Copyright © 1999-2004 by Steve C. All rights reserved.
Scoutronics, Incorporated (a wholly-owned Subsidiary of Scout Enterprises, LLC) is dedicated to providing the very best in vehicle-mounted and hand-held electronics gear for the interstellar explorer. Below is a sample selection of our most popular items. For the latest in scientific and exploratory electronic devices, see your local Scoutronics dealer, or contact Scoutronics, Inc. at our Headquarters in Adrian/BC/Beta Canum Venaticorum/French Arm.
Chronocom: A combination Chronometer, Communicator, Computer, and
Compass, the Chronocom is one piece of Survival Gear that it's smart to keep
on your wrist in the city, too! Besides keeping time accurate to within a
projected two seconds/century (with auto-resetting to atomic clock radio
signals, if your world has them) in dual time zones, this cuff-style band
has a flatscreen that will display in digital (numbers), analog (rotating
hands), or audible (speech/chime) output, and can be set for 12/24 hour as
well as local time. Other features include waterproofing (not mere water
resistance) to 100 meters, two alarms (one for each time zone), alphanumeric
display, day, date, year, stopwatch, a database capable of storing 1.9
Megabytes of alphanumeric data (such as names and phone numbers) and
appointment reminders (giving you as many more alarms as memory will hold,
programmable up to 100 years in advance), with a user-selected security code
that will "lock" both (preventing access by unauthorized users), and a
programmable scientific calculator. All these functions are selectable at
the touch of a "mode" key, and powered by a 10 year button battery. Going
beyond being a mere watch, however, the Chronocom also has a built-in
altimeter, barometer, communicator (with a range of 3 kilometers, and no
Signature modifier), Computer Interface Port (so that you can hook it to your
Portacomp or Workstation, and use their larger screen and keyboard to edit
your Database/Scheduler files), electronic thermometer (Farenheit, Centigrade,
and Kelvin scales), and two compasses: a standard wrist-strap
liquid-filled magnetic compass, and the inertial version (for when magnetic
ores, or other anamolies, throw magnetics off). There is even a
seven-language word-listing and phrase-translation database (with on-screen
and/or audio output) designed for the frequent flyer (English, French, German,
Japanese, Manchurian, Portugese, and Spanish come standard). Several option
packages which add feature also exist, or are currently under development.
Mass: 50 grams. Price: Lv 335.
Chronocom GPS: This model is the same as the
Chronocom, above, with the addition of a GPS
downlink navigation receiver built-in (for those worlds which have GPS
satellites). While GPS is also available as a handy add-on package, we
recommend this model, instead, because field use (and abuse) may cause
problems with the connectors in the add-on package, resulting in
malfunctions.
Mass: 51 grams. Price: Lv 400.
Chronocom GPS Add-On Package: If you've already bought a regular
Chronocom, but have recently moved to a world
with GPS Satellite service (or yours just instituted it) and you don't want
to shell out the Lv 400 for a brand new Chronocom
GPS, this add-on package may do the trick for you. With the addition of
a small sliver of silicon (installed by a trained Scoutronics Chronocom
technician) your old Chronocom becomes the same as the
Chronocom GPS. In truth, we recommend the
previous model, instead, because field use (and abuse) may cause problems
with the connectors in the add-on package, resulting in malfunctions.
Mass: 1 gram. Price: Lv 65.
Chronocom Chip-Jack Adapter: While you can plug a Portacomp into
any Chronocom, this handy little add-on actually allows most Portacomp chips
to run on a Chronocom (although the flexible monitor expansion is usually
required, as the Chronocom's small screen size makes the display illegible).
This handy little addition package makes it possible to add the function of a
full Translation Chip, or a Language Cracker (or almost any other type of
Portacomp chip) to your watch! This unit comes complete with an attached
Durarubber plug-cap, for waterproofing your Chronocom to 100 meters depth
(chips are not usable underwater unless the Chronocom is in a sealed housing,
such as a drysuit, or the Sealscuff, below.
