Signal Booster

The subject of this article is from the Origins update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 9 November, 2020.

Signal Booster

Category	Technology
Type	Environmental scanner
Total Value	1.0
Updated	Origins

Signal Booster is a base building product.

Summary

Signal Booster is a portable base building product that helps the player to locate structures, and resources and to obtain the Galactic Coordinates of the star system of the planet.

It is similar to the signal transmitter pole (also known as "save point"). When placed on a planet surface, inside or outside a base in any location, they will display the star system galactic coordinates and provide the user with an interaction menu. Upon interaction they offer two options for the Beyond and later releases:

Locate Nearby Structures
Decipher (1 Drop Pod Coordinate Data)

Beyond and Earlier Releases

Input Data (1 Navigation Data)

Game description

A versatile scanner that detects nearby buildings. It can also be used to decrypt Navigation Data to pinpoint specific locations.

The Signal Booster can be dismantled and redeployed for easy transportation.

Editors Note: In fact, since Beyond, the Signal Booster no longer accepts Navigation Data, it will only decrypt Drop Pod Coordinate Data to find a Drop Pod Point of Interest (if one is available on this planet or sometimes a nearby planet).

Build

Signal Booster can be built using the following ingredients:

Metal Plating x1 + Carbon Nanotubes x1 + Sodium x15 → Signal Booster

Options

Locate Nearby Structures has different effects based on the Signal Booster's location. Before NEXT 1.63, if the Signal Booster had been placed next to a Point of Interest, this function will locate and mark another point of interest of the same type. Otherwise or since NEXT 1.63, Locate Nearby Structures will find and mark a nearby point of interest without restricting its type.

Since Beyond, the Signal Booster cannot locate a specific type of Point of Interest. Instead, players can exchange Navigation Data for Planetary Chart with a Cartographer. Activating appropriate Planetary Chart from the inventory will mark a Point of Interest on the same or (if not on any) on the closest one.

NEXT or earlier

The Input Data option allows the player to select a "frequency range", which will further specify what kind of point of interest the player is looking for:

Scan Secure Frequencies - Locates a Manufacturing Facility, Depot or Operations Centre
Scan Distress Frequencies - Locates a Drop Pod, Observatory, Abandoned Building, Crashed Freighter or Crashed Ship
Scan Habitable Outposts - Locates a Habitable Base, Minor Settlement, Shelter or Transmission Tower
Scan for Artifacts - Locates an Plaque, Monolith or Ruin

The Signal Booster will only reveal one location of the same type at once. If the Signal Booster located a location of each type within a frequency range, further scans in the same range will yield no result and the Navigation Data is lost.

Please see the respective links for more information about these points of interests.

Other information

Signal scanner — Signal booster closeup (Atlas Rises)

When placed on a planet or moon every Signal Booster emits coordinates when approached. It looks something like this one from the video below:

HUKYA:046A:0081:0D6D:0038

The 3 sections in the middle (046A:0081:0D6D) can be entered into a Coordinate Plotting App such as the Pilgrim Star Path by: pahefu or No Man's Connect - Online Location Manager by: jaszhix to aid in galactic navigation.

For additional information, see Coordinates Guide.

Signal Booster is a portable technology which can be picked up and stored in the player's inventory as a distinct item, then redeployed in another location.

Release differences

Release - Added as a product. Signal Scanners showed the location of monoliths and shelters instead of resource deposits and bases.
Foundation - Signal Boosters replaced Signal Scanners as the main structure to aid in planetary navigation. Before this update, Signal Scanners were found on planetary surfaces and had to be unlocked with Bypass Chips.
Pathfinder - The Colonial Outpost option revealed the position of either a Manufacturing Facility or an Operations Centre.
NEXT - Blueprint changed, formerly used Iron and Plutonium. It is now portable and options changed, formerly offered "Drop Pod", "Habitable Base", "Monolith" and "Resource Deposit" options.
NEXT 1.57 - Fixed an issue that could cause the "Locate Nearby Structures" scan to fail.
NEXT 1.63 - Fixed an issue that caused the "Locate Nearby Structures" option to find only buildings of the same type as the nearest building.
Beyond - Options to select specific Points of Interest removed from the Signal Booster menu.