Laser beacon
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
The laser beacon was a mechanism used in the late 23rd century for shore to ship communications when communicators were unreliable. The beacon generated a high energy laser beam, powerful enough to penetrate an atmosphere and reach an orbiting starship.
In 2267, a landing party on Gothos attempted to use such a beacon to communicate with the USS Enterprise when their communicators did not function. The beacon was ineffective in this case; all forms of communication were blocked by mechanisms operating at the direction of the alien Trelane. (TOS: "The Squire of Gothos")
- This prop appeared in other episodes, generally with different functions. In "The Doomsday Machine", Kirk uses it as a soldering device. In The Making of Star Trek and the Star Fleet Technical Manual, it is identified as a "ray gun" with both offensive and defensive capabilities.
- It is probable that this device was used by landing parties in "The Galileo Seven", since communications was not possible, and one party beamed aboard after they signaled using one, when the creatures attacked. Communications with the shuttlecraft Columbus might have used a modulated laser signal with a set of codes for a limited set of pre-determined messages. Possibly as a result of the incidents in this episode, the beacon might become standard equipment aboard a shuttlecraft.
