Stocking your Life Pod

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

The spreadsheet gets down to SM+3,


Sorry, do you mean the life pod would need a Hangar Bay system?

<shrug>I don't do spreadsheets and certainly not for a system as simple as Spaceships.

What I meant about the life pod is that it would have to be carried in a Hangar Bay or External Clamp by the ship it was to be used by.

If you do insist on designing some sort of lifeboat with Spaceships I suggest that you start a new thread for that. It's off-topic here. This thread is about using the Life Pod from UT and what gear you put in its' 200 lb lockers to serve its' 4 people.

[Rupert]

It does not, no.

Also, remember that in Ultra-tech and High-Tech 'external power' has a specific (though not precise) meaning. It means that the thing needs a significant amount of power from an outside source. HT says that 1-2KW is enough for 'a few small devices', and that you need 5-10KW for a house or whole workshop. UT is less specific, and also uses the terms 'semi-portable' and 'portable' in a way that seems to distinguish weight, not output. They seem, given the size of the solar power collection area, to assume no more than 20KW output - the solar power array has 400 ft^2 of collectors, and assuming an average of 50% efficiency (including allowance for non-peak sunlight, etc.) on Earth that's about 20KW, and the actual output is likely to be lower than that most of the time, due to age, high latitudes, cloud cover, etc.

It's a GM call what 'external power' means for any given item, but at TL9 it means a 1000 pound fission reactor or a 500 pound solar array (which would weigh less if permanently mounted on a life boat's hull, but it'd probably need to be extendable in that case, which would bring the weight back up). I'd rule that this would be good for ten or a dozen Hibernation Chambers, once they were in huibernation and assuming good insulation of the craft or room or whatever they were in. Actually putting someone in or reviving them would need to be done one at the time or would need supplemental power from a battery.

UT optimistically assumes TL10 Suspended Animation Tubes are not super-science, and don't require life-support while running (the subjects still age at that 1/10th rate, though). Even they need a small amount of external power to run indefinitely (one E-cell equivalent per year). Bio-Tech's version is the same aside from needing more power (250 pounds of batteries only gives 6 months support).

Because my SF game is set in the Traveller universe I use the TL9 hibernation chambers, but have them 'freeze' the occupant, and if the chamber is in an environment that's sufficiently cold (liquid nitrogen temperatures) they require no power to maintain the occupant. The TL9 version requires a doctor (preferably with a sick bay or better) to put the occupant 'down' and to bring them 'up'. The TL10 version can do this automatically, and can be programmed to do so if it's running out of power and external conditions won't obviously kill the occupant (it can sense atmospheric temperature and pressure, oxygen levels, and the presence of common noxious gasses). This is, however, a house rule, etc., etc. and not useful for the UT life pod.

[Fred Brackin]

Okay, this is finally that update of the 200 lbs of survival gear for the Landing Pod from p.232 of Ultra Tech.

We're still going to include the 90 man-days of food pills for 67.5 lbs and $900.

The Torpine too for those cases where sitting it out in orbit might be the best option. $2499 and 2.5 lbs.

The modifications start with 4 backpacks from High Tech. Those are not only lighter they are higher capacity carrying 50 lbs for only1.5 lbs of weight. sow e can fit our entire 200lbs of stuff in 4. 6lbs and 480.

Those backpacks have solar cells added to their outsides as discussed earlier. Those are from Infinite Worlds and add $200, 0.15 lbs with an additional $40 adn 2 lbs for 4 C cells to store the solar power collected each day.

Then we add 4 sets of personal basics and 1 set of group basics as defined in Basic but I'm going to double cost and halve weight for higher tech materials. So $80 and 12 lbs.

We're going to add 4 TL8 one man tents from HT. $400 and 4 lbs.

4 Large Knives (Super Fine) 4 lbs and $960.

3 First Aid Kits and 1 Crash Kit. 16lbs and $350.

4 Vapor Canteens 16 lbs and $1800. One of these provide 6 quarts of water each day in 50% humidity. That should be all the water the group needs in anywhere even vaguely survivable.

