[JmOz01]

Can trodes be installed in armor that is not on your head?  If I am reading run and gun correctly it can and at a reduced capacity

[Xenon]

according to core, i would say no
then again i don't know what run n gun changed on the matter....


trodes: A headband or net worn on the head that creates a direct
neural interface. Popular models include an attached hat, wig,
or other headware. Short for “dry active electrode array.”

Trodes: Available as a headband, net, or full-on cap,
this electrode-and-ultrasound net gives you a direct
neural interface. Useful if you’re too squeamish to get
a hole drilled in your head for a datajack. Adding this to
headgear takes two slots of Capacity.

[Turkish]

Sorry to threadjack, but this seemed to be a good place to ask.
Using trodes, a gun with a smartgun system, and contacts with smartlink; Is that everything needed to use a smartgun and gain most of the benefits? Is anything redundant or missing?

[Rooks]

Trodes would need to be on the head to scan the brains impulses (think MRI) Trodes are like a data jack you could plug your trodes into the universal connector port of your gun that has smartlink so you could eject a clip read ammo count if you have image link etc increased accuracy and dice pool bonus I would think not cause smart link needs the wireless access to calculate wind trajectory and other external factors which is why internal router is good for like wired reflexes and reaction enhancers cause really you just need the wireless on for the two items to talk to each other not to access the matrix to move more quickly

[SmilinIrish]

Tiny correction here Rooks:  Not so much MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) but like EEG ( ElectroEncephaloGram).  MRI takes "picture" of tissue, EEG reads an electrical signal.

[Poindexter]

Personally, I tweak it so trodes can be installed on anything that makes contact with the base of the neck as well.

[Marcus Gideon]

Sorry to threadjack, but this seemed to be a good place to ask.
Using trodes, a gun with a smartgun system, and contacts with smartlink; Is that everything needed to use a smartgun and gain most of the benefits? Is anything redundant or missing?

That's it.

The Smartgun has a camera and sensors installed, recording data about the weapon and where you're aiming.
The Smartlink in your contact lenses receives that data, and generates a HUD to assist with aiming and display weapon info like ammo, temperature, etc.
And the Trodes let you think commands rather than press buttons. You can think and eject the magazine, or switch the safety, or change firing mode (single shot / burst fire).

Back to the thread in general... Trodes are relaying info back and forth to the user's brain. So they definitely need to be on the user's head. You can't project imagery into someone's nervous system from their foot or their belly button. And the brain doesn't send nerve impulses all the way out that far either, unless you want to make "Eject Magazine" = "flex left butt cheek".

Trodes either need to be a headband worn directly, or mesh added to headgear of some kind. Inside a helmet, woven into a hood, stuff like that.

[kyoto kid]

...question.  If one has trodes say, in a helmet or linked to a ballistic mask and they relay information between the visual mods in the mask and the wearer, would wireless noise affect the pool bonus for vision enhancement?

Also could one physically link a smartgun to the trodes (provided the mask had an Image Link) and still get the +1 die pool bonus for a hardwired link in the event of high wireless noise or does one need a datajack implant for that.?

[Marcus Gideon]

...question.  If one has trodes say, in a helmet or linked to a ballistic mask and they relay information between the visual mods in the mask and the wearer, would wireless noise affect the pool bonus for vision enhancement?

It's referenced in the Gear section in the back of the Core, that ambient Noise greater than the DR of the device, will impede it's Wireless Bonus functions. But it shouldn't have as big an impact on the base functions. Which is why you can still use a DR 1 Cyberdeck to hack despite any amount of jamming, you just have penalties. If Noise could cancel out base functions, a DR 1 Cyberdeck would be completely useless.

So I would think that the base functions of your device will work despite Noise. Vision Enhancement doesn't even rely on outside data, it's just cleaning up the video, doing the old "can you enhance that image" trope.

Also could one physically link a smartgun to the trodes (provided the mask had an Image Link) and still get the +1 die pool bonus for a hardwired link in the event of high wireless noise or does one need a datajack implant for that.?

Smartlink is a different matter. It's not just using data from the gun. There is a Matrix connection to gather up-to-date weather info, such as wind speeds, barometric pressure, all sorts of fluff that turns into a perfect trajectory to assist with shooting. Those things require a clean connection to get that info, which is why Noise affects it. It's not that your Smartgun or your Smartlink can't connect, there's just too much latency for a perfect connection. And the latency throws off the math enough that there is no appreciable bonus.

Specifically addressing that 2nd quote... your mask would need Smartlink installed, plain and simple. The gun is feeding out data, but whatever Eyeware you're using for the HUD still needs the Smartlink installed to process that data. So long as you had the Smartgun, the Smartlink in your mask, and the Trodes for mental commands, you could use all the Smartlink functions at +1. Using a Datajack instead of Trodes won't matter, since it's the Smartlink itself that needs to be implanted for +2. Meaning with the gun, no mask, and Trodes, you could get +2 just as easily. Provided there's no Noise to kill the Smartlink bonus. Even with the gun, no mask, and Datajack, if the ambient Noise is high enough it will squash the Smartlink's Matrix connection and kill the bonus dice. You can still eject the magazine, but you don't get the trajectory assist.

