[SichoPhiend]

I'm working up a character for the current season of missions in the hopes of attending Con on the Cob and some confusion has set in about the cost/availability of implanted commlinks (and since they use the same mechanics, cyberdecks) when they are not standard grade.

As such I am looking for an official missions ruling on how used/alpha/beta/delta affect the price and availability.
Both use a base price + the cost of the commlink/cyberdeck as the cyberware cost, so do you add them together before applying the grade modifier, or is the grade modifier only applied to the base price without the commlink/cyberdeck.
If it applies after the prices are combined I can see it as an abusable method of knocking 25% off the price of an expensive (used) cyberdeck.  If it applies only to the price pre-commlink/cyberdeck, then there is really no mark up for using an alpha/beta/deltagrade cyberdeck (commlinks are affected to a much lesser degree).  Personally I can see an argument for either.

The second part has to do with availability, do the decreased/increased availability of the varying grades apply to the availability of the commlink/cyberdeck.  At first I though this was a no brainer until I noticed that there is an availability of 5R for an implanted cyberdeck.  This hints that the availability of the implanted aspect of the cyberdeck is separate from the availability of the cyberdeck itself.  If this is true than an alphagrade cyberdeck would have an availability of 7R for the implant and a separate availability for the deck itself, but is the separate availability modified as well?

What is the official missions ruling on how to price these and determine their availability?

How about when installed into cyberlimbs of nonstandard grade?  (Here I can at least see the possibility of the commlink/cyberdeck component being an empty bay that you install your own commlink/cyberdeck into - though this is in no way inferred by the rules)

While any input would be appreciated, I feel that this necessitates an official ruling as the rules are a bit vague on these points.

[Bull]

When you're installing a commlink or cyberdeck, only the cyberware portion is subject to the grade markup/markdowns.  The cost for the cyberdeck or commlink is seperate and doesn't change.

[PeterSmith]

Thanks Bull. You just saved me a bunch of money!

[SichoPhiend]

Thank you very much for the prompt answer.

[Prætus]

I know this thread is quite old now, but could this ruling possibly be included in the next round of errata and missions FAQ so it is much easier to locate for all?  I do not see it in any version I can locate, and not everyone might be able to search the forums as skilfully as others.