Fusion-powered APCs and Laser Rifles.

[Terrace]

Now, it makes perfect sense to me for an APC sporting a Fusion Engine (Standard, Light, XL, XXL) to be capable of easily recharging the power packs a Laser Rifle-sporting Infantry Platoon relies upon. Do you think a freshly-purchased model would have this capability as is, or would it require some kind of aftermarket upgrade kit?

[CrazyGrasshopper]

The answer is that it should have it from a get-go, since it's such a no-brainer. Though you  should be careful in defining how fast it takes. A reasonable solution would be that the infantry has one set of power packs on them and the other riding in the APC and recharging while doing so.

[Terrace]

The answer is that it should have it from a get-go, since it's such a no-brainer. Though you  should be careful in defining how fast it takes. A reasonable solution would be that the infantry has one set of power packs on them and the other riding in the APC and recharging while doing so.

But the fluff indicates that infantry carries either six spare magazines or six power packs on their person.

Ah, a "set" of power packs in this case would be six per soldier, wouldn't it? I figure the APC's power source could probably fully recharge a platoon's worth of fully depleted power pack sets over the course of an average trip (from when the infantry platoon initially climb in to when they dismount at their destination, assuming no stops along the way).

Now, whether this ability would involve a central recharge station big enough to hold all the power packs at once, or distribute the recharge sockets throughout the compartment to be next to each soldier's assigned seat, would likely vary depending on the design.

[CrazyGrasshopper]

Ah, a "set" of power packs in this case would be six per soldier, wouldn't it?

Yes, that's what I meant, so that they are able to swap depleted power packs for charged ones without a need to wait.

[Liam's Ghost]

A Time of War has a selection of rechargers, including ones that plug into an existing power supply. The heavy duty recharger is probably a good baseline. It can produce 200 power points per hour, which is enough to charge ten standard power packs (five at a time) or one standard military power pack in an hour.

And honestly, I don't think a vehicle would need to be fusion powered to do the job. Even an ICE engine can, with the installation of an amplifier, fire a mech sized energy weapon. I doubt sparing the juice for personal weapons would be an issue. Though I don't know how many rechargers you could have running at once.

Either way, I assume it's enough that most of the time you don't have to worry about going into battle with low power packs.

[CrazyGrasshopper]

Even an ICE engine can, with the installation of an amplifier, fire a mech sized energy weapon.

Well, they can charge Gauss Rifles without power amplifiers, so, yeah.

And you'd better take A Time of War with a grain of salt on the topic of energy requirements for energy weapons and charging things. I recall, it was admitted that there are issues with some numbers.

[Liam's Ghost]

And you'd better take A Time of War with a grain of salt on the topic of energy requirements for energy weapons and charging things. I recall, it was admitted that there are issues with some numbers.

Source? The power demands of most personal weapons and the capacity of the powerpacks has been unchanged since at least two editions ago.

[CrazyGrasshopper]

Source? The power demands of most personal weapons and the capacity of the powerpacks has been unchanged since at least two editions ago.

I think, it was a discussion about power demands of a Battle Armor, here on the forum. But I can misremember, of course.

[Terrace]

Yeah, that reminds me about something semi-related. Do generic Laser Rifles run on Standard-sized power packs (roughly the size of a pistol grip), or full-up Military-sized power packs (backpack-sized), or one of the in-between options?

Edit: I'd go for Satchel-sized if I had to pick (size and weight of a full canteen, provides enough power for 20 shots from a generic Laser Rifle) over any of the other sizes (Standard only gives five shots, Micro gives three, and Military size gives 40 at the cost of being far too bulky to carry additional packs). Really, my perusal of Sarna.net indicates that Military size should be saved for the heavy stuff, like Semi-Portable Support Energy Weapons.

[CrazyGrasshopper]

We've got some legacy problems with equipment stats and power/kg that we can't easily solve anymore. Nothing as bad as cbills, but my overall advice is: look elsewhere.

@Liam's Ghost: I meant this quote. But you probably know more about this problem, I did not go in-depth.

[Liam's Ghost]

I think, it was a discussion about power demands of a Battle Armor, here on the forum. But I can misremember, of course.

Battle armor is a completely different animal than personal weapons.

Also, if it's the one I'm thinking of, it had to do with fusion rechargers and contained unproven fan assumptions about how much power a battlesuit required. There was no official rulings made one way or another.

Yeah, that reminds me about something semi-related. Do generic Laser Rifles run on Standard-sized power packs (roughly the size of a pistol grip), or full-up Military-sized power packs (backpack-sized), or one of the in-between options?

Yes. :)

All personal weapons and equipment requiring power can draw it from any type of power pack (unless specifically noted otherwise). You could even squeeze off a couple shots from a support laser using a battery sized micro power pack if you want to.

I think standard practices is to use a satchel battery or military power pack for high draw/high rate of fire weapons.

[Liam's Ghost]

@Liam's Ghost: I meant this quote. But you probably know more about this problem, I did not go in-depth.

I read the quote in context, and it has nothing to do with recharging personal weapons. Also, I don't think Paul makes those decisions in an official capacity.

[CrazyGrasshopper]

I read the quote in context, and it has nothing to do with recharging personal weapons. Also, I don't think Paul makes those decisions in an official capacity.

Well, OK then. I really can't judge on the matter. I have my own feeling that the official number of shots assigned for lasers on BA is too high, but that's unrelated to the topic of this thread.

[snewsom2997]

Even an ICE powered APC should be able to charge laser rifles.

[Daryk]

Guilty as charged!  I've brought the power density problem up a few times, and been shot down by Paul a of couple times less than that.  My latest thread is down in the Fan Rules section, and covers power packs.

[massey]

What about bringing along an extension cord and just plugging your laser rifle into the fusion powered APC?  Unlimited ammo, basically.

[JenniferinaMAD]

What about bringing along an extension cord and just plugging your laser rifle into the fusion powered APC?  Unlimited ammo, basically.

For as long as you stay within cable length of the APC, yes. But extension cords have non-negligible weight and require rolling back up after use, which will take time and a pair of eyes to guard against snags at the very least.

As soon as you have to advance on foot through forest or buildings/ruins, that cable is going to become a problem, and that's usually when mechanised infantry is asked to dismount. For defensive deployments, there's a good chance you'll have access to an actual power grid, and for open terrain combat, you're usually better off staying in the APC while it flees or advances into cover as appropriate.

[Daryk]

For longer periods away from a vehicle kinetic and solar rechargers are remarkably light, if slow.