How To Mobile Refinery

[Bakkerbaard]

So with the help of a bunch of those fancy mods I've been gushing about I am now finally dabbling in setting up a Mün base. I have this one rover set on eight wheels that is supposed to mine ore and make me material kits, but for some reason it refuses to go anywhere manually. I can get it to move using MechJeb's Rover Autopilot, but whatevers means of command, be it Speed Control, Waypoint or Just Do Something You Wanker, it'll first take a hard left to run my flag out of the ground and then finally swerve to flip on it's side. The wheelbase seems wide enough though. 

Anyway, I figured I'd dial it back a bit and just go stationary, but I was wondering if the hole I drill will at some point be depleted. If I've made sure I've landed in an ore-rich spot, can I just sit there and drain resources from the surface?

[overkill13]

Only asteroids can be depleted.  Planetary/moon resources never run out.

[Bakkerbaard]

This I have read somewhere before, but more specifically, what about one single spot? Like when I have a stationary base just drilling along?

[overkill13]

I often create refineries with 6 drills and I have never depleted the resources at any of my stationary refineries on a planet or moon.  

[Bakkerbaard]

Then that's my new plan. Thanks.

[mystifeid]

3 hours ago, Bakkerbaard said:

I have this one rover set on eight wheels that is supposed to mine ore and make me material kits, but for some reason it refuses to go anywhere manually. I can get it to move using MechJeb's Rover Autopilot, but whatevers means of command, be it Speed Control, Waypoint or Just Do Something You Wanker, it'll first take a hard left to run my flag out of the ground and then finally swerve to flip on it's side.

What probe core are you using and how is it orientated?

[Bakkerbaard]

Okay, so it's this... thing. Just... don't mind the look of it. I've been trying go for a Command & Conquer MCV look. Still working on it.

There's a MechJeb core facing forward on the command pod. I'm not sure which way the orientation should be when building in the SPH, but that shouldn't be a big problem if I could drive the damn thing manually on site. I can't make any screenshots there now as it's on the Pink Floyd side of the Mün, but I doubt there'd be anything useful to see even if there was light. All it does when I take off the brakes is gently roll backwards. Mashing W doesn't make it go anywhere.

Much like my OS, it worked when I tested it before deployment, so I'll be damned if I know what's going on.

[Gargamel]

Is the Navball level to the ground? 

Ie is it:  (ignore the extra crap)

If it's anything like:

Or

 

You're going to have a baaaaad time trying to steer. 

Make sure you probe core is oriented correctly, and is selected as "control from here".   If you are using the MJ case for your probe core, the antenna needs to point forwards and be rotated down to be correctly oriented. 

[mystifeid]

Also try to add wheels/attachment points with mirror symmetry so they line up perfectly.

And you could maybe use a beefier aerial. Make sure you have full probe (or crew) control before driving.

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by mystifeid

[Bakkerbaard]

Yeah, because of another reason I decided to stuff two Kerbals in that stove pipe of a control pod and lo and behold, the damn thing drove like a charm. Parallel parked it and everything.

I usually stick my machines full of control points; probe core, Kerbal command pod, MechJeb, hamsterwheels for all I care, so I hadn't run into this problem in a while and forgot about the solution. And much like the rest of my KSP missions, I stumbled cheeks backwards into a solution, by the looks of it, at the same moment you were replying. Thanks for the mental support though.