Armed Neo-Bob wrote:snipped for brevity
Jonathan_S wrote: Actually Roszak's "forward control" Marksmen were between his arsenal ship freighters and the People's Navy in Exile ships they were engaging. That's possition would potentially allow them to take control of the missiles after they'd overflow the Marksmen; which would be compatible with only rear-facing control links. (But would require the arsenal ships have the ability to feed at least basic flight data and launch orders to the missiles they were carrying; though they wouldn't ne ed to hold a control link after launch)
The control links are laser based--I would be astonished if the forward sensors couldn't detect it and re-direct it to the on-board computers, either for telemetry reasons (if it had the right codes) or as target emitter data (if it doesn't).
Rob
Vince wrote:
Do you have anything to support what I bolded in your post? I don't recall anything in either the text, the pearls, or David's posts on this forum that specify the hardware details of fire control links, aside from the numbers that some ships carry, or, that ship-killer (and their related ECM missiles) and counter-missile control links can't control the other's type's missiles.
Hi Vince, and yes I remember reading all that stuff.
I infer it from two pieces of information: first, that the sublight control links from the broadside are so highly directional that they cannot control missiles on the chase; second, the constant references to "com lasers" instead of "radio" aside from the one reference to "omnidirectional radio at this piddling range" by Abby Hearns, boarding Emerald Dawn.
I spent 7 plus years doing voice intercept for the Army--I am well aware of the principals of radio, and that such signals can be directional (when they aren't warped by terrain, weather, underground ores, and a thousand other things). But apparently they only use omnidirectional radio as a last resort. Which leaves what? Also, it was a comm laser intercept that got the DD Arrow to notice Haven's surveillance rig back in SVW; why not use something a little less energetic than a laser for a covert mission?
it also occurs to me,that you have the sketches of the missiles provided by "Jaynes" at the back of IFF; I didn't see anything like an antenna element in any of their "telemetry" --so I assume that, like nearly ALL their comm signals except the FTL, it's laser. Because if it was RADIO, they could've had off-bore firing centuries before this. . . . .
Which is an argument I have heard once or twice. And agree with.
If I'm wrong, and if it matters enough to the author, it will show up in the text someday. Or not.
regards,
Rob