Hello Phil,

> On November 20, 2019 at 11:28 AM Phil Pugliese - philpugliese at yahoo.com (via tml list) wrote:

> This is one of the idiosyncrasies that I noticed way-back-when when I first compared CT
> LBB2 vs CT LBB5 HG.

> My 'reconciliation' is that the 'standard' J-drives listed in LBB2 are manufactured in bulk at
> fairly Hi-TL facilities & then shipped off to various locations that might not otherwise be able
> to make them for themselves. 'Custom' J-drives are another story but, IMO, LBB2 is
> specifying an Imperium-wide standard.

> Hence, TL15 items are avail almost anywhere in the 3I, & even outside, for a price & you
> may have to wait.

> In this case, I say "Follow the book". If it says a Type(?) J-drive can send a certain hull 4
> parsecs, then that's exactly what it can do.

> In this case the 3I achieved J4 (&TL13) centuries ago so access to that is commonplace.

I purchased CT 1-3 1977 while stationed at the submarine base in Pearl Harbor, HI which was probably in 1978, and promptly created several characters, tried building a starship, and rolled up a subsector. There was no 3I to produce the CT LBB 2 'standard' hulls, power plants, drives, or other components.

My impression is that when a world achieves the appropriate TL, starport, and trade code is capable of producing CT LBB 2 'standard' hulls, power plants, drives, and other components. I do not think that the Solomani Rim is buying 'standard' CT LBB 2 components from the 3I. In theory, CT LBB 2 can be used to design 'standard' ships for the Aslan, K'kree, Vargr, Zhodani, Droyne, Hivers, Darrians, and all of the other sophonts introduced into the TU.

My understanding is that a jump drive installed in a 100 ton hull has a maximum range of 4 parsecs provided that there is 40 tons of fuel. In CT LBB 2 1977 the starship could jump 1, 2 , or 3 parsecs and still consumed the entire 40 tons of fuel. CT LBB 5 HG 1979 introduced the 'jump governor' which allowed the 'standard' drives to scale jump fuel consumption to the jump being made. CT LBB 5 HG 2e 1980 omitted the 'jump governor' and CT LBB 2 1977/1981 was written using the same jump fuel consumption formula as found in CT LBB 5 HG and eliminating 'jump governor's 1 ton mass and Cr300,000 cost.

Instead of having the CT LBB 2 1977/1981 standard 15 ton Type-B drive jump 4 parsecs in a 100 ton hull you could either make the drive do J-2 or reduce the jump fuel tankage to 20 tons.

Moving a standard 15 ton J-2 Type-B drive from the 100-ton hull to a 200 ton hull would still be a 15 ton J-2 Type-B drive but would need to have 40 tons of fuel to make one 2 parsec jump, which is the maximum range the Type-B drive can make in a 200 ton hull.

I've once again wandered off into a field in spite all the help I've been given.

Tom Rux