From: lower-tony@CS.YALE.EDU (Tony Lower)
Subject: Radio Information?
Summary: Manx asks a question 
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept., New Haven, CT 06520-2158
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 15:59:36 GMT

  Manx steps out of the shadows with a guilty expression on his face.

  "Hi all... sorry I've been absent lately.  I've been VERY involved in
a really wonderful weekend live-roleplaying game, and it was played this
past weekend.  I'm finally free of the responsibilities of getting things
ready, and myself and my party had scads of fun (you can mail me privately
if you want to hear war stories).

  "Before I get to semi-serious business, lemme catch up on a few things:

	HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL I MISSED!

        Unbeliever, I tend to agree with you on the interpretation of
		Covenant.  I've found that the people who are most
		vocal about the character are the ones who stopped
		reading halfway through the first book.  They seem
		to feel that that much reading allows them to judge
		the character and the series as a whole (NOT AN ATTACK
		ON ANYONE, JUST SOMETHING I'VE NOTICED AMONG MY
		RL FRIENDS!!!)

	Kitten, the wardrobe is ... extremely appealing.  My SO would
		probably slug me playfully if I said anything more.
		This would be alright generally, but right now, because
		of my weekend activities, my entire body is a mass of
		bruises.

  "_ANYWAY_... I said I had some business, and I do.  I have to get some
information about radios, both in terms of technical specifications,
and legal restrictions.  This is because of an innovation I want to
introduce to the LARP gaming organization I play with..."

  THE FOLLOWING EXPLANATION IS _LONG_.  HIT 'N' NOW TO SKIP IT!!!


  Manx settles back in a chair and starts talking quickly, illustrating
with animated hand gestures.  He is clearly pumping HUGE amounts of
adrenalin...

  "OK... what I noticed at the game I was at is this, the Game Masters,
who make the plot, and deal with all the questions, are under a HUGE
amount of pressure in the game.  Quite literally, it is IMPOSSIBLE for
them to deal with everything.  Partly this is because there are lots
of players asking lots of questions, partly it is because of the 'fog
of war', about which more later.

  "I am going to recommend to my group that EACH player party gets a
'sub-GM' to accompany them.  These people would handle questions from
their group, and would therefore take THAT burden off of the main GM
and leave them to deal with the plot.  This solves one problem, BUT...

  "The 'fog of war' still remains.  This is the problem created by the
fact that information travels SLOWLY across this huge campground where
we play.  It is seriously a fifteen to twenty minute RUN from one end
of the area to the other.  Things happen in the distant hinterlands
that GREATLY effect the plot, and the GM doesn't find out until twenty
minutes later, when it is generally already too late to alter the plot
in a reasonable manner.  This has lead to people making plots that
the players CANNOT alter, no matter how hard they try, and has made it
impossible to bring the game to its full potential.

  "Given that I want a 'sub-GM' with every good-sized party, it seems
reasonable to give each of them a radio head-set, and have another
tranceiver with the GM.  Then, the GM could stay in one place, rather
than running to every trouble-spot to deal with people at the scene.
Also, they would get information pretty much instantly, and be able
to change the situation accordingly, about as fast as they could
think about it.  I would also give a radio (although probably not
a headset) to major NPCs, for the same reason.

  "NOW, my question for people is this:  Given that I have a labor
intensive setup, where we can get lots of skilled volunteers, but
relatively little money, what would be the best way to get these
radios made?  What bands can we legally broadcast on?  Are we going
to get interference (like little kids with toy radios) and stuff
on these bands?  How powerful do the tranceivers have to be to
cover a 200 acre campground?

  "I have some electrical engineering knowledge, mostly purely
practical, but I could learn enough to solder just about anything
together.  My other possibility is to buy radios premade from
Toys-R-Us, since I figure that those MUST be legal, and then
to make some modifications to them.  Finally, there ARE some radios
at Toys-R-Us that are made for Junior Spies, which have everything
we want, except, perhaps, range.  I have to test these AT the
campground and see what the deal is.

  "Well, that's about what my questions are.  Thanks in advance
to anyone who can help out!"

							-- Manx
 
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