I always assumed that the three 'portals' at the very front of the Saucer section were 'windows' like Ten Forward and the such. I have noticed watching TOS over the last few days that the middle 'circle' is actually one of those blinking 'positional' lights. Its not a window at all. Thus the other two 'holes' might not be windows either. They could be a secondary deflector emitter(s) or as per spock's dialogue in Court Martial that they could be the source for the 'forward impulse engines' being on the opposite side to the aft impulse engines... (these forward impulse engines were used to stop the Enterprise from furthering its decaying orbit after the ship was sabotaged by Ben Finney.
------------------ Homer: I'm gonna miss Springfield. This town's been awfully good to us. Bart: No, it hasn't, Dad. That's why we're leaving. Homer: Oh, yeah. [pokes his head out the window] So long, Stinktown!
Posted by Daniel (Member # 453) on :
I'm not so sure. I've always held them to be the auxiliary navigational deflectors. Two problems with them are that they straddle the deckline and are really BIG in comparison to other windows around the primary hull. I don't think they are forward facing impulse engines.
Posted by Zor Prime on :
Andrew, you need to get ahold of Franz Joseph's 1701 deck plans. Or "his" tech manual. Both are excellent, and might answer alot of your questions. He's got engineering at the back of the saucer, which is in dispute, but overall, he's the master. The hanger deck balcony is there, as is the conference room. He's got a couple on deck 6, on the edge of the saucer, which makes sense with the arcing walls, but he's also got one on deck 4 or 5, closer to the bridge.
Posted by Zor Prime on :
Oh yeah, as for the ion pods. The Officer's Manual has a few nice concepts of additions to 1701. They have the ion pod at the very bottom the saucer, complete with ladder to descend into it. They also have a launchable buoy, same kind as seen in "Where No Man Has Gone Before", at the back of the secondary hull under the shuttlebay doors. Neat stuff. I can scan if you like.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Hey, Zor. Why did you put that "his" in quotes...?
--Jonah
------------------ "It's obvious I'm dealing with a moron..."
--Col. Edwards, ROBOTECH
Posted by Zor Prime on :
Because Franz Joseph isnt his real name. I think it's Joseph Sch..... something. A long German last name I think. Dave would know, since he still has my book with the interview with him..ahem..
------------------ When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Posted by Starship Freak (Member # 293) on :
Zor: I for one would love to see the ion pod and the buoy!
------------------ "The Starships of the Federation are the physical, tangible manifestations of Humanity�s stubborn insistence that life does indeed mean something." Spock to Leonard McCoy in "Final Frontier"
Posted by Zor Prime on :
Oops, I guess it was just part of his name. For some reason I thought that the Franz part was fake. I stand corrected. I'll scan the ion pod and buoy and put in on my online photoalbum and see if it can accessed. The 3d model was visible, so these should work. I'll post links soon.