posted
It has recently been bought to my attention that a nova class ship should not have type-X phasers. Since it is a science vessel with limited defensive systems i was wondering what other people think the armaments should be? How about 2 torpedo launchers and six type VIII phaser emitters?
-------------------- "We set sail on this new sea because their is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won" John F Kennedy
posted
The basic Nova class, as seen in episode "Equinox", has the following visible weapons: 11 phaser strips and 2 forward torpedo tubes. There are also aft torpedo tubes, since we see the ship firing aft torpedoes. These aft tubes just happen to be invisible. The torps happen to be coming from the middle of the ship's spine, so presumably they are behind that dark hatch there, halfway between the shuttlebay and the impulse engines.
(Curiously enough, the MSD seen in the episode places the shuttlebay behind this middle hatch, but there are other errors in the MSD as well, like the placement of the forward torpedo tubes. The MSD is probably best forgotten.)
The eleven phaser strips need not all be of the same type - perhaps the long primary stripes are of a higher type than the short ones? The only ship for which we "know" the phaser strip classification is the Galaxy class, with all of her strips of type 10, and even that is not strictly canonical.
I suggest type 8 phasers for the Nova, possibly with the shorter strips being type 7. That sounds "weak" enough in comparison to the Galaxies, and "strong" enough in comparison with shuttles which can carry type 4 or 5. Type 8 might also be what is used onboard the Voyager, for that matter.
And Harry's Nova Class in Endgame is from 20 some years in the future. So perhaps by that time, Nova's have been refitted to perform more militant roles as well. The Rhode ISland obviously had some oompf to take on the Klingons.
posted
The Nova is too small to carry Type-X phasers. They have to be around Type-VII or maybe even Type-VIII.
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
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posted
Personally i think type VII and VIII phaser are used in the nova class. It cannot have better araments than an intrepid class. I know this is not covered anywhere but the impression i get is that the equinox had much inferior weapons than voyager had.
-------------------- "We set sail on this new sea because their is new knowledge to be gained and new rights to be won" John F Kennedy
posted
The Type-# doesn't imply how new or old the phaser is, it implies size or power...
If you want age, then that's where Mk. #s come into play.
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
posted
Exactly! Which is why a Type II phaser in TOS has the same designation as a Type II phaser in TNG, DS9, and VOY. Of course we have those fanboys who believe the Ent-E has Type XII phasers, but that's whole new argument...
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posted
Uh... it might be noted that type can play a part in age. No ship before the USS Galaxy had Type-X. Which pretty much means that no ship before 2350 had Type-X. --- I also accept that no ship had Type-9 before the USS Ambassador, and no ship had Type-8 before the USS Excelsior. But that's just pure speculation.
Type-X is the most powerful shipboard type, there isn't a more powerful phaser onboard starships [yet...]. This excludes the Sovereign from having Type-12, besides I remember someone [Rick Sternbach?] saying it had Type-X. Type-11 is the most powerful there is so far anyway... only found on planetary defense platforms and stations.
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
I always referred to Sovereign arrays & all subsequently refitted ships (including Galaxys) to have Type X-A strips. Still the largest Type X, but sufficiently advanced & uprated enough to qualify for a slight design notational difference.
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
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posted
Has there ever been a canon source for figuring out which type of arrays are on what? I dont remember them being mentioned or displayed onscreen...
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posted
"Type ten phasers" are mentioned in TNG "Conundrum" as being the armament of the E-D. The reference does not make it completely clear if all the phasers on that ship are type 10, or if only the heaviest or the most numerous are.
"Type eight" is mentioned in TNG "Preemptive Strike" as being aboard the Maquis ships, and apparently considered excessively heavy for them. Also, the graphics on the E-B bridge include a diagram of the ship where the phasers are labeled as "type 8". Other diagrams of that type (that is, TOS movie era where labels are often present, not the TNG ones where labels are normally not used) may have other references.
"Type four" is mentioned in TNG "The Outcast" as being installable on "Class six shuttlecraft", or what is known as Type 6 Light Shuttle in the TNG Tech Manual.
"Type three" may or may not have been mentioned in some episode dealing with phaser rifles ("Mind's Eye"?), but type three disruptors were mentioned as handheld weapons in "Generations".
"Type two" and "type one" date back to TOS "Devil in the Dark", where they describe the pistol phaser and the palm-fitting phaser, respectively. They have been reused in TNG, DS9 and VOY dialogue with the same meaning.
posted
It would seem that we are to believe that "Type" has a relationship to size/power/degree of boom akin to gun size on an old battleship - 12 inch, 16 inch, or whatever.
I'd think there'd be plenty of room for variation among the same "type" over time - a movie era Excelsior may have had the same type as a refitted TNG era one - but with the latter having increased range, reduced waste heat, and better targeting (for example). So higher type = better phaser might not be true, even if higher type = more power output. Different types have probably been developed to serve distinct roles (shuttle guns, light ship guns, heavy ship guns, station guns, planet arrays etc.) so I wouldn't think the number for the best type would continue to climb, at least not quickly.
In particular it seems that the capability to use random frequencies like they do vs. the Borg is a major improvement that would apply to all types.
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posted
Voyager has Type-10s, actually. T'was in a line of dialogue a season or so ago.
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
That would also fit with Rick's comment about Intrepids being the smallest of the explorers.
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
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akin to gun size on an old battleship - 12 inch, 16 inch, or whatever. 
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