Do you need a command point to have a Commnet relay?

[Crixomix]

Hello all. Long time user of the remote-tech mod finally trying out the stock Commnet system. Does a relay need to have a probe core to be able to relay signals? or can it literally be satellite dishes with some power generation and that alone can work as a relay?

[Superfluous J]

I don't know, but I do know it'd be easy to test with the debug menu.

[Geonovast]

I'm going with yes.  Even if it worked, the game would consider it debris and eventually delete it.

[bewing]

Absolutely yes, it needs to be a craft with full control (in hibernation is OK). A relay antenna + probe core is enough, though -- just so long as it has some electricity left.

[Crixomix]

Just now, bewing said:

Absolutely yes, it needs to be a craft with full control (in hibernation is OK). A relay antenna + probe core is enough, though -- just so long as it has some electricity left.

Thanks!

[Bingleberry]

On 2/7/2020 at 11:15 AM, Geonovast said:

I'm going with yes.  Even if it worked, the game would consider it debris and eventually delete it.

I’ve been attaching relay antennae, batteries, and solar panels to stages that I expect to leave in orbit... when I view them in the tracking station, they’re called “relays,” and have the green lines attached to them. Just remember to extend any panels and dishes before ditching the stage, because you can’t control extension without a core

[Geonovast]

3 hours ago, Bingleberry said:

I’ve been attaching relay antennae, batteries, and solar panels to stages that I expect to leave in orbit... when I view them in the tracking station, they’re called “relays,” and have the green lines attached to them. Just remember to extend any panels and dishes before ditching the stage, because you can’t control extension without a core

It seems you are right in that the game will not delete them as debris, it does list them as relays.  I even went back to 1.3 (when I started playing) for the tests and it seems it was like that even back then.  I had just always been told that the game needed a probe core or a command pod in order to not consider it debris.

However they still don't work.  I just ran a few tests in a pure stock game, and there are no green lines.  I built a small craft.  Probe core, couple batteries, and a some solar panels.  On one side was a decoupler.  On the other side of the decoupler was a couple batteries, with a RA-2, couple solar panels, no core.

Cheated it out past Minmus orbit.  Had a nice green line back to Kerbin with full signal strength.  Decoupled the ship, and while the part ejected showed as a relay, the probe core itself with no additional antennas had no probe control, and no lines connecting to anything.  There's no comm lines whatsoever going back to Kerbin from either vessel.

Test Ship, Good comm signal:

After Decoupling: Map mode when focusing on the half with the probe core, with no signal:

After Decoupling: Map mode when focusing on the half with the relay antenna, with no signal:

[Bingleberry]

2 minutes ago, Geonovast said:

It seems you are right in that the game will not delete them as debris, it does list them as relays.  I even went back to 1.3 (when I started playing) for the tests and it seems it was like that even back then.  I had just always been told that the game needed a probe core or a command pod in order to not consider it debris.

However they still don't work.  I just ran a few tests in a pure stock game, and there are no green lines.  I built a small craft.  Probe core, couple batteriers, and a fuel tank.  On one side was a decoupler.  On the other side of the decoupler was a fuel tank, with a RA-2, couple solar panels and some batteries, no core.

Cheated it out past Minmus orbit.  Had a nice green line back to Kerbin with full signal strength.  Decoupled the ship, and while the part ejected showed as a relay, the probe core itself with no additional antennas had no probe control, and no lines connecting to anything.  There's no comm lines whatsoever going back to Kerbin from either vessel.

Test Ship, Good comm signal:

After Decoupling: Map mode when focusing on the half with the probe core, with no signal:

After Decoupling: Map mode when focusing on the half with the relay antenna, with no signal:

Yup, I think the relay lines that I was looking at was a command pod, with a stranded Valentina Kerman in munnar orbit, that had a whole bunch of antennae on it...