Antennae

[RocketScientistsSon]

Is there any reason to use one of the other antennae besides the Communotron 16? The other ones just seem bulky and resource suckers comparatively. What are your thoughts?

[DeMatt]

There is a display bug with the antennas in stock - while the larger ones do cost more electricity to run, they actually transmit a lot faster.

If you're using RemoteTech or AntennaRange, then there's more purpose to the larger antennas due to their longer ranges.

[AlexinTokyo]

In stock, there are two reasons to use the more advanced antennae; aesthetics and speed.

It appears (from the extended part display in the VAB/SPH), that the advanced antennae are slower. However, this is a bug. For things like Gravioli and Atmospheric Scan reports, the transmission time is significantly faster with the more advanced antennae. They are more expensive in terms of charge per packet, so if you're not worried about time, the Communotron 16 is still technically better.

[Foxster]

As its the difference between taking a few seconds to send data and a few seconds more then I agree there's little point in using other than the Communotron 16. The others need more power and can drain your batteries, leading to longer transmission times.

Don't choose the DTS-M1 though. The other two antenna are massless, whereas it weighs 0.03t as listed.

[flashcactus]

No, in stock there is absolutely no practical reason to, as the only advantage is speed but it's negligible.

To alleviate this and make antennae make sense, our good friend toadicus made an awesome mod called AntennaRange. Check it out!

Edited January 22, 2015 by flashcactus