[kyoto kid]

...but I thought the advantage of going fully "hardwired' would mean you were not susceptible to hacking or noise (hence the "throwback" option as mentioned in the core rules). You would effectively be bypassing the commlink altogether and going completely DNI.  It shouldn't cause you to lose any bonuses especially if you've paid essence to have it.

I've found in the real world having a hardwired rather than wireless or satellite link, you get a more stable connection and actually better performance.

[Marcus Gideon]

...but I thought the advantage of going fully "hardwired' would mean you were not susceptible to hacking or noise (hence the "throwback" option as mentioned in the core rules). You would effectively be bypassing the commlink altogether and going completely DNI.  It shouldn't cause you to lose any bonuses especially if you've paid essence to have it.

I've found in the real world having a hardwired rather than wireless or satellite link, you get a more stable connection and actually better performance.

Datajacks and Trodes are generally assumed to be wireless as well. You have an implant in your head, or a headband, and then a Commlink in your pocket, and a Smartgun on your hip. None of them have a wire trailing between them unless you specifically say so.

When you think "eject magazine", then the Datajack or Trodes relay that command to the Gun. If you are in a place with strong enough Jamming going on, the Gun won't hear you, so it won't respond. If you trail a wire straight from the Datajack to the Gun, then think "eject magazine", then it's guaranteed to work.

Smartlink is more than just Gun and Optics. It also interacts with the Matrix at large, gathering environmental info to help calculate trajectory and such. That's how it's able to raise the Wind modifier up 1 category, b/c it downloads the weather info and then compensates. Just b/c you are hardlined between Datajack and Gun, doesn't mean that it can connect to the Matrix at large any easier. So the Jamming doesn't prevent you ejecting the magazine, but it does prevent you downloading wind data from Weather.com. That's why you lose the Smartlink bonus dice if there's too much Noise.

[kyoto kid]

...bugger.

This is what makes me miss the "old school" days sometimes. Smartlink used to have an induction pad in the palm of the hand  and wiring underneath the skin that connected to your visual cortex so it could project a targeting crosshair on your retina or in cybereyes and grant you the bonus (back then, -2 to your TN).  Simple and elegant, you didn't need a datajack, a commlink, or be connected to any matrix service to use it and get the bonuses you paid both ¥ and Essence for.

Considering the level of matrix noise one would encounter just walking down the street in an average sprawl environment, most implants and gear that grant such bonuses would be crippled if not effectively neutralised pretty much all the time. Why bother spending your resources on enhancements if they won't work the way they normally should?

[Medicineman]

...bugger.

This is what makes me miss the "old school" days sometimes. Smartlink used to have an induction pad in the palm of the hand  and wiring underneath the skin that connected to your visual cortex so it could project a targeting crosshair on your retina or in cybereyes and grant you the bonus (back then, -2 to your TN).  Simple and elegant, you didn't need a datajack, a commlink, or be connected to any matrix service to use it and get the bonuses you paid both ¥ and Essence for.

Considering the level of matrix noise one would encounter just walking down the street in an average sprawl environment, most implants and gear that grant such bonuses would be crippled if not effectively neutralised pretty much all the time. Why bother spending your resources on enhancements if they won't work the way they normally should?

You could still have that Induktionpad etc, it would be like using Smart with a cable (only the Accuracy bonus and ececting Clips as free Action) ImO it doesn't matter wether the Cable is above or under the Skin
and dont Forget : you get +2 Dice Wireless only with Cybereyes (paid for in Essence ) With Glasses and Contacts its a mere +1 Dice .The same as a Laserpointer or Red Dot.
I (my Chars) wouldn't risk their Gun getting bricked for a mere +1 Dice

Hough !
Medicineman

[kyoto kid]

...you still get the full bonus if Smartlink is an eyemod.  The advantage of cybereyes is that smartlink (or any other vision mod) takes up no additional Essence, just capacity.

So basically since the pool bonus will pretty much be hosed most of the time, ditching the implant and going with smartlink mounted in a piece of gear like glasses or a ballistic mask seems the best route just for the accuracy bonus (provided of course the gun is internally modified)..Then run a fibre optic cable up the arm from a palm induction pad, to the trodes linked to the appropriate vision device and a decker would have to get up real close and personal to brick your gun.

So what about enhancements like Thermographic, Low Light and Flare Comp 9whichdo not increase pools), are those "compromised" by noise as well?

Seems that DNI as we knew it no longer exists without having to resort to linking with the matrix "cloud". Pity.

[Medicineman]

...you still get the full bonus if Smartlink is an eyemod.

.
I know, I know
 (that's why I wrote   (paid for in Essence ) )

ditching the implant and going with smartlink mounted in a piece of gear like glasses or a ballistic mask seems the best route just for the accuracy bonus (provided of course the gun is internally modified)

Hmmmmph, ....No (ImO) going Red dot or Laserpointer is better ImO
Thus you don't risk your gun getting bricked (and being Helpless until you get another gun) !

   So what about enhancements like Thermographic, Low Light and Flare Comp 9whichdo not increase pools), are those "compromised" by noise as well?

If your stupid enough to "Hook" them wireless to the Matrix yes
but you don't need to do that.
 the only thing that needs Wireless schmoe is optical/accoustic Enhancement

With a wired Dance
Medicineman