No more auxiliary deflectors?

[A Ruffian]

This spontaneous thought/question came to me after looking at a model of Voyager for a few minutes.
Voyager had an auxiliary deflector in case the main was out of commission(right?), which seems like a reasonable idea. But every Starfleet ship I’ve seen after Voyager appeared to have just one deflector…unless I missed one, or the deflectors are just out of sight.

Any thoughts on why it seems like Starfleet ships after Voyager didn’t have one?
And if any ships did, what were some?
Correct me if needed.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Voyager had an auxiliary deflector in case the main was out of commission(right?),

Correct!

The Duderstat Class has a Aft Mini Deflector Dish.

Personally, I'm with you, I would want multiple dishes since they are "Multi-Functional" and act as Navigational Deflectors, Primary Shield Deflectors, Long Range Sensors, Long Range Communications, Improvised Beam Emitter, etc.

 

[Deks]

This spontaneous thought/question came to me after looking at a model of Voyager for a few minutes.
Voyager had an auxiliary deflector in case the main was out of commission(right?), which seems like a reasonable idea. But every Starfleet ship I’ve seen after Voyager appeared to have just one deflector…unless I missed one, or the deflectors are just out of sight.

Any thoughts on why it seems like Starfleet ships after Voyager didn’t have one?
And if any ships did, what were some?
Correct me if needed.

Voyager had backups for pretty much most major hw.
The computer core, deflector and second warp core - however, the show itself treated the ship as not having these backups.
As for other SF ships having auxiliary deflector or other support hw... they likely exist in the form of hidden technology that's not readily seen.

Correct!

The Duderstat Class has a Aft Mini Deflector Dish.

Personally, I'm with you, I would want multiple dishes since they are "Multi-Functional" and act as Navigational Deflectors, Primary Shield Deflectors, Long Range Sensors, Long Range Communications, Improvised Beam Emitter, etc.

Primary shield deflector?
I don't think so. The hull grids on SF ships are what project a shield bubble around the ship, the actual shield generator is located inside the ship itself, so I don't think the navigational deflector serves that function.
The main deflector dish can move small objects out of the way yes (or at least that's as much we were told) and serves a function for navigating at Warp, but otherwise, it doesn't project a shield bubble itself.

Long range sensors and comms also aren't routed through the main deflector... they can be, but that's not how they usually function (this is only done to increase the range in case the existing system doesn't do the job) - the sensor grid on the ship is located on the rim of SF ships which also acts as a comms system.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Primary shield deflector?
I don't think so. The hull grids on SF ships are what project a shield bubble around the ship, the actual shield generator is located inside the ship itself, so I don't think the navigational deflector serves that function.
The main deflector dish can move small objects out of the way yes (or at least that's as much we were told) and serves a function for navigating at Warp, but otherwise, it doesn't project a shield bubble itself.

Deflector shield

Deflector shields or shield grids, generally referred to simply as shields, were a type of force field that surrounded a starship, space station, or planet that was used to protect against enemy attacks or natural hazards. Deflector shields worked by forming a layer or layers of energetic...

memory-alpha.fandom.com

Deflector shields worked by forming a layer or layers of energetic distortion with a high concentration of gravitons around the object to be protected. The shield on starships was divided into six sections: forward, starboard, port, aft, dorsal, and ventral. (Star Trek Nemesis) Shield energies could be emitted by a localized antenna or "dish," such as a ship's navigational deflector, or by a network of "grid" emitters spread across the surface of an object, such as a starship's hull. Deflector shields have been standard equipment on starships since at least the 23rd century.

Either can work equally well, it's a matter of routing the energy from the Shield Generator inside the ship.