Attempts to use unprotected chips underwater may result in the chip being
rendered irreparable). One Chip-Jack Adapter may be added to a Chronocom, or
two, if the magnetic compass is removed.
Mass: 5 grams. Price: Lv 10.
Chronocom Chip-Jack Extender: This Chip-Jack Extender requires
that a Chip-Jack Adapter already be installed.
The Extender plugs directly into the Adapter, and allows more than one (up to
four) Portacomp chips to be simultaneously interfaced to a Chronocom, and
also provides a more secure attachment point for plugging in monitors and
interface devices (including a printer). Not designed for "in the field" use
so much as for "in the office".
Mass: 120 grams. Price: Lv 50.
Chronocom Sealscuff: For the more amphibious among us, this cuff
is specially designed to allow a Chronocom equipped with a Chip-Jack Adapter
to be used in the (sub-)marine environment. It consists of an oversized soft,
waterproof replacement band permanently attached to a clear, hard-sided
waterproof case. The oversized band may be worn over a wetsuit, etc. The
Chronocom is removed from its strap, the chip plugged into the adapter, and
the complete unit placed inside the Sealscuff, where it remains safe from the
water. A Durafilm strip allows the touch-sensitive screen to be accessed.
Note: Chips can not be changed during (sub-)marine operation.
Mass: 100 grams. Price: Lv 10.
Chronocom Sealed Chip-Jack: Similar in function to the
Chronocom Chip-Jack Adapter, but with two
very important differences: 1) It lets you operate freely underwater,
exchanging Chronocom chips at will, and 2) It will not accept standard
Portacomp chips! Standard Portacomp chips are not waterproofed, and will
be irreparably damaged if waterlogged. Scoutronics, Inc. has developed this
special, totally waterproof jack which (along with special waterproofed
chips) will allow divers (or Explorers in other hazardous areas that might
not allow normal chips to be exchanged) to exchange chips at will! For the
special chips required for the Sealed Chip-Jack, see below. Two Sealed
Chip-Jacks may be added to a Chronocom, or four, if the magnetic compass is
removed.
Mass: 10 grams. Price: Lv 20.
Scoutronic's Sealed Chip Service: So if the
Chronocom Sealed Chip-Jack can't use regular
chips, then what good is it, you ask? We here at Scoutronics have
re-engineered the standard Portacomp chip to be more resistant to heat, cold,
acid, alkilai, radiation, and yes... even seawater! By sealing the case and
redesigning the contacts, chips can now be exchanged in all manner of
environments! While international Copyright law prevents us from copying
other companies' work into our new housings, if you bring your old ones in
(along with the sales receipt - sorry, our legal eagles demand it), we can
physically extract the hardware, and put it in a new armored housing for you.
If you've done the work yourself, we can even copy it for you (with a signed
release). Thus, any data you have can be made to work with our new
system! The fee for physical conversion/copying is the same. Blank chips
may also be purchased, for filing your own data.
Mass: < 10 grams/chip. Prices: Physical
Conversion: Lv 11/chip. Copying (with signed release) Lv 2/chip.
Translation chips: Lv 11/chip. Language Crackers: Lv 660/chip. Reference
Guides: Lv 55/chip. Blank chips: Lv 2/chip, or 1 kg crates of 100 chips for
Lv 100.
Chronocom Sealed Chip-Jack Extender: The Sealed Chip-Jack Extender
has two separate purposes. First of all, it acts as a
Chip-Jack Extender for the
Sealed Chip-Jack, and secondly, it allows
Portacomps which do not use sealed chips to use them, through the Extender.
It also provides a more secure attachment point for plugging in monitors and
interface devices (including a printer). Not designed for "in the field" use
so much as for "in the office". This Extender also allows you to copy data
back and forth between regular and sealed chips, using a Portacomp.
Mass: 150 grams. Price: Lv 75.
