8.1 System Configuration

The hardware configuration for dedicated intraship communications involved a minimum of 17,000 allocated data line sets and terminal node devices distributed throughout the ship, in parallel with the pure hardware telemetry links of the QTNS. This is the primary route for voice and data signals. An equal number of radio frequency based terminal node devices are distributed throughout the habitable volume of the ship as the first backup layer. The secondary backup layer runs parallel to the EPS and consists of around 9,000 kilometers of yttrium-samarium-praseodymium-cobalt superconductive strands, with associated liquid nitrogen servicing conduits. This layer utilizes the same terminal node devices.

Each terminal node device is a disk measuring 12 cm in diameter and 3cm thick. The casing is constructed of molded polykelinide, the internal arrangement consisting of a voice section and a data relay section. The voice section contains an analog-to-digital pickup\speaker wafer, preprocessor amplifier, QT filament modulation input\output (I\O) subcircuit, and digital-to-analog return system. The data relay section contains three nested circuits consisting of a standard STA, found most prominently in Starfleet-issue comm badges, short-range RF pickup and emitter, and a optical-laser I\O system. Handheld devices and transportable devices not hardwired in send and receive data via this node. While duplicate RF & optical pickups exist in the backup systems, their function in the primary system is to manipulate data signals for transmission over the QT fibers.