So a couple of weeks ago someone put me up to the challenge to back up my claim about prospector's giving a 3x bonus to fragment yield, which I took on and ran an experiment on, the results of which you can see below:
1. Prospector fragment bonus
Today I decided to look at another aspect of mining, how the two classes of mining lasers compare with each other.
Firstly, I looked at their mining speed:
2. Mining laser speeds
Secondly, I looked at working how much WEP capacitor the two classes drain:
3. Mining laser power draw
And lastly, we can look at the second and third experiment's results to determine the efficiency of mining lasers:
Summary:
*** NEW AS OF 04/05/16 ***
4. Analysis of the Composition of Pristine Metallic Rings.
1. Prospector fragment bonus
I've tried to be as scientific as possible.... so lets see, haven't done one of these since my school days:
Purpose
To confirm how much of a bonus prospector drones give to chunk yields, this is only a count of how many fragments are blasted off a roid. It is not a measure of how much final material you get, the natural variance of ore quantities is too much for the purpose of this experiment.
Hypothesis
I believe the bonus is around about 300% for asteroids outside of a res point
Equipment
For the purpose of this experiment I will be using my mining python, it features an 7A PD, 3x C2 Mining Lasers, and a 1A Prospector
The system will be HIP 109169, planet 2, ring A - which is a pristine metallic.
Method
To minimise variances I will only be mining from the smallest type of asteroid.
I will mine to depletion 10 asteroids without a prospector and 10 asteroids with a prospector and count the fragments blasted off. I will do this with my PD set to full WEP power.
Results
No Prospector With Prospector 12 35 9 31 11 38 11 42 11 28 9 31 10 28 10 28 10 42 11 28
Averages:
No Prosp: 10.4
Yes Prosp: 33.1
Conclusion
I was right afterall
Today I decided to look at another aspect of mining, how the two classes of mining lasers compare with each other.
Firstly, I looked at their mining speed:
2. Mining laser speeds
Purpose
To determine the rate of mining of C1 and C2 Mining Lasers
Equipment
This Anaconda
A Logitech G15 keyboard
Method
As the quantity of fragments a roid has varies it would not be a fair test to time how long it takes to deplete a roid, leaving the alternative of burning the laser for a set length of time and counting how many fragments are burnt off.
To maintain precision I am using my G15's programming software to set a macro key to hold my fire button down for exactly 30 seconds.
I will then count the number of fragments blasted off then boost off to the next roid and repeat.
For the purpose of this experiment I will be using a fire group that has only one mining laser selected as the primary weapon and the prospector controller as the secondary weapon
Results
Averages:
C1: 3.57 fragments per 30 seconds (0.119/sec)
C2: 12.43 fragments per 30 seconds (0.414/sec)
Conclusion
Class 2 mining lasers are about 3.5 times faster than Class 1 mining lasers
Further
I tried a couple of tests with pips at 2 WEP and 4 WEP, it made no significant difference.
To determine the rate of mining of C1 and C2 Mining Lasers
Equipment
This Anaconda
A Logitech G15 keyboard
Method
As the quantity of fragments a roid has varies it would not be a fair test to time how long it takes to deplete a roid, leaving the alternative of burning the laser for a set length of time and counting how many fragments are burnt off.
To maintain precision I am using my G15's programming software to set a macro key to hold my fire button down for exactly 30 seconds.
I will then count the number of fragments blasted off then boost off to the next roid and repeat.
For the purpose of this experiment I will be using a fire group that has only one mining laser selected as the primary weapon and the prospector controller as the secondary weapon
Results
| Class 1 | Class 2 |
| 4 | 13 |
| 3 | 13 |
| 4 | 11 |
| 3 | 13 |
| 4 | 14 |
| 4 | 12 |
| 3 | 11 |
Averages:
C1: 3.57 fragments per 30 seconds (0.119/sec)
C2: 12.43 fragments per 30 seconds (0.414/sec)
Conclusion
Class 2 mining lasers are about 3.5 times faster than Class 1 mining lasers
Further
I tried a couple of tests with pips at 2 WEP and 4 WEP, it made no significant difference.
Secondly, I looked at working how much WEP capacitor the two classes drain:
3. Mining laser power draw
Purpose
To determine how much power each of the two mining laser classes draw from their capacitor.
Equipment
This anaconda - note how the power distributor has been changed to a class 6A - this was because this PD has a total WEP cap of 50MJ, a nice round number
A stop watch
Method
I will set my WEP to 0 pips, this stops the WEP cap recharging.
