Hey!
So first off just wanted to let you know that it doesn't appear that your mod follows the range modifier set in the difficult menu. Regardless of changes set in the range rating multiplier, the same rating is shown in the menu.
Second I just wanted to drop some tips for those of us looking for the most realistic network in a KSP sandbox save, where you are aiming for realistic satellites and comms network instead of just the greatest range possible.
1.) Set DSN Strength to 0.01
2.) Enable additional ground stations
3.) Set occlusion modifiers to 1.0
4.) Set range modifiers to 0.87
5.) Change all antennas to be relay antennas (go into the GameData/Squad folder and change the antenna types to RELAY)
Finally, you need two antennas to do everything on satellites. In the real world the ISS communicates with TDRS (Tracking Data Relay Satellites) over the EHF Ku band using two different antennas, a transmitter and receiver, and the satellite does the same, using one dedicated antenna to receive and one dedicated antenna to transmit. Though all of my antennas are communication antennas, I have my network setup in a way where each antenna is either a TX or RX, with the exception of the high gain antenna, which I have actually changed to be a direct antenna.
For example, let's say we are setting up a 5-Satellite communication satellite network in LKO. The satellite needs to be able to communicate to the ground over high bandwidth and low bandwidth, communicate with other spacecraft over high bandwidth and low bandwidth, and with other satellites in the network to provide relay services in low and high bandwidth. We need two antennas for each of these purposes, with the exception of low bandwidth (in real life we would refer to this as S band) connections to ground, which I just use the high-gain antenna for.
In total we need 11 antennas. One for low bandwidth TX and RX to the ground from the satellite. Two for TX and RX high bandwidth to the ground. Two for low bandwidth TX and RX to other space craft. Two for high bandwidth TX and RX to other space craft. Two for low bandwidth TX and RX between satellites in the network. Two for high bandwidth TX and RX between satellites in the network.
All TX and RX capabilities to the ground use per-vehicle frequencies, so we can control which DSN stations ingest and transmit data to the network. So the low-bandwidth antenna and both high-bandwidth antennas would have their own CommNet frequency unique to their satellite. The other eight antennas would use different but non-unique frequencies.
The result of all this is a satisfyingly realistic communication system. My two LKO space stations are entirely dependent on my satellite network for communication. And like in the real world, there are hostile nations on Kerbin, so only a handful of DSN stations are allowed to communicate with the Satellite network. My two LKO stations also have high bandwidth and low bandwidth TX and RX capabilities, and automatically communicates with the closest satellite. The satellites then either use their high or low bandwidth relay antennas to relay the data, which eventually is sent to the DSN over different antennas.
Stupid complicated I know, but I am having a lot of fun managing satellites and setting up communication windows, etc. In the real world the largest problem we have to deal with for remote vehicle operations IS communication, and I want to thank @TaxiService for making a mod that really takes KSP to the next level, and makes realistic and satisfying satellite management a possibility.
