Emergency Electrical Supply

[stellarator]

Have you ever arrived at a planet and its solar panels are broken during landing?

Has your entire mission has failed due to lack of electric charge?

Stellarator has the solution to your problems.

Have you ever seen the movie "Pandorum"? In it, beside each panel, there was an alternator to generate electric charge in case of emergency at the main supply.

The idea would be to do that a Kerbal on EVA could be able to generate electric charge by clik right in a battery.

Of course it would not be a very large amount, but enough for some small task (10 EC, for example)

What do you think?

[Kasuha]

There's the PB-NUK if you need an emergency power supply.

Also, many rocket engines and jets produce electricity when running. Put two engines back to back and you got a generator you can turn on whenever you need to generate electricity using fuel.

And let's not forget that you can disable a battery and it will then hold its charge indefinitely.

I don't see need for any more emergency devices.

[stellarator]

I explain my case more clearly, this is a personal experience. Launched a mission to Eve. Draws to the orbit and enters the atmosphere smoothly and the spacecraft separated from its propulsion system, leaving a small capsule without engines, only with scientific instruments, solar panels and a battery.

At 300 meters from the surface, the electrical supply is depleted and reaction wheels fail, throwing the ship. Touching earth with a heading of -45 degrees, solar panels are broken and that ship, whose sole mission was to convey a small report on the surface to complete the "Explore Eve" mission is lost. As was manned, if I had a system like I described, it would not hurt, a Kerbal would activate the alternator and could finish the mission.

[Kasuha]

The device you are asking for is just another part - a part that has some mass and some electricity output. That part is called PB-NUK and is already in game. It cannot be switched off but I believe that should not be a problem.

[Wanderfound]

Alternately: use the right click tweakables to disable electricity supply on either your battery or your cockpit/pod/probe core. You now have an emergency reserve supply; keep it turned off unless you need it, and get the solar panels deployed ASAP if you do.

[John FX]

I`d like to assume the solar panels have a small battery that is just enough to open and close them twice. Then it could always be extended.

no new parts, all the function.

simples.

[vexx32]

Honestly, the thing about emergency batteries is twofold, for me:

1. In real life (yay, realism!) they have to be manually added and planned in to any mission. Always have backups. Have backups of backups, if necessary.

2. You can very easily make your own backup batteries. Simply add a battery or two extra, and use Tweakables to disable them from the outset, only enabling them if you end up needing them.

I don't see the point in foolproofing everything -- it would make planning anything rigorously a complete waste of time, when all the "oops, what if I forgot this" scenarios are gone. Proper planning is not a bad habit to get into, even in games, in my opinion.

[Kasuha]

I`d like to assume the solar panels have a small battery that is just enough to open and close them twice. Then it could always be extended.

no new parts, all the function.

simples.

I'd just allow it anytime. They can deploy by a spring and only need electricity/functioning probe core to retract.

AFAIK if you have the ship manned you can deploy them even with no electricity.

[Red Iron Crown]

A fuel cell part that consumes LFO and produces electricity might be useful at times, especially if it arrives earlier in the tech tree than the PB-NUK or solar panels. I know it can be simulated by placing alternator equipped engines back-to-back but that delivers very little Ec per unit of fuel, I would expect a fuel cell part to be much more efficient.

[Capt Snuggler]

A fuel cell part that consumes LFO and produces electricity might be useful at times, especially if it arrives earlier in the tech tree than the PB-NUK or solar panels. I know it can be simulated by placing alternator equipped engines back-to-back but that delivers very little Ec per unit of fuel, I would expect a fuel cell part to be much more efficient.

I think this is the best solution. the part should have a weight penalty though.

[Random Tank]

Lack Luster Labs has some fuel generators in it, but for some reason they only use LF but work everywhere... I changed it so they use oxidizer too: the small one use 1 LFO per hour, produces 10e/sec and weighs 350kg; the big one uses 3 LFO per hour, produces 30e/sec, and weighs 1t. The amount of electricity they produce is quite high, but you have to compare them to a solar panel that weighs less and doesn't need fuel...#

Also, another thing that LLL has that I would like to be in stock is windmills; takes in intakeAir (or intakeAtmosphere) and produces electricity; reasonably heavy, only works in atommosphere, but works without fuel.