On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 06:43:54PM +0000, David Scheidt wrote: >Ignoring, for the moment, the woeful lack of understanding of economics that >the Traveller setting demonstrates,
I think one has to consider as a guiding principle the idea that imported goods are hugely expensive, but that local manufacture isn't done because... well, the Empire tells people not to, or something. That's the core impossibility. >They're still just as prone to drowning or dying of exposure as idiot >passengers. (And they're likely to be exhausted, injured, and otherwise not >at their best. Design safety and survival equipment for idiots, and you'll >never go wrong.) Very much seconded. >Well once you've got GPS (and if you tell me that a planet that exists to >support *ORBITAL* miners, and which has regular trade of bulky, heavy things >between surface and orbit doesn't have GPS, I'll laugh at you so hard I'll >require supplemental oxygen.), it makes a whole lot of sense to use it. I agree that this would be a high priority for the limited import budget, _if_ receivers could be built locally. (If not, inertial platforms seem rather more likely.) I believe that even a basic GPS receiver requires reasonably serious digital electronics. >The >cost of modern (21st century earth) EPIRB is pretty low, and they're not >exactly cutting edge tech. They consist of a GPS receiver, some control >circuitry and a radio transmitter (and it's not a terribly sophisticated >transmitter. it transmits a simple digital code at a fixed frequency at low >power (5W, with a low duty cycle). The packaging and relatively low demand >is what makes them cost anything at all. The GPS receiver is certainly the tricky bit to rig up with non-imported components. If the code could be set up on magnetic tape or something of that sort, a TL6 radio transmitter could do the job. An inertial platform plus radio transmitter could certainly be built to work in a similar way, though it would be bigger and prone to drifting. R _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
