[TML] [Merchant Shipping] Some ideas I came up with tomake merchant shipping more interesing

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 4/13/08 8:17 PM, "Joseph Paul" <josephnjody at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Here are some ideas on that.
> 1) Jump capacitors are designed for a different electrical feed than station
> power can give them. Sort of like the 50 Hertz/60 Hertz difference in
> European and US machinery. The capacitor probably won't care (Or will it? I
> am not an electrical engineer.)  but there are probably feed mechanisms that
> regulate the feed to the banks. Wreck that and you may be in trouble.

I'm not an electrical engineer either, but I know a rectifier turns any
frequency into DC, which is what you want to feed capacitors.

> 2) You *are* paying for enough to fill the Jump capacitors so go ahead!
> After all Traveller may indeed have 'power too cheap to meter'.
> 
> 3) The station actually flat fees you up to a certain amount based on the
> average requirements of ships in different tonnage classes. Exceed that by
> pulling for the Jump capacitors and you are billed at a rate that will make
> you wish that you had kept the powerplant running with premium!

With these 2 points, I have to wonder why ships carry all that jump fuel
anyway.  Once the capacitors are charged from *any* source they'll hold most
of that charge for a very long time.  A little more at jump time to top them
off, and your good.  Surely a slow feed over a week in port makes more sense
than massive conversion moments before jump!  Then converting a small
portion of the fuel tankage to more capacitors will run the maneuver drive
to get you out there and back, leaving the rest of the tankage to convert to
cargo space.  :)

But there goes your OTU again...