U.S.S. Voyager
Transporter Room - PAGE 11
U.S.S. Voyager
Transporter Room - PAGE 11
Pattern enhancers are one of the main tools developed to safely increase the range and effectiveness of transporter systems. The devices are used to boost the molecular pattern of an object or lifeform so that the pattern lock for transportation is stronger and more defined. These instruments are usually only needed in order to overcome interference caused by electromagnetic shielding or naturally-occurring phenomena.
 [#104 Counterpoint] |
 [#104 Counterpoint] |
Pattern enhancers are portable cylinders about a metre tall, and are normally used in groups of three. They are chrome-colored, with a clear narrow dome on top that lights up when activated. A switch in the midsection releases three legs from the base, allowing the unit to stand alone and remain balanced on uneven ground.
The apparatus is activated by twisting the dome and the black casing just below it anti-clockwise. When deployed, typically seven metres apart in a triangle formation, the clear top acts both as an emitter and and as a conductor for the thin blue energy beam that connects all three units. For ease of portability, a hinged tri-fold case wraps around the midsection of a set of three cylinders. The squarish case includes a carrying handle and a recessed, moulded interior to cushion and protect the enhancers from knocks.
| Once the last unit of three has been activated, a beam of blue energy joins all the units together and defines the space either in which the matter to be transported must be placed or the area where persons or objects are to be materialised. |  Source ST:M |
 [#104 Counterpoint] |
 [#104 Counterpoint] |
Under normal conditions, the shipboard transporter does not require a receiver or transmitter at the other end. Sometimes, however, pattern enhancers have to be taken to the required destination on a small shuttlecraft where space is at a premium, and therefore the equipment is made light and easy to carry so that they are mobile devices that can be easily operated. This specialized apparatus is often used to compensate for interference caused by electromagnetic storms or other atmospheric disturbances, and make transporting safer by amplifying the transporter signal lock. They are often carried by rescue teams sent into hazardous environments.
 [#109 and #110 Dark Frontier] |
In [#89 The Omega Directive] pattern enhancers were used to help transport Omega molecules from a planet into a harmonic resonance chamber in Voyager's cargo bay 2.
Janeway's away team went equipped with pattern enhancers in the covert mission to steal a transwarp coil from a Borg sphere [#109 Dark Frontier, Part One]. On that occasion it was an object, a transwarp coil, that was transported. Pattern enhancers were also seen in use in [#104 Counterpoint]. In [#141 Live Fast and Prosper] scam artists Dala, Mobar and Zar discussed how many "transport enhancers" were required to beam up their stolen goods (the numbers 10 or 12 were mentioned). This indicates that at least those humanoid lifeforms use similar devices to the Federation pattern enhancers. |
Pattern enhancers are primarily safety equipment, ensuring a safe transporter signal in otherwise hazardous conditions. Before their invention, beaming up from certain planetary conditions could be dangerous and potentially fatal.
Lieutenant Joe Carey is ordered to set up pattern enhancers to facilitate his being beamed back to Voyager. But he is murdered immediately before transport and his dead body arrives on the ship. The pattern enhancers do, however, function properly, facilitating a successful beam-out. [#167 Friendship One]
Once the devices have been used, they are often left behind if the environment is hostile, rather than being retrieved, as happens in [#109 and #110 Dark Frontier].
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