area at the top right of the main screen alerts me to a new signal source detected. "Great, let's check it out!" I think, but often I can't actually find the source.

It doesn't appear on my Contact list (left panel) and rotating the ship in various directions doesn't seem to help me locate it - then sometimes after a couple of minutes, it (or possibly another one) will show up.

Anybody else experiencing this? My recollection is when I chased down Signal Sources in the past they appeared more or less instantly on my Contact list as soon as I got the initial alert.

 

[Greyza Badger]

Do USS's appear in the contact list or the Nav Panel?
Can't quite remember

 

[TERMINATRIXXX]

Do USS's appear in the contact list or the Nav Panel?
Can't quite remember

Yes, they appear in the left navigation panel. But only for a few moments if you fly too fast, they dissappear and despawn.
The contact list is for stations and other ships.

 

[Jmanis]

Yes, they appear in the left navigation panel. But only for a few moments if you fly too fast, they dissappear and despawn.
The contact list is for stations and other ships.

This one. If you are flying fast, and don't manage to target it before it goes out of 1,000 Ls away, you'll lose it.

 

[Angus]

This one. If you are flying fast, and don't manage to target it before it goes out of 1,000 Ls away, you'll lose it.

It might be that sometimes, because typically I am flying fast, but I have got my finger prepped on the key as soon as I get the alert on the main screen, so I'm not convinced that's the whole story.

I guess I can revise my procedures to see if I can improve things.

So if you guys are USS hunting (I'm currently after Pharmaceutical Isolators) what method do you use?

 

[Riverside]

There is a known issue where if you are travelling in excess of 200c they spawn more than 1000ls away. Get a decent way out & cruise at just below 200c.

 

[TomP]

There isn't any need to go fast when hunting for USS's. Just cruise along gently, away from the main star, then come back in from, say, 10,000ls. You will find what you need.

 

[Rocky-451]

If you're hunting USS, just supercruise at the minimum speed of 30km/s and there'd be plenty of time to check the Nav panel and lock on any nearby USS (some may not even be visible from the front of the ship). At the slowest supercruise speed, you can drop in any found USS almost instantly.

 

[Angus]

There is a known issue where if you are travelling in excess of 200c they spawn more than 1000ls away. Get a decent way out & cruise at just below 200c.

For some reason the song Traveling Riverside Blues just came to mind (Robert Johnson version, obviously) but be that as it may, I will slow down and see how I get on, I was thinking the more space I cover, the more frequently I will encounter USS's but I suppose the reality is somewhat different. Many thanks for your help, all.

 

[Kayweg]

If you're hunting USS, just supercruise at the minimum speed of 30km/s and there'd be plenty of time to check the Nav panel and lock on any nearby USS (some may not even be visible from the front of the ship). At the slowest supercruise speed, you can drop in any found USS almost instantly.

Exactly this.
The thing is, you don't actually "find" USS', they're not persistent, the USS' find (spawn on) you.
The slower the easier.

 

[OfftheRails]

Nav panel filters are great for USS bagging. Shift-left-click-shift and you've got it.

 

[Broon]

It might be that sometimes, because typically I am flying fast, but I have got my finger prepped on the key as soon as I get the alert on the main screen, so I'm not convinced that's the whole story.

I guess I can revise my procedures to see if I can improve things.

So if you guys are USS hunting (I'm currently after Pharmaceutical Isolators) what method do you use?

Search in Independent Outbreak systems for Pharmaceutical Isolators. Use the filters in the Gal Map to make finding these systems easier.

Cruise away from the main star a minimum of 500ls, in deep space off of the orbital plane, and drop into High Grade Emissions USS's.

Alternatively you can find other goodies in the same fashion in other systems. Always search in Independent systems to avoid things like Imperial Shielding (found in Empire affiliated systems). IIRC Core Dynamics Composites would be found in Fed systems. Not sure what pops in Alliance systems.

Civil Unrest = Improvised Components
War = Military Supercapacitors & Military Grade Alloys
Boom = Proto Heat Radiators & Proto Radiolic Alloys
Outbreak = Pharmaceutical Isolators


http://inara.cz/galaxy-components

 

[Monk]

It might be that sometimes, because typically I am flying fast, but I have got my finger prepped on the key as soon as I get the alert on the main screen, so I'm not convinced that's the whole story.

I guess I can revise my procedures to see if I can improve things.

So if you guys are USS hunting (I'm currently after Pharmaceutical Isolators) what method do you use?

I've watched the Navigation panel while going above 500c and I've seen the USS item pop-up and then go away in what seemed like less than a second. Even though it was already highlighted when it came up, it was gone by the time I pulled the trigger. Slowing down fixes this but it makes it difficult to just drop into USSs during a long super cruise...which kinda negates their purpose in that case for breaking up the monotony of a 300k cruise.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

In Soviet Elite, USS find you.

They will show in the Nav panel for a time, but sometimes it's takes a moment from the time the info pop up "New signal source" shows and the Nav panel refreshes.
I typically slow down when I see the info message, and if I don't see the USS will then look for it in the Nav panel.

Had a nice run of USS the last couple nights - +26 Core Dynamics Composites, +12 Imperial Shields, +9 Chemical Distilleries, +21 Proto Radiolic Alloys.

 

[thirstyfish]

Howdy, I'm attempting to chase down some materials from USS's at the moment and I'm having a bit of a problem.

I'll be heading out to the back of beyond in supercruise and the info area at the top right of the main screen alerts me to a new signal source detected. "Great, let's check it out!" I think, but often I can't actually find the source.

It doesn't appear on my Contact list (left panel) and rotating the ship in various directions doesn't seem to help me locate it - then sometimes after a couple of minutes, it (or possibly another one) will show up.

Anybody else experiencing this? My recollection is when I chased down Signal Sources in the past they appeared more or less instantly on my Contact list as soon as I got the initial alert.

Upper right corner of the screen. The info feed. You can also set your navigation tab to allow you to target signal sources.

 

[Roberlin]

Had a nice run of USS the last couple nights - +26 Core Dynamics Composites, +12 Imperial Shields, +9 Chemical Distilleries, +21 Proto Radiolic Alloys.

Are you willing to share which system you were in? If not the name, then maybe the economy and state they're in? Thank you very much!

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

You're going too fast.

It's definitely that.
At high speeds, USSs will spawn at great distances, beyond scanner range, to allow you to scan, and slow down.
But at ultra high speeds, they spawn well beyond scanner range.

This got me a while back too. Throttle down, and the USSs will appear for you.
Don't slow down when you see/hear the USS warning. Otherwise they stayed spawned well beyond scanner range.
You need to be traveling slow.

 

[Twiggier]

For the NAV Panel, if there are a lot of planets in the system and you've selected one far away from you, when the USS pops up it might be on a different screen so you may have to page up to see it.