Commnet range issues

[The Aziz]

It's simple: the range is way too short.
KSP 1.8.1 + MH + BG
Modlist: Clickthroughblocker, ForScience, MJ, PreciseNode, Trajectories, TransferWindowPlanner. Tried deleting all except MJ (needed for that one part) but no difference.

What actually happens: Playing science mode, so the KSC (and of course, the tracking station) is fully upgraded, so any direct connection to KSC should give me full signal basically anywhere. And that is true. I have extra groundstations disabled, and as long as I have KSC in view, I have full signal power. Here are my settings:

I still have low tech, so the best relay I have is the HG-5 High-Gain Antenna, which alone should have range of 5Mm, if I read it correctly.

But as soon as I lose KSC and go just a little further, I'm left with almost nothing. Got few more screens of what's happening:

 

I don't think I should lose signal at 5000km with my current setup, right?

Edited January 31, 2020 by The Aziz

[Fraktal]

I have three relay satellites with two HG-5s each, spaced roughly equidistantly in geosynchronous orbit around the Mun, and they have barely enough signal power to reach an antenna-less command pod sitting on the dark side of the Mun. The DSN is way the hell more powerful than the early antennas; you need several to make your relay sats able to talk to each other. Plus since HG-5s are exclusively radial-attached, mounting more than one will cancel out the torque you get for the asymmetric weight distribution.

Consider grabbing the Antenna Helper mod. It'll do the number crunching for you and can visually illustrate your relays' ranges relative to each other's antenna power.

Edited February 1, 2020 by Fraktal