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Sniper Scopes

This fascinating series is a combination of historical seafaring, swashbuckling adventure, and high technological science-fiction. Join us in a discussion!
Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by TN4994   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:00 am

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Take known technology- pulleys, drive belts, block and tackle - apply principles to mechanical power transmission. They're probably using a continuously variable transmission system at some of the mills. Soon as they come up with vulcanization for rubber, some inovative person will design a three speed.
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by 6L6   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:13 am

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Hi SWM
I believe steam engines will become common and that a diesel will not be that different, no electric, some will balk at new inventions they did in the real world. Capt. Barns saved over a thousand people from the storm. I don't think any of them will mind.
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by n7axw   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:14 am

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SWM wrote:
6L6 wrote:fallsfromtrees wrote,
"Actually, it doesn't require electricity to run a diesel. The gasoline engine requires a spark for ignition, the diesel gets ignition from the compression of the fuel mixture in the cylinder. The fuel pump can be run off of a fan belt (as is usually done in vehicles today). Starting the engine may be a problem, but a small steam engine might to used to do the trick.

The real problem is there is no way you are going to convince the common soldier that the diesel engine is not a violation of the proscriptions, and that could lead to internal trouble for the EoC."



Air motors can also be used to start diesels, you can run a pump off of the fanbelt to a holding tank. A hand pump could be included for emergencies. When the COG forces start digging in for trench warfare tanks will be needed to break the stalemate. Troops will be happy to go into combat behind a tank.

Yes, we know that diesel engines can be run without electricity. The problem, as noted above, is that the general population is almost certainly going to feel that this crosses the line and violates the Proscriptions. As soon as Charis does something which even its own people feel is a violation of Proscriptions, Charis loses the war.


Steam is already across the line. So also is gunpowder which took a healthy bribe from Harchong to get approved. The priming caps violate the laws of Pasquale. The point is that at least in Charis, people are getting used to the idea of change and the proscrptions are wearing pretty thin. In fact they are being broken on a fairly regular basis.

If Father Paityr could find a way to approve steam, he can probably figure a way to approve diesel. From the standpoint of ordinary people the only real difference is the fuel used and that the cylinders are hidden inside the block.

Just a sidenote, when I was a kid, I used a John Deere tractor for bucking hay. It was diesel and had a big flywheel off to the side that you rolled by hand to start the engine. It had a handle which hooked into the outer circumference of the flywheel that was designed to come off in your hand when the engine started. The catch was that the engine would backfire kicking the flywheel the wrong way...which pitched me back on my fanny more than once.

Don
When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by 6L6   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:27 am

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Yes n7axw, you made some good points, give the troops getting ready to assult the trenches a choice, you can follow the tanks in or you can go by yourself, Nature has a way to ensure the smart ones will survive. This whole series is about cheating and skirting the edge of the proscriptions in order for Charis to offset the numerical advantage of the COG.
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by Zakharra   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 2:34 am

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None of the vehicles are going to be beyond the drawing stage before the current war ends. There is simply no way Charis can make, let alone transport any armored vehicles or tanks. they are -just- getting started with steam powered ships and soon locomotives. It's going to take years to get a steam engine small enough and reliable enough to fit in a APC/IVF let alone a tank. And they have yet to be able to make anything but black powder guns and cannon. The infrastructure to build all of that, and the processes to develop the machines in the first place are just getting made. It's still going to be a year or so, likely several years, before a reliable gun cotton type explosive is made. Will we see it for this war? Not a chance. For the next war in the next story arc? Yes, most likely.
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by Keith_w   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 8:36 am

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Ensign Re-read wrote: quote="AirTech" quote="Philip Stanley"]Since this is morphing into a "why doesn't Charis introduce this technology?" topic, I'll toss in this question:
Why don't they introduce the slide rule? It is a powerful tool for performing calculations involving multiplication and division and trigonometric and other higher functions. The device was invented in the 17th century, and came into common use in the 19th century.

