# What Did the Federation Do With the Cloaking Device in Star Trek: TOS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2003, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129 "2003-12-05T10:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/1 "2003-12-05T10:51:02Z")
As I’ve said before on these boards, I consider myself to be a fairly avid trekkie, as were my parents to the same or perhaps just slightly lesser degree. But there is something I have wondered for some time now. In _Star Trek_, the original series, Capt. Kirk just barely succeeds in stealing the Romulan cloaking device right off their ship. Then you never hear of the cloaking device again (or at least I don’t recall ever hearing of it again). Then in _Star Trek: the Next Generation_ we learn that there is a treaty in effect with the Romulans that says the Federation agrees not to use the cloaking device in exchange for some concessions from the Romulans. **What did they ever do with the cloaking device in TOS?** Did they ever use it again? Does it ever appear again in TOS or one of the movies? And for that matter, what did Kirk and the Enterprise ever do with it? They had it last time I saw it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/2 "2003-12-05T15:12:00Z")
I’m not the most knowledgable Trekker, but I think the general answer is, “nothing.” Phil Farrand makes the same points several times in his “Nitpicker’s Guide” books, that this was one plot hole that was never resolved. In the scope of the Trek universe, it makes no sense that the Federation would sign a treaty that lets _all_ their enemies have a technology they themselves are not allowed to develop. There must have been some _big_ concessions from the Romulans for the Federation to enter such an agreement. The ST:TNG episode you’re referring to is, I believe, “The Pegasus,” in which Capt. Pressman (Terry O’Quinn), Riker’s former CO, uses the Enterprise to salvage a “phasing-cloak device” from the title ship. He states that the treaty had bound the Federation’s hands and kept them from exploiting a key defensive strategy, and FWIW, I’m inclined to agree. There’s probably another answer in the scope of the original series’ production, relating to the writing or cinematography, but I can’t imagine one at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/3 "2003-12-05T15:55:26Z")
Ah, they swapped it for a 1920’s style “Death Ray”. So now we need to explain why we never saw the Death Ray either. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/4 "2003-12-05T16:01:32Z")
Presumably, the Romulans, being the inventors of the TOS cloaking device, could work up a way to penetrate it. Therefore, shortly after that one Federation use of it, it was no longer effective. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/5 "2003-12-05T17:46:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\*Presumably, the Romulans, being the inventors of the TOS cloaking device, could work up a way to penetrate it. Therefore, shortly after that one Federation use of it, it was no longer effective. \*\* The is pretty stongly hinted at the end “The Enterprise Incident”. Spock and the captured Romulan Commander have a brief conversation in which she reminds him that the Romulans will be able to penetrate their own stolen cloaking device and Spock comments that military secrets are among the most fleeting. Speculating, I could imagine that the stolen cloak was damn-near impossible for Federation scientist to figure out, but they bluffed and _said_ they were learning all kinds of cool things and that they could soon deploy cloaked vessels of their own that were more advanced. The Romulans fell for this and made some concessions in order to get the Feds to abandon the research, not knowing the Feds were getting nowhere, anyway. In any event, the cloak has always been a fairly weak plot device, easily penetrated by whatever tachyon-field technobabble is required. Heck, in the third film, Chekov spots a cloaked Klingon ship because a fairly obvious _visual_ distortion of the star field(!). They must have fixed it, though, because the same ship had perfect invisibility while parked in San Francisco in the next movie. Ther cloaking device _prop_ was re-used several times during the series, including as Nomad (“The Changeling”) and Flynn’s “M5” robot in “Requiem for Methuselah”. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/6 "2003-12-05T22:45:25Z")
IIRC, the last time it was featured was on DS9 in the _Defiant_. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/7 "2003-12-05T22:53:46Z")
And, on a related note, how come James Bond never seems to re-use gadgets from previous movies–e.g., the laser gun from _Moonraker_? ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/8 "2003-12-05T22:58:41Z")
