No connection with RemoteTech 2

[Ippo]

Hi everyone, I may be doing something wrong with RT2 but I have no idea why.

I have a relay satellite high in polar orbit. The relay is always connected to the KSC (well, to another geostationary satellite to be precise) and has a KR-14, which according to the description should go as far out as duna.

I then sent a probe out in space. It has a KR 14 too and it is pointed right at the relay satellite, which is also pointed at the probe, but I don't get any connection.

Am I doing something wrong?

[Mecripp]

As long as your using dish to dish targe and the 1 has a connection you should be good.

EDIT- But if your using target body your to close till it gets to Duna or EVE.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Mecripp2

[Ippo]

I know, that's why it's weird. Both vessels had a dish pointed at each other, they were in range, they were not eclipsed, the relay had a connection to the KSC and both had enough power.

I ended up rage-terminating the probe.

[Mecripp]

Did you just decouple it from anther part that had a probecore ? If so sometimes there's alittle bug and if you goto space center and back or anywhere to get it to unload and back then most the time there's a connection had that happen a couple of times.

[Ippo]

Well, happened again. New probe launched with a KR14. Power is not an issue, not is the line of sight.

Everything is fine as long as I am targeting the geostationary relay that has a DTS1, but as soon as I switch to the interplanetary relay, no connection. The relay has 2 KR14, one pointed to the active vessel and the other one specifically to the probe, but as soon as I switch to that, I lose connection.

[MisterFister]

Perhaps some screencaps would be helpful here. You mention that your relay satellite is in a polar orbit, but line of sight is not an issue? Perhaps try putting multiple satellites in that polar orbit, spaced the same as your keosynch array (same altitude and number.) Then, target all of those polar relays to your probe, and target your probe toward Kerbin with a closer-range antenna instead of the primary antenna designed to work out at Duna.

[Mecripp]

Well, happened again. New probe launched with a KR14. Power is not an issue, not is the line of sight.

Everything is fine as long as I am targeting the geostationary relay that has a DTS1, but as soon as I switch to the interplanetary relay, no connection. The relay has 2 KR14, one pointed to the active vessel and the other one specifically to the probe, but as soon as I switch to that, I lose connection.

active vessel doesn't work out of kerbals SOI

EDIT- active vessel is a joke and needs to be taking out it just mades more problems for people.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Mecripp2

[Ippo]

Perhaps some screencaps would be helpful here. You mention that your relay satellite is in a polar orbit, but line of sight is not an issue?

I will make them asap. Anyway, I made sure that they were in each other's sight when I switched (the relay was deep below kerbin at that time).

active vessel doesn't work out of kerbals SOI

But I was still inside kerbin's SOI when I switched. Besides, the other dish on the relay is pointed directly at the probe, by name.

[MisterFister]

But I was still inside kerbin's SOI when I switched. Besides, the other dish on the relay is pointed directly at the probe, by name.

YouTuber Bob Fitch has documented and described numerous instances of RT2 problems being caused by un-kerballed craft being controllable or not based on what the actual root part is of the vessel. It's important that that the root part be the actual probe core that RT2 is supposed to interact with (I think.)

Regardless, the SelectRoot mod is invaluable for fixing this in the VAB, if it is indeed your problem. This theory would be stronger if you CAN control the craft during launch, but it suddenly becomes uncontrollable after the last staging event, possibly during or after your ejection burn. Since you say here that your craft becomes uncontrollable while still I Kerbin SOI, I suspect it may be involved. Again, detailed screencaps, and careful and thorough description of your method (heck, PM me and I'll take a look at your .craft file) may confirm or debunk this possible explanation.

[Ippo]

Javascript is disabled. View full album

I took some screenshots and uploaded the album. Everything seems reasonable to me, maybe I'm doing something wrong at some place? Also, one of the two DP10 on the probe got detached because of "aerodynamic stresses" during ascent, but I can't imagine that being the issue, considering that it connects to the KSO satellite just fine.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Ippo

[Mecripp]

In your 4th pic it's not showing your Duna relay having a connection how do you have it connecting to your sat network ?

EDIT- If you are using active vessel in you relay thats your problem it's best not to even use it.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Mecripp2

[Ippo]

The relay is always connected to the network (check picture 3), it's just hidden when it's not the active vessel.

Also, the relay has a dish pointed specifically to the probe (picture 6).

[Mecripp]

But in Pic 3 you are on the sat guess you are using active vessel to target it from your kso sat as soon as you can to sat in pic 4 then the one in pic 3 doesn't have a connection because it's not the active vessel.

EDIT- By look at it the Omni Antenna your using would be out of range more then likey and if you where targeting ksc you might not have line of sigh

EDIT- And on pic 6 the probe doen't have a connection, I'm betting on it.

