Why would I use anything other than the best relay antennae?

[sweatbox]

I have a contract to put a satellite in orbit around Eve and I just got to thinking this question. I have almost all the communication parts unlocked including the RA-100 which I have been using for almost every satellite since I've unlocked it.

Why would I ever use one of the smaller antennas I have now other than for some personal restriction on not just always using the best part for something, or intentionally trying to make a satellite that's smaller than necessary? I just think it's a little unfortunate that, at least to me, it doesn't seem like the smaller relays and such have a purpose at all after unlocking the better ones.

 

[Dafni]

Weight savings? Funds? Furthermore aesthetics, size and all that.

Same issue/logic applies to many parts in KSP, actually. Most of all engines come to mind. Early tech tree parts tend to become superfluous later in the game.

Have to build a progression into the game/tech tree somehow.

Plus, options are always nice.

 

On top of all that: "making satellites smaller" or rather as small as possible is what a lot of satellite designs focus on in real life too. Just a thought.

cheers

Daf

Edited May 19, 2021 by Dafni

[Guest]

Mass and volume. Big dishes need a big fairing and are hard to fit on anything other than dedicated craft. The dry mass especially adds up, because you need to scale up everything else in proportion. Smaller craft are less unwieldy and more robust, even if you're not pursuing efficiency for its own sake or saving funds, and you might be able to pack smaller relays into a single launch where you would otherwise need two. 

Edit: also, the smallest relay dish is super useful in the late game for remote-controlling probes. I like to do missions to otherwise hard-to-reach places that way.

– As an aside, I think the parts are really nicely balanced overall. There are very few early-game ones that I end up almost never using. The Flea SRB springs to mind, but I do use stuff like the Swivel, the Reliant, the Terrier etc. all the way to the end of my career. They're cheap and simple and if you need a light launch -- the kind a single Swivel with maybe a couple of Hammers can lift, for example -- then what else would you want to use?

Edited May 19, 2021 by Guest

[sweatbox]

1 hour ago, Dafni said:

Weight savings? Funds? Furthermore aesthetics, size and all that.

Same issue/logic applies to many parts in KSP, actually. Most of all engines come to mind. Early tech tree parts tend to become superfluous later in the game.

Have to build a progression into the game/tech tree somehow.

Plus, options are always nice.

 

On top of all that: "making satellites smaller" or rather as small as possible is what a lot of satellite designs focus on in real life too. Just a thought.

cheers

Dag

I think you're right actually. I thought about it some more and decided to try and make a smaller probe than I normally would, and I actually had a lot of fun prototyping designs and trying to work within those constraints. I decided to try and use elements incorporated into the MRO in my design and in general found myself enjoying the process more.

Thanks for the insight.

[Jack Mcslay]

I make it like this:

RA-100: Solar orbits only. Their large size makes it hard to launch more than one satellite at a time, so I send a few of them between the orbits of Jool and Dres and others between Moho and Eve
RA-15: Connects to other planets via the aforementioned RA-100 array. I can easily send multiple satellites in one launch by putting them into MK3 cargo bays. Also recommended for a Jool comms array.
RA-2: Comm array for medium-sized planets and large moons. You can easily stuff a entire array worth of satellites in a single fairing or large MK3 cargo bay, launching a whole comms array in one go.
HG-5: Comms array for small moons. Stuff a bunch of them in storage units and build satellites on location.

[Geonovast]

For me it's what makes more sense in my headcanon.  I disklike putting relay antenna on probes unless they're a dedicated relay satellite.

I'll typically do 3 or 4 sats around a planet each with an RA-2 or RA-15 and then put a sat with an RA-100 in a ridiculously eccentric polar orbit with its AP as directly over one of the poles as possible.

Satellites that are for science or exploration only get direct antennas, as relaying signals is not their job.

[Guest]

I usually send one RA-100 to a high, inclined orbit around each planet. They will form the solar network, and will also be able to reach Kerbin by linking through each other if they're eclipsed by the planet they're orbiting. All other relays are RA-2 or HG-5 (for small moons or remote probe control). I don't usually put them in solar orbits, mostly because I can usually send them to a planet in a launch that delivers other stuff there too.

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Brikoleur said:

Mass and volume

This is the only reason I can think of. And personal design choice; I like the antennae that fold up myself even if they aren’t the most powerful.

[Dafni]

4 hours ago, Geonovast said:

For me it's what makes more sense in my headcanon.  I disklike putting relay antenna on probes unless they're a dedicated relay satellite.

I'll typically do 3 or 4 sats around a planet each with an RA-2 or RA-15 and then put a sat with an RA-100 in a ridiculously eccentric polar orbit with its AP as directly over one of the poles as possible.

Satellites that are for science or exploration only get direct antennas, as relaying signals is not their job.

I like your way of thinking there.

32 minutes ago, Brikoleur said:

I usually send one RA-100 to a high, inclined orbit around each planet. They will form the solar network, and will also be able to reach Kerbin by linking through each other if they're eclipsed by the planet they're orbiting. All other relays are RA-2 or HG-5 (for small moons or remote probe control). I don't usually put them in solar orbits, mostly because I can usually send them to a planet in a launch that delivers other stuff there too.

I like your logic too.

[sweatbox]

8 hours ago, Geonovast said:

For me it's what makes more sense in my headcanon.  I disklike putting relay antenna on probes unless they're a dedicated relay satellite.

I'll typically do 3 or 4 sats around a planet each with an RA-2 or RA-15 and then put a sat with an RA-100 in a ridiculously eccentric polar orbit with its AP as directly over one of the poles as possible.

Satellites that are for science or exploration only get direct antennas, as relaying signals is not their job.

I do like this. I think I am going to adopt a similar mentality going forward when designing probes if only so the game is a little more difficult/fun for me