_Moonraker_ NEVER HAPPENED. I want to pretend I never saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/9 "2003-12-06T03:29:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\*Presumably, the Romulans, being the inventors of the TOS cloaking device, could work up a way to penetrate it. Therefore, shortly after that one Federation use of it, it was no longer effective. \*\* Even if they weren’t the inventors, they’d eventually find a way to detect it. It’d be the equivalent of the real world’s nuclear arms race… each side building bigger, stronger, and faster weapons, making the models of yesteryear obsolete but still effective to an extent. Also, I seriously doubt that the Federation had any trouble in discovering how the thing worked once they got their hands on it. After all, Scotty was able to hook the damned thing up and make it work almost immediately and he’s only the main engineer. I’m sure the Corps of Engineers and/or Research and Development back in San Francisco had a dozen or more that were just as capable, or moreso, than he was. My guess is that the Romulans traded away some planetary systems, allowed the Neutral Zone to be upkept, and/or promised not to decloak in Earth orbit for the Federation’s assurance that they would quit using cloaking technology. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/10 "2003-12-06T03:47:53Z")
I view it as just another example of poor continuity on the part of whoever is in charge of those things in Star Trek. Marc ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/11 "2003-12-06T04:39:30Z")
I imagine it was sent back to Starfleet reseachers, to improve methods used to detect cloaked vessals; I assume there is something of a race between the Federation and the Romulans, both constantly improving sensor and cloaking technology. ---
**Author:** ![hansolo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@hansolo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansolo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/12 "2003-12-06T04:42:18Z")
i thought the suliban invented the cloaking device god damn continunity errors with this new show ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/13 "2003-12-06T05:18:27Z")
They brought it back to the lab, plugged it in, and switched it on. Now they can’t find the off switch. The damn thing’s invisible. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/14 "2003-12-06T05:28:28Z")
You missed it, **hansolo:** It was just explained by Crewman Daniels that time is not unfolding correctly, that this sequence of events (all of Enterprise) should not be happening, and Archer is at the center of it. The 1920’s style “Death Ray” was used in the Voyager episode “Bride of Chaotica.” Check it out for yourself. They really didn’t have time to do much with the cloaking device anyway- the episode was one of the last before final cancellation, and no one was planning the future of the Federation just yet. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/15 "2003-12-06T05:41:57Z")
It’s in the same warehouse that the Lost Ark of The Covenant went to in Raiders of the Lost Ark. and you didn’t know those two were related. ---
**Author:** ![hansolo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@hansolo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansolo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/16 "2003-12-06T06:08:21Z")
oh shit, i stand corrected then ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/17 "2003-12-06T15:35:11Z")
Don’t forget the treaty in which the Federation agreed not to use cloaking technology. I’ll look up the name and episode later (unless someone beats me to it.) Also, some of the tech writers made suggestions that cloaking was inherently incompatible with StarFleet warp technology. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/18 "2003-12-07T03:00:02Z")
Algeron, as mentioned in “The Pegasus” ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/19 "2003-12-07T03:01:43Z")
Algeron, as mentioned in “The Pegasus” And the tech writers are full of BS. Scotty hooked the stolen one up to the Enterprise and it worked well, as did the Romulan loaned one that’s in use on the Defiant. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129/20 "2003-12-07T03:51:34Z")
You’re right, **Aes**. But, that’s what has been said by different tech/continuity writers/consultants/assistants in different forums (TV shows, conventions, interviews, at that dinner party, etc…) I have to assume they meant long term compatability, since we all know the writers have indeed used cloaks when the episode “needed” it. I agree, it’s a very big whole in their logic, but what are ya gonna do? :dubious: Trek is a very big world. _Now_. When it all started, it only ran for three troublesome years. No one ever thought it would get this big. Then, when it really took off, the errors were very obvious. To add to the problem, when new Trek (beginning with TMP) finally came out, Gene and some others had a lot they wanted to do that they didn’t get to in the first run. I think that in their rush to implement their pet ideas (esp Gene’s Technology Unchained Utopia), they missed some the obvious fixes. Now, inertia seems to keep things at a status quo (except for certain huge ENT canon violations), so no cloaks for Hoo-mahns. The whole question of money is another casualty of this symptom. And the “militarism” of StarFleet. Bottom line for me: I just watch it and complain illogically over the most mundane things. And canon violations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-federation-do-with-the-cloaking-device-in-star-trek-tos/217129.md?page=2)