[1.0] Figaro Global Navigation Satellite System - Launch a Working GPS System

[Camacha]

What do you readers of this thread think?

I think it would be right to follow Squad's idea about this: users should be able to influence the factors that come into play. Stuff randomly blowing up is no fun. So as long as the extra complexity and errors can be negated by users through certain actions I can not think of a good reason not to do it. It would also be nice if this is incremental, so that users can ease into it, although there might be some ultimate task that requires you to do everything right at once.

I play KSP and use mods like this one because I want to learn about real technology and design challenges. I do not want to be shielded from difficulties you face when actually doing this, but it should be doable without being a real life expert. Facing a proper challenge is fine though.

O yeah, I have been wanting to ask: with kOS going through a new development spurt, would you consider making GPS/latitiude/longitude data only available for the kOS unit when in contact with a proper constellation? I have been working on control logic for a while now, and I feel it would be very interesting if I would have to deal with signal loss and other real life problems.

[PakledHostage]

OK. I'm a bit busy right now in life outside of KSP but I will think about how I could add SBAS type augmentation to the mod over the coming weeks. Maybe I'll have it ready in time for the next version of the game.

O yeah, I have been wanting to ask: with kOS going through a new development spurt, would you consider making GPS/latitiude/longitude data only available for the kOS unit when in contact with a proper constellation? I have been working on control logic for a while now, and I feel it would be very interesting if I would have to deal with signal loss and other real life problems.

The capability already exists but it needs to be implemented by the developer of kOS. I exposed the number of visible satellites plus lat, lon and altitude in response to a request from SirJodelstien for his Persistent Trails mod. Those same variables could be used by the developer of kOS to do what you are requesting.

[kiwiak]

Too bad that i can check my position with engineer redux all the time.

Well i can always choose not to.

But it woudl be nice if it somehow blocked engineer from showing me this if i dont have proper gps fix.

by the way, isnt 23 mb too much for two small parts?

Edited March 8, 2014 by kiwiak

[burglarnoone]

Hi , this mod had a couple issues for me working with 23.5, the satellite gives a Nan error on its electrical readings, which screws with the electrics for other parts on the same vehicle.

For anyone with the same issues. Add the code using notepad etc to the part.cfg file located in the FigaroTransmitter folder.

When you open the part.cfg delete all the lines below maxTemp = 3200, and paste the code below in their place.

RESOURCE
{
    name = ElectricCharge
    amount = 5
    maxAmount = 5
    }
MODULE
    {
        name = ModuleGenerator
        isAlwaysActive = True


        INPUT_RESOURCE
        {
           name = ElectricCharge
           rate = 0.03
        }    
}

No idea if this is the optimal way to restore functionality until the author updates, but it works for me.

[PakledHostage]

UPDATE

I have rebuilt the plugin for v0.23.5 of the game. It has already been posted to Spaceport.

I have not yet implemented support for SBAS satellites although it is on my list of things to do.

The time displayed in the UT field is now shown in Kerbin days, hours and minutes. I haven't had a chance to figure out how to read whether the "Earth Time" setting is set in a user's game, so I have only implemented a work around for those who want to use Earth time. Change the "EarthTime" in the FigaroReceiver part's Part.cfg file to "TRUE" if you would rather have the receiver display times in 24 hour days.

[burglarnoone]

Thanks for the update, it's appreciated.

I'm pretty new to ksp and it's mods, is there a reason why your mod needs to be put in the /parts and /plugins folders, rather than the /gamedata folder, not that it's an issue was just wondering.

[PakledHostage]

Is there a reason why your mod needs to be put in the /parts and /plugins folders, rather than the /gamedata folder, not that it's an issue was just wondering.

I'm not really sure. I haven't paid much attention to how the game has changed since about v0.18 because I haven't really played it since then [gasp!]. In the early days of modding, parts and plugins were required to go into those directories for security. The game limited a mod's access to things like the internet and storage on people's computers outside of the game installation directory. I was aware that some of that had changed but didn't realise that some mods are now installed elsewhere.

In short, it is a throwback to the old way of doing it. I don't think it causes any problems, does it? Indeed the installation instruction template in Spaceport that I use still shows the old way of doing it.

[futrtrubl]

Just three balance issues with the receiver.

Visual balance: It seems you intentionally shift the receiver to the side which to me makes things look unbalanced and also causes issues with CoM balance. For this I set node_attach = 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0

Balance with stock parts: I raised mass to 0.005 as I don't think an industrial space-worthy GPS receiver should mass less than a temperature sensor.

