Hint and Tips Scanning in and out of a Wormhole
Many of you have expressed frustration at the thought of scanning your own way in or out of a wormhole. While your frustration is understandable, your independence in a wormhole is important. While I am by no means the scanning expert, I've picked up a few helpful practices that I can share.
Skills and Tools
Ever try loosening a Philips screw with a butter knife, or your car keys? Scanning without the proper skills or tools feels just like that. A Cartographer certificate of Standard or above will make all the difference when scanning. Sister's Probes, which aren't that expensive, and a Sister's Core Launcher, which is an investment, will also help to lessen your scanning frustration.
There are augments to assist you as well. For slots 6 and 8, if you aren't already using them, invest in Potque 'Prospector' Astrometric Pinpointing and Astrometric Rangefinding. Every boost you can find helps.
Your scanning ship should be a scanning enhanced ship like an Imicus, or Helios for the more advanced.
Cloaking Device is a must! If you are cloaked, no one can come up on your while you are scanning and pod you, which they will do, if you are scanning in someone else's wormhole.
Narrowing the Field
When you start scanning there's a lot of "noise" you can eliminate right away.
When you bring up your solar system map, on settings is the World Map Control Panel. Eliminate the names of all the planets and moons. They'll just get in your way when you are scanning
Before you launch your drones, do a dscan. Remember to dscan often, especially in the transit wormhole. If there are any ships in the transit, remember them. If they are the same ships you see when you are done scanning, they may be floating empty.
Scan the system with the system scanner, before you launch your drones. Several sites will appear immediately. These are frontier sites that have nothing to do with wormholes. Right click and Ignore Result on these sites.
Now check to see what bookmarks are left from the previous day. Launch enough probes to cover the bookmarks. Narrow their field to 0.5 or 0.25AU. Set your probes right on the previously scanned sites. Scan and see what comes up. Remove the bookmarks that are no longer active and ignore the remaining previously scanned results.
Now that you've cleared out the riff-raff, time to get down to the real scanning.
Arranging Your Probes
Once you've removed everything you don't need to scan, launch all the probes. If you have Cartographer - Standard, there should be 7. Set them to 32AU. Set your view so that you are looking down at your probes and arrange them, with the center over the sun, probes on the left and the right of the center, two above and two below, side by side. Get used to using the max drones you can use. Scanning now, should give you all the remaining sites in the Wormhole.
Pick a point, reduce your probe range to 8AU, center on that point and scan. Remember that you on a 3-dimensional map. Adjust them from above and then adjust them from the side. A good way to lose you signature is to having everything perfect from above, narrow your scan, and then lose you point vertically. Continue the process, narrowing on the point, until you get 100%. In the transit wormhole you don't need to scan the non-wormhole site to 100%. Just scan then down until they reveal themselves and then ignore.
Bad Exits
DScan before you warp to your newly scanned wormhole exit. Find the entrance and check info on the wormhole. You want it to say, "Entering Unknown parts of space" and "This wormhole has begun the process of decay and won't last another day." If the info says, "dangerous unknown parts of space" or worse, "Deadly unknown parts of space," that is NOT your exit. It is a way for a possibly advanced corp to enter. Also if the info says, "This wormhole has reached the end of its natural lifetime" It is not worth scanning. If fact you could get trapped in the transit with the exit closing on you while you are there. A new exit will open when the old closes within four hours. It is best to wait for the new exit.
Entering the Transit
Once you decide to go into the transit, there are several things to do immediately on the other side. The first thing you do is dscan, note the ships or lack of ships. The second thing is to launch your drones. Launch your drones while moving forward away from the wh exit. You'll need to be 2,000 kilometers from everything in order to cloak. Once your drones are launched, then cloak.
Bookmark the wormhole entrance. That's one thing you don't want to forget to do.
Set your drones to 0.5AU and scan right where they are at. It's a good bet you'll get the exit you just came through. You don't want to spend time scanning it, if you already know where it is. Ignore result.
Get the J number of the transit wormhole and enter it on www.staticmapper.com. This will tell you what to expect from this wormhole. Look at the recent activity. Is there a flat line, or a lot of recent kills? If there are a lot of recent kills, you may want to reconsider scanning out this wormhole, because it could be active with ships who might not want you passing through. Check the static wormholes that are likely to appear in this wormhole. If it says there is a highsec static, then you know there will be one. If is doesn't say hisec, it doesn't eliminate the possibility, but it isn't a certainty.
