Can't dock. What's the trick?

[Curaodo]

My rover is 1 bloody mm from the docking clamp, why won't it connect?

I've tried lowering the entire ship down on it through several tricks to no avail.

At one point I squashed the rover so bad it glitched itself stuck unto the docking arm, and I went on a trollolo ride into orbit with it that way.

But I wanna go on interplanetary adventures with this baby, I need it stuck guys. What's the trick here?

There's not even the faintest magnetic pull from this clamp o tron jr....

Google is no help

[vexx32]

Make sure the docking ports are oriented correctly (yes, it can be hard to tell sometimes, and most of us have gotten it wrong at some point, to our frustration) and also that SAS is off -- SAS can sometimes override the magnetic pull of the clamps. I can't really tell from that screenshot if the ports are the right way round, but it doesn't quite look right to me, so perhaps not. :/

Also, moved to Gameplay Questions.

[Arran]

On the ground with 0m/s closing speeds the docking ports doesnt seem to connect at first..

I have expierenced this myself occasionally as well with test setups

Try to wiggle a bit, preferable in a vertical motion to get the field activated.. Its a tat annoying but alas its the way how it works..

Sliding 2 ports like this somehow hardly ever seems to get the field working for an connect.

[Flowz0r]

Yeah, while it's a little hard to tell from this angle, it seems like your docking ports are the wrong way around.

[KvickFlygarn87]

Try timewarping 5x for a second and then leaving timewarp again.

EDIT:

@Flowz0r: They're definitely on the right way.

[Curaodo]

It is the correct angle. I just undocked it and dropped it on the ground there to test reconnectivity. Wriggling it up and down will be hard with a rover, I would have to install a whole setup of rocket boosters on it for that, and that was the entire point of the exercise not to. What puzzles me is the complete lack of magnetic force under it. I can let the rover glide on the ground at 0,01 m/s with no effect on it whatsoever.

Starting to think this is bugged. There's no magnetic force. There's nothing. I've lowered the ship unto the docking clamp at a 3 dimensional precision rate of 100% X 100% X 100% and STILL it won't give a HINT of acknowledging that the clamp is there at ALL.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Curaodo

[codepoet]

It is the correct angle. I just undocked it and dropped it on the ground there to test reconnectivity. Wriggling it up and down will be hard with a rover, I would have to install a whole setup of rocket boosters on it for that, and that was the entire point of the exercise not to. What puzzles me is the complete lack of magnetic force under it. I can let the rover glide on the ground at 0,01 m/s with no effect on it whatsoever

I expect that is your problem - when you undock the docking ports do not start to attract each other until they have reached a certain distance seperation first (I think it is 1 or 2 meters. It is in the part config file somewhere).

[Curaodo]

Ok...that's weird. Speeding up time to x5 connects the clamp, but when I turn time to normal again it drops down on the ground again....

[Curaodo]

(I think it is 1 or 2 meters. It is in the part config file somewhere)

Ah! So I have to take off from the ground or drive 2-3 meters away from the clamp first?

Give me a few sec, will check that

[Curaodo]

IT WORKED! Thanks codepoet!

[Monkeh]

I'd like to add another point here as well. I had a similar set up working beautifully at the KSC, a rover attached via docking port on the underside. I took it for a spin at the KSC and drove up again and it re-attached nicely. Sorted, thought I.

Off we went to the Mun. We landed. Rover detached and off we went. Got back annnnndddddddddd, no re-attach. Nothing was bugged or broken. The lesser gravity of the Mun meant the lander didn't sag as much and the port was now a tiny fraction too far away to re-attach. It wobbled back and forth quite a lot but wouldn't lift up and stick.

Good luck.

[RoboRay]

Another way to reactivate the port magnetism is to quicksave and reload. That way, you don't have to move out of range and then come back in.

[blizzy78]

Ah! So I have to take off from the ground or drive 2-3 meters away from the clamp first?

You do, otherwise it would be impossible to undock light craft. The docking ports need a minimum distance to reengage.