We literally see a network of ships at the end of ST:PIC S2 work together to form a "Shield Wall" with the strange looking Borg Ship

Long range sensors and comms also aren't routed through the main deflector... they can be, but that's not how they usually function (this is only done to increase the range in case the existing system doesn't do the job)

Navigational deflector

What about the deflector? I mean, isn't that its whole job, to deflect?Carol Freeman The navigational deflector, also known just as the deflector, the deflector array, the deflector dish, the main deflector, the nav deflector, the parabolic dish, the main sensor, was a component of many...

memory-alpha.fandom.com

According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual (p. 87), the long-range sensor array was a key element of the navigational deflector system as it was used to detect and track objects in the ship's flight path. The deflector beams caused a great deal of subspace distortion, so the sensor arrays were placed in a circular fashion around the deflector beam emitter array.

It's literally straight out of the ST:TNG Technical Manual.
You have a copy of the ST:TNG, just like I do, go look it up.

- the sensor grid on the ship is located on the rim of SF ships which also acts as a comms system.

The Lateral Sensor Array system that line the edge of the Saucer & StarDrive along with the Planetary Sensor Domes are all part of the "Short Range" Sensor systems.

The Main Navigational Deflector Dish also functions as long range sensors.

It's all clearly stated in ST:TNG Technical Manual.

As for the COMM's Antenna Assemblies:

The RF section consists of a network of fifteen triply redundant transceiver assemblies cross-connected by ODN and copper-yttrium 2153 hardlines and linked to the main computer comm processors. All are partially imbedded within the structural hull material at degree and distance intervals about the starship for maximum antenna coverage and manageable antenna timesharing loads. Each transceiver assembly is a hexagonal solid measuring three meters across the faces and one-half meter in thickness. Each consists of separate voice and data subprocessors, eight six-stage variable amplifiers, realtime signal analysis shunts, and input/output signal conditioners at the hull antenna level. RF section power is obtained from Type III taps from the electro plasma system. The basic limitations of the RF section stem from the c velocity limit, and a normal useful range at moderate power on the order of 5.2 Astronomical Units (A.U.).

That's straight out of the ST:TNG Technical Manual as well.

The COMM's arrays are supposed to be seperate Hexagonal shaped Antenna's equally split across the hull, embedded into them as well.

 

[blssdwlf]

It's all clearly stated in ST:TNG Technical Manual.

The ST:TNG Technical Manual isn't adhered to in the actual episodes. Sometimes it is more like coincidence that the TM lines up with what happens in the episode while a majority of the time it doesn't.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

The ST:TNG Technical Manual isn't adhered to in the actual episodes. Sometimes it is more like coincidence that the TM lines up with what happens in the episode while a majority of the time it doesn't.

Hopefully moving forward, we can all adhere to them more often than not =D.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Maybe in the next era of Star Trek production, but probably not this one. :P

It’s important to note that in general, most non-Starfleet starship designs do not feature a visible deflector of any kind. For that matter, most Starfleet shuttlecraft designs don’t feature a dish either. Point being, that there are probably many different technologies at work here, which are just as invisible to us as the plot points that drive them.

Mark

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It’s important to note that in general, most non-Starfleet starship designs do not feature a visible deflector of any kind.

They're Alien Ships, e.g. "The Borg" don't feature any visible anything, yet they manage to outperform nearly everybody despite being significantly more massive & with less armor plating.

For that matter, most Starfleet shuttlecraft designs don’t feature a dish either. Point being, that there are probably many different technologies at work here, which are just as invisible to us as the plot points that drive them.

Actually, if you go look at most StarFleet ShuttleCraft Orthographics, there are Mini Deflector dishes in them buried in the nose in their own small cavity.

The Delta Flyer's Deflector Dish is pretty obvious and on the Dorsal side of the nose.

The Type-10 Shuttles are mounted below the nose.

We know that by the time of the 32nd Century, many Navigational Deflectors start to resemble modern AESA style Flat Panel Radar Dishes, mounted behind protective cover panels.

Moving forward, I'm assuming most Deflector Dishes will be similar in design and become a "Flat Panel".

 

[B.J.]

I've always thought of the deflector on Starfleet ships as a kind of Swiss Army Knife™, with lots of built-in functions, but also capable of much more if needed. (Geordi's put this to the test quite often!) Most non-Starfleet ships don't have or want that kind of flexibility, so they look much different or are buried into the hull and/or in other systems.