Once you've done all this it would be a good idea to Dscan again. Your probes have been visible for a minute or two. Have the ships changed? Are there more scanning probes than just yours? If it has changed, then it might be a good idea to collect your drones and turn around and go back home. It is an active wormhole and they are looking for you.
If you still feel comfortable, it is time to start scanning. I know it is annoying, but if there are a lot of non-identified sites it is a good thing. It means that it is not an active wormhole. If there only few non-identified sites, then this wormhole is well used and you should be cautious.
Make sure the sound is up while you are scanning. You'll be able to hear the wormhole opening and closing. If you hear that sound be cautious.
Handling Patterns
Whenever you scan you receive certain results that offer clues to where you target might like. This section will give my thoughts on handling each type.
Red Dot
This is the most common result. It means that you have three or more probe hits on the target. Of course you center your probes on the dot. What range to reduce the probes too if a judgement call. Reduce them too far and you could lose your target. I say, over 10% then reduce to 2AU, 15%-25% reduce to 1AU, 25%-50% reduce to 0.5AU, and anything greater rates a 0.25AU.
Two Red Dots
I used to hate this result, but now I see it as an opportunity. Reduce your range one level, and make a choice. Arrange 6 of your probes around one dot, and place then other probe over the second dot. This way you want lose your target. If it turns around to be the other dot, simply move your probes to the other and scan again. You've still narrowed on it, a level.
Red Ellipse
This one I still hate. Your target is at the edge of two of your probes. Move your probes to the center of the ellipse, and expand your range a level. This should get you back to a red dot.
Red Sphere
One one of your probes has found your target. Center your probes around the probe that has the target. If you have a small sphere you should be okay. If it is a sphere that fills your probe's range, then expand your range a level.
Red Plane
These are rare and almost impossible to see, at least on my monitor. Treat it as the same as the Red Sphere.
Yellow pinpoint
Hazzah! You are almost home. The yellow pinpoints don't move much. You can go down to 0.5AU or 0.25, depending on your percentage.
Labeling Convention
When labeling your discoveries, I'd like everyone to label things the same way. We don't want people to have to decipher your code when they are trying to get through the wormhole quick.
Putting the date is important, so we know which are the old points. Our EU members think Americans are a little odd since we put the month first and the date second. If they see 10/11, they see November 10th. So for sanity sake, lets do date first and then month, but write 10Nov. That way there's no confusion which is the month.
Skills and Tools
Ever try loosening a Philips screw with a butter knife, or your car keys? Scanning without the proper skills or tools feels just like that. A Cartographer certificate of Standard or above will make all the difference when scanning. Sister's Probes, which aren't that expensive, and a Sister's Core Launcher, which is an investment, will also help to lessen your scanning frustration.
There are augments to assist you as well. For slots 6 and 8, if you aren't already using them, invest in Potque 'Prospector' Astrometric Pinpointing and Astrometric Rangefinding. Every boost you can find helps.
Your scanning ship should be a scanning enhanced ship like an Imicus, or Helios for the more advanced.
Cloaking Device is a must! If you are cloaked, no one can come up on your while you are scanning and pod you, which they will do, if you are scanning in someone else's wormhole.
Narrowing the Field
When you start scanning there's a lot of "noise" you can eliminate right away.
When you bring up your solar system map, on settings is the World Map Control Panel. Eliminate the names of all the planets and moons. They'll just get in your way when you are scanning
Before you launch your drones, do a dscan. Remember to dscan often, especially in the transit wormhole. If there are any ships in the transit, remember them. If they are the same ships you see when you are done scanning, they may be floating empty.
Scan the system with the system scanner, before you launch your drones. Several sites will appear immediately. These are frontier sites that have nothing to do with wormholes. Right click and Ignore Result on these sites.
Now check to see what bookmarks are left from the previous day. Launch enough probes to cover the bookmarks. Narrow their field to 0.5 or 0.25AU. Set your probes right on the previously scanned sites. Scan and see what comes up. Remove the bookmarks that are no longer active and ignore the remaining previously scanned results.
Now that you've cleared out the riff-raff, time to get down to the real scanning.
Arranging Your Probes
Once you've removed everything you don't need to scan, launch all the probes. If you have Cartographer - Standard, there should be 7. Set them to 32AU. Set your view so that you are looking down at your probes and arrange them, with the center over the sun, probes on the left and the right of the center, two above and two below, side by side. Get used to using the max drones you can use. Scanning now, should give you all the remaining sites in the Wormhole.