CoM balance with stock parts: Even with it's mass the same as the other 0.005 mass science parts placing this part symmetrically oposite one of those parts unbalances a ship's CoM and causes a torque when thrusting. For this I added CoMOffset = 0, 0, -0.05 to the part.cfg

Edward

[C.A.Sizemore]

So where does this wonderful toy live in the tech tree, but I can'not yet access it in sandbox but not in career mode? How and where should I spend my science? Before launching my Mun mapping fleet.

[Camacha]

In short, it is a throwback to the old way of doing it. I don't think it causes any problems, does it? Indeed the installation instruction template in Spaceport that I use still shows the old way of doing it.

I am just not too sure how long the legacy directory system will be in use. I thought it was already taken out, actually.

[LitaAlto]

So where does this wonderful toy live in the tech tree, but I can'not yet access it in sandbox but not in career mode? How and where should I spend my science? Before launching my Mun mapping fleet.

It's under Electronics, one of the 300-point nodes in the tech tree.

[x_men]

What's stopping me from flying these GPS satellites beyond Minmus, but still within Kerbin's SOI, and form a constellation way out there instead so 1 constellation will serve all Kerbin, mun, and Minmus? I guess what's the range of the transmitter? With 24 satellites in 6 different planes I'm sure even if Kerbin rotates faster than the satellite can encircle it, there's still at least 4 visible satellites at all time, no?

I've just spent 4 hours deploying my constellation over Kerbin last night, and thinking how I can make things a bit easier for mun and minmus, maybe less satellites (12 instead of 24, in 2-3 planes instead of 6), or 1 set of 24 satellites for the whole system...

Anyone tried?

[Ralathon]

What's stopping me from flying these GPS satellites beyond Minmus, but still within Kerbin's SOI, and form a constellation way out there instead so 1 constellation will serve all Kerbin, mun, and Minmus? I guess what's the range of the transmitter? With 24 satellites in 6 different planes I'm sure even if Kerbin rotates faster than the satellite can encircle it, there's still at least 4 visible satellites at all time, no?

I've just spent 4 hours deploying my constellation over Kerbin last night, and thinking how I can make things a bit easier for mun and minmus, maybe less satellites (12 instead of 24, in 2-3 planes instead of 6), or 1 set of 24 satellites for the whole system...

Anyone tried?

I haven't tried, but 10 bucks says it checks for vehicles within the SoI. So a network like that wouldn't work for Minmus and the Mun.

[PakledHostage]

Ralathon would win that bet...

For what it is worth, the mod is intended as a science mod. There are things that I should get around to improving but for now it serves its intended purpose of illustrating that being able to get accurate position fixes in real-time requires infrastructure and technology. The technology behind this mod closely mirrors (and suffers the same limitations as) the GPS and Galileo global navigation satellite systems.

[x_men]

Ralathon would win that bet...

For what it is worth, the mod is intended as a science mod. There are things that I should get around to improving but for now it serves its intended purpose of illustrating that being able to get accurate position fixes in real-time requires infrastructure and technology. The technology behind this mod closely mirrors (and suffers the same limitations as) the GPS and Galileo global navigation satellite systems.

Yes! For science! "Would be" cool if we can use it to autopilot some stuff but that's not what I expect from this mod (my challenged friend would need such bait to carry out this mod). I'm doing it for fun and I also put antenna on my transmitter sat to get them to relay communication too (remotetech). But other thing occurs. I know that with the seismometer you can put 6 of them, 2 at poles and 4 at each 90 degrees increment around equator, and maximize the science gathered when collecting impact data. I'm not sure how accurate it needs to be, but hey if there's a GPS network telling me exactly where I am then I can be <1 degree off. Just a thought...

What's the range of these things though? Can I deploy 12 satellites in 2 or 3 planes, say 120 degrees inclination at geosync orbit or higher, would it still work?

[Mechie_PhD]

Amazing Mod....Thank you!!!

[PakledHostage]

"Would be" cool if we can use it to autopilot some stuff but that's not what I expect from this mod (my challenged friend would need such bait to carry out this mod).

The mod's DLL already exposes position data and whether or not it has a valid fix. Other mods can use that information for their own purposes but it would have to be implemented by the authors of those mods. For example, SirJodelstein's Persistent Trails mod already offers users the option of interfacing that mod with their GNSS systems.

[PakledHostage]

I should add that I appreciate the feedback! It is nice to know that people are enjoying the challenge of launching their own GNSS networks. It makes the effort of developing and maintaining a mod worthwhile.

