Yup, silent running doesn't negate visual lock and scan. If you want to smuggle larger volumes, I recommend the Imperial Clipper for the speed. I don't even use silent running anymore, just boost on in. It also helps to have a favorable approach on the entrance head on.
This isn't quite correct. Silent running negates the heat component of your EM signature, which makes a "visual lock and scan" more difficult i.e it mitigates it, rather than negates. The OP was right on Silent Running completely internalising your heat generation, essentially reducing the heat-generation component of your signature to 0%, but was misguided that it prevents scans.
Ref:
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Silent_Running (this contains a dev summary of Silent Running & Stealth, but I used various other sources to verify info)
Summarising the key points about "stealth" and "going silent", avoiding scans is all about reducing your EM signature, which affects three key ranges (from lowest to highest):
- The range at which you are clear targettable (and therefore, scannable) on someones sensors. This is the range your cargo etc can be scanned at.
- The range at which you're a "blip" on the sensors. In this state, anyone knows something is there, but can't target/scan you, nor identify what it is.
- The range at which you're completely invisible on sensors.
Engaging silent running will internalise heat generation drop your ships heat generation component of EM signature to 0%, but you still have an EM signature. Higher rating sensors increase these ranges regardless of the circumstances. My understanding is security forces at a station have the best sensors, so they're going to have all the advantages here.
Other things that will affect your EM signature are;
- Size of your ship
- Active modules (this can be mitigated by switching modules off, known as "cold running")
- Heat levels (unless running silent, in which case this is negated)
"Running Cold" is particularly useful because it has all the benefits of reducing your EM signature, *and* reduces heat generation, so you can "run silent" for longer. But if you get caught, you're in a pickle, coz you have no shields, and everything is switched off.
So, just by running silent, you can still be detected. Even just sitting there with everything switched off, someone can still come along and scan you, though it needs to be at ranges of around a couple hundred meters before that's possible.
To maximize your chances of getting in without being scanned or detected I recommend getting in front of the letterbox using cold running (switch off everything except thrusters and usually a heat sink launcher), dumping a heat sink then rushing into the station (requesting docking while en route). If all you're doing is smuggling cargo, this is a bit of overkill as you just need to either A) get in quicker than the scan, or B) just run a bit colder. This is also true if you are
wanted, as security still need to scan you to detect your bounty.
Where you *must* use a combo of silent running and cold running is getting into a
hostile station. This is very difficult as you don't need to be scanned at all. As soon as you are detected on sensors (even just a blip will cause the security to move and investigate) you will be attacked (which retracts your docking permission). I've managed to do this only once (that was enough pressure for me). Leaving the station under fire was pretty fun though
On a complete aside, I really wish FD would consider making missions which require you to be
hostile at the end delivery point, and make use of this mechanic which, honestly, is a pretty exciting one.
PS: Oh, yeah, chaff does nothing except disrupt gimballed turrets.
