Realistic (Small) High-Gain Antenna without all the Bulk

[OrbitsR4Sissies]

I loved sending independent probes for study (think Cassini or Galileo).

But one thing that annoyed the heck out of me as someone that used CommSat was the size of high-gain non-relay antenna for small probes. Going Voyager, Cassini or Galileo was no problem with the RA-15 and 88-88, which looked like their real-world counterparts.

But similarly powered use-anywhere non-relay antenna as used on Martian rovers like the Mars Exploration Rovers and the big boy/girls Curiosity and Perseverance? Nowhere to be found. I'd prefer not to send orbiters everywhere for relays, nor would I want an 88-88 hanging off my small rover like an ugly tumor.

Don't mind if there were three types that are good only for local, half-system or all-system connectivity (if the Tracking Station will still exist for deep-space upgrading) and have graduating tech tree costs. Just so we 'd have a part about 1/4 the size as the RA-2, something that can sit comfortably atop the early probe cores, not be so large, or not cause a rover to tip--those would be great.

Appreciate your hard work and looking forward to the game.

[Blaarkies]

A direct connection from Duna surface with a Communotron DTS-M1 is possible to a Tracking station level 2-3. It won't reach when Kerbin is on the other side of the sun, but it does connect when Duna and Kerbin are about 80° apart.

You can also tweak the difficulty settings so that the CommNet range multiplier is higher, then smaller antennae could become 'use-anywhere' parts.

[t_v]

Don’t quote me on this, but don’t the mars rovers need a satellite connection to communicate with the earth? So having a direct connection would actually require one of those big antennas?

[OrbitsR4Sissies]

On 11/6/2021 at 11:01 PM, t_v said:

Don’t quote me on this, but don’t the mars rovers need a satellite connection to communicate with the earth? So having a direct connection would actually require one of those big antennas?

Not generally. The very first Mars rover, Sojourner, was much like its flying technology demonstrator counterpart, Ingenuity, in that both required their lander counterpart for Earth communications. But the MERs, Curiosity and Perseverance have capacity for direct communications, if needed, and use an antenna similar in shape and size (but not in function) to the narrow-band ISRO resource scanner part (but not spinning). What I'm asking for would be 1/4 the size or so as on the real spacecraft.

And yes, a direct reliable connection from Kerbin to Duna required at least 2 RA-2s or DTS-M1s (four would be better). This makes a small MER-style rover VERY bulky. Small rovers are impossible beyond Duna, even with a maxed Tracking Center, without an orbiter relay. I don't want to even talk about how an 88-88 is butt-ugly sticking out of the back of the RoveMate probe for a standalone Jool moon mission. It's simply not realistic.

On 11/6/2021 at 5:59 PM, Blaarkies said:

A direct connection from Duna surface with a Communotron DTS-M1 is possible to a Tracking station level 2-3. It won't reach when Kerbin is on the other side of the sun, but it does connect when Duna and Kerbin are about 80° apart.

You can also tweak the difficulty settings so that the CommNet range multiplier is higher, then smaller antennae could become 'use-anywhere' parts.

Still way too bulky. Let's use stock settings with CommNet enabled. If I wanted to emulate the DragonFly Titan rotorcraft (I've made many for Mars, too), which will not have a relay, I MUST use an 88-88. Nothing else will reach. Obviously, this makes flight awkward, ugly and impossible. DragonFly will be the size of a Perseverance rover.

Edited November 14, 2021 by OrbitsR4Sissies