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~Crims~

Communicator Question

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This is something I've been wondering about as I re-watch the episodes of TNG on DVD. Every once in awhile on the bridge Riker or Picard will ask or tell something to someone in sickbay or the transporter room without touching their comm badge. For example: Picard will all of a sudden say, "transporter room, beam the ambassador to the ship", without touching his comm badge. Is there always an open channel between the bridge and Sickbay, engineering, and the transporter room? Because sometimes Picard will request something from the transporter chief that wouldn't make a lot of sense to the transporter chief unless he was monitoring the bridge somehow.

 

Discuss :wow:

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I've been trying to figure that out for years. :wow: It's one of those things that keeps me up at night. :wow:

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Guest Ktrek

If memory serves me right I think this was addressed in one of the Star Trek fan mags. The simple answer I think was that Stewart got tired of hitting the communicator all the time so they let him go without. I know it's not a very technical answer but that I believe is the "truth".zahn.gif

 

Ktrek

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So lets say the same thing happened to Picard. He got tired of hitting his combadge, so he ordered someone to keep a channel always open...or something. Sure, that could work.

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Yes but if all three places had a perpetually open channel to the bridge that may get confusing. "If you are in engineering or sickbay please ignore this message. This is for the transporter room only." Because somehow they are gonna have to decide who gets to hear what. Unless it is like call waiting, where you put one or two on hold to speak to the other. This IS a good question!!!! :wow:

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Maybe it's a speed dial type thing. As soon as he says "engineering" or "transporter" the computer automatically opens up a channel to that area.

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I have noticed a few times where Picard has asked either Dr. Crusher or Dr. Pulaski if they have been monitoring the conversation on the bridge with no one actually contacting either of them to tell them too.

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I have noticed a few times where Picard has asked either Dr. Crusher or Dr. Pulaski if they have been monitoring the conversation on the bridge with no one actually contacting either of them to tell them too.

I noticed the same thing, one of reasons why I started thinking about it.

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Maybe it's a speed dial type thing. As soon as he says "engineering" or "transporter" the computer automatically opens up a channel to that area.

 

 

That's what I've always figured....then again...I never really thouht about it until I read this Thread :wow:

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Maybe it's a speed dial type thing. As soon as he says "engineering" or "transporter" the computer automatically opens up a channel to that area.

Good thinking ~Crims~ I think you nailed it! :wow: This theory works best for me! :wow:

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Ah, there we go! Done and done!

 

 

Except, I have one more thing to ask...why bother with the little communicators, then? You'd only need them for away missons...Oh well, I guess both is good.

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Ah, there we go! Done and done!

 

 

Except, I have one more thing to ask...why bother with the little communicators, then? You'd only need them for away missons...Oh well, I guess both is good.

In my opinion it would only work on the bridge. Every where else you'd have to hit your communicator because what if you're walking through a deck with someone and you say engineering as part of the conversation... wouldn't make sense, thus it would only be practical on the bridge.

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Season 1 was a little strange compared to the others when it came to communicators. Did you notice how many times they would walk across a room to a comm panel to respond rather than using their communicators.

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Hmmm, I never even thought about this. I guess I will check it out the next time I see Next Generation.

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That's very interesting Takara, I would bet credits to navy beans they did that at first to establish a [subconscious] link to TOS in the fans minds.

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Two episodes I can think of off the top of my head is The Naked Now. Picard pages Bev and she goes to the comm panel. This is when she first suspected Wes has been "infected" . The other would be The Neutral Zone when Riker went to the comm panel to respond to Picard thus showing the unfrozen guests how to use it.

 

Also after season 1 they would use their communicators to ask the computer to locate people but during season 1 they would go to a comm panel.

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well, perhaps we can say that Starfleet communicaters weren't sophisticated (or designed in that manner, whatever) until the later seasons!

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I think we can safetly rack this up to the mighty "Inconstancies of Star TreK" but I like the theory you guys have figured out..P.s Alterego, can I make a request to change ur font color please?

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Picard pages Bev and she goes to the comm panel.

The other would be The Neutral Zone when Riker went to the comm panel to respond to Picard thus showing the unfrozen guests how to use it.

Based on places, Taraka's description of when the comm panel was used, it' looks like only the Captain has the "no comm badge tap" privilege.

P.s Alterego, can I make a request to change ur font color please?

I was wondering if anyone using a different board skin was having trouble seeing my posts. Getting tired of needing to highlight them to show-up huh?

I use the skin with the dark background and white gives the best contrast.

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i would guess that the computer opens the channel as it recognizes that Picard want's to take to transporter room, or sick bay.. Notice that he always touches the com badge when he is down on a planet.

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Except, I have one more thing to ask...why bother with the little communicators, then? You'd only need them for away missons...Oh well, I guess both is good.

Isn't it so that the com badges are also used to locate people, for transports and so on?

 

And it could also be that only the bridge and other vital places, like transporter or engineering, have these direct com links.. Since it could be interrupting if they had it on, for example Ten Forward..

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Ah, there we go! Done and done!

 

 

Except, I have one more thing to ask...why bother with the little communicators, then? You'd only need them for away missons...Oh well, I guess both is good.

In my opinion it would only work on the bridge. Every where else you'd have to hit your communicator because what if you're walking through a deck with someone and you say engineering as part of the conversation... wouldn't make sense, thus it would only be practical on the bridge.

oh, sorry, didn't notice that someone had already answered :D

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Well, I've always wondered about this...

 

Picard will say "Transporter room, beam those people out of there." Being very general. And I always wondered how that transporter guy knew who "those people" and "there" were. I hear him say it a lot. He probably makes general remarks to other departments, too, but I can't think of any right now. I was just wondering how those transporter guys are so smart. If someone told me to "beam those people out of there"... I'd say "Who? Where? What?" And by that time, the shuttle, or whatever it may be, will have exploded and "those people" will be dead.

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Maybe in an "emergency" or tense situation the tactical officer opens a commlink to the Transporter room, Engineering, and Sickbay so that they can monitor the conversation on the bridge, so that they are up to speed and will not require too much information to be given if there is an action that needs to be taken immediately, like "beam those people out of there".

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