I have my x55 programmed to have the slider hold down the primary fire keyboard command, I will flick this switch on and start the timer at the same time.
I will wait until the mining laser shuts down from thermal cut off then stop the timing.
Results
Averages:
Class 1: 33.89
Class 2: 17.04
Conclusion
By working out how long it takes for a single laser to deplete the WEP cap's 50MJ we can determine the drain rate with a simple equation of [Wep Cap] / [Time to cut off] = [Drain per second]
Class 1s have a drain of ~1.475MJ/sec and class 2s have a drain of 2.934MJ/sec, I suspect the actual numbers of 1.5MJ/sec and 3MJ/sec respectively.
This means that to run two class 2 mining lasers in a fully sustained burn you would need a PD with a WEP recharge rate of 6MJ/sec - based on my experience this matches, as I know a python with a 7A PD can run two C2 lasers for as long as it wants, and should be able to run a third for ~20 seconds (haven't tested this but it feels right.
Further
It made no difference between 0 Wep/2 Eng/4 Sys and 0 Wep/4 Eng/0 Sys.
To determine how much power each of the two mining laser classes draw from their capacitor.
Equipment
This anaconda - note how the power distributor has been changed to a class 6A - this was because this PD has a total WEP cap of 50MJ, a nice round number
A stop watch
Method
I will set my WEP to 0 pips, this stops the WEP cap recharging.
I have my x55 programmed to have the slider hold down the primary fire keyboard command, I will flick this switch on and start the timer at the same time.
I will wait until the mining laser shuts down from thermal cut off then stop the timing.
Results
| Class 1 | Class 2 |
| 33.84 | 16.94 |
| 33.80 | 17.09 |
| 34.04 | 17.09 |
Averages:
Class 1: 33.89
Class 2: 17.04
Conclusion
By working out how long it takes for a single laser to deplete the WEP cap's 50MJ we can determine the drain rate with a simple equation of [Wep Cap] / [Time to cut off] = [Drain per second]
Class 1s have a drain of ~1.475MJ/sec and class 2s have a drain of 2.934MJ/sec, I suspect the actual numbers of 1.5MJ/sec and 3MJ/sec respectively.
This means that to run two class 2 mining lasers in a fully sustained burn you would need a PD with a WEP recharge rate of 6MJ/sec - based on my experience this matches, as I know a python with a 7A PD can run two C2 lasers for as long as it wants, and should be able to run a third for ~20 seconds (haven't tested this but it feels right.
Further
It made no difference between 0 Wep/2 Eng/4 Sys and 0 Wep/4 Eng/0 Sys.
And lastly, we can look at the second and third experiment's results to determine the efficiency of mining lasers:
Summary:
Class 1 lasers can extract 0.119 fragments per second at a cost of 1.5 MJ per second, this gives them an efficiency of 8.403 seconds per fragment at a cost of 12.61 MJ per fragment.
If we take the average number of fragments of non-res ring roid that is prospected with an A class prospector to be 33 it would take a single C1 laser 277.299 seconds (4 minutes 37.299 sec) and 416 MJ to deplete the asteroid.
Class 2s can extract 0.414 fragments per sec at a cost of 3 MJ per second, with an efficiency of 2.415 second per fragment with a cost of 7.25 MJ per fragment.
For that asteroid it would take 79.695 seconds (1 min 19.695 sec) at cost 239 MJ
If we take the average number of fragments of non-res ring roid that is prospected with an A class prospector to be 33 it would take a single C1 laser 277.299 seconds (4 minutes 37.299 sec) and 416 MJ to deplete the asteroid.
Class 2s can extract 0.414 fragments per sec at a cost of 3 MJ per second, with an efficiency of 2.415 second per fragment with a cost of 7.25 MJ per fragment.
For that asteroid it would take 79.695 seconds (1 min 19.695 sec) at cost 239 MJ
*** NEW AS OF 04/05/16 ***
4. Analysis of the Composition of Pristine Metallic Rings.
Purpose
To determine whether all pristine metallics have the same composition or if the quantities of material differ between systems.
Hypothesis
Based on my own experience and observations I believe there is a small but not insignificant difference in the composition of pristine metallic rings, this has not usually made a huge difference in my mining experience with the exception of GCRV 1568 - whose PPOG was so rare I gave up on the system despite it being on the doorstep of a large and well LYR stocked station that was actually giving me mining missions.
Equipment
This Asp: http://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/04D5A...53702P9P92i2f.Iw18WQ==.Aw18WQ==?bn=Prospector
And many many cups of tea.
