Hyperwave broadcaster technology is a new development created by a joint effort by the EAOS and Tandem Pact and derived from the hyperwave rangefinder technology obtained from the Spinward expedition of 2312. It allows for targeted long-distance communications, the range of which being determined by the power supplied to communications.
At the time of writing, there are three types of hyperwave communications devices: Mobile, semi-permanent, and permanent.
* Mobile hyperwave devices are equipped on ships. Their range is variable based on the amount of power available to the communications systems; larger ships generally provide longer range communications than smaller ships, and exploration ships have a longer range than a normal ship or warship within its own class.
* Semi-permanent hyperwave devices are found on temporary space stations. These typically have a longer range than your average ship, and can work as a relay that automatically rebroadcasts any hyperwave messages that it receives.
* Permanent hyperwave devices are found on space stations such as the Torus, Helios, and Farport. Any hyperwave communications that they receive are rebroadcast over the Hyperwave Relay channel, and if time has been rented on the device by an organization, anything that is said on the channel will be broadcast over the station's hyperwave broadcaster. For any time slot that a premanent hyperwave broadcaster is not rented, nothing said on the channel will be broadcast. This means that a long-distance expedition may only have a one-hour window where the communication link will be two way, though if multiple organizations pool their efforts and use the same calibration settings, this window can be extended.
Configuring a hyperwave broadcaster might seem a bit complicated at first, but it becomes easier with practice. While you may be tempted to immediately set the power to 100%, this is usually a bad idea unless you possess very precise knowledge of where the people you're communicating with are...or whatever you're broadcasting with has an omnidirectional antenna. Generally, you want to start with a lower power level and incrementally turn up the power until they hear your communications clearly. A hyperwave calibrator may help you with this. The other party does the same until a clear connection has been established. Remember: Just because you can hear them doesn't mean that they can hear you!
