Comunicador
The personal communicator has a case made from duranium. The heart of the communicator is the STA (Subspace Transceiver Assembly). This incorporates a low-power subspace field emitter and an analogue to digital voice encoder. The STA is also used in other devices such as the PADD and tricorder. Voice inputs are received by a monofilm pickup microphone. All Starfleet communications are encrypted, the voice signals are modified by the encryption assembly. The encryption algorithms used by Starfleet are changed on a random schedule.
Power is provided by the communicator's sarium krellide power cell, which provides enough power for two weeks normal use. Communicators are recharged through EM induction. Communication between two personal communicators is limited to approximately 500 km, starship's communication systems are able to enhance signals, giving a ground to ship range of approximately 75,000 km. Communicators require a line of sight. Range will improve if the planet's magnetic field is less than 0.9 gauss or mean geological density is less than 5.56 g/cc.
For security purposes the communicator can identify it's user bioelectrical field and temperature profiles using it's built in dermal sensor array. If another crew member tries to use the communicator without security override authority, the communicator will not activate. During normal situations, security codes are changed every five days. In emergencies the codes change at least once every 24 hours.
Phasers
Phasers have three distinct effects on the target. At low power settings - setting 1 to 3 on a hand phaser - the impact of phaser energy is almost wholly limited to simple electromagnetic and mild thermal effects. These are concentrated on the nervous system of the target, causing pain and/or unconsciousness in most beings. At higher levels the thermal effect becomes prevalent, and the phaser will begin to cause physical damage to the target resulting in moderate or severe injuries. By the time the power level is at setting 7 the energy is distributed equally between thermal and nuclear disruption energy. Disruption effects become widespread, resulting in immediate death to most Humanoid life forms.
At levels higher than 7 the majority of phaser energy is in the form of nuclear disruption. A large portion of the target is simultaneously vaporized and transitioned out of the continuum, a process which is instantly fatal. The higher power settings available with Type 3 phasers (setting 9+) cause severe damage over a wide area. These settings are rarely used because of the relatively high power consumption; a single setting 10 discharge uses more than twenty five times as much energy as a setting 7 discharge, while a setting 16 discharge uses over three hundred and fifteen times as much.
Starfleet has used many models of phaser over the years, but all fall into distinct Types and are followed by Bajoran and Cardassian Phasers:
Type I
This is a small hand unit, approximately the size of a pack of cards. They can fire up to Setting 8, which causes total vaporization of humanoids as 50% of affected matter transitions out of the continuum.
Type II
This is a larger hand unit. Early models of the type II phaser used a type I phaser clipped into a pistol grip, but modern weapons seem to have little in common with the smaller model. The modern type II phaser can fire up to setting 16, which causes the destruction of some 3,900 metric tons of rock per 0.28 second discharge.
Type III
The type III is a rifle version of the type II phaser. It uses a nearly identical "business end" as the type II, and is also capable of firing to setting 16. The advantages of the type II are a 50% greater energy reserve, a multiple target acquisition system and a gyrostabilizer system. Recently the standard type III phaser rifle has apparently received the same advanced targeting system as the Heavy phaser rifle.
Tricorder
The tricorder is a multipurpose scientific and technical instrument. Developed for Starfleet, the tricorder incorporates sensors, computers, and recorders in a convenient, portable form. These technical devices have proven to be most versatile in their applications on a divergent number of application scenarios. The tricorder has become standard issue equipment for almost all types of missions. These durable pieces of equipment have more than proven their worth on many an occasion. It is a commonly known joke that "there is nothing a tricorder can't do among Starfleet personnel.
Several models of tricorder have been used by starship crews over the years. All of them have featured state-of-the-art sensing technology, and have been an essential part of starship missions and operations.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:13, Fri 25 Jan 2008.