Name:  Communications Equipment
Type (Category):  Equipment (Other)
Reference:  TechManual (p. 212)

Description:
Though most common to rearguard military vehicles acting as battlefield command centers, communications equipment is also seen in the police, civil service, commercial and industrial sectors. Specialized “comm gear” may be deployed in anything from a state-of-the-art newsvid van to a rescue vehicle, to a traffic control airship. The uses for such expanded communications facilities can be almost infinite, with direct point-to-point operational ranges (without bouncing) averaging 50 kilometers on the ground. Most complex systems can tap into satellite uplinks and communicate with vessels and other craft in close orbit, and larger units may even interface with HPG uplinks, to enter their transmissions into the local interstellar communications queue.

The basic suite of this type of communications gear is intrinsic to the normal systems found in military units like BattleMechs, aerospace fighters and Combat Vehicles. Some of the most popular of these include our own home-grown Achernar Electronics comm systems, or the Neil and O/P series seen across the Inner Sphere.

These systems have their limits, and not all civilian and industrial vehicles carry even this much gear. Combat and Support Vehicles that devote tonnage to these systems, however, can vastly improve their tactical command of a situation, either by monitoring remote sensors or by aiding field commanders in coordinating battlefield maneuvers.

Game Rules:
Communications equipment has no impact in Total Warfare. A unit’s communications equipment is considered active in game play as long as the system is not hit in combat, the unit’s sensors and cockpit are undamaged, the engine is not shut down and the unit is not destroyed. Otherwise, these systems continue to function even if the pilot/crew is unable to act.

While using advanced rules, communications equipment can be used to generate an ECCM field with the same area of effect as an Inner Sphere Guardian ECM Suite. Any unit that mounts 3 to 6 tons of communications equipment equals half of an ECM suite when generating an ECCM field. If the unit mounts 7 or more tons of communications equipment, it equals 1 ECM suite when generating an ECCM. Any time communications equipment is used to generate an ECCM field, all other bonus modifiers are lost.

Additionally, communications equipment can be used to generate ghost targets up to six hexes away. However, to do so, the unit must mount 7 or more tons of communications equipment. Communications equipment may not generate ghost targets and an ECCM field at the same time.

BattleMechsIndustrialMechsCombat Vehicles

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

BattleMech Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
ALPHA STRIKE WEAPON CONVERSION TABLE
Special Unit Abilities


MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

BattleMech Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
ALPHA STRIKE WEAPON CONVERSION TABLE
Special Unit Abilities


MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

IndustrialMech Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
ALPHA STRIKE WEAPON CONVERSION TABLE
Special Unit Abilities


MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

IndustrialMech Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
ALPHA STRIKE WEAPON CONVERSION TABLE
Special Unit Abilities


MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

Combat Vehicle Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
ALPHA STRIKE WEAPON CONVERSION TABLE
Special Unit Abilities


MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

Combat Vehicle Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
ALPHA STRIKE WEAPON CONVERSION TABLE
Special Unit Abilities


MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Communications Equipment (%IT% ton)