[diomedea]

I should add that I appreciate the feedback! It is nice to know that people are enjoying the challenge of launching their own GNSS networks. It makes the effort of developing and maintaining a mod worthwhile.

Certainly you deserve to receive some feedback on this excellent addon.

I tend to always find lots of things to do in KSP, so just lately got a window of opportunity to launch my GNSS constellation. Going to try with 6 satellites on each of 4 orbital planes (don't want to copy exactly the GPS arrangement). Here is the first of my satellite carriers in orbit, ready to let the GNSS satellites detach at apoapsis, one at a time in 6 orbits, and then land:

Hope to be able soon to show the whole constellation.

[RayneCloud]

So glad this is still working and being updated,

[Higgi91]

Just found and downloaded this, been looking for something like this for ages and can't wait to try it. Hoping it works ok on 0.24

EDIT: Can I just confirm this is how it works?

Should the test craft (with no GPS) be able to know where it is at all? (Probe btw)

http://imgur.com/IUsPjgW,j5wLb77

And this is how it is supposed to work in the tracking station (I guess because of no GPS, this makes sense)

http://i.imgur.com/j5wLb77.png

Cheers.

...and now got 7 hours of work wishing I was on KSP.

Edited July 19, 2014 by Higgi91

[Entropius]

Just found and downloaded this, been looking for something like this for ages and can't wait to try it. Hoping it works ok on 0.24

EDIT: Can I just confirm this is how it works?

Should the test craft (with no GPS) be able to know where it is at all? (Probe btw)

http://imgur.com/IUsPjgW,j5wLb77

And this is how it is supposed to work in the tracking station (I guess because of no GPS, this makes sense)

http://i.imgur.com/j5wLb77.png

Cheers.

...and now got 7 hours of work wishing I was on KSP.

The way it works is basically like this: A craft needs a GPS Receiver part to see it's own position, but the GPS Receiver part needs 4 satellites with GPS transmitter antennas to be in line of sight. More than 4 also makes it more accurate than with just the bare-minimum of 4.

The way it works is essentially the same as how real GPS works: Trilateration. Therefore, 4 satellites that are tightly clustered in the same place in the sky will result in more error than 4 satellites spread around in different parts of the sky.

[PakledHostage]

The way it works is basically like this: ...

Thanks, Entropius, for jumping in to help out with the tech support!

And Higgi91, you should also have a look at the first post in this thread. There is a FAQ and a couple of videos there that should be useful.

Update for v0.24 of the game is imminent. It usually takes me a week or so to get around to it after I get my hands on a new version, but I am not one of those guys who downloads a new version of the game the second it is released.

[PakledHostage]

Update for v0.24 of the game is imminent. It usually takes me a week or so to get around to it after I get my hands on a new version, but I am not one of those guys who downloads a new version of the game the second it is released.

UPDATE:

I'll download v0.24 of the game later today and will have a look at how to implement a rudimentary contract for building a GNSS network. Maybe some of you here who have played the newest version of the game already can offer suggestions on how much reputation and money should be awarded for launching a constellation around Kerbin?

Hopefully I'll have a new release of the mod ready for early next week (the week of July 28th).

P.S. If someone wants to collaborate with me and take over development of a contract class for this mod, I'd be happy to consider it. Just send me a PM.

Edited July 21, 2014 by PakledHostage

[Entropius]

UPDATE:

I'll download v0.24 of the game later today and will have a look at how to implement a rudimentary contract for building a GNSS network. Maybe some of you here who have played the newest version of the game already can offer suggestions on how much reputation and money should be awarded for launching a constellation around Kerbin?

Hopefully I'll have a new release of the mod ready for early next week (the week of July 28th).

P.S. If someone wants to collaborate with me and take over development of a contract class for this mod, I'd be happy to consider it. Just send me a PM.

I can't take over any development, and I don't play in Career mode as I'm strictly a Sandbox guy, but I can suggest 4 ideas for contracts off the top of my head to whomever would be interested in implementing it.

(1) Obviously a contract for setting up the GPS network on Kerbin should be a thing, but (2) you could have contracts generated for other celestial bodies too. On top of that you could also have (3) procedurally generated ground-truthing contracts. Stuff like “Take a Figaro GPS-reciever equipped craft to these Lat,Lon coordinates to sample the GPS error at that positionâ€Â. Finally, you could have contracts for (4) setting up base-stations, essentially like the ground-truthing idea, but instead you're putting a transmitter-equipped craft there. Probably on mountains or other high elevation spots with good line of sight.