 

[A Ruffian]

I've always thought of the deflector on Starfleet ships as a kind of Swiss Army Knife™, with lots of built-in functions, but also capable of much more if needed. (Geordi's put this to the test quite often!) Most non-Starfleet ships don't have or want that kind of flexibility, so they look much different or are buried into the hull and/or in other systems.

Oh yes, the Swiss Army Knife analogy is very true.
On TNG, VOY, and DS9 it served as a weapon a few times(Enterprise vs Borg, for example).

 

[NCC-73515]

The D had a secondary deflector on the bottom of the saucer.
The big V at the front of the Warbird and the red square at the front of the Galor and Keldon were also supposed to be deflectors, but the effects people put the weapons there.

 

[A Ruffian]

Wait, the Enterprise - D had a secondary deflector?
Im guessing it’s one of those windows, right?

 

[NCC-73515]

 

[B.J.]

The D had a secondary deflector on the bottom of the saucer.
The big V at the front of the Warbird and the red square at the front of the Galor and Keldon were also supposed to be deflectors, but the effects people put the weapons there.

I thought the Cardassian thing was a combined weapon/deflector? Whether or not that's canon, I like the idea, makes it a bit more "alien". Also goes along with my head canon that the red glowy bits around the Klingon torpedo launcher was the deflector.

 

[DSG2k]

But every Starfleet ship I’ve seen after Voyager appeared to have just one deflector…unless I missed one, or the deflectors are just out of sight.

Big secondary deflectors that utterly wreck any chance at a pleasing bow are a pet peeve of mine. That said, we never really see any new classes after Voyager in the pre-2009 productions.

The Nova Class (one example of which has the most ridiculous secondary deflector observed) was only seen after Voyager's construction, but both observed examples for which a registry is known have registries that are shockingly early 72xxx registries, suggesting mid-to-late 2360s construction.

The Prometheus Class also seems to pre-date Voyager (depending on which registry you look at), but in any case the secondary deflector doesn't count against it.

The fake Dauntless was used as a real later-century ship in "Azati Prime", showing a potential 26th Century (25xx rather than late 23xx) battle . . . but while that had a little indentation, as I recall, I don't think it had a big lit secondary deflector like the Rhode Island, even.

 

[A Ruffian]

The D had a secondary deflector on the bottom of the saucer.
The big V at the front of the Warbird and the red square at the front of the Galor and Keldon were also supposed to be deflectors, but the effects people put the weapons there.

I found something that says it could’ve been a lounge:
Quoted from the Forgotten Trek website, is offers this -

“Probert envisioned another lounge behind the four large windows in the underside of the saucer section. He provided Trekplace with a mockup of what this would look like.

Sternbach instead placed a secondary deflector dish in this area in his Star Trek: The Next Generation U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D Blueprints.”

So yeah, it does seem that you’re correct. But it is interesting that it almost had another purpose.

 

[David cgc]

I prefer the idea that they're big windows. They don't look like a deflector, and they don't point forward, and they're only barely visible from the front, which is problematic for the idea that they're deflecting anything. We already know the actual deflector dish is optional, it's easy enough to imagine the separated saucer just uses a hidden projector like a Miranda.

 

[A Ruffian]

I prefer the idea that they're big windows. They don't look like a deflector, and they don't point forward, and they're only barely visible from the front, which is problematic for the idea that they're deflecting anything. We already know the actual deflector dish is optional, it's easy enough to imagine the separated saucer just uses a hidden projector like a Miranda.

That sounds reasonable. I still would like to think they are just windows, but it’s mostly acceptable that they serve as a deflector. And a hidden projector is probably somewhere…
Voyager had a visible secondary deflector, that was easy to see and it did point forward.

 

[Ithekro]

Redundancy is a good thing on a starship that is going to be away from Federation space for years at a time. If the starship is intended to be used locally, there is less need for as many redundant features, as they can get help from starbase within days if not hours.