Chronocom Interface Cable: While the standard RS2320C interface
jack built into each Chronocom can be used to interface them to each other,
or a Portacomp, in the field, it is often less than convenient to have your
wrist tied up, or to remove the Chronocom. For times like these, the CIC
(Chronocom Interface Cable) has been developed. A 1.5 meter armored cable,
the CIC allows you to attach all sorts of device to your Chronocom, and also
has a million use in interfacing other sorts of computer equipment, for field
use.
Mass: 0.1 Kilograms. Price: Lv 10.
Bioscanner: A Sensor-pack with computerized Expert Systems for
gas, blood, etc. analysis, and a multiplicity of straps, clips, and other
attachments for aiding a Biologist in the analysis of a newly discovered
form of life. Many functions cannot be performed at range, but require an
unconscious, dead, or more humanely incapacitated subject. Still, it is
useful for getting data on the more elusive quarries that might otherwise
never be cataloged.
Mass: 2 Kilograms. Bio. Skill: +1.
Range: 5 meters. Price: Lv 6,000.
Geoscanner: The Geoscanner is the latest in field-portable
automated Expert System scanning devices. It can be pre-set for the
detection of any three ores or elements (usually Tantalum, the Tin it is
normally found with, and Iron; or Columbite, Tantalite, and one other ore).
Which three metals/ores are scanned for is user-defined. As the Geoscanner
passes over the terrain, it takes various readings (thermal emission
spectroscopy, ultrasound, etc.), and compares the reading to library data.
By periodicly running soil samples through the scanner, chemical analysis can
be performed. The standing mount also allows for subsurface mapping via
emplaced explosive charges, and monitoring of volcanic and plate techtonics
activity. While a Geoscanner can be transported by hand (or beast-back), it
is more usually attached to a vehicle via the included gyro-stabilized vehicle
mount. In small claims (or when using emplaced charges) it must be set up on
the integral standing mount, and operated. If the pre-set elements/ores are
detected, the Geoscanner will sound a pre-set alarm, alerting the operator(s)
to the find. If the find is within 1/10 the stated range, direction and
distance will both be indicated. Outside that range, only direction is given
(thus, you may know that you are right on top of a tantalum lode, but not
whether it is six meters down, or 50). Normal range is 500 meters, LOS (line
of sight). Subsurface range is only 50 meters mounted, or 25 meters when
hand-held.
Mass: 10 Kilograms, including standing mount (25, in vehicle
mount). Geo. Skill: +2. Range: 500 meters LOS,
50 meters subsurface with the standing or vehicle mount, 25 meters, otherwise.
Price: Lv 7,500 (including both mounts).
Mediscanner: The Scoutronics Mediscanner is arguably the greatest
advance in modern medical equipment since the development of the Automed!
Finally, a multifunction Scanner/computer-recorder with preprogrammed
diagnostic and treatment routines, and an up-to-date library of medical
information and instructions. In the hands of a skilled operator, a single
Mediscanner is at least twice as useful as a Portable Automed, and
nearly as beneficial as a Static Automed. The Mediscanner is expected to
quickly replace Portable Automeds, allowing every skilled individual on a
Scout/Contact team (or soldiers in the field) to replace older, heavy, bulky
machines with these light-weight life-savers! This small unit contains all
the materials normally found in a Medikit, and was designed to make use of
the same resupply packages. It has sufficient materials for 100 uses (as per
a Medkit). Also included are the Medical Library, Voice-activation and output
Expert System, Standard RS2320C Computer Interface Port for connection to
other medical equipment, Automated (ultra-)sonic sterilization fields and
scalpels, Laser scalpels, (Ultra-)sonograms and Computer-Aided tomographic
scans, Thermal emissions spectroscpes and imagers, X-rays, and a host of
other high-tech diagnostic sensor equipment.
Mass: 5 Kilograms. Med. Skill: +2.
Range: Touch. Price: Lv 5,000.
