xandalis

... my first manned orbital flight in career mode. This has me more nervous than my first time trying to launch anything when I first played the game... Probably because I know so many of the horrible deaths a kerbal can suffer, this time. Will Jeb survive, or will Bill and Bob have to go hire a new partner?....

I lost control a few times, and lost a lot of dV to corrective maneuvering, it was a bit on the over-wobbly side. Managed to keep it from disintegrating though. Wound up with a 690-something km apoapsis and 100 dV left while the periapsis was still sub-orbital, while at about 230km up. The second launch I ran into a similar issue, but still got enough science out of the probe's in-atmo experiment. Third launch I finally had RCS available for designing, which greatly helped the late 2nd stage ascent control. I suspect I'll have one or two more "start overs" before I get a better idea of just what I should be aiming for on the RPL tech tree...

Finally starting to get the hang of this, I think. Here's my first few launches, three of which made it to orbit. edit: and it seems the album isn't showing up... standby. Okay, well here's the link to the album then. *thwacks forum* http://imgur.com/a/eb4Dx#0 Oh, and this is only counting launches from the current career mode save I started after sorting out installation problems I ran into. Total launches... I've probably tried around 20, maybe 4 of those previous launches even made it out of atmo. Yay rocket disintegration.

I've run into an odd problem, seemingly out of the blue, while running RO&RSS: stock manned pods have a 407m/s lateral velocity, while sitting still on the pad. No clue what's causing this, but it happens every time I try to use one, since it first began. I've tried a clean re-install of all the required mods, and any of the associated patches/config tweaks. Should I go through starting with just stock+RSS and build up until it happens, or has anyone else encountered this and knows what the likely fix is? Edit: Found the problem. I'd installed TweakableEverything, and hadn't been trying to use the parts it seems to break until yesterday or so. Yay! Now I can get back to trying to get anything substantial into orbit...

Thanks, totally missed that one. Now I just need to get a javlin into orbit... Or enough launches that generate science 'till I get to struts... Or longer tanks...

Alright, finally giving RSS/RO a go. So far, finding it very interesting. One problem though, which I'm not sure if it's something I didn't install correctly, or a case of PEBKAC: the remote tech "mission control" site looks like it's right along the equator in South America... Is it supposed to be there? Is it time to finally figure out the ins&outs of RT's flight computer?

Actually, when MM is installed (and any MM dependent mod, I tried different combinations, all caused this problem under MM 1.5), this happens. However if the .dll is the ONLY thing other than the Squad directory in GameData, it doesn't cause the problem. So, it is the current version of MM (by process of elimination). Also, I did try the method you suggested, no dice either. I discovered this after updating from a fresh install, with the most recent versions of the mods I planned to use (and had used successfully in combination before). Procedural Wings came with a 1.5 version of MM and that's when I discovered the problem initially. I've already let them know over on the MM thread.

I'm really only making an "educated guess" on it, since I haven't tried RSS yet. Either way, I hope it's easier to find and fix the cause, now.

I've found a problem with the current release: it breaks anything above 2-fold symmetry for SRB/boosters, causing the staging icons for the "extra" SRBs not to appear in staging until launch (and then not in the correct stage). I narrowed the cause down to this version, by only having a MM dependent mod and this version of the .dll installed. Happens every time, regardless of which dependent mod is used. I can work around this problem by manually adding/copying single SRBs, but of course that gets tedious very quickly when dealing with multiple sep motors or other "after design" additions of SRB type parts to existing symmetry.

Okay, found a problem. None of the current config packages include a copy of modulemanager.dll. I've tried adding the most recent version manually, however that winds up breaking all SRB symmetry above 2 fold. Only two of the 3+ boosters will appear in the stage in the VAB (No single/numbered icon mixes), and only appear on the launchpad when launching (and not necessarily in the correct stage). That last bit isn't a bug caused by this mod though. It appears to be caused by the most recent version of Module Manager.

Your main problem is that the CoL is way off for your CoM. Your CoT looks off as well. Just like for rockets, you want all those as close to being exactly on the same axis as possible, only for winged vehicles you also need to ensure the CoL has close to a 90 degree pitch compared to the center line of the craft. Also it's best to have it either dead-centered with your CoM, or just slightly behind it (generally, actually if it's not perfectly centered you want it to be closest to where the CoM will shift as you burn off fuel mass to maintain stability). It's tricky, as just about every tweak can change one of the other two Centers you need to account for. As for design notes, use the reaction wheels (SAS) in-line, not where you have them. One, they won't help very much for craft stability if you're having lift problems. Two, if you need the torque for maneuvering in vacuum, you're probably better off going with RCS nozzles (which will also help for maneuvering at higher altitude as control surfaces start stalling). Again, it's a tough balance designing a viable SSTO in the beginning. Also, about your CoT: just because the builder shows it at one location when using mixed propulsion, does not mean that is where it will be in effect when using only one at a time in flight. Yank them off and see where it is for each type as you put them on (one type at a time), you may have to adjust placement to maintain a CoM-aligned CoT, even though the editor will tell you differently.

Either the server (I suppose) has to have mechjeb installed or listed (I haven't looked at that part of it, so no clue there to be honest), or you can go into the stock parts files and add mechjeb functionality to stock parts, since the plugin is run on your own client. I'd go for the latter option, as it ensures you won't accidentally forget to remove the case/pod from any otherwise stock builds you'd want to use on a server.

