Which communication system allows for the most science to be transmitted?

[DucharmeHD]

Is it based on bandwidth, because according to the stats on the game, the communitron 88-88 has less bandwidth than the communitron 16? I'm confused as to why the very first antenna would allow for more science to be transmitted than the on that takes time to unlock?

[Claw]

Probably because the game is deeply in development and the antennas are nowhere near balanced yet. The antennas don't effect how much science can be transmitted, only how fast (I think) and how much power they consume during transmission. The resulting science points gained are a percentage cap based on which experiment is being transmitted.

[cantab]

In the stock game it makes no difference. The lower-gain antennae transmit more slowly, but you can run a small experiment, click transmit, and immediately rerun it, there's no need to wait until the transmission finishes. So even in a busy time, such as a Munar flyby, slow transmission needn't be a problem. The only case it would be is if your craft is an impactor and you need to send off the science before it's destroyed.

As regards other considerations, the higher gain antennae use more power. Do try and make sure your battery doesn't run dry when transmitting or the interruption can cost you a little science. Currently the low gain antenna (the red-and-white straight one) and the high-gain antenna (the orange dish) are both physicsless, meaning their mass and drag is disregarded in flight, while the medium-gain antenna (grey curved one) is not. Besides those factors, antenna choice is down to aesthetics.

If you want to boost science transmission, your only option is to use the Mobile Lab. But that's quite big and heavy, and needs a crew, so it's not always useful.

[xtremespino]

Theres no difference currently, but the speed is different and power consumption.

[asb3pe]

Good question, I had the same one looking at the new antenna I just unlocked in Career mode. Comparing the two of them, I was like... how do these stats make any sense?

Then again... I still don't have a good grasp on science yet, so it isn't really any surprise to me when things don't make sense. People keep explaining it to me, but I don't know why it isn't "clicking" in my brain.

I never transmit anything, usually because I forgot to put antennas on my capsule (lol), but why take less science points when you can just return home and get full points? This is the part I just don't get.

Scott Manley showed me a trick in his beginner's tutorial, but I often forget to use it... something like (a) do an EVA, ( take data, © store data, (d) re-enter capsule. This is the important trick to use so that you don't have to transmit stuff, correct?

I've set my landers up like Scott showed - all the science is in its own stage, and after I've landed and done all my science, I go around and have Jebediah collect all the experiments and return them to the capsule. Then I can just detach the science stage as it's now all just dead weight.

Edited June 15, 2014 by asb3pe

[cantab]

I never transmit anything, usually because I forgot to put antennas on my capsule (lol), but why take less science points when you can just return home and get full points? This is the part I just don't get.

A one-way mission is easier. And you can never lose science -if yiu get some by transmitting you can always get the rest by returning later.

[asb3pe]

A one-way mission is easier. And you can never lose science -if yiu get some by transmitting you can always get the rest by returning later.

So you mean you do a lot of probes and stuff like that? Or do you mean that, at a certain point in career mode, you can do lander missions without having any Kerbals on board? Some sort of automatic lander, and you have to transmit everything? Having a Kerbal there means you get crew report and eva report points tho, could you get those with probes and such?

I'm still early in my first game, all I've been doing is going to Minimus and landing at different biomes, each time I come back with 600 science points if not more. Of course, eventually I guess I'll find all the biomes but I haven't even begun Mun yet.

Until I finish my first game I won't really know how much "excess" of science is out there for the taking. Is there plenty, or do you have to visit almost every planet and moons before you have enough science points to fill out the career unlock screen?

[cantab]

I've tended to do a mix of manned and unmanned missions, but then I'm not playing career "properly", I cheated to unlock all the tech so it's basically sandbox but I can collect science. For that matter, I've got a one-way manned mission running, and while I've not done one there's no reason I couldn't do a returning probe.

And yes, once you unlock the Stayputnik you can do unmanned missions, though you'll need to further unlock batteries and solar panels for them to be really useful. Of course you can't take EVA reports or surface samples, though you can take a crew report with an empty command pod provided you have a separate probe core to control the ship.

There's easily more than enough science in the system to fill out the tech tree, even without the asteroids. (With the asteroids there's unlimited science). You can get almost everything, if not absolutely everything, unlocked just from the science on Kerbin, the Mun, and Minmus.