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Kit (Satellite Dish)

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Revision as of 14:06, 30 January 2026 by 100.16.248.129 (talk) (Capabilities: Added some clarifications to Capabilites notes sections, and finished adding the formula for acquisition times, as well as examples)
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Kit (Small Satellite Dish)
ItemKitSatelliteDish.png
Constructing Options Small Satellite Dish
Properties
Stacks No
Paintable Yes
Recipes
Electronics Printer 5xGold, 10xCopper
Logic
Item Hash 1960952220
Item Name ItemKitSmallSatelliteDish
Kit (Medium Satellite Dish)
ItemKitSatelliteDish.png
Constructing Options Medium Satellite Dish
Properties
Stacks No
Paintable No
Recipes
Electronics Printer 20xSteel, 15Electrum, 10xSolder
Logic
Item Hash 178422810
Item Name ItemKitSatelliteDish
Kit (Large Satellite Dish)
ItemKitSatelliteDish.png
Constructing Options Large Satellite Dish
Properties
Stacks No
Paintable Yes
Recipes
Electronics Printer 20xWaspaloy, 50xInconel, 100xAstroloy
Logic
Item Hash -2039971217
Item Name ItemKitLargeSatelliteDish
Small Satellite Dish
[]
Operation
Power Usage 10W Base Power Usage
Prefab Hash -2138748650
Prefab Name StructureSmallSatelliteDish
Construction
Placed with Kit (Small Satellite Dish)
Placed on Small Grid
Requires Frame Yes
Stage 1
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool Welding Torch
Constructed with item 1 x Iron Sheets
Deconstruction
Deconstructed with Hand Drill
Stage 2
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with item 1 x Cable Coil
Medium Satellite Dish
[]
Operation
Power Usage 50W Base Power Usage
Prefab Hash 439026183
Prefab Name StructureSatelliteDish
Construction
Placed with Kit (Small Satellite Dish)
Placed on Small Grid
Requires Frame Yes
Stage 1
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool Welding Torch
Constructed with item 1 x Steel Sheets
Stage 2
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool Wrench
Stage 3
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with item 1 x Plastic Sheets
Large Satellite Dish
[]
Operation
Power Usage 100W Base Power Usage
Prefab Hash 1913391845
Prefab Name StructureLargeSatelliteDish
Construction
Placed with Kit (Small Satellite Dish)
Placed on Small Grid
Requires Frame Yes
Stage 1
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool Welding Torch
Constructed with item 10 x Steel Sheets
Stage 2
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool Wrench
Stage 3
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool Screwdriver
Stage 4
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with tool Welding Torch
Constructed with item Steel Sheets
Stage 5
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with item 10xCable Coil (Heavy)
Stage 6
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with item 10xPlastic Sheets

Description[edit]

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[edit]

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 70°; and the rotation speed remains constant between 70° and 90°

Notes on Power Usage: Actual Power Draw from the satellite dish is based on the current mode of operation.

  1. Idle Mode: The base power usage
  2. 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
  3. Interogation: Interrogating the trader will use draw power according to the satellite dish’s power Setting for the duration of the interrogation.

Antenna Patterns[edit]

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 Power Ratio
1.00
1.00
0.90
22.5° 0.10
45° 0.05
90° 0.01
180° 0.001

Acquisition Times[edit]

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.

  1. Satellite Dish must be stopped. Any new motion or change in power Setting will reset any acquisition progress
  2. Visible Traders are populated on the Computer
  3. 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
  4. 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/(P*G)^2; P is the antenna power Setting, and G is the ratio from the antenna pattern. By substitution, P*G 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 Properties[edit]

These are all Data Network properties of this device.

Data Parameters[edit]

These are all parameters that can be written with a Logic Writer, Batch Writer, or Integrated Circuit (IC10), and can be read with a Logic Reader, Batch Reader, or Integrated Circuit (IC10).

Click here to see/hide all the data network properties
Parameter Name Data Type Access Value Description
Power Boolean
Read
0 Unpowered Can be read to return if the Satellite Dish is currectly powered or not
1 Powered
Error Boolean
Read
0 Normal Can be read to return if the Satellite Dish is currently in an Error state or not
1 Error
Activate Boolean
Read Write
0 Stop Current Action Read the status or write to Activate interrogation or call down. Writing a 0 will stop any current action
1 Start Interrogation, or Call down if already interrogated
Setting Integer
Read Write
0 ~ Max Watts of Device Read or Write the Power Setting
Horizontal Float
Read Write
0-360 Read or Write the horizontal pointing setting, in degrees
Vertical Float
Read Write
0-90 Read or Write the vertical pointing setting, in degrees
On Boolean
Read Write
0 Off Read or Write the Satellite Dish On or Off
1 On
RequiredPower Float
Read
The minimum required power to interrogate the current signal
Idle Boolean
Read
0 Idle The status of the satellite dish
1 Moving, Acquiring, or Interrogating
PrefabHash Integer
Read
The hash of the structure
SignalStrength Float
Read
0.0-180.0 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
0.0 - 100.0 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
3, 5, 6 The length on X axis of the vessel
SizeY Integer
Read
3, 5, 6 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[edit]

See Satellite Tracking to learn more on how to setup and track traders.