Ships Mining Python question

ElectricFactory

ElectricFactory
Am outfitting a Python for mining, build link below. Since I'm committed to 192T of cargo space I'm having to make choices. Question, would you fit a 3A Prospector Limpet controller and 2A fuel scoop, or 3A fuel scoop and 2A Prospector Limpet Controller ?

EDSY

EDSY is a ship outfitting tool for Elite Dangerous
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CptArcher

CptArcher
Since you're willing to sacrifice and only have a 2A fuel scoop, I'd leave that in there. I'd get rid of the docking computer for a mining rig and put a 1A prospector limpet in it's place. Add two more mining lasers, a pulse wave analyzer. Upgrade to a 4A refinery and downgrade shield gen to 3D, you'll wish you had the 4A refinery, and then add another 3A collector limpet controller for a total of 8 active limpets at any one time.
 

Red Anders

Red Anders
3A prospector > 2A scoop for me. Scooping with a 2A does take an eternity, no hiding that, but you might only need to scoop two or three jumps worth of fuel on a mining trip. A 3A prospector makes a huge difference to how efficient you are whilst actually mining, certainly enough difference to offset the time spent scooping.

Edit: do you mine in open by the way? If not get that shield off 😁 Stick a 4A refinery in there and in the class 3 slot your refinery is in now, stick a 3A collector. Then stick another class 2 laser on it. Also max your power distributor (and don't engineer it with engine focus, if you use a class 7 you can get away with charge enhanced or just go balls out with weapon focused, both of which are far more use for a miner. You don't have anything like enough juice there for prolonged mining laser fire. Most important, 6A thrusters... Then get whatever power plant you need to run that lot. - my Python miner is a converted mission runner and it already had a 7A but that's overkill.

If you do mine in open do not drop the shield though, or you might as well just drop into the ring and self-destruct to save yourself some time.

Oh and if you're hotspot mining, detailed surface scanner in the class 1. If you're not, yeah push the boat out and stick a class 1 limpet in there for a total of nine.
 
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ElectricFactory

ElectricFactory
Thanks for the detailed reply! The only reason I stuck a shield on is for the odd NPC pirate to bounce shots off of whilst I skedaddle. That and backing into huge spinning rocks not paying attention. I mine in Solo for the piece and quiet, except for the two NPC's which show up at hotspots I prefer to mine unmolested.
I do want to keep the three 64t cargo racks though so my shuffling is around that. do I understand you to say three{3} 2D lasers ?

Edit: please do feel free to post your mining Pythin build!


Red Anders said:
3A prospector > 2A scoop for me. Scooping with a 2A does take an eternity, no hiding that, but you might only need to scoop two or three jumps worth of fuel on a mining trip. A 3A prospector makes a huge difference to how efficient you are whilst actually mining, certainly enough difference to offset the time spent scooping.

Edit: do you mine in open by the way? If not get that shield off 😁 Stick a 4A refinery in there and in the class 3 slot your refinery is in now, stick a 3A collector. Then stick another class 2 laser on it. Also max your power distributor (and don't engineer it with engine focus, if you use a class 7 you can get away with charge enhanced or just go balls out with weapon focused, both of which are far more use for a miner. You don't have anything like enough juice there for prolonged mining laser fire. Most important, 6A thrusters... Then get whatever power plant you need to run that lot. - my Python miner is a converted mission runner and it already had a 7A but that's overkill.

If you do mine in open do not drop the shield though, or you might as well just drop into the ring and self-destruct to save yourself some time.

Oh and if you're hotspot mining, detailed surface scanner in the class 1. If you're not, yeah push the boat out and stick a class 1 limpet in there for a total of nine.
Click to expand...
 
