Starfleet Combadge (2390s)

Created by Captain Aviram Drell on Tue Aug 6th, 2019 @ 12:59am

Overview

The combadge is a combination of a badge and communicator worn by Federation Starfleet personnel on their uniforms during the twenty-fourth century. Similar devices are used by other organizations and societies as well.

Appearance

Starfleet Insignia & Combadge (introduced cir. 2390)

By the 2390s, the design of the Starfleet insignia and combadge consists of a hollow outlined version of the delta arrowhead with two irregular stylized vertical trapezoids behind it. The Starfleet combadge is a crystalline composite of gold, microfilament, silicon, beryllium, and carbon-70.

Personal Communicator

The current Starfleet-issue communicator represents the latest improvement in small subspace radio devices. Its primary role is to maintain voice contact among crew members aboard ship and during away missions as well as to provide a lock-on contact for transporter operations. Voice contact with other devices (such as the ship’s main computers) is also within the communicator’s capabilities. Due to the size of the combadge, its working range is limited to five hundred kilometers, although a starship can boost the signal to bridge greater distances.

Combadges are used for onboard ship communication with other Starfleet personnel under the following circumstances:

• When using the internal communication system is not possible or impractical
• For accessing the onboard computer when not in an area where the computer is listening
• For ship-to-shore communications
• For direct communication to another combadge

The combadge is activated by tapping it once and deactivated by tapping it twice. For security purposes, the combadge is a personalized Starfleet device that can be programmed to respond to the individual crew member’s bioelectrical field and temperature profiles using the built-in dermal sensor. If an attempt is made to operate an appropriately programmed device by another crewmember without security override authority, the communicator will fail to activate.

Secondary Functions

Every time a combadge is activated, it conducts a health check upon the assigned crewmember. This check is very basic in nature and consists mainly of vital signs and voice stress analysis. Should any anomaly be detected, the duty medical officer is alerted by the ship’s computer.

The combadge is configured to act as a universal translator, but only while in range of shipboard computer systems or an available tricorder system.

Combadges can be used by the transporter as a way to lock on to Starfleet personnel. More generally, the transporter can lock onto any person or object with a combadge attached or nearby, thus making transport faster and more accurate.

In emergency situations, a combadge can be modified for use in other applications. It can be converted into a subspace distress beacon or the tiny power cell can be extracted for other uses. If the casing of the combadge is ever cracked, an emergency distress signal is emitted, mainly to help searchers locate victims.

As a symbol of loss of membership in Starfleet, personnel that have resigned or been relieved of duty are required to turn in their combadges. Additionally, personnel confined to a brig are not permitted to retain their combadges during confinement. Taking off one’s combadge constitutes taking off one’s uniform.



Sources

Starfleet Insignia & Combadge Design: from Memory Alpha
Combadge Descriptions: adapted from Memory Alpha and USS Theurgy Wiki

Updated: 08/05/2019