Neuroscanner (Vehicle-mounted): The first true Advanced Life
Sensor that's not in a Starship Sensor Bay configuration! This
vehicle-mounted sensor has all the capabilities of a starship's Advanced Life
Sensor (except the range), but masses a mere 50 kilograms, requires only a
2.7 square meter array, and has a range of only one kilometer. It also
incorporates the capabilities of a Large Lifeforms Sensor for detecting heat,
so that "non-living" readings can be weeded out more easily. Since
Neuroscanners are a form of NAS (neural activity sensor), only creatures
above the level of a Rotifer (capable of independent thought) can be detected.
Plants and most micro-organisms cannot be detected by this method. The
amount of information gained by a Neuroscanner depends upon the skill of the
operator.
Mass: 50 Kilograms. Sensor Skill: +1 (for
detecting heat sources, only). Range: 1,000 meters.
Price: Lv 1,000.
Neuroscanner (Backpack): A small, thin, heavy, short-range NAS
that has all the capabilities of its bigger relatives, except the range. It
is covered on five sides by its array, and is usually worn on the back, with
the forward-facing array suspended on a vest or harness (attached via two
cables which fit over the shoulders), in order to provide 360 degree
detection. While somewhat cumbersome in this "carried" version, the
incorporation of both motion-sensor and Large Life Form Detector technology
aid the Neuroscanner in finding a niche. While motion sensors are useless
outdoors (reacting to every gust of wind), this combination is particularly
useful indoors, aboard starships, on Outpost worlds or Orbital Terminals, or
in other such conditions where air movements can be controlled.
Mass: 5 Kilograms. Sensor Skill: +1 (for
detecting heat sources, only). Range: 100 meters (1,000 meters
for heat). Price: Lv 250.
Neuroscanner (Hand-held): This version of the Neuroscanner is
more directional (only detecting creatures in front of it), and resembles a
large flashlight with a big head. While it has a shorter range than any
other model, the incorporation of full 360 degree Large Life Forms Detector
and motion sensor technology, as well as its ability to distinguish both race
and sex makes it useful on the farm, for finding lost pets, etc. It is also
the cheapest model ever produced. While Scoutronics doesn't claim that this
model is "Field Grade" or fit for explorers, ranchers in particular seem to
find it a very useful product!
Mass: 2.5 Kilograms. Sensor Skill: +1 (for
detecting heat sources, only). Range: 50 meters.
Price: Lv 125.
Chemsynthesizer: The Chemsynthesizer is a more generalized version
of the common Food Synthesizer. It can produce various chemicals from local
elements input into its mixing chamber. The amount synthesized in an hour's
time will be small, and depends upon both the complexity of the chemical, and
its form. 100 kilograms of a simple gas (such as molecular oxygen), 1/10
kilogram of a complex one (such as Doze or Foraline), 10 kilograms of a
simple liquid (such as water), 10 grams of a complex one, 1 kilogram of a
simple chemical solid (like sucrose), and 0.1 grams of a complex one will all
take the same amount of time, given the same quality of materials to work
with. Materials are rated from 1 (most easily processed) to 10 (hardest to
process), and the time required is multiplied by this rating.
Chemsynthesizers can simply "liberate" chemicals available from the input
materials (filtering out or neutralizing other compounds), or extract and
recombine the basic elements, as needed. They can be used to purify the air
or water (much like their larger cousins on Kie-Yuma), produce small
quantities of food or drugs, produce explosives, etc. Chemistry skill is
needed to program the unit, as well as select the best "input" materials.
Mass: 25 Kilograms. Chem. Skill: +1.
Price: Lv 3,000.
Voder: The Voder is a computerized electromechanical device
designed to aid the Linguist in recording and reproducing alien phonemes
which are typically difficult or unreproducable for humans. It has the
capacity to record and reproduce both sub- and ultra-sonic frequencies, to
produce digital recordings, analyze tonal or voice-stress patterns, and
accepts standard Portacomp Chips for storing information, providing
translations between various known languages, or for running Language
Crackers. The Voder looks something like a cross between a computer and
a portable electronic organ, and is usually worn with straps around the
neck and shoulders, for ease of carrying and field operations.
Mass: 10 Kilograms. Price: Lv 6,000.