Method
a. I will fly to a system with a pristine metallic ring and enter the ring at the brightest, innermost striation
b. I will prospect 20 random asteroids and record the results of both material type and quantity percentage.
c. I will then leave the belt and reenter the same striation and the repeat step b.
d. I will repeat steps b-c a total of three times, for three instances of twenty asteroid samples, giving a total of sixty asteroid samples per ring.
Results
For full results you may download my spreadsheet containing full sample data, calculations, and summary here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95696802/Elite/ELITEMINING.xlsx
I've also posted the data along several posts on page 2 if you want to look at ugly number walls instead of sexy spreadsheets for some reason. [noob]
For you slow people: red is worse than average, green is better than average.
Conclusion
Firstly, I want to say nothing in this is concrete - the sample data is far too small. Painite for instance is so rare that if I get a fluke it can seriously skew the averages for it.
With that said, it does appear that the data is backing up my own observations, especially in regards to GCRV 1568, which as you can see is just bloody awful. Interestingly this was the only binary system I sampled - could this be a factor?
OUM does have a very high count of gold and HIP does have a lot of PPP.
The amount of rock each ring contains is on average always ~50% regardless of what system you're in.
Rock of course being that invisible thing that stops your fragments adding up to 100%.
Gliese is an interesting one, I don't know if it was just a coincidence that the system I select as an outside the bubble just so happened to also contain a boat load of painite by chance or if theres some sort of bonus for it being an out of bubble system.
I actually had some prospectors left over, around ten, which I fired off into randomly asteroids and couple of those came out with painite too. So definitely something that warrants further investigation.
Whether the instance you're in has a great effect on what you get is very inconclusive - needs a lot more data.
Whether your position in the ring matters is not something I tested, so can't even hazard a guess.
But to answer the main question?
I'd say Yes - yes the system you're in affects what you get - not every PMR is the same as every other PMR. Moving around and scouting out a ring before taking in your mining barge may in fact be a worthwhile endeavor.
To determine whether all pristine metallics have the same composition or if the quantities of material differ between systems.
Hypothesis
Based on my own experience and observations I believe there is a small but not insignificant difference in the composition of pristine metallic rings, this has not usually made a huge difference in my mining experience with the exception of GCRV 1568 - whose PPOG was so rare I gave up on the system despite it being on the doorstep of a large and well LYR stocked station that was actually giving me mining missions.
Equipment
This Asp: http://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/04D5A...53702P9P92i2f.Iw18WQ==.Aw18WQ==?bn=Prospector
And many many cups of tea.
Method
a. I will fly to a system with a pristine metallic ring and enter the ring at the brightest, innermost striation
b. I will prospect 20 random asteroids and record the results of both material type and quantity percentage.
c. I will then leave the belt and reenter the same striation and the repeat step b.
d. I will repeat steps b-c a total of three times, for three instances of twenty asteroid samples, giving a total of sixty asteroid samples per ring.
Results
For full results you may download my spreadsheet containing full sample data, calculations, and summary here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95696802/Elite/ELITEMINING.xlsx
I've also posted the data along several posts on page 2 if you want to look at ugly number walls instead of sexy spreadsheets for some reason. [noob]
For you slow people
: red is worse than average, green is better than average. Conclusion
Firstly, I want to say nothing in this is concrete - the sample data is far too small. Painite for instance is so rare that if I get a fluke it can seriously skew the averages for it.
With that said, it does appear that the data is backing up my own observations, especially in regards to GCRV 1568, which as you can see is just bloody awful. Interestingly this was the only binary system I sampled - could this be a factor?
OUM does have a very high count of gold and HIP does have a lot of PPP.
The amount of rock each ring contains is on average always ~50% regardless of what system you're in.
Rock of course being that invisible thing that stops your fragments adding up to 100%.
Gliese is an interesting one, I don't know if it was just a coincidence that the system I select as an outside the bubble just so happened to also contain a boat load of painite by chance or if theres some sort of bonus for it being an out of bubble system.
I actually had some prospectors left over, around ten, which I fired off into randomly asteroids and couple of those came out with painite too. So definitely something that warrants further investigation.
Whether the instance you're in has a great effect on what you get is very inconclusive - needs a lot more data.
Whether your position in the ring matters is not something I tested, so can't even hazard a guess.
But to answer the main question?
I'd say Yes - yes the system you're in affects what you get - not every PMR is the same as every other PMR. Moving around and scouting out a ring before taking in your mining barge may in fact be a worthwhile endeavor.
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