On the Miranda, Constellation, and Cheyenne, where is the deflector?
Deflector?
- Thread starter DavidGutierrez
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Deflectors on most Federation cruisers are mounted alongside the big dish in front (which is the reason it's called the "deflector dish"). The dish itself is not actually part of the deflector, it's a massive subspace radiotelescope that draws its power from the deflector systems. That big dish is a unique feature in Starfleet, whose primary mission is one of exploration and the ability to take extremely long-range sensor readings at high fidelity -- or to send legible signals over an extremely long distance -- are crucial to the exploration program. Only long-range exploration vessels feature these large telescopes in their design, and some designs like the old Newton class starships or the latter Intrepid and Nova classes actually feature multiple deflector dishes so that one can operate in active/transmitting mode and the other can run in passive/listening mode; this double-dish setup is probably useful for ships that perform mapping surveys of new solar systems, needing to take very high resolution scans from a distance in a relatively short time.
The Mirandas deflectors are located in those little pods on the upper side of the saucer section, about midway between the bridge and the docking ports on either side. The Mirandas do not have the big dish because they aren't intended to operate in deep space and don't do a lot of high-resolution deep-field imaging.
Constellation has similar structures, IIRC, on the upper and lower nacelle pylons. This vessel also lacks the big subspace telescope of the Constitutions, but features instead a huge amount of short-range sensor equipment for detailed planetary surveys.
Of course, I have no evidence. Only a theory, which happens to fit the facts.
The Mirandas deflectors are located in those little pods on the upper side of the saucer section, about midway between the bridge and the docking ports on either side. The Mirandas do not have the big dish because they aren't intended to operate in deep space and don't do a lot of high-resolution deep-field imaging.
Constellation has similar structures, IIRC, on the upper and lower nacelle pylons. This vessel also lacks the big subspace telescope of the Constitutions, but features instead a huge amount of short-range sensor equipment for detailed planetary surveys.
Of course, I have no evidence. Only a theory, which happens to fit the facts.
Not every ship needs a deflector dish, some may just use deflector screens encompassing the front of the vessel, IMO.
Dishes may be reserved for pushing very large (bigger than the ship) objects out of the way or for additional applications other than obstacle-clearing.
Dishes may be reserved for pushing very large (bigger than the ship) objects out of the way or for additional applications other than obstacle-clearing.
...Pods conveniently identical to the three things surrounding the dish of the corresponding Enterprise - and thus being right where the "THIS IS THE NAVIGATIONAL DEFLECTOR" arrow would be pointing at in most diagrams.
There's a third such thingamabob in the torpedo pod of the Miranda. And while the Constellation doesn't have those exactly (its parts come from the Constitution kit for the most part), there are undersaucer bulges that look like king-size versions of the same.
OTOH, some fan works have postulated neat drop-down deflectors at the aft bottom of the Miranda saucer, among the many promising greeblies there.
The thing is, even if we managed to assign navigational deflectors to each and every Starfleet ship, most alien ships would still be lacking those. Alien designs may also lack other "crucial" parts such as warp nacelles, warp cores, bridges, shuttlebays... It would be simplest to assume that nothing is crucial or carved in stone in starship engineering, then, and Starfleet just sometimes does things typical of Starfleet, such as "deflector dishes". Sometimes, not always.
Timo Saloniemi
Some blueprints call the grid pattern on the saucer a "deflector grid".
Of course, the Enterprise D used the dish for so many other things, is there anything it can't do?
Of course, the Enterprise D used the dish for so many other things, is there anything it can't do?
Yeah, I noticed that too when I was looking at some toy versions of the ships I have...clearly, the ones on the Connie are part of the deflector systems, and the two similar pieces of the Miranda-class do the same thing, but without a dish. Maybe the dish is for better focus - or the dish is needed because the Connie has a taller front...uh...profile...so more area to cover.
The TOS Connie has 3 square-shaped protrusions surrounding the dish area, and those may be cowlings that cover some sort of deflector generating machinery, which the dish then helps focus somehow (or the dish is an additional projector and focuser that works in tandem with whatever those little protrusions are.)
Not sure if the nuTrek JJ'prise has any such features, I'l have to take a look...