EDIT- We should still see the line to your probe if it had a connection even if it was a grey line.

EDIT- LOL try one thing and then, I'll shut up lol and thats take active vessel out of all your sat's and just use dish to dish and target body and try, I will bet you, Your network will work better.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Mecripp2

[jordanjay29]

Using dishes to connect communications satellites is a rookie mistake. Don't worry, we've (RT users) all been there.

Try pulling your network closer and using omni-directional antennas. The Comm-32 or the black RT antenna (I forget the exact name) have the best range. Omnis free up your dishes to let you connect them to other networks.

A quick cheat is like this:

Omnidirectional antenna: Good for networking satellites around a planet/moon.

Dishes: Good for linking networks (the group of satellites around a planet/moon) together, powering satellites at the edge of the SOI, or connecting to the Active Vessel

Don't use dishes for connecting your network, and don't rely on omnis for your craft unless they reside entirely within the active satellite network.

[Mecripp]

The only rookie mistakes people do is not target right and yes Omni is good but to say it better, I would say it don't matter if Omni or dish to dish just get the target and range right and it's all good, Biggest mistake people make is using Omni and going out to far and bad targetting.

[MisterFister]

Yeah. Your dishes are useful as dishes because of their incredibly long range -- in your case, to Duna. The tradeoff for that range, however, is that all signals have to be within the dish's "line of sight," or cone in RT2. Your dishes being used for close-quarters comms is literally the same thing as you trying to use your telescope to read your computer screen. The line of sight, field of view, and resolution just wouldn't be appropriate.

Make a series of networks within each individual SOI -- one for LKO, one for LMO / LMinO, and one for Extreme-KO, edge-of-SOI stuff. Make each network, individually, all-passive, with omnidirectional antennae, so that all you need to use that network is to be in range, with no dish targeting. Design a way to make those networks talk to each other with dishes. That would obviously entail placing dishes and omnis on the same satellites, of course, but don't target your dishes on anything within the same network (if you can maintain a reliable and stable connection passively, of course. if you must use a targeted dish, for example between dishes in your Edge-Kerbin-SOI network, then fine.) For example, your LKO satellites might have one dish targeted to the Mun, one to Minmus, one to your Edge-of-SOI, and one to "active vessel" as a safety measure. And one unused. Make sure you populate the LKO orbit with enough that you have universal coverage with omnis. Mun network: each has a dish pointed toward LKO, and one to active vessel. Edge: One pointed to LKO, one to Duna, one to active vessel, and two or three unused.

A Duna-bound craft, then, would need an in-atmo passive; an Omni for once you get high enough to pop fairings if running FAR; a dish pointed at Kerbin itself; one or even two dishes to individual Edge-KO satellites; and one or two pointed at specific LKO satellites that are likely to be in line of sight well after your initial ejection burn, so that you can monitor it as it exits SOI and manually change relays as your altitude increases within the Kerbin SOI and maintain contact with a minimum of two other satellites; and if possible, 2 or 3 empty dishes. I know that seems overkillish, and you can shut down unused dishes to conserve power if need be, and if you're sending a probe to Duna, I always try to graveyard them into a sort of vanguard network at the destination once they're science-exhausted. A properly delivered and implemented Low-Duna network would be needed, as well as an Ike network, and an Edge-Duna network, and delivering those networks will be easier if you have even one still-transmitting probe already in orbit, or hell, even landed if it's intact.

- - - Updated - - -

Beyond that, I'm still willing to look at your savefile and .craft file. You mention in your photo album that you "set" something to be a root part. What exactly do you mean by that?

Edited October 7, 2014 by MisterFister
clarified small point

[Ippo]

EDIT- LOL try one thing and then, I'll shut up lol and thats take active vessel out of all your sat's and just use dish to dish and target body and try, I will bet you, Your network will work better.

You had it right all along dude, the error was between the screen and the chair

You were right, the relay satellite had connection only as long as it was active, because someone (me) was totally convinced he had setup the KSO satellite to point at the relay, but I hadn't. So as soon as the relay stopped being the active vessel, the connection noped away.

Thanks everyone, I'm dumb

[Ippo]

Beyond that, I'm still willing to look at your savefile and .craft file. You mention in your photo album that you "set" something to be a root part. What exactly do you mean by that?

I used SelectRoot to make sure the probe core was the root part for both crafts (by the way, how did I even get by without SelectRoot? It is THE essential mod, above all).

My savefile would be kinda useless at the moment, since you'd need an insane list of mods to even load it (one of them isn't even released yet, since it's the next version of my stuff and it's not even up for download atm). But thanks for the offer

[Mecripp]

Glad you got it

[Ippo]

Glad you got it

No, glad YOU got it