franchise-star-trek-tng-technical-manual1

10.6 TRICORDER10.6 TRICORDERThe standard tricorder is a portable sensing, computing,and data communications device developed by StarfleetR&D and issued to starship crew members. It incorporatesminiaturized versions of those scientific instruments found tobe most useful for both shipboard and away missions, and itscapabilities may be augmented with mission-specific peripherals.Its many functions may be accessed by touch-sensitivecontrols or, if necessary, voice command.MAIN FEATURESThe standard tricorder measures 8.5 x 12 x 3 cm andmasses 353 grams. The case is constructed of micromilledduranium foam, and is divided into two hinged sections forcompact storage. The control surfaces consist of ruggedizedpositive-feedback buttons and a 2.4 x 3.6 cm displayscreen. While a full personal access display device-typemultilayer control screen would have afforded the user with awider range of preferences in organizing commands andvisual information, the simplified button arrangement waschosen for greater ease of use in the field. The internalelectronics, on the other hand, were designed to provide thegreatest number of possible options in managing sensordata, visual images, and multichannel communications, in allincoming, outgoing, or recorded modes.The major electronic components include the primarypower loop, sensor assemblies, parallel processing block,control and display interface, subspace communication unit,and multiple memory storage units.Power is provided to the total system through a rechargeablesarium crystal rated for eighteen hours of full instrumentactivity. True power usage rate and maximum useful time is,of course, dependent on which subsystems are active, and iscontinuously computed for call-up on the display. Typicalpower usage is 15.48 watts.The sensor assemblies incorporate a total of 235 mechanical,electromagnetic, and subspace devices mountedabout the internal frame as well as imbedded in the casingmaterial as conformal instruments. One hundred and fifteenof these are clustered in the forward end for directionalreadings, with a field-of-view (FOV) lower limit of 1/4 degree.The other 120 are omnidirectional devices, taking measurementsof the surrounding space. The deployable handsensor incorporates seventeen high-resolution devices fordetailed readings down to an FOV of one minute of arc.Within these FOV limits, both active and passive scans canprovide readings approaching the theoretical limits of the EMradiation of physical process under study. By combiningreadings from different sensors, the tricorder computer processorscan synthesize images and numerical readouts to beacted upon by the crew member.10.6.1 Standard tricorder (deployed)