parts [1.12.x] USI Exploration Pack - Small parts, big adventure! [v 0.6.0]

[Donziboy2]

This is what it should look like if its a simple electric engine with no controlling electronics:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/42665548/KSP/Modeling/Screenshot_202.png

Wrong.....

I have never seen an induction motor with such a poor torque curve. Granted most of the motors I work with are for Locomotives, Trains and Streetcars. If you apply a fixed voltage to an induction motor to say a locomotive. The torque output will be constant up to the motors saturation region for that voltage and speed. I will send you some links to PDF's with proper torque curves.

[Taverius]

Wrong.....

I have never seen an induction motor with such a poor torque curve. Granted most of the motors I work with are for Locomotives, Trains and Streetcars. If you apply a fixed voltage to an induction motor to say a locomotive. The torque output will be constant up to the motors saturation region for that voltage and speed. I will send you some links to PDF's with proper torque curves.

That would be awesome, although most KSP electric motors seem to behave like very simple DC motors like the ones found on RC cars. I don't know why this is so ...

[Donziboy2]

That would be awesome, although most KSP electric motors seem to behave like very simple DC motors like the ones found on RC cars. I don't know why this is so ...

From the 2HP to over 500HP motors I have seen, they have very similar torque curves. The Tesla curve at the beginning is more likely caused by traction control and inverter acceleration limiting then anything else, if you apply near instant torque to most things they tend to break unless they are made for it. You could destroy a racing rear end made for a 2000HP V8 with a 500HP electric motor because of the near instant torque.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Donziboy2

[vardicd]

Okay, so I built a probe to scan for resources around the Mun, and suffered a puzzling failure of the RCS system.

I was able to use the RCS system through most of my orbit maneuver and then they just locked up. Latest version, 32bit KSP logs and persist: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/drj5gdiz16xp47n/AACSH4H9XBJHhnlaxfMaIEzPa?dl=0

[CrazyOdd]

Sooo... I noticed a visual bug with the AES Pod... the throttle lever (in the iva) goes in circles if you push the throttle up to maximum

Interestingly, the lever is visible outside of the capsule when not in IVA. It actually looks as if the Pilot throttles up by riding a bike or stuff (Sorry, I cant take a video, no idea how to do it)

[RoverDude]

That would be awesome, although most KSP electric motors seem to behave like very simple DC motors like the ones found on RC cars. I don't know why this is so ...

From the 2HP to over 500HP motors I have seen, they have very similar torque curves. The Tesla curve at the beginning is more likely caused by traction control and inverter acceleration limiting then anything else, if you apply near instant torque to most things they tend to break unless they are made for it. You could destroy a racing rear end made for a 2000HP V8 with a 500HP electric motor because of the near instant torque.

Both of you are awesome. I like the Tesla curve as grippiness is kinda an issue, esp. with hill climbs. But I defer to the experts

Okay, so I built a probe to scan for resources around the Mun, and suffered a puzzling failure of the RCS system.

http://i.imgur.com/0knOtxw.jpg

I was able to use the RCS system through most of my orbit maneuver and then they just locked up. Latest version, 32bit KSP logs and persist: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/drj5gdiz16xp47n/AACSH4H9XBJHhnlaxfMaIEzPa?dl=0

Odd - I've had some issues with MechJeb and RCS/controls before. Has the problem reappeared?

Sooo... I noticed a visual bug with the AES Pod... the throttle lever (in the iva) goes in circles if you push the throttle up to maximum

Interestingly, the lever is visible outside of the capsule when not in IVA. It actually looks as if the Pilot throttles up by riding a bike or stuff (Sorry, I cant take a video, no idea how to do it)

Aha! If you have the lever you are on an old version Get the new one - it has some IVA fixes

[vardicd]

Okay, so I built a probe to scan for resources around the Mun, and suffered a puzzling failure of the RCS system.

http://i.imgur.com/0knOtxw.jpg

I was able to use the RCS system through most of my orbit maneuver and then they just locked up. Latest version, 32bit KSP logs and persist: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/drj5gdiz16xp47n/AACSH4H9XBJHhnlaxfMaIEzPa?dl=0

Odd - I've had some issues with MechJeb and RCS/controls before. Has the problem reappeared?