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Red Anders

Red Anders
Here you go:

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
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Couple of points

1. As I said the power plant is total overkill because I had it anyway, you can run that with an unengineered 6A
2. It's multi-purpose since it has all the core mining and subsurface mining gear as well as a good laser mining build. (I hardly ever use the core and subsurface gear but it's there if needed.)
3. It's roughly three times as expensive as the one you linked 😁 It will pay for itself in one trip though if you're going to go LTD mining with it.
4. It currently has no scoop. That's because I'm not doing the current LTD frenzy and I'm lucky enough to have a pristine metallic ring with a double painite hotspot within about 55LY of my home system, so I can jump there and back in three shortish jumps which doesn't use a full tank. If you're content to tolerate a class 2 scoop, you can stick one on that without a problem
5. I've never needed the chaff or PD, they're just there for psychological reasons. With its speed, no npc that can catch it will kill it before you jump out.
6. I wouldn't fly that in open for all the tea in China.

Oh and 7. If you do all the engineering, I really hope you like collecting materials because the lightweight limpet controllers are a killer.
 
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[VR] Orodruin

[VR] Orodruin
ElectricFactory said:
Am outfitting a Python for mining, build link below. Since I'm committed to 192T of cargo space I'm having to make choices. Question, would you fit a 3A Prospector Limpet controller and 2A fuel scoop, or 3A fuel scoop and 2A Prospector Limpet Controller ?

EDSY

EDSY is a ship outfitting tool for Elite Dangerous
edsy.org edsy.org
Click to expand...
The limpet controllers only come in odd sizes (1,3,5,etc) so it is either a 3A or a 1A prospector. However a few things about your build should be pointed out:
  • You should put better thrusters in. Moving between rocks is one of the things you will do a lot when mining and speeding up your ship is going to significantly decrease the time taken (meaning higher mining rate).
  • Your power distributor is undersized. You need to run your lasers for the time it takes for a rock to deplete or you will be waiting a lot for your capacitor to recharge. You are running just two lasers so you should be able to get away with a 5A weapon focused distributor. If you are willing to put in a 7A, you can run three lasers (or even four) without problem.
  • You are going to need a detailed surface scanner to scan the rings for the hotspots.
  • I would definitely not go for a 1A prospector limpet controller - it only allows one active limpet at a time which greatly reduces your prospecting, an activity that will take up a large portion of your time. 3A is the absolute minimum size for laser mining in my opinion, preferably a 5A (see below).
  • You do not need the fuel scoop when mining. Leave a larger fuel scoop (and FSD booster if you have them) lying around a station close to the arrival star in a nearby system. When you are done mining, check if you can reach your sell location without the scoop. If you can, great! If you can't, just quickly drop by the station and switch out your size 5 limpet controllers for the scoop (and booster). This lets you mine faster and the few times that you do not have enough range without the scoop, it is just a couple of minutes extra (if you put an FSD booster in as well it almost compensates this time with a lower number of jumps required). Edit: Also, if the alternative is running with a size 2 scoop, you are going to make back the time for doing the switch just from the reduced scooping time ...

This is my Python mining build. It is pretty similar to that of @Red Anders with a few exceptions:
  • He has no shield. I like having a small shield. Not because of pirates but because you bump into things. It is a convenience thing.
  • He has fitted a 3A prospector and 2x5A+3A collectors for a total of 8 collectors and 2 prospectors. I have fitted a 5A prospector and 5A+2x3A collectors for a total of 7 collectors and 4 prospectors. The reason I fit a 5A prospector is that it allows you to prospect asteroids much faster, you find good rocks faster and can go for rocks with higher yields. After making the switch two weeks ago or so, my typical time to fill the cargo hold with LTDs has gone down significantly (not that much statistics, but I would say in the ballpark 5-10 minutes less). Assuming good limpet management and positioning, the 7 collectors have no trouble keeping up with the three lasers.
  • I have fitted a seismic charge launcher instead of the subsurface displacement missiles. If I find core asteroids with LTDs along the way, I do blow them up. Typically I get anywhere between 0 and 3 cores per run. It is a welcome distraction and change of pace. I do not care much for regular surface or subsurface deposits.

Red Anders said:
7. If you do all the engineering, I really hope you like collecting materials because the lightweight limpet controllers are a killer.
Click to expand...
Somehow I am always low on Proto Radiolic Alloys ...
 
