Most people use padds and some kind of terminal in Trek on ships. So I'm assuming everything is connected by some kind of futuristic wifi aren't they?
Do Federation ships have anything similar to wifi?
- Thread starter Gingerbread Demon
- Start date
Well, it's an environment where they work with classified information. So if there is some kind of wifi, I'd expect it to be very well encrypted.
Yep, by the five digit prefix code from TWoK.
(Which I headcanonize to be the command code to the Enterprise computer to transmit the real ultra complex super-quantum key to the Reliant.)
But there would have to be some kind of networking going on with people on different decks, in different rooms, some using padds or terminals in their quarters.
I think the fact they do is a plot point in one of the Picard shows (ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ).
Yes, obviously. Have you ever seen them plug in a padd for example?
Yes they have WiFi except the times the plot requires they don't.
HAS WIFI: Kirk phones Scotty from the Klingon border to Earth. His communicator puts the signal through the ship's transmitter, Scotty's on Earth to a Space Phone tower. I'm assuming phone signal and WiFi have merged in the future.
HASN'T WIFI OR EVEN EMAIL: Passing that PADD around all of Voyager that one time.
HAS WIFI: Kirk phones Scotty from the Klingon border to Earth. His communicator puts the signal through the ship's transmitter, Scotty's on Earth to a Space Phone tower. I'm assuming phone signal and WiFi have merged in the future.
HASN'T WIFI OR EVEN EMAIL: Passing that PADD around all of Voyager that one time.
I loved him being able to call Scotty through his communicator. In the 90s I used to imagine people calling on the space phone to Earth.
No, but we have seen them carrying PADD's all over the ship, delivering reports to senior officers and such, rather than just send them a message.
So perhaps they have a 'bluetooth' like functionality with a very limited range, but no wifi network throughout the entire ship?
Last edited:
It is canon that they have a 24th century LCARS version of Remote Desktop.
In TNG’s “Unification Part 1,” the admiral which briefs Picard about his mission specifically tells the computer to create a connection between the computer terminal in Picard’s ready room (i.e., the one that looks like a laptop) and a secure computer system off the ship that has the classified image of Spock on Romulus.
Or is it one of those things where they just stick it back in the replicator to be dematerialized and replicate a new one?
In TNG’s “Unification Part 1,” the admiral which briefs Picard about his mission specifically tells the computer to create a connection between the computer terminal in Picard’s ready room (i.e., the one that looks like a laptop) and a secure computer system off the ship that has the classified image of Spock on Romulus.
It does bring up an interesting question. Do you recharge PADDs and Tricorders? Like is there a station where they put them when they’re running low to recharge the batteries?
Or is it one of those things where they just stick it back in the replicator to be dematerialized and replicate a new one?
Also, it seems like a PADD can only deal with one topic at a time instead of being loaded with multiple things, since we’ve seen them make a joke out of a character being overwhelmed with info and having to read multiple PADDs worth of stuff,
Last edited:
True, but when I want to show someone something in person I also tend to carry a chart or my computer around despite not having to do that. We do see them make reports via communicator and then Picard or someone else pressing some buttons to look up more information, so it's possible. This might also simply be the result of the realities of tv productions, they want actors to act together.
I think they all have wireless charging and by the 24th century many surfaces are wireless chargers I their entirety, so every time they put a padd or a tricorder on a desk or a shelf it gets charged.
Sisko did so in Paradise Lost.
I think it is the equivalent of WiFi. Maybe PADD to PADD might be like BT. As to charging, maybe they use the WiFi signal to recharge with?
They literally use the ODN (Optical Data Network), basically modern Fiber Optic Cables that we have as the core high speed data network throughout the ship.
Regular RF (Radio Frequency) based communication that is STL (Slower Than Light) is used for basic computer communication from a PADD, Tricorders, etc to the larger computer systems. I'm sure every single room within a StarShip or StarBase has it's own independent WiFi Access Point to connect to the larger StarShip/Base's intranet and internet.