The dish might be utterly unrelated to the deflection mission, too. Perhaps it's a pure sensor system that sees farther and faster when leeching off the FTL beams of the deflectors?
Timo Saloniemi
There's a very similar-looking structure to port and starboard, but the structure below the dish is lacking. That is, there are three (rounded) prongs to the hull, just like in TOS, but the bottom one isn't further decorated with that TMP style doodad - only the lateral ones are.
Timo Saloniemi
I've said this sooo many times... Per Matt Jefferies (you know, the guy who designed the original ship) it's the main sensor, not a deflector...
I would assume that most ships use a deflector screen in a navigational mode (i.e. stretched out in the direction of flight) to push light debris out of the way.
As to why some don't seem to have a "main sensor" dish..? Maybe they aren't intended to go that far from home and can depend on existing star charts?
Ships like the Enterprise have a large dish since they are intended for long-distance exploration...
In the Franz Joseph Enterprise blueprints, the main dish on the secondary hull is designated "MAIN SENSOR AND NAVIGATIONAL DEFLECTOR."
However, the three circles on the front of the saucer on Deck 7 are designated "SEARCH SENSORS AND DEFLECTORS." Those would plausibly seem to contain secondary navigational deflectors that the saucer could rely on when separated (as described in GENERAL NOTE 4).
However, the three circles on the front of the saucer on Deck 7 are designated "SEARCH SENSORS AND DEFLECTORS." Those would plausibly seem to contain secondary navigational deflectors that the saucer could rely on when separated (as described in GENERAL NOTE 4).
As pointed out, some ships are noted in certain material to have deflector grids. There are instance where it is made clear that the deflector grid and shield grid are two different things, such as in "Year of Hell" where they combined the two grids to complete the temporal shield. We might interpret this to mean the omnidirectional deflector grid can be focused forward, partially activated forward only, or is suitable under normal operation, in all directions at once, for warp travel without special adjustment. If a ship has to carry an omnidirectional anyway, there could be substantial mass and volume savings for using it rather than a dedicated warp deflector. The dedicated warp deflector might have efficiency advantages useful where extending a fuel supply is more important, as well as the Swiss Army knife like abilities seen in later Trek.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s189/scotthm/gkerr1.jpg
The dimple on the nose of the D'Deridex was also supposed to be a deflector dish, but the FX guys just used it as a random beam emitter.
The nose of the Galor is also supposed to be a deflector dish, but again, for some reason it was used as a random weapon emitter, despite having plenty of purposely included emitter points like the D'Deridex model.
I'm not saying they are deflectors, on the D'Deridex and Galor, it's never been stated in the show, but there was intention there. For the D7 though, I will say it is a deflector dish because it never fired a nose weapon from there, and because of its resemblance to the Connie's deflector. It's weak evidence, but that's all there is.
The Nova class has a notable deflector dish, two of them like Voyager actually, yet it was meant to have missions of no longer than a year, as stated in "Equinox." So, deflector dishes aren't a deep space only feature, they seem to be for what ever ship has the right hull geometry to handle one in Starfleet.
Even the Defiant has what might be called a deflector dish, thanks to the glowing blue nose detail, and it is not unlike the refit Connie's deflector. The refit's deflector lacks a coppery dish detail, but are we to take it that it lacks long range navigational sensors at least on par with its fore bearer? The Excelsior class is similarly dead eyed, but of the two it is the more likely to go on a deep space mission where good course plotting is most important. It also lacks the blisters around its dish like the refit Connie has, and like the Miranda has on either side of its saucer.
The original D7 actually has a deflector dish detail quite a bit like the deflector dish of the Constitution.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s189/scotthm/gkerr1.jpg
The dimple on the nose of the D'Deridex was also supposed to be a deflector dish, but the FX guys just used it as a random beam emitter.
The nose of the Galor is also supposed to be a deflector dish, but again, for some reason it was used as a random weapon emitter, despite having plenty of purposely included emitter points like the D'Deridex model.
I'm not saying they are deflectors, on the D'Deridex and Galor, it's never been stated in the show, but there was intention there. For the D7 though, I will say it is a deflector dish because it never fired a nose weapon from there, and because of its resemblance to the Connie's deflector. It's weak evidence, but that's all there is.