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Ceekay

Ceekay
I initially had this Python configured for conventional + DC mining but I found that using the PWS meant I was ignoring high yield asteroids and chasing cores.

With core only ores like void opals this PWS scanning is fine but from my own experience in the Borann triple LTD field it's best to fill up with limpets and prospect conventionally as you'll be getting asteroids with 15 - 35% LTD on a regular basis.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
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[VR] Orodruin

[VR] Orodruin
Ceekay said:
I initially had this Python configured for conventional + DC mining but I found that using the PWS meant I was ignoring high yield asteroids and chasing cores.
Click to expand...
This is a good point and an easy trap to fall into if you outfit for both types of mining. I only ever prospect shiny asteroids if they are not too far off my path and make sure to prospect anything that I can mine without my collectors running into it and dying. It does take some willpower.

Ceekay said:
With core only ores like void opals this PWS scanning is fine but from my own experience in the Borann triple LTD field it's best to fill up with limpets and prospect conventionally as you'll be getting asteroids with 15 - 35% LTD on a regular basis.
Click to expand...
Just a note on this: The lower threshold for mining an asteroid is a factor one can play around with to see what suits one better. Typically, if you mine in a wing or run a larger prospector, you can be more picky about what you mine since you will be prospecting faster. When I used to run a size 3 prospector I mined anything above 15%, with the size 5 I am more picky and only mine rocks with more than 20%.

Just for comparison, since I had not done it in quite some time, I dusted off my Cutter yesterday (best-sell was almost 1.7M with a demand of 10k+, meaning the state was ideal for a larger ship if you have the time to fill it up). I did sell at > 1.6 M/ton and almost ended up with 300 M/hr, but what a bloated cow to pilot in comparison to the Python ... Definitely not putting core mining equipment on that one.
 

GroG79

G
SergMx said:
I wonder why ?
Click to expand...

Parralel is better then serial. This can be easilly explained by looking at for instance computers:

Communication Networks
In a digital communications system, there are 2 methods for data transfer: parallel and serial. Parallel connections have multiple wires running parallel to each other (hence the name), and can transmit data on all the wires simultaneously. Serial, on the other hand, uses a single wire to transfer the data bits one at a time.

 

SergMx

SergMx
GroG79 said:
Parralel is better then serial. This can be easilly explained by looking at for instance computers:

Communication Networks
In a digital communications system, there are 2 methods for data transfer: parallel and serial. Parallel connections have multiple wires running parallel to each other (hence the name), and can transmit data on all the wires simultaneously. Serial, on the other hand, uses a single wire to transfer the data bits one at a time.

Click to expand...
ok. I change my hdd IDE(||) on SATA (--) ;)
 

GroG79

G
:)

Ide is also called Pata (vs Sata).. In this case Serial ata is preferred as we do not like these big cables in our computers.
 

SergMx

SergMx
GroG79 said:
:)

Ide is also called Pata (vs Sata).. In this case Serial ata is preferred as we do not like these big cables in our computers.
Click to expand...
It's not about the cables.

And I gave this as an example that when you do things in parallel it's not always faster than in series.
We have a saying: you chase two rabbits and you don't catch one.

Anyway, I know what 5A's mean, thank you for the answers.
 

[VR] Orodruin

[VR] Orodruin
SergMx said:
It's not about the cables.

And I gave this as an example that when you do things in parallel it's not always faster than in series.
We have a saying: you chase two rabbits and you don't catch one.

Anyway, I know what 5A's mean, thank you for the answers.
Click to expand...
Of course, if you cannot keep track of your four prospectors it is not going to be faster and it is not a given that it will be faster - it all comes down to how you handle it. However, I have found that this is not a very big issue for me. I do find good mining candidates faster with four active prospector limpets and having 7 instead of 8 collectors hardly affects my collection process (when I was running 8, one would often sit idle so there was little point of having it).

Regarding rabbits: Rabbits run away, asteroids don't.
 
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