Quote:
Originally Posted by cosmicfish
I think the autonav is a great example. 1980 manufacturing technology absolutely cannot manufacture 2020+ technology, but there is also no way to make something like the autonav without using 2020+ technology!
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While I agree with you that more things arrived from the future that just a laser and fusion reactor, I have to disagree with you on the Autonav. Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) have been around since the 1960. By the time we get to the 1980s, there have been many advances in the types of gyros, the means to minimize drift errors and more, without the use of GPS. GPS is great when you have it, and I have little doubt that the Autonav does have GPS as one of it's inputs, but it can also use terrestrial radio signals, perhaps even private Morrow Industries eLoran towers. All of these receivers and sensors were quite small in the 1980s. None of this requires the use of 2020+ tech. Drift factors can be minimized by stopping the vehicle and letting the INS correct the velocity. When you are at a POI that is in the Autonav and you are stopped by it, you can completely reset the position. Plus the Autonav, for most purposes, just needs to be close enough. This is where I do drift from one of the books where it said something like the Autonav assured a first shot hit with the mortar I think. That just didn't seem plausible to me.