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How fast is communications between planets?
- Thread starter Wanderer
- Start date
Fred
Retired Staff
Well, it depends on the communication system being used in the first place, no?
Radio, Laser, Tachyon, Hyperspace/Subspace, Quantum Relay.
Quantum Relay seems to offer realtime communication as long as there are ships or installations that can go and transmit the said message to the source.
Radio, Laser, Tachyon, Hyperspace/Subspace, Quantum Relay.
Quantum Relay seems to offer realtime communication as long as there are ships or installations that can go and transmit the said message to the source.
Wanderer
Inactive Member
I see, I kind of figured either of the last two would have to be used for communication between planets. Even in a same system kind of situation you would have a number of minutes delay between anything traveling at the speed of light or less.
However subspace/hyperspace would be kind of similar to ships traveling through the same method so it be hours before a message reached a system very far away?
And the Quantum method needs something in between to relay the message for long distances? But if it has that then it would be as fast as Wes mentioned?
Also, can the last two methods Fred mentioned be jammed?
However subspace/hyperspace would be kind of similar to ships traveling through the same method so it be hours before a message reached a system very far away?
And the Quantum method needs something in between to relay the message for long distances? But if it has that then it would be as fast as Wes mentioned?
Also, can the last two methods Fred mentioned be jammed?
Vesper
Inactive Member
Tachyon comms can get quite a long range but their is the trade off between the speed of the transmission and how easy it is to receive. This is due to the fact that tachyons loose energy the further beyond c they go. So the faster the transmission packet is going the harder it is going to be to detect on the receiving end, requiring either a more sensitive receiver or a larger one. Because of this I think the transceivers on smaller things (PA, shuttles, escorts, etc.) would be restricted to relatively short range transmissions unless sending to something with a very large/ very sensitive receiver (like a planet or star base).
For Subspace/hyperspace transmissions I think the comm packet would be much, much faster than a ship trying to travel through it. I see them as the mainstream communication method for the setting. They allow for rapid (though not instant) communication, are widespread, and are cheap. I think either of them could be jammed by the same methods you use to disrupt FTL travel.
Quantum communications rely (to my understanding of the system) on the quantum-pair effect to transmit information instantly over any arbitrary distance. I would think it would have a lower data rate than subspace systems (since it has a lot more overhead in setting up and maintaining a transmission) but has the obvious advantage of being instant over any distance. As for jamming, I think it would be very hard to do since you would have to have something that can directly affect the transmitter or receiver unit within the sending or receiving ship/base/planet.
For Subspace/hyperspace transmissions I think the comm packet would be much, much faster than a ship trying to travel through it. I see them as the mainstream communication method for the setting. They allow for rapid (though not instant) communication, are widespread, and are cheap. I think either of them could be jammed by the same methods you use to disrupt FTL travel.
Quantum communications rely (to my understanding of the system) on the quantum-pair effect to transmit information instantly over any arbitrary distance. I would think it would have a lower data rate than subspace systems (since it has a lot more overhead in setting up and maintaining a transmission) but has the obvious advantage of being instant over any distance. As for jamming, I think it would be very hard to do since you would have to have something that can directly affect the transmitter or receiver unit within the sending or receiving ship/base/planet.
I think a better question is "How fast would it take for a force to mobilize"
The only time the speed of a message matters in long distances is if you are requesting something urgently. Otherwise it's left to the veil and you can ignore it. Need reinforcements though? That's something that is time sensitive.
So how long would it take from Message sent, for troops to be able to assist?
The only time the speed of a message matters in long distances is if you are requesting something urgently. Otherwise it's left to the veil and you can ignore it. Need reinforcements though? That's something that is time sensitive.
So how long would it take from Message sent, for troops to be able to assist?
It depends on the readiness level. The Star Army is going to have X percentage of ships fully ready to go at any given time. Ships on quick reaction force duty basically only need as long as it takes for their FTL drives to carry them to the destination. Other active ships that are not on combat alert are going to need a little more time to respond. Ships on leave would need time for the crew to return to the ship. So the smaller the force needed to respond, the quicker it can arrive. Larger forces require more coordination and time.
The pirate's rule of thumb on Yamatai's ships is that if you can't be finished and gone in ten minutes, you shouldn't mess with it. In The Fringe plot, Concordia Veil was attacked and the Star Army responded within 10 minutes, but the pirates were gone in 2 minutes.
The pirate's rule of thumb on Yamatai's ships is that if you can't be finished and gone in ten minutes, you shouldn't mess with it. In The Fringe plot, Concordia Veil was attacked and the Star Army responded within 10 minutes, but the pirates were gone in 2 minutes.
