Torque Control for Inline Reaction Wheel

[pearldrumbum]

Hi everybody, long time lurker - first time poster...

I have just gotten to the point where I'm accepting satellite missions in 0.90.0 on hard and realizing I've always played this game with a heavy reliance on SAS...

Trying to fly my Stayputnik without it is a nightmare (maybe I just need to practice more). But I was wondering if there is a way to lower the torque created by the small inline reaction wheel before launch, similar to how you can adjust thrust on SRBs or fuel loads in tanks.

Also, I haven't unlocked a lot of the tree yet, so I've been trying to do my orbital maneuvers with a 909 that I have 'borrowed' with a contract. I think I'll go ahead and catch up on some science to get the 48-7s and that might make maneuvers a little easier?

Edited December 24, 2014 by pearldrumbum

[Anquietas314]

Sadly, no. I suppose there might be a mod for that, but in stock you can only turn them on and off. You could try just making the satellite heavier, which would reduce the effectiveness, or you can use fine controls (caps lock - the dials in the bottom left should turn white).

[zarakon]

capslock for fine controls is the easiest option

[Anquietas314]

capslock for fine controls is the easiest option

Sure, but I find sometimes it's not fine enough. lol

[The_Rocketeer]

You can press capslock to switch to precision controls, which might have the effect you're looking for. You'll know when this mode is activated because (apart from the capslock light on your keyboard) the pitch/roll/yaw needle guages in the bottom left will have blue needles instead of orange.

Edit: double-lightning ninja'd. How'd you guys do that, really?!

Edit 2:

Another option would be to use a joystick or other analogue input. That would give u some very fine precision control.

[Anquietas314]

Edit: double-lightning ninja'd. How'd you guys do that, really?!.

Well, my post was 20 minutes ago.... I don't think that qualifies as ninja'd

[Sirrobert]

I asume that your problem is that there's to much torque to be able to properly control the final satelite?

Capslock will turn on fine control, which should fix that problem for you. If THAT is not enough... well you'll have to add weight I'm afraid. More mass means slower rotation. Or you could turn off the reaction wheels completely and rely on engine gimbal to steer

As for the 48-7S: If your ships are so small that the smallest reaction wheels are already to strong, than the smaller engine is indeed going to help alot. The 909 weighs 10 times more than the 48. On tiny ships, that can really make a big difference in deltaV

Edited December 23, 2014 by Sirrobert

[The_Rocketeer]

Hmmm.. guess that's true. I should try reading posts thru.

[pearldrumbum]

Thanks guys! Had no idea there was a fine control option. Using caps lock along with the 48-7s got me through that contract

(Will mark as answered when I'm back at my computer, can't figure out how from mobile)

Edited December 24, 2014 by pearldrumbum

[Red Iron Crown]

Aside from adding mass to slow rotation, you could also spread the existing mass further apart. Put heavy parts on the ends of the ship rather than the middle and it will take more torque to turn it (Yay moment of inertia!).

[gizmologist]

There is a mod called Tweakable Everything that lets you adjust the strength of the reaction wheels from zero to twice their normal strength.