They once stated this in the show. "A View from the Gallery", I think. Bo commented on the possibility of just shutting off the gate, and I believe Mack stated that it would take too long to power-on again to be useful, as it would stop all trading for hours, if not days.
On the other hand, while this would not have helped with the Centuri attack, in several episodes where the station is attacked by people coming in from the gate, they never change the access codes like they did in "Deathwalker" and metioned doing in the Minbari war (to keep the Boneheads from using Earth's own tech agenst them). It would solve quite a few problems. Would've loved to see Mac & Bo talk about that!
"Okay, so they can't turn them off, so why not change the acess codes so that the bad guys can't use 'em?"
"Uh, well, I think that's... a very good question. I'll have to ask about that."
"Don't forget to check on the floor machine, too."
"Right."
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
I think the basic reason is that the power cycle time is incredibly long, as stated. Think about it like this: to restart your computer, it needs to go through a bunch of steps: it has to shut down system services, spin down hard drives, etc. Then it has to perform the hardware reset. Then you have all the normal booting stuff, like video BIOS, system BIOS, OS, system services, etc. All of this takes time to do. A jump gate would have a huge number of very complex systems dealing with extremely large amounts of energy. Shutting that thing down would take long enough, let alone turning it back on again and powering it up, ready for use.
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[b][url="http://www.minbari.co.uk/log12.2263/"]Required reading[/url][/b]
Never eat anything bigger than your own head.
The Balance provides. The Balance protects.
"Nonono...Is not [i]Great[/i] Machine. Is...[i]Not[/i]-so-Great Machine. It make good snow cone though." - Zathras
Also, if B5 was forced to evacuate, the jumpgate would have been their only way out. On the other hand, it's quite likely that those larger alien ship would have had their own jump engines.
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"God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."
I think you'll find just changing access codes stop ships from actavating the jump gate so they can enter hyperspace whereas leaving hyperspace only shutting down the gate would prevent them from exiting unless they have a jump capable ship..
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"When it is time,come to this place,call our name,we will be here"-Walkers of Sigma957
[url="http://ifh.firstones.com"]I've Found Her-Babylon 5 free game[/url]
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
It should probably be noted that the Centauri ship that tried to destroy the gate didn't use the gate to create a jump point, it opened its own one in the middle of the gate. I think.
------------------
[b][url="http://www.minbari.co.uk/log12.2263/"]Required reading[/url][/b]
Never eat anything bigger than your own head.
The Balance provides. The Balance protects.
"Nonono...Is not [i]Great[/i] Machine. Is...[i]Not[/i]-so-Great Machine. It make good snow cone though." - Zathras
also consider this from a 'art of war' perspective.
no-one in thier right mind blows up a bridge, a road, a runway unless they positively have to. You park tanks around it and build pillboxes but you never Nuke the transport system.
War is all about uncertainty, if for instance the defence grid knocked out one of the Centauri ships jump engines and then a bunch of ticked off Sharlins showed up ? I'd be getting my six slugs stowed and rowed and into the jumpgate as fast as my engines would carry me. Be a bit of a problem if I'd blown it up...
only a fool practises scorched earth tactics
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
That was also mentioned when the Centauri were destroying the jump gates.
------------------
[b][url="http://www.minbari.co.uk/log12.2263/"]Required reading[/url][/b]
Never eat anything bigger than your own head.
The Balance provides. The Balance protects.
"Nonono...Is not [i]Great[/i] Machine. Is...[i]Not[/i]-so-Great Machine. It make good snow cone though." - Zathras
Good stratagy by the Drahk, not only do you piss-off everyone by attacking them, but you disrupt the vital transportaion network. There-by screwing up everyones economy. It's like Capone he knew that the FBI couldn't get him but then he went and ****ed with the IRS end of story.
No better way to piss off sombody then to go for the wallet.
------------------
"Ambassador we all know that the first casulty of war is the truth."
-John Sheridan
"To alcohol the solution to and cause of all of life's problems."
-Homer Jay Simpson
Comments
"Okay, so they can't turn them off, so why not change the acess codes so that the bad guys can't use 'em?"
"Uh, well, I think that's... a very good question. I'll have to ask about that."
"Don't forget to check on the floor machine, too."
"Right."
------------------
[b][url="http://www.minbari.co.uk/log12.2263/"]Required reading[/url][/b]
Never eat anything bigger than your own head.
The Balance provides. The Balance protects.
"Nonono...Is not [i]Great[/i] Machine. Is...[i]Not[/i]-so-Great Machine. It make good snow cone though." - Zathras
------------------
"God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."
------------------
"When it is time,come to this place,call our name,we will be here"-Walkers of Sigma957
[url="http://ifh.firstones.com"]I've Found Her-Babylon 5 free game[/url]
------------------
[b][url="http://www.minbari.co.uk/log12.2263/"]Required reading[/url][/b]
Never eat anything bigger than your own head.
The Balance provides. The Balance protects.
"Nonono...Is not [i]Great[/i] Machine. Is...[i]Not[/i]-so-Great Machine. It make good snow cone though." - Zathras
no-one in thier right mind blows up a bridge, a road, a runway unless they positively have to. You park tanks around it and build pillboxes but you never Nuke the transport system.
War is all about uncertainty, if for instance the defence grid knocked out one of the Centauri ships jump engines and then a bunch of ticked off Sharlins showed up ? I'd be getting my six slugs stowed and rowed and into the jumpgate as fast as my engines would carry me. Be a bit of a problem if I'd blown it up...
only a fool practises scorched earth tactics
------------------
[b][url="http://www.minbari.co.uk/log12.2263/"]Required reading[/url][/b]
Never eat anything bigger than your own head.
The Balance provides. The Balance protects.
"Nonono...Is not [i]Great[/i] Machine. Is...[i]Not[/i]-so-Great Machine. It make good snow cone though." - Zathras
No better way to piss off sombody then to go for the wallet.
------------------
"Ambassador we all know that the first casulty of war is the truth."
-John Sheridan
"To alcohol the solution to and cause of all of life's problems."
-Homer Jay Simpson