Post by DreadPirateMike on Sept 24, 2015 22:47:26 GMT -5
Official Weapon Name: Aratech Model 47 Carbine
Faction/Affiliation: Civilian (Also carried by some police forces.)
Classification: Sonic Blaster/"Scattergun"
Stock/Custom: Stock
Manufacturer: Aratech
Dimensions-
Length: 71 cm / Tactical, 75 cm
Weapon weight: 2.6 kg / Tactical, 3.62 kg
Magazine / Power Cell Capacity: 8 shots, at full power.
RPM: 12 shots per minute, full power. Otherwise, continuous.
Effective Range: 40 m
Projectile: Variable intensity sound waves
Caliber: N/A
Other:
Description:
The Model 47 carbine was originally born from a potent mix of ingenuity and corporate spite. The Aratech board of directors was galled to find that in spite of judicial probes resulting in arrests for everything from financial malfeasance to illegal research to outright high treason, their larger rival Czerka Corp endured, and as the same all around scumbag den they'd always been. So, they resolved to see if market forces could help along the rule of law, and began soliciting design submissions to cut into an area of traditional Czerka dominance: niche, non-standard weaponry.
The Model 47, it was hoped, would do one better. Sonic weapons were certainly a rare sight compared to the ubiquitous blaster, but rather than filling a niche, their new carbine would be marketed as the only weapon a customer would ever need. With the turn of a simple and user friendly side dial, the sound wave intensity could be tuned from an irritating hum for banishing small animals and meddlesome neighborhood children, ramping all the way up to a powerful condensed pulse that promotional material promised would "shatter an Acklay's skull at 100 paces". Additionally, a second dial on the opposite side of the barrel allowed for adjustment of the confinement angle, either a precise directional blast or a broadly fanning one. In theory, the resulting weapon could do it all; home defense, riot control, even big game hunting. A simple catch release allowed the user to open up the barrel on a hinge, making it quick and easy to change out the power cell. And all these features were housed in what focus groups had found to be an attractive, streamlined, "charmingly retro" housing.
Yet despite this promise, and some encouraging initial numbers, regular field use did reveal shortcomings in the design which subsequently hurt its sales. For one, despite the relatively basic technology involved, building in all those variable settings required some sophisticated and therefore delicate hardware. The frequent need for maintenance or replacement parts under rugged conditions soon gave the Model 47 a reputation for being temperamental and unreliable. More damning still were the reviews of those who had actually used the weapon in the most dangerous of cases, such as against armed and armored opposition that needed to put down in a hurry. The weapon's maximum setting was nigh suicidal to use against anything within a ten foot radius to begin with, on account of the pulse's powerful area of effect, but even in the open, a further flaw drastically limited viability. After the trigger was pulled, the carbine required just under two seconds to build up to full charge. The trigger could be released early for a lower powered pulse, but the energy lost by the abrupt cancellation of the charging sequence rendered the concussive yield unpredictable, and often disappointing. Nor was it possible to simply to hold down the trigger, thus delaying the release until a target was in sight, owing to the stress that the sustained vibration would place on the machinery. One had to carefully lead a target and time the shot, no simple task against a fast moving target.
In short, the weapon was a decent choice for less dire home defense or police use. But in a life or death struggle, it simply couldn't be counted on in close quarters, and wasn't much better at longer ranges unless in the hands of a skilled marksman unlikely to go for such a weapon in the first place.
The Aratech board had just about written off the Model 47 as an ambitious failure when word started to reach them of an interesting field modification, the instructions for which we're being circulated around the holonet by some enterprising spacers. Sonic weapons were, in many ways, ideal for repelling (Or, theoretically, assisting.) a boarding action in space, presenting a minimal risk compared to blasters or slug throwers of accidentally piercing the hull or compromisng some key system with a stray shot. As for the 47's noted deficienes, it turned out that with the right tools and a little know how, the power cell could be overclocked so as to shave that charge time down to around a half second, and the pulse feature could be disabled entirely. The result was a frightfully effective "sonic shotgun" that built to its full, bone shattering (Equivalent to the pulse, albeit only at point blank range.) force almost immediately, bombarded an entire corridor full of attackers with no danger of splashback harming the wielder, and lasting until the trigger was released or the power cell died. This modification DID chew through the power cell at an alarming rate, just over 9 seconds of continuous fire, and it was destructive to the weapon itself, necessitating constant repair, but for a cornered pilot, a "home modded" 47 remained a very desirable weapon.
Moving quickly to capitalize on this unseen potential, Aratech R&D went back to the original specs, and quickly came up with a modification of their own, built specifically around this intended use. The newly christened "Model 47 Tactical" was slightly larger, and more than a kilogram heavier, but the newly reinforced mechanisms were regarded as well worth the tradeoff. The weapon now incorporated a dual stage trigger. Pulled halfway back, the weapon would build up its long range pulse just as before, except now with the capacity to delay firing up to five seconds or until the trigger was pulled the rest of the way back. Or, in the event of an attacker already on top of you, one needed only skip straight to a full trigger pull to unleash the destructive wave. And this version could withstand being used as such far better. Even this gutsier version required periodic replacement parts, but these were simple enough to manufacture, allowing Aratech to offer a lifetime warranty for only an extra 400 credits.
At a reasonable market value of 3,200 (2,000 for the original.) credits per unit, the Model 47 carbine hasn't quite ruined Czerka, but it ranks these days as a well known, well regarded alternative. In fact, sales have actually risen significantly the past few quarters. While not confirmed, the going theory holds that this is a direct result of the intensifying war. With Republic citizens everywhere beyond the Core systems fearing an imminent invasion of beskar clad Mandalorians and lightsaber swinging Sith, a weapon theoretically capable of successfully engaging both and available to a civilian is starting to look pretty darn good.
