Dishes idea.

[Kerbal01]

What would you guys think about splitting the dishes into further categories. Each dish could only be providing connection to a fixed number of crafts, so you would either have to add more dishes, or get better dishes with more connections.

[Rath]

Dishes? like food. Not sure what you are talking about.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh you mean antennas. Makes sense, but what reason would there be to be connected to more that on craft/relay at a time?

[CaptainTurbomuffin]

I'd love that, I hope it's planned.

[Slam_Jones]

Included in a mod like RemoteTech, sure.

In stock, though? Basically pointless.

[Alshain]

Stock would be the only place it would make sense. In RemoteTech you have directional antennas and conical spread which solve this issue of being able to use one dish to rule them all. I can't just use the biggest dish for everything because the cone of that dish wouldn't expand out far enough to reach Eve or Duna. Likewise, these dishes can only be aimed in the direction of one planet (unless those planets happen to be close to alignment, but blocking each other) which means you need at least one dish per planet, one for the Mun, and one for Minmus (though the tracking station will cover the Mun and Minmus everywhere except the opposite side of Kerbin from KSC).

The seemingly inferior stock system they are planning won't have antenna direction and doesn't sound like they will have proper conical spread either, so there seems to be nothing but range (and perhaps cost and mass) preventing you from talking to it. Meaning you only need the biggest dish for everywhere. Now, I have no insights as to the actual system so they may have something else in place or planning I am not aware of, this is always a possibility. The OP's suggestion, though even more unrealistic, could impose limits to what the are planning to do so that it forces antenna diversity.

Now we have to talk about 'realism'. Real antennas behave more like RemoteTech. From a technical standpoint, satellites and probes do not maintain constant connection to the base station. Their transmissions are in short bursts. These transmissions are scheduled and since we can predict how long it takes for these messages to travel from the distance they are and the frequency they are, we can have our base stations ready to listen. While it is true only one can talk at a time, that typically isn't an issue. As long as the dish is pointed in a direction where it's conical reception range is in effect it could talk to any of them at any given time, as long as it is only one at a time.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Alshain

[clivman]

My favorite option for comms will be disable the system. Should remain as a mod

[Alshain]

My favorite option for comms will be disable the system. Should remain as a mod

I agree, but I think that ship has sailed. You are getting it rammed down your throat whether you like it or not.

[clivman]

I agree, but I think that ship has sailed. You are getting it rammed down your throat whether you like it or not.

Hopefully it will be an option, otherwise it will ruin every probe replica in the history of kerbalkind

[Rath]

*Pssst* Use relays

[clivman]

*Pssst* Use relays

I'm not setting up a Sat network for a Viking one replica