Docking Prerequisites?

[Thing]

Hi,

Step by step, what are the required parts and actions required to dock two craft? No matter what I do, docking ports do not engage even when perfectly aligned. I have tried all the different types of port but no luck with any of them. I have seen lots of tutorials but there must be some step which is so obvious that it is not in any of them.

- Is this a known bug for this release (20.2.186)

- Do both docking ports need to be the same size (i.e. can you mate a sr to a junior or vice versa).

- Do the ports need to be rotated in a specific direction to engage the magnets? How to tell other than visually via the exterior view?

- Do the ports need to be powered (i.e. do I need to have a battery system as part of both craft).

- Do both craft need to be manned (i.e. do I need to EVA across a crew member before docking).

- Do I need to set the docking port as the target to activate the magnets?

- Any action I need to perform on the port to engage the magnets (on target or control craft?)

Please don't post links to other tutorials as I have watched a lot of them already and they are clearly all missing something head slappingly obvious - unless you have a tutorial entitled 'Docking Prerequisites' ;-)

Edit: I suspect it might be the rotation of the parts when constructing craft is wrong. Testing...

Setup:

Windows 8 64-bit OEM

Intel Core i7-2700K CPU @ 3.50GHz

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680

8.00 GB RAM

Edited June 15, 2013 by Thing
tidying

[rryy]

- I don't think so, but the Sr. docking ports tend to be more difficult to dock than the other ones.

- The docking ports must be the same size (Sr. to Sr., but not Sr. to Jr.)

- The docking ports do not have to be aligned on the roll axis, but if you do want them to be aligned, use the navball to roll the two vessels parallel to the horizon line.

- No.

- No.

- No.

- All you need to do is get close to the other docking port and the magnetism should engage.

Edited June 15, 2013 by rryy

[ImpulseSpaceCenter]

Hi,

- Is this a known bug for this release (20.2.186)

It's not a bug, I know sometime, after dedocking the magnet does not goes back online and you need to saveload the game to have the magnet back (never happened to me if none of the port were docked before)

- Do both docking ports need to be the same size (i.e. can you mate a sr to a junior or vice versa).

Definitly. Junior ports together, senior ports together, inline/shield/normal togethers (don't forget to toggle the shielded/inlie ones)

- Do the ports need to be rotated in a specific direction to engage the magnets? How to tell other than visually via the exterior view?

They need to be facing each other. on the wiki page (http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Parts#Docking) the docking side of the ports are the side that are at the top of the images.

- Do the ports need to be powered (i.e. do I need to have a battery system as part of both craft).

I don't think so, as you can put docking ports on debris to deorbit them.

- Do both craft need to be manned (i.e. do I need to EVA across a crew member before docking).

probe or manned, it doesn't matter.

- Do I need to set the docking port as the target to activate the magnets?

Not needed, it can help to align, but not neccessary

- Any action I need to perform on the port to engage the magnets (on target or control craft?)

no. Avoid using (A)SAS if possible. Make sure yo approach with low speed (0.1 0.2m/s) else it will bump.

Using chase camera can help. Using the nav ball and camera can help for the alignment.

A screenshot of just before or after it bump can help also.

[Thing]

Solved: it was the rotation of the parts when constructing my craft. Not obvious (for some ports) the when you attach a port to the underside of a craft that the editor does not not automatically rotate the part to snap the inactive side to the craft (or the active side if connecting to another port). Also when attaching ports to the underside of craft i sometimes seem to get bad joins (like the port is attached to the wrong node and is clipped into the object above.