How can I have an unmanned probe have a connection with a "mother ship"?

[MerlinsMaster]

So I want to have an unmanned probe deployed by my ship that is orbiting Duna (with no connection to DSN), and I want it to have a connection with the ship so that I have full control.  According to the Scott Manley video on the subject, your ship needs an advanced probe core (which I haven't yet unlocked in my career game).  

 

Is there any way to do it without that advanced probe core?

[Foxster]

Manned craft in orbit?

Just a guess - I don't use this stuff, don't see it's point. 

[bewing]

If CommNet is turned on, then to have full control of a probe you only have three choices -- a direct antenna connection to Kerbin, a pilot Kerbal onboard, or an antenna connection to a ship with a pilot, relay antenna, and an advanced probe core.

So, basically the answer is no. To get full control you either need to turn off CommNet, or you need a more powerful antenna, or you need a pilot, or you need a pilot, relay, and advanced core.

 

[AeroGav]

5 minutes ago, bewing said:

If CommNet is turned on, then to have full control of a probe you only have three choices -- a direct antenna connection to Kerbin, a pilot Kerbal onboard, or an antenna connection to a ship with a pilot, relay antenna, and an advanced probe core.

So, basically the answer is no. To get full control you either need to turn off CommNet, or you need a more powerful antenna, or you need a pilot, or you need a pilot, relay, and advanced core.

 

Just to clarify -  is the probe only controllable if it has a link back to Kerbin,  or can it be controlled if it has a link back to a manned vessel with relay antenna, even if that mother ship does not itself have connection to the space cente?

ie.  if the mother ship's relay antenna is strong enough to connect to kerbin  and the probe can get connection to ksc by relaying its signal through the mothership, that will obviously work,   but if the  mothership is out of range of kerbin , can it still control the probe so long as it maintains a link to it? I suspect not..

[Capt. Hunt]

that begs the question,  what about a relayed connection to kerbin?

[MerlinsMaster]

20 minutes ago, bewing said:

If CommNet is turned on, then to have full control of a probe you only have three choices -- a direct antenna connection to Kerbin, a pilot Kerbal onboard, or an antenna connection to a ship with a pilot, relay antenna, and an advanced probe core.

So, basically the answer is no. To get full control you either need to turn off CommNet, or you need a more powerful antenna, or you need a pilot, or you need a pilot, relay, and advanced core.

 

Thanks for clarifying that.  It's too bad, though.  A kerbal in a ship should be able to pilot a probe remotely, imo.

[bewing]

1 hour ago, Capt. Hunt said:

that begs the question,  what about a relayed connection to kerbin?

Yeah, a relayed connection also works -- I didn't list that one, since the OP ruled it out.

 

1 hour ago, AeroGav said:

Just to clarify -   if the  mothership is out of range of kerbin , can it still control the probe so long as it maintains a link to it? I suspect not..

That is the OP's basic question. And yes, you can.

The probe will always have partial control (no matter whether it has a mothership or not), just so long as its battery is not dead and you don't check the "Require Signal for Control" button.

If you design your probe correctly, partial control is enough to do anything you want to do. It's just a little trickier.

To get full control (WASDQE steering and maneuver nodes) in that scenario (no connectivity to KSC at all) takes more. A mothership with a pilot, an advanced core, and an advanced relay antenna.

 

1 hour ago, MerlinsMaster said:

Thanks for clarifying that.  It's too bad, though.  A kerbal in a ship should be able to pilot a probe remotely, imo.

I think it should require a pilot kerbal only, myself. The core and relay antenna requirements make it into something you can amuse yourself with in the late game when your tech tree is unlocked -- but make it useless in the early game when you actually need it.

[magnemoe]

2 hours ago, MerlinsMaster said:

Thanks for clarifying that.  It's too bad, though.  A kerbal in a ship should be able to pilot a probe remotely, imo.

A kerbal can in some settings, if you use an advanced probe core, the flat 1.25 or 2,5 meter ones an pilot in any command module can control probes. 
If you use the MK1 pod or landing can you don't need the advanced probe if you have two pilots. 

You can not transmit science back as I understand but you have full control. 

If your mothership also has an link to kerbin you would anyway full control. 

[FullMetalMachinist]

4 hours ago, bewing said:

I think it should require a pilot kerbal only, myself.

I agree. The way it is now makes it feel like an artificial way to increase the difficulty, while not actually making anything harder, just more tedious. 

[Aegolius13]

I thought it also worked if you had a large lander out command pod and two pilots onboard, even if you don't have the advanced probe core.

[Sharpy]

Eyup, a lot of confusion of what is required for a "modership", a craft with no connectivity to Kerbin that acts as KSC for the probes.

so I did some experimenting.

1. A relay antenna that gets the probe in range(*). There may be nothing to relay with, but it needs to be a relay antenna regardless.

2. A "Probe Control Point" device: In stock, one of: Mk1-2 pod, Mk2 Lander Can, small probe core, large probe core.

3. The number of pilots on craft as specified by the Probe Control Point. Stock:  2 for the pods, 1 for the probe cores. They may be anywhere on the craft, no need to be in these specific pods.

 

*) Control Points are divided into "Single hop only" and "Multihop capable". Only the Large probe core is multihop-capable.

If I understand that correctly, the guided probe must have a direct line to "Single hop only" but can use a local relay network to reach a Multihop-capable one. Say, drop three common relay satellites in Eeloostationary orbit 120 degrees apart, leave the base with one pilot and large probe core on board, and you have whole Eeloo covered.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Sharpy

[bewing]

6 hours ago, FullMetalMachinist said:

I agree. The way it is now makes it feel like an artificial way to increase the difficulty, while not actually making anything harder, just more tedious. 

Well, a big part of the rationale for this whole CommNet thing is to make advanced probe cores and antennas have a meaning in the game. But it's not supposed to push it so far beyond workability as to make it irrational.