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Markings on saucer section of NCC-1701

Some fan works refer to them as landing legs: they'd fold down so that the pointed ends would touch the ground, while either part of the neck, or a third leg/ramp revealed by the severing of the leg, would form the third leg.

Doesn't make much sense - the pointed ends would be idiotic for this purpose... But perhaps these are mere covers for some more complex landing leg shape that makes better engineering sense?

One might also postulate that these are antennas of some sort, perhaps for planetary sensors (as they point down). Or then for transporters. TNG era transporters supposedly need exposed antennas on the surface of the starship - they are typically orangish rounded rectangles with transverse black striping on them. During TOS, these antennas might have been black, and of long triangular shape.

The E-E saucer has similar things on the underside, but they don't look completely like the TOS triangles. So we could claim that the E-E uses her triangles for some other sort of work while also visibly sporting the TNG era transporter antennas elsewhere. Or perhaps the E-E has two types of transporter, and the triangle antennas are for a more powerful long range unit (while back in the 2260s, one needed those antennas for what we'd consider short range).

Timo Saloniemi
 
In other words, nobody's ever said what they are, including Matt Jefferies, so one guess is as good and another. :)
 
So they are obviously focusing beams to Mr. Spock's Marshmelon Replicator on the planet's surface.
 
They're RPDs, other examples can be found in various places on the hull. They became increasingly more visible with each successive alteration to the models.

:techman:
 
Landing legs, IMO. Three would be an ideal number. The pointed ends wouldn't be a problem - they could either dig into the ground for stability, or the tips could fold flat. The only real problem would be the location of the third leg, which would seem to block access between the saucer and the neck, and the machinery for it would likely intrude on the space necessary for the impulse drive.
 
JuanBolio said:
Landing legs, IMO. Three would be an ideal number. The pointed ends wouldn't be a problem - they could either dig into the ground for stability, or the tips could fold flat. The only real problem would be the location of the third leg, which would seem to block access between the saucer and the neck, and the machinery for it would likely intrude on the space necessary for the impulse drive.
Click to expand...
Maybe it is, or is part of the neck? In that case you can still have all the machinery necessary for impulse, turbolifts, and whatnot, and still act as a leg.
 
I don't think they're landing legs. If the TOS ship has landing legs, its more than likely a quadruped setup, like the TMP refit. Which would make things a lot easier for neck not only in terms of mechanical space, but also in terms of structure.
 
While there is no "real" definition of them, I've always treated them as the "transporter emitter antennas." In my ongoing 1701 layout, I'm giving the ship just two "personnel transporters" in the primary hull (not sure if there'll be any in the secondary hull, actually), and each of them will be directly adjacent to one of these triangular shapes.
 
Well, there ought to be transporters down in the secondary hull, too. In "Dagger of the Mind" and "Alternative Factor", people entering through transporter get free roam of double-digit decks, while saucer transporter rooms should deploy them to single-digit decks only before they get caught.

OTOH, "Enemy Within" suggests there are single points of failure in the system. So I wouldn't attempt to create a setup where there are two basically independent systems, each with its own emitter array. Rather, the arrays should be shared resources.

That said, there are other surface features on the ship that could be interpreted as having to do with the transporters. But the yellow roundel under the secondary hull has been identified as a hatch in TOS-R, and the domes above and below the saucer and atop the shuttlebay seem to have a sensory role, perhaps related to phaser targeting considering the close proximity of the domes to phasers. So, dunno.

Timo Saloniemi
 
[QUOTE

The E-E saucer has similar things on the underside, but they don't look completely like the TOS triangles. [/QUOTE]

They were only put on the Ent-E for appearance (as with many elements of the Ent-Es design) They were simply reminders of the original ship, nothing more. (as mentioned by the designer in an interview)
 
Who cares? We're discussing the in-show "reality" here, and in that "reality", things don't get placed on starships for "appearance".

Also, what the designer intends for a certain feature on his or her creation is largely irrelevant. What's relevant is what sort of use that feature is put to, by the writers and the VFX artists; oftentimes, the designer has no say on that, regarless of whether he originally cared about that detail or not.

I've yet to hear mention of "designer intent" on those TOS ship triangles, and I'm quite willing to believe that Matt Jeffries didn't "design" them - that they were painted on as an afterthought (or after-not-really-thought) when the saucer looked too bland and featureless.

Timo Saloniemi
 
That explanation fits most of the ship's features.

That being said, landing legs is as good an explanation as any, and seems to be the one that's taken root the most.

It's possible that there's some more elaborate gear behind those triangular hatches, which unfolds and provides a much more stable base that what would be provided by just those two pieces.

And I rather like the idea of the neck serving as something of a rudder during atmospheric entry and as a third leg upon landing (those three concentric rings on the underside of the saucer could be landing repulsors, giving us a landing along the lines of C-57D's in "Forbidden Planet").
 
Well, the saucer might be designed to land on "tiptoe", standing high above the ground rather than resting on the lower dome. The fin and the two curved landing struts (supposedly made of superstrong materials) would create a nice 1950s UFO feel in such a pose, and would give good clearance in case the ground was uneven or the landing engine sprayed up lots of dirt just before touchdown. And reaching the ground even from great heights would be fairly simple if the fin remained intact.

However, the "tiptoe" approach is not something I'd willingly associate with what's supposed to be an emergency maneuver. It doesn't look or feel robust enough, what with the saucer probably being more or less damaged whenever such a maneuver has to be performed.

Timo Saloniemi
 
I personally believe they're painted the way the are to give the Enterprise evil-looking eyes, as to try and intimidate it's opponents.

It's as good an explanation as any. :D
 
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