Pick a point, reduce your probe range to 8AU, center on that point and scan. Remember that you on a 3-dimensional map. Adjust them from above and then adjust them from the side. A good way to lose you signature is to having everything perfect from above, narrow your scan, and then lose you point vertically. Continue the process, narrowing on the point, until you get 100%. In the transit wormhole you don't need to scan the non-wormhole site to 100%. Just scan then down until they reveal themselves and then ignore.
Bad Exits
DScan before you warp to your newly scanned wormhole exit. Find the entrance and check info on the wormhole. You want it to say, "Entering Unknown parts of space" and "This wormhole has begun the process of decay and won't last another day." If the info says, "dangerous unknown parts of space" or worse, "Deadly unknown parts of space," that is NOT your exit. It is a way for a possibly advanced corp to enter. Also if the info says, "This wormhole has reached the end of its natural lifetime" It is not worth scanning. If fact you could get trapped in the transit with the exit closing on you while you are there. A new exit will open when the old closes within four hours. It is best to wait for the new exit.
Entering the Transit
Once you decide to go into the transit, there are several things to do immediately on the other side. The first thing you do is dscan, note the ships or lack of ships. The second thing is to launch your drones. Launch your drones while moving forward away from the wh exit. You'll need to be 2,000 kilometers from everything in order to cloak. Once your drones are launched, then cloak.
Bookmark the wormhole entrance. That's one thing you don't want to forget to do.
Set your drones to 0.5AU and scan right where they are at. It's a good bet you'll get the exit you just came through. You don't want to spend time scanning it, if you already know where it is. Ignore result.
Get the J number of the transit wormhole and enter it on www.staticmapper.com. This will tell you what to expect from this wormhole. Look at the recent activity. Is there a flat line, or a lot of recent kills? If there are a lot of recent kills, you may want to reconsider scanning out this wormhole, because it could be active with ships who might not want you passing through. Check the static wormholes that are likely to appear in this wormhole. If it says there is a highsec static, then you know there will be one. If is doesn't say hisec, it doesn't eliminate the possibility, but it isn't a certainty.
Once you've done all this it would be a good idea to Dscan again. Your probes have been visible for a minute or two. Have the ships changed? Are there more scanning probes than just yours? If it has changed, then it might be a good idea to collect your drones and turn around and go back home. It is an active wormhole and they are looking for you.
If you still feel comfortable, it is time to start scanning. I know it is annoying, but if there are a lot of non-identified sites it is a good thing. It means that it is not an active wormhole. If there only few non-identified sites, then this wormhole is well used and you should be cautious.
Make sure the sound is up while you are scanning. You'll be able to hear the wormhole opening and closing. If you hear that sound be cautious.
Handling Patterns
Whenever you scan you receive certain results that offer clues to where you target might like. This section will give my thoughts on handling each type.
Red Dot
This is the most common result. It means that you have three or more probe hits on the target. Of course you center your probes on the dot. What range to reduce the probes too if a judgement call. Reduce them too far and you could lose your target. I say, over 10% then reduce to 2AU, 15%-25% reduce to 1AU, 25%-50% reduce to 0.5AU, and anything greater rates a 0.25AU.
Two Red Dots
I used to hate this result, but now I see it as an opportunity. Reduce your range one level, and make a choice. Arrange 6 of your probes around one dot, and place then other probe over the second dot. This way you want lose your target. If it turns around to be the other dot, simply move your probes to the other and scan again. You've still narrowed on it, a level.
Red Ellipse
This one I still hate. Your target is at the edge of two of your probes. Move your probes to the center of the ellipse, and expand your range a level. This should get you back to a red dot.
Red Sphere
One one of your probes has found your target. Center your probes around the probe that has the target. If you have a small sphere you should be okay. If it is a sphere that fills your probe's range, then expand your range a level.
Red Plane
These are rare and almost impossible to see, at least on my monitor. Treat it as the same as the Red Sphere.
Yellow pinpoint
Hazzah! You are almost home. The yellow pinpoints don't move much. You can go down to 0.5AU or 0.25, depending on your percentage.
Labeling Convention
When labeling your discoveries, I'd like everyone to label things the same way. We don't want people to have to decipher your code when they are trying to get through the wormhole quick.
Putting the date is important, so we know which are the old points. Our EU members think Americans are a little odd since we put the month first and the date second. If they see 10/11, they see November 10th. So for sanity sake, lets do date first and then month, but write 10Nov. That way there's no confusion which is the month.