Kit (Satellite Dish)
Kit (Small Satellite Dish)
Kit (Medium Satellite Dish)
Kit (Large Satellite Dish)
Small Satellite Dish
Construction Steps
| Step | Tool | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welding Torch | 1 x Iron Sheets |
| 2 | - | 1 x Cable Coil |
Deconstruction Steps
| Step | Tool | Recovered Item |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hand Drill | - |
Medium Satellite Dish
Construction Steps
| Step | Tool | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welding Torch | 1 x Steel Sheets |
| 2 | Wrench | - |
| 3 | - | 1 x Plastic Sheets |
Large Satellite Dish
Construction Steps
| Step | Tool | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welding Torch | 10 x Steel Sheets |
| 2 | Wrench | - |
| 3 | Screwdriver | - |
| 4 | Welding Torch | Steel Sheets |
| 5 | - | 10xCable Coil (Heavy) |
| 6 | - | 10xPlastic Sheets |
Description
Small Satellite Dish
"The small communications unit can be used to communicate with nearby trade vessels." — Stationpedia
Medium Satellite Dish
"The medium communications unit can be used to communicate with nearby trade vessels." — Stationpedia
Large Satellite Dish
"The large communications unit can be used to communicate with nearby trade vessels." — Stationpedia
When connected to a Computer containing a Motherboard (Communications), a Landingpad Center, and a Vending Machine, this allows Stationeers to contact a Trader. Adjust its horizontal and vertical attributes either directly or through logic. The Satellite Dish must be guided by Satellite Tracking onto a signal and communications then may be initiated to call down and interact with traders.
Capabilities
| Parameter Name | Units | Small Satellite Dish | Medium Satellite Dish | Large Satellite Dish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Power Setting | watts | 50 | 500 | 2000 |
| Maximum Power Setting | watts | 200 | 7,500 | 50,000 |
| Base Power Usage | watts | 10 | 50 | 100 |
| Acquisition Power Usage, Ratio to Power Setting | % | 10% | ||
| Azimuth Rotation Speed | deg/second | 9 | 1.8 | 0.36-1.44* |
| Elevation Rotation Speed | deg/second | 9 | 0.9 | 0.36 |
| The Large Satellite Dish is the only dish with variable rotation rates. The azimuth (Horizontal) rotation rate gets faster as its elevation (Vertical) approaches zenith, which is 0° for the dishes. The azimuth rotation speed, in degrees per second, is calculated by = 0.36 / min(1, 0.25 + verticalAngle / 90 ). Therefore, the rotation speed is 1.44°/sec when Vertical is 0°; the rotation speed slows down to 0.36°/sec when Vertical is 67.5°; and the rotation speed remains constant between 67.5° and 90° |
Notes on Power Usage: Actual Power Draw from the satellite dish is based on the current mode of operation.
- Idle Mode: The base power usage
- Acquisition Mode: Acquiring traders signals, showing the green progress bars uses 10% of the current power setting. Once all visible traders have complete progress bars (acquired), the mode switches back to Idle
- Interogation: Interrogating the trader will use draw power according to the satellite dish’s power Setting for the duration of the interrogation.
Antenna Patterns
Like real-world antennas, all three Satellite Dishes have Radiation Patterns. The closer the antenna is pointing to a satellite, the more of the available power reaches the trader, and the faster the signal will be acquired. The pattern(s) for all three antennas are the same, and are a linearly interpolated through the points described in the table. Notice, that if the antenna is within than 2° of the trader, then there is no reduction in power from the Power Setting from reaching the trader.
| + Satellite Dishes Radiation Pattern |
|---|
| Degrees Off Trader |
| 0° |
| 2° |
| 5° |
| 22.5° |
| 45° |
| 90° |
| 180° |
Acquisition Times
To make the Interrogation and Land options visible for a particular trader on the Computer user-interface, the Satellite Dish must first complete the acquisition of the target signal. Three are a few phases for the signal acquisition.
- Satellite Dish must be stopped. Any new motion or change in power Setting will reset any acquisition progress
- Visible Traders are populated on the Computer
- Green progress bar shows the Acquisition progress. All traders start their progress bars at the same time, grow simultaneously, and are dependent on the Received Power by the Trader
- After a trader has been acquired, the user-interface on the Computer shows the approximate angle that the antenna is pointing off from the trader, as well as the Interrogate Button (left side, satellite icon) and the Land Button (right sight, downward arrow) The time it takes for a green bar to fill up is nearly fully reliant on the Received Power at the trader. Received Power is the power Setting, reduced for Radiation Pattern offsets. There is an approximate formula that was determined from in-game testing to describe how long acquisition periods are expected to take. The time, in seconds, for full acquisition is 1000/(PG)^2; P is the antenna power Setting, and G is the ratio from the antenna pattern. By substitution, PG is the listed WattsReachingContact value. For example: a Small Satellite Dish set at 50W (minimum power), pointing 4° off the trader signal, would take less than 0.5 second for the bar to go fully green. Secondly, that same Small Satellite Dish, set at 200W (full power), but now 36° off the trader now takes about 5.1 seconds to fully acquire the signal.
Data Network
| Parameter | Type | Access | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Boolean | Read | Can be read to return if the Satellite Dish is currectly powered or not |
| Error | Boolean | Read | Can be read to return if the Satellite Dish is currently in an Error state or not |
| Activate | Boolean | Read/Write | Read the status or write to Activate interrogation or call down. Writing a 0 will stop any current action |
| Setting | Integer | Read/Write | Read or Write the Power Setting |
| Horizontal | Float | Read/Write | Read or Write the horizontal pointing setting, in degrees |
| Vertical | Float | Read/Write | Read or Write the vertical pointing setting, in degrees |
| On | Boolean | Read/Write | Read or Write the Satellite Dish On or Off |
| RequiredPower | Float | Read | The minimum required power to interrogate the current signal |
| Idle | Boolean | Read | The status of the satellite dish |
| PrefabHash | Integer | Read | The hash of the structure |
| SignalStrength | Float | Read | The angular distance from the current pointing angle to the signal, where 0 is pointing directly at the satellite |
| SiganlID | Integer | Read | The 4-digit signal identification number of the satellite. Can be forced to change by the Contact Filter |
| InterrogationProgress | Float | Read | If actively interogating a signal, will show the current progress, in percentage (%) |
| TargetPaxIndex | Integer | Read/Write | Read out or set current value of target landing pad index, useful if you want to call down the vessel by code |
| SizeX | Integer | Read | The length on X axis of the vessel |
| SizeY | Integer | Read | The length on Z axis of the vessel |
| MinimumWattsToContact | Float | Read | The minimum watts required reaching target vessel before one can initiate interrogation; this is the requirement imposed by the vessel |
| WattsReachingContact | Float | Read | The current effective watts reached target vessel due to angle setting and dish's watts output setting |
| ContactTypeID | Integer | Read | The category of the vessel |
| ReferenceId | Integer | Read | Unique Reference Identifier for this object |
| BestContactFilter | Integer | Read/Write | Read current fitler, or set the filter to force the dish to show in logic the current data parameters for any trader in view, not just the most prominent; set this value by writing the traders SignalID |
| NameHash | Integer | Read | The hash of the custom name of the structure |
Satellite Tracking
See Satellite Tracking to learn more on how to setup and track traders.