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

[Joseph Paul]

 >-----Original Message-----
 >From: tml-bounces at travellercentral.com
 >[mailto:tml-bounces at travellercentral.com]On Behalf Of Jerry W Barrington
 >Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2008 10:28 PM
 >To: TML
 >Subject: Re: [TML] [Merchant Shipping] Some ideas I came up withtomake
 >merchant shipping more interesing
 >
 >
 >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...


WARNING! WARNING! This thread has been determined to be detrimental to the
willing suspension of disbelief. Please stop looking behind the curtain and
return to your LBBs.

That is a good point Jerry. I believe I read somewhere that the fuel
actually got used to help form the jump field as a working medium and not as
a source of energy. That is probably not canon though.

Joseph Paul