This error has NOT reappeared since I did the clean reinstall of all USI mods.

[RoverDude]

This error has NOT reappeared since I did the clean reinstall of all USI mods.

Yay! I fixed something!

[vardicd]

This error has NOT reappeared since I did the clean reinstall of all USI mods.

Whoops spoke too soon. It came back, but this time I caught what's going on, for some reason MJ keeps defaulting the smart RCS balancer to on, if the design of the RCS blocks are too unbalanced for MJ to balance the movement, it shuts down the RCS completely. Once I burned out so much monopropellant, my craft was too unbalanced.

[goldenpsp]

My Mun/Minmus Biome Hopping science lander Mk1. I was really hoping to make it all out of exploration parts for my first Mun/Minmus trip, but too many parts are way down the science tree. It was getting really tedious trying to unlock enough without leaving kerbin. It has a Karbonite engine and tanks. 3 mini Ka Drills, as well as a generator. The generator was mainly a failsafe as I found in testing when I would time accelerate I sometimes let myself end up on the darkside and lose power. Otherwise the solar panels keep the batteries charged plenty. It fills the tanks pretty fast if I land on a hotspot.

It is overbuilt, with about 2500dV full. But the idea was to be able to gather the science and make it back into LKO where the science will get retrieved via SSTO and then it can head back out to Minmus.

[Fraz86]

I would like to add a JSIExternalCameraSelector module to the PackRat camera, so that it can be used with RPM screens in IVA. The problem is, I need to designate a cameraContainer transform in the module's config. Does the camera model have an appropriate transform for this purpose?

[BananaDealer]

Just a bit of a tip- might wanna add a hardpoint to the little ducted rotor. It doesn't seem to handle symmetry very well (i.e- one rotor is basically flipped 180) and it's really fiddly setting them up separately...

Also might be a good idea to not have the engines set as active straight out out the VAB...

Edited September 14, 2014 by BananaDealer

[goldenpsp]

Just a bit of a tip- might wanna add a hardpoint to the little ducted rotor. It doesn't seem to handle symmetry very well (i.e- one rotor is basically flipped 180) and it's really fiddly setting them up separately...

Also might be a good idea to not have the engines set as active straight out out the VAB...

Read back a few. It has been explained why they are flipped 180 in symmetry.

[RoverDude]

I would like to add a JSIExternalCameraSelector module to the PackRat camera, so that it can be used with RPM screens in IVA. The problem is, I need to designate a cameraContainer transform in the module's config. Does the camera model have an appropriate transform for this purpose?

hmmm not sure what it needs. If you can get me info on what the transform needs to look like (i.e. which direction it should point and on what axis) and log me an issue on GitHub I can add it in

Just a bit of a tip- might wanna add a hardpoint to the little ducted rotor. It doesn't seem to handle symmetry very well (i.e- one rotor is basically flipped 180) and it's really fiddly setting them up separately...

Also might be a good idea to not have the engines set as active straight out out the VAB...

Ironically it handles it fine if you fly it like a plane There should be a patch in soon however for this - though it will break all existing ducted fans so be warned (and I will repeat the warning with the patch). Hardpoints make sense, if you can log a GitHub issue I can add those in. FYI only reason I ask folks to log issues is because I maintain a lot of mods, and I WILL forget things

[BananaDealer]

Ironically it handles it fine if you fly it like a plane There should be a patch in soon however for this - though it will break all existing ducted fans so be warned (and I will repeat the warning with the patch). Hardpoints make sense, if you can log a GitHub issue I can add those in. FYI only reason I ask folks to log issues is because I maintain a lot of mods, and I WILL forget things

Sure it handles fine... If by fine you mean a terrifying ride on a Kerbal-sized flying turnstile! Munfry has endured a lot of "accidents", even a couple of Krakens. But after that fateful ride just minutes ago, he handed in his resignation... Along with a trash bin of green "mystery goo"...

