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Subject: The Perils Of Power
SYSOP    10/1/2014 5:13:25 AM
 
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ka5s    Silence is golden, if you have the gold   10/1/2014 6:46:07 AM
I saw a demonstration of a quiet 500-watt thermoelectric generator some 30+ years ago in Germany.  If I recall correctly, it was relatively quiet -- but used as much fuel as a much larger diesel. We didn't need golden silence enough to fork over the gold.
 
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joe6pack       10/1/2014 5:26:34 PM
Outside whatever the cost is.. I'd wonder about maintenace. Fixing diesel generators is something the military has ages of experience with.. replacing damaged solar cells and fancy batteries seems to have stateside 'depot' repair written all over it.. but the article says it works in combat conditions.. so maybe it just works..
 
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Nate Dog    Joe6pack   10/1/2014 11:10:15 PM
No, you're probably correct, 
Repairs have become a thing of the past in most day to day items in civilian life, only surprise here is that its taken this long to filter into military use.
Modern devices, coupled with extremely cheap manufacturing costs (read chinese slave labor) are definitely disposable. Once these items go into mainstream military use, it'll almost certainly be a use break replace cycle as opposed to a use break fix one we currently see.
Nothing wrong with it, so long as China keeps supplying slave labor and we keep buying it. 
 
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Nate Dog    Joe6pack   10/1/2014 11:15:08 PM
That didn't come out quite how i intended it, its morally reprehensible on numerous levels to use slave labor the way we do (personally i try and buy local when i can).
Hurts our humanity, local business, no drive for robotics… etc.
Little known fact, first steam piston reciprocal engine was invented in ancient greece some 2500 years ago, when presented to the local monarch, he ordered it destroyed and admonished the inventor to never build it again, with attached quote "what will we do with all the slaves"
The greeks did use such things in children's toys, but with no impetus for further development, the technology died.

Anyway. Sorry to distract from interesting conversation. 
 
 
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joe6pack    Nate   10/2/2014 5:07:02 PM
 "Repairs have become a thing of the past in most day to day items in civilian life, only surprise here is that its taken this long to filter into military use."

I can't see repairs entirely leaving the military way of doing things.. unless your army is defending your own borders..  Yeah, my wireless router stonks out.. I don't worry about a fix, I head to Best Buy and bring home a new one assembled by some 12 year old asian child.. or the like.

However, ain't no Best Buy in Afghanistan.. I'd take my chances with some duct tape and portable fix it kit.. Shipping a new one from the states and paying the Pakistani extra special delivery fee (bribe).. seems time consuming and expensive.. 
 
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