DEAD BOY ARMOR and other ARMOR

[avengerx]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I'm sure this question has been asked.

Dead boy armor and other Armors (Non robot/powered) have computers, targeting computers, full life support, internal cooling etc. But in the specs their is no power source listed?
Are they battery operated or micro nuclear reactor powered also? Since they don't say nuclear powered or anything about battery life, something has to be powering the life support and computers and such. Also if a EMP bomb went off near some dead boy armor would the person inside be unable to survive without the life support power? Would the armor joints freeze up? or do the human muscles power all movement. Basically without power their would be no life support, computer etc and the person inside would perish?

thanks!

[guardiandashi]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I'm sure this question has been asked.

Dead boy armor and other Armors (Non robot/powered) have computers, targeting computers, full life support, internal cooling etc. But in the specs their is no power source listed?
Are they battery operated or micro nuclear reactor powered also? Since they don't say nuclear powered or anything about battery life, something has to be powering the life support and computers and such. Also if a EMP bomb went off near some dead boy armor would the person inside be unable to survive without the life support power? Would the armor joints freeze up? or do the human muscles power all movement. Basically without power their would be no life support, computer etc and the person inside would perish?

thanks!

there was a note in one of the "newer" books but I can't remember which one atm, (for some reason I am thinking Canada) that they use batteries that typically have a 24-72 hr life, its the same batteries that run the environmental systems:
heating, cooling, air circulation/processing etc. and compared to that the computers power usage is pretty minimal.

think about it for a moment. we have computers today that use some pretty minimal amounts of power.
I am working deploying replacement pc's the ones we are using are hp elite mini's (with i5 processors) that use a 65 watt power brick like most laptops would use. they have 8gb ram, a SSD, and 6 usb ports all powered by that brick with some spare capacity.

my work laptop ~15" has a 1080P screen, 8gb ram, a ssd etc. all "charged" off a 45 watt supply.

and then there are things like the compusticks, basically a usb thumbdrive with a HDMI connector instead of a usb connector, that IS a computer (although most of them have a micro usb connector to feed additional power into the device.) give them another ~100 years of computer tech advancement and the energy budget might be good enough that a computer would run for hours (or days) off the equivalent of a couple AA or AAA batteries.

[taalismn]

You can also use the nifty little device they introduced in the Robotech RPG: Southern Cross where the ASC EBAs all have kinetic recapture devices that take up part of the wearers' own motion to charge a battery for built-in systems, relieving some, if not all, of the burden on base-charged batteries.

Considering we have as Rifts canon pull-string laser bows that do megadamage, a motion-capture system that would keep a suit of EBA's ventilation fans and wrist chronographs running should be a fairly simple matter.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

You can also use the nifty little device they introduced in the Robotech RPG: Southern Cross where the ASC EBAs all have kinetic recapture devices that take up part of the wearers' own motion to charge a battery for built-in systems, relieving some, if not all, of the burden on base-charged batteries.

Considering we have as Rifts canon pull-string laser bows that do megadamage, a motion-capture system that would keep a suit of EBA's ventilation fans and wrist chronographs running should be a fairly simple manner.

I just kind of assumed this was the deal all along.

[avengerx]

Thanks for the answers!

[kaid]

You can also use the nifty little device they introduced in the Robotech RPG: Southern Cross where the ASC EBAs all have kinetic recapture devices that take up part of the wearers' own motion to charge a battery for built-in systems, relieving some, if not all, of the burden on base-charged batteries.

Considering we have as Rifts canon pull-string laser bows that do megadamage, a motion-capture system that would keep a suit of EBA's ventilation fans and wrist chronographs running should be a fairly simple manner.

I just kind of assumed this was the deal all along.

For something like armor pezioelectric type recharging may be very effective. If you can capture the energy efficient enough just soldiers being soldiers would generate a fair amount of power. I am guessing there are batteries as well.

[Axelmania]

Do you think the laser bow plunger is too high tech for Mend the Broken?

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

You can also use the nifty little device they introduced in the Robotech RPG: Southern Cross where the ASC EBAs all have kinetic recapture devices that take up part of the wearers' own motion to charge a battery for built-in systems, relieving some, if not all, of the burden on base-charged batteries.

Considering we have as Rifts canon pull-string laser bows that do megadamage, a motion-capture system that would keep a suit of EBA's ventilation fans and wrist chronographs running should be a fairly simple manner.

I just kind of assumed this was the deal all along.

For something like armor pezioelectric type recharging may be very effective. If you can capture the energy efficient enough just soldiers being soldiers would generate a fair amount of power. I am guessing there are batteries as well.

Right, i assumed there were batteries, but that you never really charged them because walking around when you aren't in combat keeps the charge up plenty good.

I just filed this under "simple handwavium" and moved on.

[SpiritInterface]

We use standard e-clips as the batteries for 48-72 hours of operation.