Sadly, according to ST:TNG Technical Manual, the LCARs is only operating at 33⅓ hz or FPS. I wish they would up the refresh rate so that it isn't nearly as laggy.
Modern gaming requires 60 FPS/hz as the bare minimum and far higher for a smoother / true real time interface.
At this years CES 480 FPS/hz displays are the new high end standard.
I'm sure by my 26th century, all the technical specs will be updated to far more smoother / lower latency standards for remote computing.
Whatever RF based standard they are using, it's MANY MANY versions ahead of what we have and making far better use of the limited bandwidth that is the RF spectrum.
I'm sure our current WiFi/BT will look like primitive standards compared to what they are dealing with.
Wireless charging will still not beat good ole plugged in charging in terms of energy conversion/transmission efficiency.
The metal bulkheads across the ship acts as natural faraday cages, so any WiFi will probably be limited to local room access only and need to be transmitted over the larger ODN network on the ship.
That seems incredibly wasteful, once you get your assigned PADD / Tricorder, it should be assigned to each select officer.
Last edited:
The TNG Technical Manual also described a PADD as having a "subspace transceiver assembly" in its core that enabled it to upload/download data over several encrypted channels. It also went on to say that a PADDs utilized "induction recharging," and that a fully charged PADD has a battery life of 16 hours due to the various internal processors. If a PADD was running low on power aboard ship, the main computer would simply transfer all its data to another fully charged one nearby.
Unless that’s just a way to keep it “Your Eyes Only”?
If you had an unlimited number of PADDs that you could pull out of a replicator on demand, it might actually be convenient in some circumstances to 'lock' each PADD to a particular task and use your spatial memory to help you multitask. Although I'd have to have them colour coded, putting my 'office work' on my desk and my personal stuff on the coffee table would serve as a helpful reminder of how many things I have to do and I can see at a glance what state they're all in.
And personally delivering a PADD with an important document on it like a crew performance report on it might not be necessary, but it respects the chain of command and allows your commander to acknowledge your work, which helps morale. It creates a chain of custody for a document that might otherwise get gunged up in the 24th century equivalent of an Inbox.
As for Neelix, in his capacity as morale officer I think delivering letters by PADD and having a personal interaction is probably adds to the experience. Imagine you receive a postcard from someone close that you haven't seen in years. Nice to share the excitement with someone who understands and will smile back at you rather than the computer beeping at you and you sit in your quarters reading it alone. Plus if the sender is unexpected or a shock, Neelix can read the reaction to gauge who might need more support later.
And personally delivering a PADD with an important document on it like a crew performance report on it might not be necessary, but it respects the chain of command and allows your commander to acknowledge your work, which helps morale. It creates a chain of custody for a document that might otherwise get gunged up in the 24th century equivalent of an Inbox.
As for Neelix, in his capacity as morale officer I think delivering letters by PADD and having a personal interaction is probably adds to the experience. Imagine you receive a postcard from someone close that you haven't seen in years. Nice to share the excitement with someone who understands and will smile back at you rather than the computer beeping at you and you sit in your quarters reading it alone. Plus if the sender is unexpected or a shock, Neelix can read the reaction to gauge who might need more support later.
Did they have the concept of WiFi or BT in the TNG series timeframe?
The "SubSpace Transceiver Assembly" would be very useful when you're planet-side and need to transmit data to a ship in space or within your nearby Star System or neighboring Star System with a clear line of sight and no subspace anomalies or major gravitational bodies screwing up your subspace radio transmission link to the ship.
16 hours isn't bad, but I was hoping for more life time of the PADD.
The PADD seems to operate on a remote terminal like basis with rapid OS/System (image / data) dumps to allow quick transfer of content between tablets.
They had the concept, but not the name in the modern sense.
Modern WiFi didn't become a thing until 1997/09-21 (26 years ago)
Modern BT (BlueTooth) didn't become a thing until 1998/05-28 (25 years ago)
ST:TNG didn't even start airing until 1987/09-28
So ST was truly ahead of computing at that time in terms of what it envisioned.
Similar threads
