 February 28, 2012 - 8:51am | One might think it has limited utility since its simply a small worn device with idiot lights. You just got to love idiot lights . My first car had them and you didn't know a problem was developing until the light went off. At any rate back when my brother and I were working on a new invention for modifying military gas mask he, being in the army, said some phrase about if equipment had moving parts a grunt would find away to brake it. There was more to the phrase that I don't remember but it clued me into the fact that designs for military use need to follow the KISS rule and the designer needs to try to anticipate all the ways the grunt in the field might screw up the equipment. As I was considering the equipment list for this project it occurred to me that the toxy-rad gauge was designed for the military with this mind set. It has no moving parts and is simplicity in design and use. That said I propose that it was first developed for Ground Fleet troops during SW1 operating on planets the sathar nuked. Geiger counters existed but no one had really miniaturized them and the call went out for simple equipment easily carried and difficult to break. Thus the toxy-rad gauge. Extra functionality was built in because of fears of chemical agents could be used by the sathar. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 28, 2012 - 9:08am | After the war many veterans hung onto their gauge as the Frontier is sometimes a dangerous place and many star ships had radiation sources. This fact spread its popularity and PGC was happy to market it to the general public and especially those in space industries. Despite its simple design and seemingly limited utility the device has maintained its popularity for decades. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 28, 2012 - 9:14am | The micro-battery powers it for five years. PGC early designs allowed for a tech to remove the back plate and change the power source. Eventually PGC changed to a design that could not be openness forcing you to by new when the power ran out. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 28, 2012 - 9:18am | So how does all this impact the game and this project. 1. No toxy-rad gauge during this period, instead they have Geiger counters. 2. I smell a tech journal article in the offing on scanner technology. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 28, 2012 - 11:00am | On further refection the SW1 war era toxy-rad lacked the red light for low oxygen this was added after the war when PGC realized there was a market for the device with spacers. More on the environmentalist's tool kit later. EDIT: Its latter. The Vaporscanner of the environmentalist's tool kit was also developed in conjunction with the toxy-rad gauge and issued to specialist as there would be a need for the greater detaial this device can yeild over the simple idiot lights of the toxy rad gauge. Latter on it was incorporated into the environmentalist's tool kit after the war when exploration was a hot area of investment. Sometime prior to SW2 the CAS devices hit the market (zebs guide) they were not initially popular, in part due to poor distribution and advertising. Product reviews by some consumer groups suggested that they were not an kind of improvement over the long used scanners of the environmentalist tool kit and that may have impacted sales. Finally it seems that there was also a learning curve and confusing mechanics for their operation (something about a "column shift" to read the out put gauges). The small company producing these devices, Z Scan, failed but PGC bought up their patents. Eventually PGC took one of their innovations, miniaturization and the ability to make duo scanners and released the tri scanner for environmentalist and scientist it incorporated the Geo-, Vapor or atmoshperic, and bio scanners of the environmentalist's tool kit into on small unit weighing only 3 kg. A few other specialized scanners were produced for specialty markets but were not generaly shown in PGC show rooms. Due to the wt. of the tri scanner most are outfitted with a shoulder strap so that they can be comfortably carried hands free and quickly accessed. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 February 28, 2012 - 7:46pm | Long post, could be another Technical Journal article for SFman. I'm in favor of keeping the Toxy-Rad Gauge as-is, however I don't mind a larger version for this time period. After reading the AD description I realized how eloquent the text reads to a player. GM, "You notice the yellow light blinking on your rad gauge." |
February 28, 2012 - 8:40pm | Yeah Toxy-rad gauge is popular for decades since SW1 I covered the other scanners to be thorough. No such thing as toxy rad gauge during this time- geiger counters Toxy-rad gauge during SW1 doesn't have the oxygen sensor Since SW1 toxy rad gauge is as the AD book describes I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 28, 2012 - 9:54pm | No such thing as toxy rad gauge during this time- geiger counters
Toxy-rad gauge during SW1 doesn't have the oxygen sensor Since SW1 toxy rad gauge is as the AD book describes Toxyrad Gauge. A Toxy-rad gauge is a special
device that is worn on the wrist like a watch. It will
alert the wearer to several types of danger. There
are three colored lights on the device. If the red
light flashes, it indicates that the oxygen content of
the surrounding air is dropping to a dangerously low
level. If the blue light flashes, it indicates that there
is dangerous radioactivity nearby. If the yellow light
flashes, it means that the sensor has encountered
some substance that is poisonous to Humans,
Dralasites, Yazirians or Vrusk. A small dial on the
face of the gauge indicates the degree of danger to
a character. Not sure where your coming from but this is like the LEAST ammount of worry in this project.  |
