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Message no. 1
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Robert Fanning)
Subject: Selected and Expanded Rigger 3 Gripes
Date: Wed Jul 18 09:05:03 2001
1) On Rectifiers.

A rectifier is a device which converts DC power into AC - it is commonly
used by people living in mobile homes and RVs/campers to covert the 12 V car
battery to 240 V* AC power, allowing you to use appliances that are not
adapted to 12 V*.

(* - replace as appropriate for your country domestic main supply and/or 24
V power bus for some heavy vehicles).

Rectifiers are generally innefficient, not able to provide a great deal of
AC power, which is why many tradesmen have 240 V* generators to power all
their tools where they cannot get access to a mains supply.

2) On Generators

Some generator units also double as a compressor and/or battery charger
also, while still remaining "Transportable", weighing about 50kg and have
small wheels (not a problem for a troll/ork/dwarf or muscle augmented street
Sam to lift). This could be a useful item of equipment for boosting and
powering cyberdecks with satellite uplinks or the various rigger remote
control decks.

Now, vehicle trailers can come equipped with generators under the rules, but
it is expensive and takes up considerable room. I just wish they spent a
bit more room on coming up with some sort of rules for PF requirements and a
variety of generator options that are not so difficult. You still might
want a generator for a powered vehicles.

Rather than having rules for Hybrid Vehicles, they should have an electric
engine and allow "generators" of various sizes and types to supply power -
perhaps your vehicle has a number of internal combustion engines of
different types capable of burning liquid as well as gas fuels to run the
generator as a backup to the Solar Cells and/or Gridlink.

Even if you cannot generate sufficient power to reach top speed, anything
faster than the speed you can push it is better, even a steady 30km/hour is
faster than people can run.

My problem is that you cannot add a secondary engine in the customization
phase, along with the fact that as a vehicle design feature it has half the
speed for no good reason.

Hybrid vehicles should be able shut off their generators and run on
batteries for short periods (or longer if they have a hefty capacity, like a
german deisel U boat). The ability to produce distilled water, or crack it
into hydrogen and oxygen is neccessary underwater.

If you are using drones, you might want them to sit in a standby mode,
drawing power for a variety of electrical systems from batteries, even
though your main engine might be internal combustion, you would still have a
need for a solar cell system. For instance, your drone might be parked for
days on end in some remote area, especially if you have to make a quick
getaway and are out of range (it might be programmed to go to a patter
pre-arranged meeting points after a set period such as several days or when
it is interferred with).

In any case, vehicles still need batteries to power the electronics and
starter motor. If you are the sort of rigger who lives in your vehicle, you
would want ways of increasing the battery capacity for domestic supply. A
solar cell is a must if you forget to turn the lights off and drain your
battery, otherwise, you could be stuck out in the wilderness and have to
walk a long way carrying a heavy battery.

3) On EC vehicles

They rules are utter crap, even a high school engineering or physical
chemistry student could tell you. If you have an anode and a cathode made
as part of the hydrogen conversion, you cannot run or generate AC power
through them - when you reverse the flow you would draw power to change back
your reactants (Hydrogen and Oxygen) to water.

However, you could power a generator from a hydrogen powered internal
combustion engine (similar to methane, but other gases could be used such as
methane, liquid petroleum, "town gas", acetylene used in welding or nitrous
oxide gas even).

Given that the generator would be giving off magnetic fields, along with the
heat and noise from the internal combustion engine, it would not have a low
signature profile as indicated in the rules.

4) In summary

a) Rules for electrical generation need to be improved - allow trailors and
any vehicles (particularly hybrids) to carry generators, including options
for an ammount of speed or power reductions on main power plants to run
them. Drop EC engines and make them gas burning.
b) Come up with power demand rules and a variety of generator sizes - they
already have flux booster rules anyway.
c) Provide a number of design options for the different types of fuels,
particularly signature and speed changes.
d) Add gas turbines as an engine option for fast vehicles, particulary boats
and drones.

5) Suggested Fuel Types

a) Solid Fuel: Wood/textile/plant matter burning (thermo-converters or steam
for tribal uses perhaps), meltable waxes and fats (parrafin/bitumen and
organic), plant/coal dust suspension internal combustion (look what happens
to exploding granaries).

[Note that solid fuels can be converted to liquids and gases through
biological methods, particularly methane gas (also made in toilets and waste
disposals, perhaps from that RV facilities even). Coal is crackable into
petroleum (which is probably what they do anyway, it is only 50 years off,
we should have 200 years worth of coal at least).]

b) Liquid Fuels: Desiel, Petrol, Kerosene (high octane used in jet and
rocket fuel), Liquid organic oils and fats (perhaps rules for a converter or
mixer with solid fuels is needed here), various Alcohols. Some engines run
both petrol and desiel.

c) Gas Burning: Methane, Hydrogen, Petroleum/Organic molecules, Nitrous
Oxide, Carbon Monoxide. Note that many gases can be compressed into liquids
and burnt in standard combustion engines today.

[A Carbon Monoxide recycler (along with unburnt fuel gases) could also run a
separate generator that does not draw on main engine power]

Also, there are a variety of devices available today that pump finer sprays
of liquid mixture, or even turning liquids (petrol) into gas, before
injecting it into the engine to increase the efficiency of combustion.
Another device increases the voltage of the spark plugs, at a lower current
(the same wattage, so it doesn't blow the plugs) for cleaner combustion
also.

d) Batteries - polymer "forming fitting" batteries that can be placed inside
panels, hydrogen cells, 20th century lead acid batteries (that produce
dangerous levels of hydrogen gas), nickel-cadium (poisonous, EPA concerns).

e) Pedal power (more for trikes and bikes), or even a pedal battery charger
to give you a jump start, supplimenting electrical systems. Similarly, I
can see Native shamans having a variety of trained electrically producing
creatures running stuff (Thunder Birds sitting on perches?)? Don't even get
me started on Giant Hamster Wheels.

6) Unrelated - switchable ammunition capacity.

The rules in the cannon companion allow magazine switches as a design
option, not customization. I suggest in the case of vehicles it be allowed,
or a selectable magazine feed be assumed as part of the conversion kit.
(You might want to switch between APDS, Fletchette and EX for instance.).

Also, assume all hard point mounts have 0.2 CF of ammunition capacity, as
opposed to twice the standard weapon capacity, at least in the case of
pop-up micro turrets with no internal ammunition storage capacity.

At the very least, if twice the magazine capacity is retained, a correction
with respect to the cannon companion allowing increasing ammo capacity to 50
rounds, with selectable switch with at least 2 types should be assumed.

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.