Faction/Affiliation: Civilian (Also carried by some police forces.)
Classification: Sonic Blaster/"Scattergun"
Stock/Custom: Stock
Manufacturer: Aratech
Dimensions-
Length: 71 cm / Tactical, 75 cm
Weapon weight: 2.6 kg / Tactical, 3.62 kg
Magazine / Power Cell Capacity: 8 shots, at full power.
RPM: 12 shots per minute, full power. Otherwise, continuous.
Effective Range: 40 m
Projectile: Variable intensity sound waves
Caliber: N/A
Other:
Description:
The Model 47 carbine was originally born from a potent mix of ingenuity and corporate spite. The Aratech board of directors was galled to find that in spite of judicial probes resulting in arrests for everything from financial malfeasance to illegal research to outright high treason, their larger rival Czerka Corp endured, and as the same all around scumbag den they'd always been. So, they resolved to see if market forces could help along the rule of law, and began soliciting design submissions to cut into an area of traditional Czerka dominance: niche, non-standard weaponry.
The Model 47, it was hoped, would do one better. Sonic weapons were certainly a rare sight compared to the ubiquitous blaster, but rather than filling a niche, their new carbine would be marketed as the only weapon a customer would ever need. With the turn of a simple and user friendly side dial, the sound wave intensity could be tuned from an irritating hum for banishing small animals and meddlesome neighborhood children, ramping all the way up to a powerful condensed pulse that promotional material promised would "shatter an Acklay's skull at 100 paces". Additionally, a second dial on the opposite side of the barrel allowed for adjustment of the confinement angle, either a precise directional blast or a broadly fanning one. In theory, the resulting weapon could do it all; home defense, riot control, even big game hunting. A simple catch release allowed the user to open up the barrel on a hinge, making it quick and easy to change out the power cell. And all these features were housed in what focus groups had found to be an attractive, streamlined, "charmingly retro" housing.
Yet despite this promise, and some encouraging initial numbers, regular field use did reveal shortcomings in the design which subsequently hurt its sales. For one, despite the relatively basic technology involved, building in all those variable settings required some sophisticated and therefore delicate hardware. The frequent need for maintenance or replacement parts under rugged conditions soon gave the Model 47 a reputation for being temperamental and unreliable. More damning still were the reviews of those who had actually used the weapon in the most dangerous of cases, such as against armed and armored opposition that needed to put down in a hurry. The weapon's maximum setting was nigh suicidal to use against anything within a ten foot radius to begin with, on account of the pulse's powerful area of effect, but even in the open, a further flaw drastically limited viability. After the trigger was pulled, the carbine required just under two seconds to build up to full charge. The trigger could be released early for a lower powered pulse, but the energy lost by the abrupt cancellation of the charging sequence rendered the concussive yield unpredictable, and often disappointing. Nor was it possible to simply to hold down the trigger, thus delaying the release until a target was in sight, owing to the stress that the sustained vibration would place on the machinery. One had to carefully lead a target and time the shot, no simple task against a fast moving target.
In short, the weapon was a decent choice for less dire home defense or police use. But in a life or death struggle, it simply couldn't be counted on in close quarters, and wasn't much better at longer ranges unless in the hands of a skilled marksman unlikely to go for such a weapon in the first place.
The Aratech board had just about written off the Model 47 as an ambitious failure when word started to reach them of an interesting field modification, the instructions for which we're being circulated around the holonet by some enterprising spacers. Sonic weapons were, in many ways, ideal for repelling (Or, theoretically, assisting.) a boarding action in space, presenting a minimal risk compared to blasters or slug throwers of accidentally piercing the hull or compromisng some key system with a stray shot. As for the 47's noted deficienes, it turned out that with the right tools and a little know how, the power cell could be overclocked so as to shave that charge time down to around a half second, and the pulse feature could be disabled entirely. The result was a frightfully effective "sonic shotgun" that built to its full, bone shattering (Equivalent to the pulse, albeit only at point blank range.) force almost immediately, bombarded an entire corridor full of attackers with no danger of splashback harming the wielder, and lasting until the trigger was released or the power cell died. This modification DID chew through the power cell at an alarming rate, just over 9 seconds of continuous fire, and it was destructive to the weapon itself, necessitating constant repair, but for a cornered pilot, a "home modded" 47 remained a very desirable weapon.
Moving quickly to capitalize on this unseen potential, Aratech R&D went back to the original specs, and quickly came up with a modification of their own, built specifically around this intended use. The newly christened "Model 47 Tactical" was slightly larger, and more than a kilogram heavier, but the newly reinforced mechanisms were regarded as well worth the tradeoff. The weapon now incorporated a dual stage trigger. Pulled halfway back, the weapon would build up its long range pulse just as before, except now with the capacity to delay firing up to five seconds or until the trigger was pulled the rest of the way back. Or, in the event of an attacker already on top of you, one needed only skip straight to a full trigger pull to unleash the destructive wave. And this version could withstand being used as such far better. Even this gutsier version required periodic replacement parts, but these were simple enough to manufacture, allowing Aratech to offer a lifetime warranty for only an extra 400 credits.
At a reasonable market value of 3,200 (2,000 for the original.) credits per unit, the Model 47 carbine hasn't quite ruined Czerka, but it ranks these days as a well known, well regarded alternative. In fact, sales have actually risen significantly the past few quarters. While not confirmed, the going theory holds that this is a direct result of the intensifying war. With Republic citizens everywhere beyond the Core systems fearing an imminent invasion of beskar clad Mandalorians and lightsaber swinging Sith, a weapon theoretically capable of successfully engaging both and available to a civilian is starting to look pretty darn good.