Here's the prototype that came after Munfry spilled his lunch in the deathtrap that was the initial concept:

The "Wasp"

But yes. As long as you keep the designs reasonably sized, the rotors provide just stupid amounts of thrust and control, enabling Cabana Corp. "Wasp" pilots to recover from practically any situations. I just love how KSP models helicopters, even under FAR...

But in any case, you should never attempt to fly a helicopter "like a plane"...

[AetherGoddess]

Any possibility of making the rover parts, less, you know, explody? i'm now scheduling my 4th auxiliary minimus packrat drop. three of those have been because dropped parts blew up after falling from the height of half a kerbal during assembly (on minimus, so <1 m/s). (the 2nd was because of the part resize and the node attachment of framerate doom thing). i'm not sure if this is a KAS thing or what, but 1) i'm running the rehabilitated 0.4.8, which is supposed to fix all those explody grabables problems and 2) other KAS parts (even third party KAS parts, like Universal storage) seem to survive the same treatment, so?

also, did you know the flats on minimus have like, zero traction? i wish i'd known that before putting my minimus science base in the middle of the greater flats. on the other hand, all of my packrats are now RCS rocket powered rovers, how cool is that?

[RoverDude]

Any possibility of making the rover parts, less, you know, explody? i'm now scheduling my 4th auxiliary minimus packrat drop. three of those have been because dropped parts blew up after falling from the height of half a kerbal during assembly (on minimus, so <1 m/s). (the 2nd was because of the part resize and the node attachment of framerate doom thing). i'm not sure if this is a KAS thing or what, but 1) i'm running the rehabilitated 0.4.8, which is supposed to fix all those explody grabables problems and 2) other KAS parts (even third party KAS parts, like Universal storage) seem to survive the same treatment, so?

also, did you know the flats on minimus have like, zero traction? i wish i'd known that before putting my minimus science base in the middle of the greater flats. on the other hand, all of my packrats are now RCS rocket powered rovers, how cool is that?

Traction fix is on the way Re explody stuff - KAS I am affraid :/ I've had freighters crash carrying an assembled packrat with the only thing surviving being... the packrat.

[AetherGoddess]

Traction fix is on the way Re explody stuff - KAS I am affraid :/ I've had freighters crash carrying an assembled packrat with the only thing surviving being... the packrat.

oh the assembled packrat is a rock. i've hopped that thing over a dune and into a cliff and it just bounces off like it's nothing, but the front and back bumpers seem to explode if you breath on them too hard before attaching them. the Chassis parts are a little more durable, and the science crates seem fine. it's weird that the only parts that seem to be affected are the packrat parts. over to the KAS team then.

[RoverDude]

FYI for those interested in seeing the new packrat wheel setup and also some unintended durability tests.... and a bonus tip on how to right over a flipped packrat

[goldenpsp]

FYI for those interested in seeing the new packrat wheel setup and also some unintended durability tests.... and a bonus tip on how to right over a flipped packrat

Heh I see you drive like you VTOL.

That is to say better than me.

[RoverDude]

Heh I see you drive like you VTOL.

That is to say better than me.

Oh I totally meant to do all of that for the sake of science... yeah...

[sober667]

FYI for those interested in seeing the new packrat wheel setup and also some unintended durability tests.... and a bonus tip on how to right over a flipped packrat

by myself i ill probobly fly with jetpach and hit it HARD... or disasemble haul think... dump me

Could be some RPM compability (single screen? two of them?)

Edited September 15, 2014 by sober667

[Taverius]

You should rename the back rack to 'Rollkage'

[mrmcp1]

Thanks for this brilliant mod, I have been spending ages landing on the helipad and buzzing the tower but I was wondering if you could add the option for the electric fans to have a hover function like other parts that use firespitter. I don't know if you think its a good idea or not but its just a suggestion.

[RoverDude]

Thanks for this brilliant mod, I have been spending ages landing on the helipad and buzzing the tower but I was wondering if you could add the option for the electric fans to have a hover function like other parts that use firespitter. I don't know if you think its a good idea or not but its just a suggestion.

Sure, I'll add hover - just log me a GitHub issue please!