4 Envirobags. 12 lbs and $720. These are actually sort of overkill for anything less than super-arctic conditions.

4 Pocket Packs. 3 lbs and $100.

4 Pocket Laser Torches. 1 lb $200.

4 Small Radios. 2 lbs and $800. These are the smallest units that can communicate with a Very Large Radio in low orbit (c. 300 miles).

1 set of Televiwers (UT p. 60) 0.6 lbs and $500.

1 Holdout Gyroc and 7 Flare Rounds. 1 lb and $120. Much brighter and longer ranged than lower TL flares.

4 Survival Watches (UT p.77). These are listed in UT as TL10 but I reverse engieered them and they have nothing in them not avaialble at TL9. The Inertial compasses are just a little heaveier and more expensive. Also holds only 1 TB of Boy Scout handbooks and YouTube surviavl videos instead of 1 petabyte. Still in the negligable increase category. 2 lbs and $1200.

With the solar cells i'm willing to leave out the E-cell and we're just at 150 lbs.

Rope is the obvious addition but UT rope is very good and very light. 40 yards of 1000 lb line is only $20 and 1 lb.

Hunting weaponry isn't out of the question but I'm not sure what to add. We could add shotgun rounds for the Gyroc for minimal cast and weight increase.

Anyway we've got almost 50 lbs to paly with so you can suggest a number of other things.

[chandley]

Survival Laser for bagging game and defense. Super accurate (enough so that even unskilled users can hit with an Aim), charges off the solar, not crazy expensive. 1 or 4. 3.3 lbs each, 2,400 each. 2C cells, could use the ones you already included, or add more.

4x Heatsuit with Respirator, 3+3lbs each and $500+$300. TL 9 can't make it Responsive, but one-size-fits-most might still be worth it given the temperature and atmosphere advantages it confers. -250deg F to 100deg F and making thin and/or low-oxygen atmospheres breathable is kind of a big deal. 8 more C cells for these is $80 and 4lbs, or consider 4 D cells on belts to power personal stuff and charge off the solar. Add a Desert Environment System for $1000 and 2lbs each to vastly save on water.

[safisher]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Anyway we've got almost 50 lbs to play with so you can suggest a number of other things.

HT has actual survival kits. Those might be good to throw in, as backups. Having spare equipment, and alternate spare equipment, is always important: "Two is one and one is none," as they say. I like the idea of some sort of desert environment suit, but then maybe the survivors have their vacc suits? Optionally, some hygiene items, such as bug repellent, broad-spectrum antibiotics, foot powder, etc. More tools -- axe, shovel, etc.

[cdru]

Originally Posted by chandley

Survival Laser for bagging game and defense. Super accurate (enough so that even unskilled users can hit with an Aim), charges off the solar, not crazy expensive. 1 or 4. 3.3 lbs each, 2,400 each. 2C cells, could use the ones you already included, or add more.

These are TL 10. A hunting rifle with a scope might work, but it requires a skilled hunter

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by safisher

I like the idea of some sort of desert environment suit, but then maybe the survivors have their vacc suits? Optionally, some hygiene items, such as bug repellent, broad-spectrum antibiotics, foot powder, etc. More tools -- axe, shovel, etc.

A TL9 Desert Environment Suit is $1000 and 10 lbs and uses a C cell every week. That's doable though it takes up most of the remaining weight capacity. We could take some weight back by leaving out those overkill Envirobags. The desert suits provide Temperature Tolerance from -20 F to 120 F.

The TL9 Civilian Vacc Suits are $10,000, 25 lbs and use a C cell and an air bottle every 12 hours. That's not so doable Even if they were beign repurpsoed for more gnerla use in an Earth-like climate. They probably got left on the ship.

We might add an Entrenching Tool from HT. That's more portable than a full size shovel.