== CLIP== /quote

Having been taught how to use them in high school (and in anger as a pilot (the old E-6B)) I would be surprised if ships navigators are not using something similar (if not, they are simple enough to make given a set to drawings). /quote


At first (and third), I thought you were talking about the circular slide rule. i.e.: "The E6B flight computer, or simply the "whiz wheel", is a form of circular slide rule used in aviation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E6B

Then, I started to wonder if you were talking about "the Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly E-6 Hermes), an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707-320."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-6_Mercury

But now I'm sure you meant the "flight computer" slide rule after all.

---

It seems to me that something like the E6B would be of use to the Navigators in the Charis SEA BASED Navy, and not only to the (real world) Airborne use we have today and in the recent past.

OK, maybe some features would have to be designed OUT of the end product, but I still think it has potential.


.


Based on Textev, Navigators on Safehold navigate by what may be refered to as inertial guidance only. It is mentioned in LAMA, I think, that while Daivyn is studying Navigation with the midshipmen using sextants, the Captain navigated by his own knowledge, understanding the wind, and using the log to judge speed to make landfall within a reasonable distance of his destination.
--
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by Ensign Re-read   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:44 am

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Keith_w wrote:Based on Textev, Navigators on Safehold navigate by what may be refered to as inertial guidance only. It is mentioned in LAMA, I think, that while Daivyn is studying Navigation with the midshipmen using sextants, the Captain navigated by his own knowledge, understanding the wind, and using the log to judge speed to make landfall within a reasonable distance of his destination.


Oy! That's the tough way to learn how to navigate.



.
=====
The Celestia "addon" for the Planet Safehold as well as the Kau-zhi and Manticore A-B star systems, are at URL:
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=====
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68506297@N ... 740128635/
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by n7axw   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:53 pm

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Ensign Re-read wrote:
Keith_w wrote:Based on Textev, Navigators on Safehold navigate by what may be refered to as inertial guidance only. It is mentioned in LAMA, I think, that while Daivyn is studying Navigation with the midshipmen using sextants, the Captain navigated by his own knowledge, understanding the wind, and using the log to judge speed to make landfall within a reasonable distance of his destination.


Oy! That's the tough way to learn how to navigate.



.



According to textev surrounding the passage quoted here, Charisian captains became quite good at it, able to navigate a trip of thousands of miles ending up 30 or 40 miles off target destination.

They did have access to carefully collected notes by captains who had previously made the voyage, but the process was highly intuitive.

This was a significant factor in allowing the Charisian merchant fleet to dominate the carrying trade on Safehold's seas.

Don
When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by TN4994   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 1:41 pm

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n7axw wrote:

According to textev surrounding the passage quoted here, Charisian captains became quite good at it, able to navigate a trip of thousands of miles ending up 30 or 40 miles off target destination.

They did have access to carefully collected notes by captains who had previously made the voyage, but the process was highly intuitive.

This was a significant factor in allowing the Charisian merchant fleet to dominate the carrying trade on Safehold's seas.

Don


On Earth; Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the Earth on the Golden Hind. Limited charts were available for some of the journey, but mostly, he did it by Hindsight. :P
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Re: Sniper Scopes
Post by EdThomas   » Mon Nov 24, 2014 1:55 pm

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Keith_w wrote:Based on Textev, Navigators on Safehold navigate by what may be refered to as inertial guidance only. It is mentioned in LAMA, I think, that while Daivyn is studying Navigation with the midshipmen using sextants, the Captain navigated by his own knowledge, understanding the wind, and using the log to judge speed to make landfall within a reasonable distance of his destination.

Did you mean "seat of the pants"? :D Actually the captain had quite a few inputs for his calculation. He gets time, distance and course from the log. Knowledge of currents, direction and strength at a given time of year he gets from his own experience and other sailors. Navigators in this world kept detailed notes of the conditions encountered on their voyages. I'd think it likely Safeholdian navigators did the same. These notes were shared with other navigators and preserved. Navies(some guvmint organization) gathered these navigators notes and published what are called Sailing Instructions. Shipping companies would have done this as well
Another vary important source of data is his knowledge of his ship's sailing characteristics, specifically, how much leeway she makes on all her different points of sail. Leeway is the sideways movement of a boat caused by the wind pushing on it.
We don't know much about navigation charts on Safehold but I'd guess they're pretty good with information on depths, currents and the type of sea bottom in coastal areas.
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