Not quite. It depends on the following: if you put those 6 cells in serial, you'll have a 240kVA system that only has 25 amps (if they're lithium-ion cells, they might burn, or they might blow up if overtaxed. Or both). If in parallel, you'd have a 40kVA system that can output 150 amps (the one you'd want for your office for an hour's backup time). I'm not saying that "batteries" capable of supplying the main operating power of a spacecraft are small/light. But between hydrogen/oxygen power cells (used during the Apollo missions for example, also I believe the origin of the jokes involving dehydrated water) and "dry" storage ("batteries") that's what they got by with (including some solar power to recharge the dry cells and thus save the hydrogen cell life for higher draw applications such as the flight computer). Ultimately, going as far as including DC/AC theory into the workings of the game is a bit overboard though. I just would like to see something other than using extra generators as a way to increase MJ capacity on board, if possible. Which, of course, if we went by straight numerical conversion, something like the stock Z-4K would only hold about 4 MJ. So, going that route would of course be payload inefficient. But again, my point of reference is to the mod's parts, not stock. In my head, I was picturing something about half the size of each reactor (since they have whopping storage compared to a similar sized stock battery). But if not, I'll just carry on and figure out how to use what's already there to best potential. Sounds similar in concept to Star Trek's EPS conduits/grid. Would definitely fit in (I think, anyway) comfortably right next to the alcubierre drives.

Granted, I was talking about in comparison to the reactor weights/sizes, not to the stock batteries. Also, the extra power regulation components in something like a UPS add to the weight/size considerably when dealing with high voltage/amperage components. Incidentally, I serviced a range of wet/dry batteries during my days in the US Navy (when I wasn't fixing aircraft comm/nav gear). Very few large "batteries" are actually single-cell units. In your example, you could build a bank that provides 240kVA, out of 6 of those 40kVA units. You'd only need one set of protection circuitry though, so a single "unit" built of 6 40kVA cell units would weigh less and take less space (granted, not by a lot) than 6 stand-alone 40kVA units in a bank array.

So far I am really enjoying this mod+career mode (all my heavy testing has been done in a sandbox game). Though I'm wondering, any chance of seeing some MJ-grade capacitors/batteries? Using standalone generators of course works currently, but it would be nice to have a lower-weight/smaller form-factor option for power storage.

Just tested after reinstalling, no change in behavior. Oh well, in the meantime I'll just stick with the nuke-sat version in preparation for science lab deployment(s). Still, love this mod so far. I can't wait for B9 to get their bugs worked out, I'm looking forward to seeing how they fit together (they look like a perfect style fit for each other, imo).

Win7 64 Ultimate. Will try a reinstall and see what happens.

Can't get my log file posted right now, having difficulties with my cloud at the moment, it seems. No red text, but yellow, as exampled below.

... curse my confusion of which is the planet and which is the star. edit: okay, so moved one of them to low kerbol orbit with hyperedit. Still no power unless it receives it from a nuke-powered sat that I also moved (by mistake) to the same orbit. Though the panels each read about 4.2k of electric charge being generated, each. So, no idea.

Yup.

Aye, there's two of those model right next to each other, less than 300m apart. Neither of them (if I point the appropriate end towards the other satellite on each) send or receive power. If I point the correct part towards a reactor-powered version, then they simply act as relays and nothing more. Which is fine, I could just modify the design to use the passive panels and shed the radiator/batteries, etc.

Hmmm, didn't ever see your response, Fractal, sorry then. As for "nothing happens," the transmitter shows zero MJ, and a nearby (like so close it's loaded by default) ship with receiver will show 0 received. Again, if I forego solar power and slap reactor/generator combinations on, they function and transmit/receive power. I don't mind going with not-quite-indefinite platform lifespans by using nuke reactors (I could even design them to be maintainable rather than just replace once they exhaust reactants), but am just confused as to why I can't get it working through solar power. I've seen that with the reactor variants, power transmitted/received also depends partially on alignment (ie, the specific parts in question have line of sight to each other, not just "ship to ship" LoS). While not shown below, both TX/RX components read as activated with 0 beamed or input power, and 0 links for receiver. There are other ships with transmitters having LoS to the sat shown below. example:

Alright, trying again since no one has addressed this that I've seen: How exactly do you get the microwave power parts to work properly? The OP says they can be powered by solar power, but when I make an array with just the microwave transmitter, some batteries, and solar panels, nothing happens. If I instead slap a reactor/generator combo on, they work. What gives?

Okay, so I'm trying to figure out the microwave relays, and I seem to be missing something. I'm not getting any power transmitted or received, when building a sat with just the transmitter, strut for the body, radiator, and some solar panels. The only way I've managed to get one of these things functioning, is by slapping a reactor/generator combo on one.

I'm having a similar issue: With B9 installed, I get crashes when switching between VAB/SPH and launch pad/runway, regardless of what parts are involved. After looking over one of the crash reports that did get generated (several cases where it crashed with no report), it appears that MechJeb is the cause. However, if I uninstall B9, MechJeb and my other installed mods work fine. In the past, I've had no problems with having B9 and MechJeb in at the same time. Several other reports point towards memory allocation errors (crashes that just trying to load the VAB/SPH after resuming the save). Link to .zip with two crash reports (on dropbox)