Starship Navigation Lights 'BLINKEYS' Demystified!

[blssdwlf]

Did anyone else notice, all the time the E-D was inside the Borg super-cube, the "blinkeys" were always lit?

No blinkey.

You're right! I'm guessing it must've been easier for the animators to lock the lights solid while keyframing the battle.

Funny enough, post battle the red-green blinkeys and the white blinkeys were not sync'd so referencing David cgc's anti-collision light info it seemed a bit odd to me. I wonder if real-life ships sync their blinkeys or they blinked in sequence?

 

[Mres_was_framed!]

There was a white strobe light on the forward rim of the saucer that wasn't consistently used

Can you identify where that is exactly? I don't recall.

 

[blssdwlf]

There was a white strobe light on the forward rim of the saucer that wasn't consistently used

Can you identify where that is exactly? I don't recall.

There are 3 circular ports on the forward rim of the saucer. They can vary between all dim, all lit, or center lit and strobing.

You can see this in an early episode like "Where No Man Has Gone Before" or whenever this shot is re-used. You can see it blink around 5-15s into the video below.

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[Mres_was_framed!]

There are 3 circular ports on the forward rim of the saucer. They can vary between all dim, all lit, or center lit and strobing.

I wondered if those three ports were what you were referring to. I did not seem to me that it was the same ports on multiple versions of the model. In SD it looked to me as if the pilot version had one light with a dark border on two sides of it. I know some fans have considered these three ports to be to be where the photon torpedoes fire from, or a saucer deflector, but I am not a fan of either of these ideas. I would prefer they be considered windows, or in the pilot, the center one be considered a marker light. This would be a good candidate for a forward lounge or VIP quarters if, in fact, the ships had such things in the era of TOS.

 

[blssdwlf]

I wondered if those three ports were what you were referring to. I did not seem to me that it was the same ports on multiple versions of the model. In SD it looked to me as if the pilot version had one light with a dark border on two sides of it. I know some fans have considered these three ports to be to be where the photon torpedoes fire from, or a saucer deflector, but I am not a fan of either of these ideas. I would prefer they be considered windows, or in the pilot, the center one be considered a marker light. This would be a good candidate for a forward lounge or VIP quarters if, in fact, the ships had such things in the era of TOS.

Because it sometimes has the blinking strobe in the center port I think of the 3 ports as a multipurpose sensor bay. I think most of the window ports on the ship are for sensors and any actual portholes for people to look out of are normally shuttered. YMMV.

 

[Mres_was_framed!]

any actual portholes for people to look out of are normally shuttered. YMMV.

Having the windows invisible when fully closed would address many issues with the window locations as far as how few of them there are and whether the different versions of the model could co-exist. But with so many areas outlined with red stripping that suggest hatches, that would also have to suggest that the hatches are visible when closed, but windows are not.

 

[David cgc]

But with so many areas outlined with red stripping that suggest hatches, that would also have to suggest that the hatches are visible when closed, but windows are not.

I'm not a fan of the idea of the ship (or any ship) dynamically switching back and forth in "reality" based on which model or version thereof was used in any given shot, but closed hatches being more visible than closed windows makes sense. If you were connecting some kind of docking port or umbilical, or even just heading towards one in a spacesuit, you'd want to know exactly where the hatch is before it opens. Since the window is incidental as far as anyone outside the ship is concerned, it doesn't matter if you can't see it while it's closed.

 

[Mres_was_framed!]

closed hatches being more visible than closed windows makes sense. If you were connecting some kind of docking port or umbilical, or even just heading towards one in a spacesuit, you'd want to know exactly where the hatch is before it opens. Since the window is incidental as far as anyone outside the ship is concerned, it doesn't matter if you can't see it while it's closed.

I had not thought about it that way but that works as a reason for why there might be openings in the ship that are not visible when closed.

When I first saw TOS, I found the smaller bridge and deflector approach combined so often with the "holes" on the ends of the nacelles when flying away from the camera, I thought that was what was intended. I think some problems are solved with reactable nacelle spikes, a bridge that can rotate up and down, "balls" for the nacelle endcaps, etc. To me it is just that we never actually see the transition, instead we just see the ship before and after the spikes have been extended, for example.

Your comment actually justifies the smoother surface for the ship in TOS, something not done in later versions: If the technology can be used to make the ship's surface so smooth that even closed windows are invisible, then the fact that some important parts of the ship are only visible from the exterior because there is pinstriping around them can be considered a design choice, not a lack of detail.

That being said, the way the TMP ship can look smooth from a distance but have panels close up makes a lot of sense to me. Supposing that there are other hatches that we cannot see because they are hidden for some reason? Perhaps with sensors or other gear that can be retracted or extended?

 

[Henoch]

Square lighted features are open picture windows into lit rooms/corridors.
Square blackened features are open picture window into dark rooms/corridors.
Invisible square smooth hull features are shuttered/closed picture windows into lit or dark rooms/corridors.
Now for small round features, they can be either porthole windows (same as above) or some kind of sensor or other energy emitting device where if lit it is active or dark it is inactive.
YMMV .