GEV capabilities, was RE:Tank Riders {SG2]

> Los wrote:

> Jon Davis wrote:

Just a thought... No matter how powerfull the infantry man's powered armor is,
he can't walk any faster than an unarmored man. (This assumes no fancy flight
packs or grav belts, ect). Having a ride on a vehical would extend the powered
armor suit's operational time, and wouldn't use up those flight packs...

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Donald Hosford wrote:

not necessarily true. if the user walks at the same frequency (eg 3 paces
/ second) and his stride is bigger due to the suit he is wearing, he
will be walking faster.

if PA runs all over the place (as was suggested, albeit by me, in that big PA
thread a while back) instead of walking, mobility will be far increased.

> Having a ride on a vehical would extend the powered armor suit's

certianly true. there is a technology called Helicopter In Flight Refuelling
(HIFR) whereby naval helos can be refuelled in flight via a pipe from a ship.
i suppose Powersuit In Ride Recharging isn't out of the question? not only do
tanks have telephones on the back (well, these days it will be an optical
fibre jack) but power sockets as well.

Tom

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998 11:49:13 Thomas Anderson wrote:

> certianly true. there is a technology called Helicopter In Flight

As I recall, the Hammer's Slammers books mention that the
battery-powered one-man infantry hoppers would plug into the fusion
powerplant of the nearest tank or combat car to recharge while in a laager.
I'd think that if one is using something with sufficient excess energy
production (fusion plant being the prime case) adding an auxiliary energy tap
for power armor, smaller vehicles and other support equipment would be a
logigical thing to do.

Of course, one wonders how many PA suits at any one time could plug into a
tank. But at the scale of DSII, it'd be easy enough to imagine just about any
arrangement.

I'm coming in to this thread a bit late, but has anyone discussed the fact
that there may not be a lot of space that's convenient for PA (or even
infantry) to ride on? With small, remote controlled weapons and
rounded, organic-looking hulls to increase stealth and lower profiles,
it might be hard to find any convenient place to stand, sit, or even hang on.

Again, I suppose at DSII's resolution, it doesn't make all that much
difference.

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Howdy!

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Thomas Anderson wrote:

> > Having a ride on a vehical would extend the powered armor suit's

Interesting!

        Ken

[snip]>
> Having a ride on a vehical would extend the powered armor suit's

A nice idea; similar to the Hammers' Slammers infantry hooking up their
skimmers to the tanks' and combat cars' power while the unit is in travel
mode. This could be used to increase the PA's power endurance, but you've also
got to consider the wearer's food, water and air requirements (OK, you can go
without the former two for a little while after your suit supply runs out, and
the latter can be recycled) and being able to empty the sanitation tanks
etc....:)
I guess in a non-hostile atmosphere where the user can open the suit to
eat, drink etc., then using a vehicle power source for on-th-fly
recharging could theoretically extend endurance to however long the guy could
stand being inside his tincan.

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Ground Zero Games wrote:

> This could be used to increase the PA's power endurance, but you've

you can pipe soup through the hookup too. possibly some stews (if a
large-bore pipe), porridge, very small meatballs, mince, fine noodles,
and
a host of other one-dimensional and liquid foodstuffs.

> water

readily pipable (tank commander to quartermaster: "ok, i'll take 40 rounds of
APFSKADS, 20 of HEF and ten EMPs, and give me another box of rounds for the
APSW. oh, and you'd better refill the ginger beer, we're
in for a big combined-arms op.").

> and air requirements

also pipable. ("yeah, and my infantry liason says his squad is getting fed
up with Mountain Glade - change the air-freshener in the PIRR unit,
would
you?").

> (OK, you

i don't know that sanitation tanks would be that hard to empty if properly
designed. some sort of postprocessing to reduce all waste to liquids, then
pump it into disposable plastic sacs along with a polymer, so it sets into
rigid, easy-to-handle Human Waste Modules. same size as IAVR warhead for
use in last-ditch defences.

the link from tank to grunt will probably carry power, data, air and water;
there could be another, larger, pipe to hook up to an ifv or a Combat
Quartermaster Convenience Vehicle to carry over food. you could also send a
little robot through to give the wearer a wash and shave, like they use for
welding the inside of gas pipelines. remeber: engineers don't know when to
stop.

