Object

Improvised Sensor Circuit Board (Forbidden Signal Lock — Data's Unauthorized Rig)

A palm‑sized improvised sensor assembly used by Data to isolate a faint RF tonal carrier: a jury‑rigged printed circuit board with exposed solder joints, mismatched capacitors, a tiny antenna coil and jumper wires, integrated with patch‑wired filters, a handheld oscilloscope display and a com‑link lock/signal‑boost unit. The device is cobbled from spare parts and deployed in Data's quarters/bridge to boost sensitivity to and lock onto an otherwise indecipherable low‑amplitude transmission.

1 appearances

Purpose

Acts as the front‑end processing/sensor module for an unauthorized improvised rig used to boost sensitivity to faint, artificial transmissions detected on the bridge.

Significance

Embodies Data's clandestine empathy and procedural transgression; the board's presence sparks Worf's physical and moral confrontation and propels the episode's central crisis—forcing command to weigh compassion against regulation.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S2E15 · Pen Pals

Hidden Sensors, Open Judgment

The exposed improvised circuit board is the functional heart of Data's unauthorized sensor rig; its presence explains the open panel and scattered components, creates a physical trip hazard, and materially enables the boosted sensitivity Data describes. Narratively it embodies the rule-bending technical solution that precipitates the ethical conflict.

Before: Removed from its housing and laid out at Data's feet, connected to a jury-rigged array for extended frequency scanning.

After: Still out and connected at Science One; Data announces intent to remove it to his quarters, leaving it effectively quarantined but unresolved.

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