RTGs and what are they good for?

[Fizwalker]

Nothing! Huh! --Sorry I got that song stuck in my head...

Seriously though, in the VAB they show that they produce power, but I don't really understand how to use them. While in flight, the only stats they show are efficiency and temperature. Is there a trick to using them? How do they work?

Edited June 20, 2014 by Fizwalker

[KvickFlygarn87]

Nothing! Huh! --Sorry I got that song stuck in my head...

Seriously though, in the VAB they show that they produce power, but I don't really understand how to use them. While in flight, the only stats they show are efficiency and temperature. Is there a trick to using them? How do they work?

They do produce power - or at least they should. Are you sure they don't generate power?

[GluttonyReaper]

RTGs produce power continuously, although less than solar panels around Kerbin. They are generally useful for unmanned craft, just giving them enough juice to never run out and go offline. Just put one on and it should work.

[SlimeCrusher]

Basically you put how much you want on your ship (You may only need 2, but if you aren't sure, add 4 or more) and they generate power for you! you don't have to deploy them or anything, just stick them on the side and enough for almost any mission! (Call 214761215 to buy some!... Oh, so this is not a TV offer?)

They are better than solar panels, BUT, they weight more

Edit: Oh lol, got ninja'd

[Fizwalker]

Thank you for the replies.

Kvick: On Kerbin, during system tests, they don't seem to, however, on a satellite I sent to minmus (to be fair, was smaller and had less of a demand for electricity than the satellite I've been running system tests on), it seemed to work fairly well. So, I was wondering if there was a trick to using them more than just slapping a few on and they work. Edit: I am not sure--I've never really used them before now. This just seems to be my perception of them so far. I figure it's better to ask a question here, than throw up my hands and say "Impossibru!"

Gluttony: So I take it that they would become even more useful for probes and such going to the outer system planets? (I get the impression that solar panels work poorly the farther from the sun they are.)

Slime: Aren't those TV offer numbers usually 800 numbers? Or is this the new gauge-you-for-all-you're-worth advertising gimmick?

Also, does anyone know of a mod that helps you see how much power your ship/probe/satellite requires to run?

Edited June 19, 2014 by Fizwalker

[Claw]

Yes, like Gluttony said. No need to turn them "on." They always produce power.

How many you need will depend on what you are doing, how much battery you are taking with, and how fast you want it to recharge. For small probes that spen a lot of time in the dark, they are great.

Better than solar power, they always generate power at a constant rate. The downside is (as previously posted) they weigh more than the solar panels and produce less power. So that's where you need to make your choice. Although remember, there's nothing stopping you from using both an RTG and solar panels.

I know there is a mod, but don't recall the name off hand...

[Red Iron Crown]

Also, does anyone know of a mod that helps you see how much power your ship/probe/satellite requires to run?

Fusebox.

10char

[GluttonyReaper]

Gluttony: So I take it that they would become even more useful for probes and such going to the outer system planets? (I get the impression that solar panels work poorly the farther from the sun they are.)

Indeed! It's not that big a deal yet, but around Jool, solar panels only produce about half the electric charge as they do around Kerbin. Presumably, once Squad adds some more planets further out, this will be far more problematic. Oh, and if you were wondering, that efficiency doesn't actually do anything yet, so don't worry about that.

[Kasuha]

I consider RTGs an essential part. They produce way less power than solar panels but they usually produce enough power to keep even rather large ship active, and they work in any ship's orientation or when the ship is shaded by a planet.

The only use where they cannot replace solar panels is for powering ion engines since their power consumption is way too high. They're also kind of uncomfortable for science transmissions.

You need at least minimum battery capacity on the ship so they have where to store their production. That's usually no problem since all command pods and probe cores have some battery capacity, but you can run into problems when building a rover if you forget to add at least one battery. That's no different from solar panels, though.

[Fizwalker]

Ok, I guess the next question to ask is that the stock RTG states that it produces 45ECs. Over what time period does it do this?

[sal_vager]

It generates 0.75 EC per second according to the Wiki

[Pecan]

That would be indefinitely, but it's 45/min not sec. The description says 'decades' but I don't think anyone has reported one ever decaying.

[Kasuha]

Ok, I guess the next question to ask is that the stock RTG states that it produces 45ECs. Over what time period does it do this?

It is all there:

Edit: okay, I probably misunderstood.

There is no decay of the production so it produces that charge indefinitely.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Kasuha

[Fizwalker]

Ooops >.< I feel kinda silly now Kasuha...

[RidingTheFlow]

They are very good as back up power, you never know when your battery goes flat because you've spent too much time in the shadow - and you lose control.

Once my battery went flat because panels were shaded by dropped stage, and I wasn't able to adjust orientation because obviously control was lost...

[cantab]

Stick them on and they act as a slow power source, keeping your batteries topped up. They're 100% reliable: unless they become physically disconnected they will always keep your craft powered. As such, IMHO they should be put on any craft heavy enough to not worry about the weight. Solar panels might be left undeployed, and OX-STATs can still end up shaded.

As for "tricks", well rotate them so they sit flush with the surface they're on for a sleeker look, and they weigh the same as a QBE and a similar amount to other probe cores so you can use that for balance instead of taking a pair of RTGs.

[LethalDose]

Other uses for "back up" power included landing on the dark side of moons and planets, where the panels can't get light, or landing on bodies with atmosphere, where the stat panels can't be oriented properly and the retractable panels fall apart.

For comparison, the RTG weighs a little more than a Z-1k battery bank (0.08 vs 0.05) or about as much as 4 x Z-400's. So if there are situations were you need steady power for longer than about 1000 - 1600 EC's will last you, the RTG may be a better choice. It just doesn't do big "bursts" very well.

Edited June 20, 2014 by LethalDose

[Apollo13]

I use one RTG as my backup to solar panels. Solar panels supply the main electrical needs. The RTG prevents the probe/command module/lander from dying when Kerbol is blocked.

I cannot count the number of times I've launched (with no RTG) and forgot to unfold the solar panels, only to watch my ship die.

[StrandedonEarth]

I pretty much gave up on solar panels after forgetting to deploy them on a Jool-bound tanker. It died outside Kerbin's SOI and I sent another tanker with a small rcs-powered battery pack to catch it and jump-start it. Pretty tricky docking with a drifting, slowly tumbling tanker. In hindsight I should have sent Jeb to pop open some solar panels, it would have been easier.

Now I just slap on a couple of RTG's and a big 4k battery pack and forget about power.

[Rus-Evo]

I only use RTGs and rockets for power. They dont weigh that much.