When were transporters invented?

[John Adams]

I have been trying to determine when (stardate) transporters became a regular feature on starships. Does anybody know?

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"Kirk to Enterprise. Cestus III has been destroyed." (Oh, like who doesn't scan a planet before they beam down?

[Imagus]

I remember reading somewhere that transporters first appeared as refits on Constitution class vessels like the original Enterprise, about the same time shipboard phasers were introduced. So not long before Captain Pike's period in charge, possibly the refit was just before he took over, or before April's last mission.

Thinking about it, I think this info is in the TOS core book - I'll have a look...



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Slartibart-Jon

[Dave]

Maybe Dr. McCoy's aversion to transporters stems from that early period. When he was a young doctor, perhaps he saw firsthand the effects of early transporter malfunctions.

[Steve Long]

According to LUGTrek canon, they were invented in 2186, and later improved in 2211. I am unclear whether there's an actual canon basis for the first date, but I'm pretty sure there's none for the second.

Steve Long

[John Adams]

Cool! Thanks so much guys!

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"Kirk to Enterprise. Cestus III has been destroyed." (Oh, like who doesn't scan a planet before they beam down?

[qerlin]

Dunno...about 1966?

[AlexR]

Originally posted by Steve Long:
According to LUGTrek canon, they were invented in 2186, and later improved in 2211. I am unclear whether there's an actual canon basis for the first date, but I'm pretty sure there's none for the second.

Steve Long

If I'm recalling right, didn't "Realm of Fear" establish that a study in 2209 or thereabouts of transporter psychosis lead to a upgrade of the pattern buffer equipment so that that malady was soon a thing of the past?

That might be the canonical basis for an improvement in 2211.

Best,
Alex

[Caretaker]

I looked up in my copy of The Star Trek Encyclopedia, and it has no dates listed for the transporter (aside from Mark V and Mark VI transporters being retired from service in 2356).

The anthology Star Trek: The Lives of Dax has a story about Torias Dax, who is on the starship Heisenberg during the third year of the Romulan War (specifically 2159). Romulans board the ship, kill part of the crew, and to help defeat them and escape safely, Torias attempts to use a protoype device the research team he belongs to is working on... the transporter.

AlexR, good citation of precendence.

[This message has been edited by Caretaker (edited 01-26-2001).]

[SIR SIG]

FF File 59 Card 1
* Early 23rd century

ST Chronology pg 37
* First case of transporter psychosis 2209

So from these 2 canon points we could say some where between 2200 and 2209. Since they probably would have made reference to the turn of the century for 2200 and psychosis probabably wasn't diagnosed straight up.

I'd peg 2204/2205 as an arbitray date!

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SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator

[Sjohn]

The date in All Our Yesterdays was, in fact, written with the assumption of "several years before the psychosis thingy."

-Sjohn, who did the assuming

[Sjohn]

Incidentally, I went back as far as I did because of the history of the thing I sketched out (tied to a thumbnail Tellarite story I put together for a possible later supplement) ... with the assumption that transporters were invented, then fiddled with for a couple of years before they were in common use, that they were first in commmon use for inanimate objects only, that they later tested them on living things, and only after they'd been around long enough to be quasi-common for transporting intelligent beings did the psychosis first crop up. Rewrite to suit, but I figured I't let you in on the rough shape of my reasoning

[Aldaron]

Originally posted by SIR SIG:
FF File 59 Card 1
* Early 23rd century

ST Chronology pg 37
* First case of transporter psychosis 2209

So from these 2 canon points we could say some where between 2200 and 2209. Since they probably would have made reference to the turn of the century for 2200 and psychosis probabably wasn't diagnosed straight up.

I'd peg 2204/2205 as an arbitray date!

Just as a note, I wouldn't quote the Star Trek Fact Files as canon. I collect all of 'em, and love the graphics & stuff, but the information is often WAY off-base.

This is the source which quotes the Voyager as:

11,130 feet long (a typo, I'd say, since 1,130 feet is about right).

1.5 million metric tonnes (it is canonically stated in the show that it's 700,000 tonnes).
(Both from 21.1)

Not only that, it is chockablock full of general errors, such as half of the Voyager cards showing the diagram of the ship, but omitting the green box locating the particular subject's position on the ship.

To be honest, if it wasn't for the graphics, I wouldn't buy STFF - I don't think I've recieved an issue yet that doesn't have at least one glaring error in it.

Certainly, however, with this lack of reliability, don't consider it canon - not even remotely.




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"May I find you with peace, and leave you with hope."

[darkwing duck1]

Hey, at least you guys CAN get FF. We here Stateside CAN'T!

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Deo Vindice!

[Dan Gurden]

Your right Darkwing... Instead you get Star Trek The Magazine, which has the groovy orthographic views and schematics, along with some of the more interesting articles (Trust me the weekly magazine has alot of padding)...

But 'The Magazine has alot of behind the scenes stuff and designer notes which we dont get...

A mix of the two would be the best option...

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Dan.

"A couple of thoughts from a random mind!"

[Xangraves]

I seem to remember reading that the Klingons may have invented a crude transporter system before the Federation did, but it had a VERY high mortality rate. It also did not emit that high wail that is so instrumental in ruining sneak attacks.