TNG era Federation Phaser Rifles

[James Wright]

I did on several times looking for dimensions for the phaser rifles, the only thing spoken of was power settings.
In the DS9 technical manual on page 88 there is a diagram of the type 3a phaser rifle, the diagram is quite small and none of the components are labeled.

 

[C.E. Evans]

In-universe, I suppose a phaser rifle may have bigger power packs and maybe better targeting capabillities. Probably handy if you need to hit something with precision or if you think you're going to be in a prolonged battle. The different phaser rifle types seen since TNG may simply represent subsequently improved models of the same thing, IMO.

Aren't phasers meant to overheat if used often on the highest settings?

Not only can they overheat they can actually explode as a result of way too much power at once overloading the phaser's prefire chamber and bouncing back into the power pack rather than through the emitter.

Sometimes this can be done intentionally to turn the entire phaser itself into an impromptu grenade or bomb.

 

[James Wright]

Check out phasers.net

http://phasers.net/2360/type3.htm

You can see how compact those phaser rifles are.

Edit: Not quite as fun or ergonomic as a P90 though

Know what you mean but, I prefer the TKB-22PM!

 

[T'Girl]

Check out phasers.net

http://phasers.net/2360/type3.htm

You can see how compact those phaser rifles are.

Edit: Not quite as fun or ergonomic as a P90 though

Know what you mean but, I prefer the TKB-22PM!

TAR 21 has my vote.

 

[James Wright]

Check out phasers.net

http://phasers.net/2360/type3.htm

You can see how compact those phaser rifles are.

Edit: Not quite as fun or ergonomic as a P90 though

Know what you mean but, I prefer the TKB-22PM!

TAR 21 has my vote.

Eh, still just a smidge to long , good design for a phaser rifle though!

 

[Mister_Atoz]

i've always liked that scene where Kira is comparing the two rifles. I think it is because she is essentially comparing an M16 rifle with an AK47 with a bit of sci-fi in there for good measure.

 

[Timo]

...And she manages to make the Fed gunsmiths look halfway competent anyway, despite personally preferring the Cardassian gun. It sounds as if there would be uses for the Starfleet rifle, even if running an ill-supplied resistance operation isn't one of those.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Librarian]

Yeah, the Starfleet rifle definitely has advantages in situations where you need more than just 'stun' and 'kill' - you can dig trenches with it, knock down walls, stun crowds, heat up your coffee, sweep for changelings, etc. You just need a bit more training to use all the extra functions effectively, and in an emergency an untrained civilian might get confused and accidentally blast a hole in the hull by pushing the wrong setting button.

 

[James Wright]

I like the Klingon rifle, that thing is like the AK-47, ageless!
Federation phaser rifles are over technical, how many version are there?(TO MANY!)

 

[The Librarian]

We've seen a grand total of three rifle models - TNG/DS9 Type III, Voyager compression rifle, First Contact rifle - plus a few minor variations on that last one that appear to be essentially cosmetic. Compared to the number of rifles and submachine guns the US military uses, that's tiny.

As for too technical, it's clear that in the vast majority of situations you can just set for stun or kill and pull the trigger, but if you need to do more you can. Without the 'overly technical' rifles, they'd be useless for finding changelings and they probably wouldn't have all the frequency-hopping capabilities used against the Borg. Also, given that they can be used to club Jem'hadar into unconsciousness and still fire, they're pretty rugged, too.

 

[James Wright]

Rugged huh!?
I seem to remember Picard using his phaser rifle as a club against the head of a Reman soldier in NEMESIS, do you remember what happen to the phaser rifle?

 

[The Librarian]

That was a fluke. In DS9, we routinely see people use them as clubs and even to block bat'leths without the slightest problem using them afterward.

 

[Timo]

Picard did seem quite surprised that his rifle had broken as easily as Luke's did in ANH... Probably these are generally made relatively solid (including this specific model, because we saw it being used as a club in ST:FC), and Picard had to his detriment picked a Monday specimen from the rack.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[publiusr]

Always a bad apple in the bunch.