2.14 Tricorders, Communicators & Personal Phasers
A description of the handheld tricorder and its special-purpose variants, the combadge communicator and its capabilities, and the personal phaser with its range of settings and types.
Tricorders
In brief: The Swiss army pocketknife of 24th Century science. A combination sensor, computer and recorder, the tricorder is used to analyze and detect virtually anything needed on our Away missions and on board ship. Special purpose tricorders are also available, like the medical tricorder used by Dr. Crusher. See Tricorder operating instructions under “Technical Memoranda”. Tricorders are equipped with small remote peripheral sensors (the size of an eraser) which can be used for very fine work.
Standard tricorders are incapable of sensing neutrinos or subspace phenomena, although special purpose tricorders or peripherals could provide this ability if needed.
Communicators
In brief: The Starfleet insignia on our uniforms also serve as a communicator. Communicators are activated by touch, as well as by voice. Maximum usable distance is slightly more than transporter range, about 60,000 kilometers. Communicators also serve as a homing beacon with which the transporter can determine the exact coordinates of a person to be beamed back to the ship.
Companels are located throughout the ship, and these are sometimes used instead of one's personal communicator. Communicators are equipped with a “dermal sensor” which automatically verifies the identity of the person by his or her touch.
Personal Phasers
In brief: Personal phasers are the normal sidearms used by the Enterprise crew. Phasers have a variety of settings ranging from “stun” (which renders a person briefly unconscious) to “cut” (which acts as a cutting torch) to “disrupt” (which actually vaporizes the target.)
Phaser types: The smallest, Type I, is about the size of a keychain, carried when our people want to be inconspicuously armed. Although a potent weapon, the Type I phaser is only good for a few shots. The next size up is Type II, carried when trouble is suspected. Larger phasers including the Type III phaser rifle, can be made available, but are not used for normal Away Missions. (By comparison, the ship's main phaser banks are Type X.)