Captain Clark Terrell uses binoculars in 2282.
Binoculars were a handheld technology that allowed the user to look over long distances using a series of mirrors and prisms. It was similar to a telescope but gave a three-dimensional view since the viewer was using both eyes.
History and specifics[]
A view using 2254 binoculars.
In the 2260s decade, standard telefocal binoculars had a range of ten miles. (Heritage Models RPG module: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier)
In the year 2266 on K-G, James T. Kirk used binoculars to locate Janice Rand, who had been abducted by a vine plant and placed in an enclosure. He also used them to observe the plant species consuming the cattle beasts for food. (TOS comic: "The Planet of No Return")
On Hercula, Kirk used binoculars to confirm Colonel Mynota's claim that two caveman-like Yerba were climbing down a mountain, before they were shot. Kirk saw that the two people were actually Spock carrying Germal. It took Leonard McCoy threatening Mynota at gunpoint before the colonel would belay his order. (TOS comic: "The Animal People")
While trapped on Ceti Alpha V, Khan Noonien Singh and Marla McGivers both used a pair of binoculars left with them in exile. (TOS novel: To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh)
In the year 2267, Starfleet Intelligence agent Bridget McLellan carried a pair of holographically-enhanced binoculars on the planet Golmira. They viewed at different magnifications. (VAN novel: Precipice)
McLellan and Cervantes Quinn used mini-binoculars when scouting out the spaceport on the Gorn planet of Seudath when they were making plans to board the captured Orion freighter Treana. (VAN - Declassified novella: The Stars Look Down)
In 2269, Jimmy Clayton used telescopic binoculars to search for Kirk and Spock after their aquashuttle NCC-1701/5A was dragged underwater by a sur-snake on the planet Argo. He spotted them through the telefocals on the fifth day of the search. (TAS episode & Log Five novelization: The Ambergris Element)
In 2273, IKS Kandar's First Officer Koth used binoculars to spy on James T. Kirk and his landing party on Forma VI. (TOS comic: "Dilithium Dilemma")
In 2282, the shuttlecraft Kepler crashed on a Gorn training planetoid. The surviving crew used binoculars from a tactical pack to spot the oncoming Gorn patrol. (ST - Alien Spotlight comic: "Alien Spotlight: The Gorn")
The designs for binoculars were present in the databanks on the USS Verdun. In 2163 Commodore Lucian Murat had downloaded the schematics that were used by the Human forces on Torgu-Va to make this device. In the year 2367 Julia Murat used binoculars when scouting for Tarn forces on the battlefield. (TNG novel: The Forgotten War)
Jim Peart and Christine Vale used holographic binoculars to study a building from a distance of several kilometers. The device could be set to view thermal frequencies and energy signatures. It could also record and playback surveillance scans. (TNG novel: A Time to Heal)
USS Voyager's shuttlecraft storage bins contained binoculars, as well as tents, rafts, mountaineering gear, blankets and tricorders. (VOY novel: The Final Fury)
Others using Starfleet binoculars[]
- Cole (DS9 - Section 31 novel: Abyss)
- Karl Graylock (ST - Destiny novel: Gods of Night)
- Todd Johnson (TOS novel: Rules of Engagement)
- Nadia Larkin (DS9 episode: "The Siege of AR-558")
- Gage Pembleton (ST - Destiny novel: Lost Souls)
- Ro Laren (DS9 - S31 novel: Abyss)
- Claire Thorn (EV comic: "The Flat, Gold Forever")
- Nyota Uhura (TOS comic: "Uhura's Story")
- Christine Vale and Lieutenant Eviku (TTN novel: Over a Torrent Sea)
Appendices[]
References[]
External links[]
- Binoculars article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Binoculars article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.