RemoteTech Question, what am i doing wrong??

[ebaydan777]

Hey everyone. I need some help, PLEASE. I am currently using this probe: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/interplanetary-mapping-satellite-v1-1/ and carrying a RemoteTech Remote attachment as well as the extendable antennae and the RF one.

I sent that up after I sent 4 probes up that had both RemoteControl and RemoteCommand modules on them, I thought that this way I could do both. Now I point 2 satellites I have on each probe, where ComSat I points to KSC and the other goes to ComSat II then that probe goes obviously one back to ComSat I and the other dish to ComSat III. And ComSat III would point back at II and also IV. I had this at an altitude of 2868.75km above Kerbin and in 4 quads around Kerbin. I saw no blue line pointing at anything, the only thing I had was my 5th probe with only the RemoteControl attachment that was closest to ComSat III and had a blue line to that device. Why is this occuring??

http://imgur.com/01RABAZ

thanks for your time and help!

[Kimberly]

A RemoteCommand module allows a manned spacecraft to act like Kerbal Space Center; the signal can originate there, so it has to travel less far and there will be less signal delay. That's what you're seeing: you're receiving a signal from the closest RemoteCommand module. You'll only see the connection path for the ship that's currently active.

(There's no point to using a RemoteCommand module on an unmanned craft, as far as I'm aware.)

[ebaydan777]

all the remotecommand modules onboard have 3 kerbals on as well, the ones with only remotecontrol are simple probes.

But i still dont understand. Do i have too many remotecommands and they wont signal to each other, do I need to replace all those with just remotecontrol modules and only leave one remotecommand? I am confused =/

[Kimberly]

Ships will get a signal from the nearest RemoteCommand module if the path would be shorter than a signal from Kerbal Space Center. It makes the rest of the network obsolete; satellites in orbit around Duna won't try to get a signal all the way from Kerbin if they can get a perfectly good signal from a manned station in orbit around Duna. That's why you only see a really short blue line; the signal is coming from a RemoteCommand module that's close. Keep in mind that the blue line is only shown for the ship that is currently active.

All your satellites can receive a connection, right? So what's the problem? Having lots of RemoteCommand ships around Kerbin isn't all that useful, because the signal delay would be short anyway, but you can't really have "too many".

[ebaydan777]

ok so I should just have 1 on my space station (problem is i cant move it and its orbiting to close to kerbin to always be in contact. So should i just remove the remotecommands and only put controls around kerbin, or have 1 command mixed in there too. And would that 1 be the one that I would point at KSC and at my future moon remotecommand, also with a few controls to continue to the route around the mun too.

p.s. thank you for all the help, just new to it.

[Kimberly]

You can have as many RemoteCommand ships as you care to put into orbit, but people usually prefer to take the route that takes the fewest satellites. If you plan to put a manned ship with a RemoteCommand module in orbit around the Mun, you don't need any connection between Kerbin and the Mun; the signal will originate from the Mun-orbiting craft. You'd only need some satellites to relay the signal to every part of the Mun.

[ebaydan777]

so the original signal does not need to come from KSC? I always thought KSC needed to send to a RemoteCommand which then would send off to 3-4 RemoteControl's orbiting kerbin every 90 degrees. Then on the moon another command to receive from the Command on Kerbin, and Controls to the rest of the mun..

[Kimberly]

so the original signal does not need to come from KSC? I always thought KSC needed to send to a RemoteCommand which then would send off to 3-4 RemoteControl's orbiting kerbin every 90 degrees. Then on the moon another command to receive from the Command on Kerbin, and Controls to the rest of the mun..

You're starting to get it. Basically, think of Kerbal Space Center as though it's a ship with a RemoteCommand module, that happens to be located on the ground. That's what ships with RemoteCommand modules do; they act like they are KSC.

[ebaydan777]

definitely makes much more sense , again thank you so much for a help, i love my KSP but i am brand new to this remotetech and its def a fun challenge I've been under to get these around each planet, im just trying to get useful info from the start.

So would it be viable to place a RemoteCommand 2868km, and then 3 more RemoteControls at 90 degree orbits around kerbin, or do I even need the command as KSC has its own. and if I do need that Command probe in orbit, do I need 2 dishes, to point at KSC and take its signal then shoot it to remotecontrol probes 2 and then 2 to 3 and so forth...?

[Kimberly]

definitely makes much more sense , again thank you so much for a help, i love my KSP but i am brand new to this remotetech and its def a fun challenge I've been under to get these around each planet, im just trying to get useful info from the start.

So would it be viable to place a RemoteCommand 2868km, and then 3 more RemoteControls at 90 degree orbits around kerbin, or do I even need the command as KSC has its own. and if I do need that Command probe in orbit, do I need 2 dishes, to point at KSC and take its signal then shoot it to remotecontrol probes 2 and then 2 to 3 and so forth...?

If you place three RemoteControl craft in orbit at 2868 kilometers, you use a halfway decent antenna and they are evenly spaced, you should cover all of Kerbin's surface (besides the poles) and most of the lower than the Mun. There'd be no point to adding a RemoteCommand-enabled ship because the signal delay would only be a few milliseconds, anyway. You seem to underestimate the range of some of the antennas.

[dave4002000]

For my network around Kerbin, i use 4 RemoteControl probes in geostationary orbits. The first one i put directly overhead KSC, then i spaced the others 90 degrees apart. They all communicate to each other using only the Omni antennas. I only use the actual dishes for communicating with probes/ships that leave Kerbin. There's no need to put any RemoteCommand craft around Kerbin. Like Kimberly said, the delay is only a few milliseconds even out to Minmus. Now, putting a RemoteCommand around Duna, however...is a good idea. Because the signal delay from KSC to Duna is several minutes.

[ebaydan777]

awesome thanks for the tip, i think youre right on the underestimating. Ok so basically just remotecontrol's all around until I get to further planets. makes sense!

[ebaydan777]

umm, so I think I have a bug. My blue path line goes THROUGH kerbin, doesn't matter where the probe is around its orbit at 600km, it goes right through the planet and touches KSC...i'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, I just put it in the GameData folder and let it be. I also only attached a remotecontrol part and antennae. Even with a dish it does the same thing instead of connecting satellite to satellite...they just all go directly to KSC

whats wrong

[Kimberly]

umm, so I think I have a bug. My blue path line goes THROUGH kerbin, doesn't matter where the probe is around its orbit at 600km, it goes right through the planet and touches KSC...i'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, I just put it in the GameData folder and let it be. I also only attached a remotecontrol part and antennae. Even with a dish it does the same thing instead of connecting satellite to satellite...they just all go directly to KSC

whats wrong

For the connection calculations, all planets are considered perfectly spherical and slightly smaller than they actually are. This prevents mountains and such from blocking the signal on the planet's surface, but means you'll occasionally see the signal going through the planet. Is this happening when you're like, at the opposite side of the planet from KSC, though? In that case I'd definitely report it as a bug.

[ebaydan777]

yes as i travel through the blue path goes through the entire planet, on completely other sides. I wonder if this is because I have kethane installed too? Not sure but this is probably why I was sitting wondering why my probes aren't connecting, they were all directly connecting to KSC

[Kimberly]

I don't see why Kethane would conflict, but go ahead and report it as a bug in the RemoteTech thread.

[dave4002000]

I run a slew of different mods, including Kethane, and i've never had that issue. There's definitely something screwy going on, but it's not related to Kethane.

[ebaydan777]

well least I dont feel as stupid, I was wondering what the hell was going on when my probes weren't communicating...they were all just directly connecting to KSC no matter what distance or orbit they were at.