[Killer Cyborg]

You can also use the nifty little device they introduced in the Robotech RPG: Southern Cross where the ASC EBAs all have kinetic recapture devices that take up part of the wearers' own motion to charge a battery for built-in systems, relieving some, if not all, of the burden on base-charged batteries.

Considering we have as Rifts canon pull-string laser bows that do megadamage, a motion-capture system that would keep a suit of EBA's ventilation fans and wrist chronographs running should be a fairly simple manner.

I just kind of assumed this was the deal all along.

For something like armor pezioelectric type recharging may be very effective. If you can capture the energy efficient enough just soldiers being soldiers would generate a fair amount of power. I am guessing there are batteries as well.

Right, i assumed there were batteries, but that you never really charged them because walking around when you aren't in combat keeps the charge up plenty good.

I just filed this under "simple handwavium" and moved on.

Same.
Armor battery life was always one of those things that seemed more like tedious bookkeeping than like something that would typically enhance the adventure experience.

[taalismn]

[
Same.
Armor battery life was always one of those things that seemed more like tedious bookkeeping than like something that would typically enhance the adventure experience.

*bwink*
Okay...and my suit AC just quit....and I still got twn more miles to go.....in full EBA....this hike's going to suck.
"ALRIGHT! DOUBLE-TIME IT, MAGGOTS!!!!!"
Suck HARD.

[Axelmania]

To enjoy that we'd need rules for overheating, something that might've shown up in a world book or something but which I can't recall where.

[Killer Cyborg]

Same.
Armor battery life was always one of those things that seemed more like tedious bookkeeping than like something that would typically enhance the adventure experience.

*bwink*
Okay...and my suit AC just quit....and I still got twn more miles to go.....in full EBA....this hike's going to suck.
"ALRIGHT! DOUBLE-TIME IT, MAGGOTS!!!!!"
Suck HARD.

It's possible to make anything interesting in a single limited scenario.
It's just not worth the drag on every other scenario where the thing would come up. Not in this case.

[taalismn]

[

It's possible to make anything interesting in a single limited scenario..

I'd consider that a gauntlet thrown, but yeah, you add enough sharks, high explosives, and lasers, and even some of my regulars' monologues about investment banking or their skin eruptions can be made interesting.

[kaid]

[
Same.
Armor battery life was always one of those things that seemed more like tedious bookkeeping than like something that would typically enhance the adventure experience.

*bwink*
Okay...and my suit AC just quit....and I still got twn more miles to go.....in full EBA....this hike's going to suck.
"ALRIGHT! DOUBLE-TIME IT, MAGGOTS!!!!!"
Suck HARD.

You would pretty much have to strip the armor if the cooling quit. In an EBA your body would cook itself pretty fast unless you were able to pop a lot of seals/armor pieces off.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

[
Same.
Armor battery life was always one of those things that seemed more like tedious bookkeeping than like something that would typically enhance the adventure experience.

*bwink*
Okay...and my suit AC just quit....and I still got twn more miles to go.....in full EBA....this hike's going to suck.
"ALRIGHT! DOUBLE-TIME IT, MAGGOTS!!!!!"
Suck HARD.

You would pretty much have to strip the armor if the cooling quit. In an EBA your body would cook itself pretty fast unless you were able to pop a lot of seals/armor pieces off.

Really depends on how the cooling works, which is never discussed.

For instance, in "real" plate armor (historically, 10-14ga steel), while it is not sealed like EBA (which, again, depending on how the cooling actually works, might be a good thing OR a bad thing), transfers heat like you wouldn't believe. Well, you probably would.

But men wearing armor could fight in it for hours because of how the "cooling" system worked - basically, the gambeson (layered cloth garment) would get wet from sweat, and because water transfers heat much better than just surface sweat evaporating, it could actually keep you quite cool.

If a similar system is used inside of EBA, which it would almost have to be, since everywhere but the torso the armor is almost assuredly clasped/locked tight to your limbs (and therefore, you aren't blowing AC around inside of it), the underlayer/body suit is probably very good at transferring heat and if you build it with some nanotubes in it that have water/radiant fluid of some kind in it, the mere act of walking would keep you cool, power or no (think how a Fremen Stillsuit works in Dune). If you had a small fin-stack and a powered heat-exchanger somewhere in the torso, that would complete everything you need for the cooling system.

So with the power out, the heat-exchanger wouldn't work and the efficiency would be greatly reduced, but you'd probably still be ok if you unbuttoned the helmet - just sweaty and damp and would need to drink more to stay hydrated.

This would also explain why it doesn't seem to be an issue to keep you cool when it is hot out, but you somehow freeze to death in mere hours in Canadian winters in EBA rated for use in Space... such a system would be a lot harder to keep WARM than it would be to keep cool.

[Zurmash]

Who else has thought about the need for a catheter in eba/PA? How ta pee? How to poop? Are there removable crotch and butt parts?