Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
The equipment table lists all Sensors at TL-5. I think Standard Sensors should be TL8 and Advanced Sensors TL12 (ish).
Vehicle Equipment
- Thread starter Rikki Tikki Traveller
- Start date
The communication paragraph has some pretty under-powered radios. 5km is extremely short-ranged. A cell phone can easily reach out 20-40 miles. The biggest limitation to radio range is the earth's curvature (the second being the frequency of the signal and how it bounces around).
A transmitter/receiver requires much more space and power than a simple receiver. A vehicle system has access to the power of the vehicle and probably has an antenna, so the minimum range should be like 50km to start. At TL6 it should be like 150km, at TL8 500km, and TL15 could be as much as 1500km.
Keep in mind the Apollo moon lander was able to communicate to earth 250,000km away using 1960s technology...
A transmitter/receiver requires much more space and power than a simple receiver. A vehicle system has access to the power of the vehicle and probably has an antenna, so the minimum range should be like 50km to start. At TL6 it should be like 150km, at TL8 500km, and TL15 could be as much as 1500km.
Keep in mind the Apollo moon lander was able to communicate to earth 250,000km away using 1960s technology...
Happy to hear suggestions for suggested comms ranges across the board.
You could add a couple of lines in there to discuss maximum range, and effective range. Maximum range on radios can be pretty far, effective range is influenced by atmospheric conditions, terrain, even jamming or other forms of electomagnetic interference. Biggest advantage of radio is it's cheap, easy, receivers can be be ultra tiny (transmitters not much bigger, just need more power).
Lasers/masers are line of sight and basically impossible to jam (or listen in on, unlike radio).
Meson has none of these issues (not sure if you can listen in on it, since it doesn't exist really).
Lasers/masers are line of sight and basically impossible to jam (or listen in on, unlike radio).
Meson has none of these issues (not sure if you can listen in on it, since it doesn't exist really).
Antenna's and power make a huge difference in communication ranges. Most general communication gear (personal and vehicle anyways) is meant to be omni-directional (with the odd communication dish here and there).
To keep things simple I think it's easiest to increase the standard effective communication range somewhere along the lines of what I was mentioning, and then double (or more) that to address maximum range. Even then there needs to be some ref involvement if the PC's go down certain paths. Radio waves in space can travel nearly forever, but can get distorted or messed up so they aren't useful any more. Terrestial radio has similar issues, which can be offset by more power or antenna configurations (higher, directed, etc).
Or just increase the range and put a footnote in there that commo devices might go even further, but the listed is the norm for that particular device/TL.
To keep things simple I think it's easiest to increase the standard effective communication range somewhere along the lines of what I was mentioning, and then double (or more) that to address maximum range. Even then there needs to be some ref involvement if the PC's go down certain paths. Radio waves in space can travel nearly forever, but can get distorted or messed up so they aren't useful any more. Terrestial radio has similar issues, which can be offset by more power or antenna configurations (higher, directed, etc).
Or just increase the range and put a footnote in there that commo devices might go even further, but the listed is the norm for that particular device/TL.
In general, comm ranges should be effectively unlimited on a planet - assuming there is a planetary communication grid.
Most planets, regardless of their underlying tech level, are going to have a planetary-wide communication net, even if it's imported from off-world. Why? Because it makes too much sense to do it any other way. All it takes is when you land to integrate your comm gear into the planetary net (get a temporary comm ID, etc) and then you are set. When you use your wrist comm you can talk to anyone in range of the planetary net. If you want privacy you scramble it (which maybe is prohibited based on law levels) OR you disconnect from the planetary network and use your own power.
A couple of sentences in the comms section would explain this, and players and ref's could plan accordingly.
Most planets, regardless of their underlying tech level, are going to have a planetary-wide communication net, even if it's imported from off-world. Why? Because it makes too much sense to do it any other way. All it takes is when you land to integrate your comm gear into the planetary net (get a temporary comm ID, etc) and then you are set. When you use your wrist comm you can talk to anyone in range of the planetary net. If you want privacy you scramble it (which maybe is prohibited based on law levels) OR you disconnect from the planetary network and use your own power.
A couple of sentences in the comms section would explain this, and players and ref's could plan accordingly.
Tenacious-Techhunter
Mongoose
In the previous edition, this was the difference between Comms, which relied on an existing communications network of some sort, and a Transceiver, which was a full two-way radio setup. One part I was never clear on was whether the Transceiver itself included the Comms part, or that had to be bought separately.
Please make that inclusion or exclusion clear in the new edition!
Please make that inclusion or exclusion clear in the new edition!