The Nova class has a notable deflector dish, two of them like Voyager actually, yet it was meant to have missions of no longer than a year, as stated in "Equinox." So, deflector dishes aren't a deep space only feature, they seem to be for what ever ship has the right hull geometry to handle one in Starfleet.
Even the Defiant has what might be called a deflector dish, thanks to the glowing blue nose detail, and it is not unlike the refit Connie's deflector. The refit's deflector lacks a coppery dish detail, but are we to take it that it lacks long range navigational sensors at least on par with its fore bearer? The Excelsior class is similarly dead eyed, but of the two it is the more likely to go on a deep space mission where good course plotting is most important. It also lacks the blisters around its dish like the refit Connie has, and like the Miranda has on either side of its saucer.
That actually makes rather good sense. If you want to shoot a powerful death ray to a great distance, it might get a nice boost from sitting in the middle of a device intended to project a beam at a great distance at high FTL speeds!
Even barring that, combining your most high-powered navigational device with your most powerful weapon is likely to simplify your power architecture.
Interestingly, the Galor usage is no accident - those pyramid-shaped death ray emitters are present not only all around the ship (and seeing lots of proper use in "Preemptive Strike" and "Caretaker"), but also in the middle of that deflector, in triplicate.
The absence or presence of dishes is difficult to interpret systematically, because currently there are even some shuttlecraft with obvious blue-glowing deflector dishes (whereas the Danube runabouts seem to lack those).
Timo Saloniemi
Actually the Danube's deflectors are built into its nacelle pylons (the front-facing blue glowy thing just inside of the nacelles). In appearance, their deflectors are similar to the one on Defiant. That may tell you something or it may not.
I never considered that, it's an interesting idea.
All pictures have a pair of orange triangular sections in there on the runabouts, where the nose of the Defiant is blue.
They have a similar look though.
They have a similar look though.
^ You're right, I was looking at the old micromachines runabout on my desk with the deflectors painted blue for some reason.
But yeah, the basic look is about the same. They're pretty hard to miss.
But yeah, the basic look is about the same. They're pretty hard to miss.
Any good runabout blueprints around? Could those be heat dissipators rather than deflectors, especially with the color?
Actually, this drawing says those areas are impulse engines, though no other ship has forward facing impulse engines or even intakes.
Actually, this drawing says those areas are impulse engines, though no other ship has forward facing impulse engines or even intakes.
The impulse engines wound up being on the back of the runabout; I think that drawing implies that the orange grille would have been present on both sides (front and back) implying a reversible impulse engine just like the Type-6 shuttlecraft (which, in turn, is a carryover from the TFF shuttlecraft it was based on).
But since the Type-6 never goes on to use those engines that way, AND since the final impulse engines on the runabout look dramatically different, we could just as easily retcon the forward-facing features on the Galileo and the Type-6 to deflectors as well. That at least explains why the Type-9 has a prominent deflector on the nose that is absent on the 6 and 8. The Type-7 might be an anomaly in this regard, but then that shuttle also has a rather obvious rear compartment that probably contains a small warp core so its deflector system may be mounted differently.
But since the Type-6 never goes on to use those engines that way, AND since the final impulse engines on the runabout look dramatically different, we could just as easily retcon the forward-facing features on the Galileo and the Type-6 to deflectors as well. That at least explains why the Type-9 has a prominent deflector on the nose that is absent on the 6 and 8. The Type-7 might be an anomaly in this regard, but then that shuttle also has a rather obvious rear compartment that probably contains a small warp core so its deflector system may be mounted differently.
Orange is the rough overall impression we get from the multicolored TOS ramscoops, too. Perhaps "ramscoop" and "deflector" are more or less the same thing - a vital path-sweeping device? Redshifted rather than blueshifted because of the suck-not-blow function?
If a reddish-glowing thingamabob at the tip of the nacelle is the preferred path-clearing doodad, then most Federation designs are safe and sound - but amusingly, Miranda is again a mystery for her dark-tipped warp nacelles.
Timo Saloniemi
If a reddish-glowing thingamabob at the tip of the nacelle is the preferred path-clearing doodad, then most Federation designs are safe and sound - but amusingly, Miranda is again a mystery for her dark-tipped warp nacelles.
Timo Saloniemi