Tom "all i ask for is power armour and a star to jog by"

Thomas spake thusly upon matters weighty:
> i don't know that sanitation tanks would be that hard to empty if

Now that was funny.

> the link from tank to grunt will probably carry power, data, air and

Hmm. Attach to the APC, get water, air, power and comms. Attach to a QM
vehicle, with a special reloader rig, get ammo, missiles, commo, power, air,
water and food. In extremis, nanites living in your suite keep you feeling
morning fresh throughout your stay, AND they help to seal wounds, numb pain,
remove sweat, etc. When you resupply from the provider, you just download a
new batch of fresh nanites and flush the old ones. Wow. The things you could
do....

Tom.

/************************************************

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Thomas Anderson wrote:

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Ground Zero Games wrote:

The ESU would be a bit out of luck - you couldn't run borscht through a
tube...

More likely (but less interesting) would be some sort of "Complete
Nutrient Paste" or similar - tasteless, unappetizing mush that
nevertheless has all the carbs/protein/minerals/etc you need to keep
going.

> > water

ESU: "Ve must haf vodka. Those damn infantry haf drunk all our tank's vodka".
The FSE: "Quartermaster, put zee good wine in, not this colonial
slop!" The ex-Brit NAC units, when operating in tropical enviroments,
get gin & tonic...

(no more silly stereotypes, I promise!)

> > and air requirements

The nutrient paste I mentioned above would probably be designed to be
low-bulk, so as to limit output of, well, solid wastes. I understand
that
NASA uses low-bulk food for the shuttle crews, for the same reason.

> the link from tank to grunt will probably carry power, data, air and

...but accountants can't bear to start.

More likely, punishment detail in Quartermaster/Logistics units would
consist of being tasked to help the PA out of the suits they've been living in
for the past two weeks of combat ops...BioHazard warnings would
be posted downwind of the de-suiting area...You'd need more than the
'mountain glade' air freshener to help you then.

Actually, there's a great throwaway line by the hero of Heinlein's Starship
Troopers, "If I could find a suit that would scratch my nose for me, I'd marry
it!" or words to that effect. The guys who show the PA troopers where the
showers are after an op won't have to buy their own beer in PA bars, ever...

> Tom
"...but I'll settle for a target downrange and a really big DFFG to blow it up
with":)

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Thomas Barclay wrote:

yes; these are largely non-pipable, unless they are very small. shotgun
pellets or 0.5mm gauss rifle rounds could be done, though. modular ammo units
(ie clips) are probably the best way to do this.

> commo, power, air, water and food. In extremis, nanites living in

you could just pump warm soapy through the suit and blast the wearer with
ultrasound, then pump through clean water to rinse and hot air or some sort of
drying fluid (like alcohol or sulphuric acid, but suitable for human use) to
dry them.

> AND

the pipe could also carry blood; you could hook an injured man up to a field
hospital and get a rapid evaluation of his state of health (along with data
from suit biomonitors), and intervene with blood, saline, haemoglobin
liposomes, drugs, heating or cooling of the bloodstream, dialysis, pumping,
glucose, oxygenation, latest vaccines and counteragents for biochem weapons,
etc. the blood is, after all, the body's communication and transport system,
so why not jack in the medical systems there? and it fits in a pipe too!

Tom

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Brian Burger wrote:

"give me stereotypes, or give me death!". Swabian QM units are stocked up with
thirty different kinds of beer. you can probably get sausages and sauerkraut
through a tube if it is big enough.

> The nutrient paste I mentioned above would probably be designed to be

absolutely; the traditional last meal of astronauts on earth, eaten before
blastoff, is steak and eggs as it is all protein and fat, and so leaves no
solid residues to be... er... 'eliminated', as we biologists say. i don't know
if they have a vegetarian or vegan option. this may be why
there is no european manned space program - a cup of coffee on an empty
stomach is not the best thing to have just before blastoff, given the effects
of caffeine on the kidneys...

Tom

> On Mon, 16 Nov 1998 11:49:13 Thomas Anderson wrote:

> I'm coming in to this thread a bit late, but has anyone discussed the

On the other hand....

There's a novel, "The War in 2020", which featured some Soviet (oops) tanks
with remote turrets. This meant that there was actually more room on top of
the hull for infantry (actually refugees in the book) to ride.