OPSAT
Official Name	OPerational SATellite Uplink
Type	Experimental Military-type PDA Device
Developer	Third Echelon
Used By	Splinter Cells
Notable User	Sam Fisher
Appearances	All Splinter Cell games

The OPSAT (OPerational SATellite Uplink) is a multi-purpose device used by Splinter Cells. It serves as their primary means of communication with Third Echelon and serves various purposes out in the field.

Technical informationEdit

The main interface between a Splinter Cell and their data, the OPSAT is a modified version of the civilian-issue Palm PDA. It is smaller, designed to be worn around the left forearm, and used for many in-field needs.

FeaturesEdit

Sam's OPSAT can provide a lot more than mission updates and data saves. It can provide streaming video from either the wired-in Optic Cable, or via the wireless Sticky Cams. The functional nature also allows him to pick up data sticks (it isn't mentioned whether these are Sony's Data Sticks or some other Flash Memory/card chips) to read through. The most notable is that the OPSAT also has an ambient noise/sound sensitivity meter that tells how much noise Sam (or the environment he is operating in) is making, and a light visibility indicator that tells Sam how visible he is to his enemy. He knows that the first lesson for a Splinter Cell is that "Light is your enemy...darkness, your friend" meaning that being seen equals with being shot at since all the enemies are armed or can call upon more soldiers to detain him. It is strongly recommended that the meter hold steady at 25% or less for best results at visual stealth. Splinter Cells must take note that certain cameras and enemies can see them if they're using night-vision detection.

The OPSAT also serves as a database on the intelligence Splinter Cell operatives are able to collect on their enemies and/or informants for later reference. Such intelligence includes their biographies, any criminal records, prior activities and employment, combat abilities, etc. When operatives acquire documents with any such pertinent data, they are able to use the OPSAT to download said data into its storage files, making the OPSAT an ideal investigative tool for storing and analyzing intelligence.

The OPSAT can also be used to download data directly from a computer into its files, which it accomplishes by hacking into secure data storage databases. The OPSAT normally accomplishes this through the cracking of key codes, which it must accomplish within a short time frame to avoid the risk of triggering local alarms.

In Double Agent, Third Echelon added a new feature to the OPSAT called the "SATCOM", which provides an aerial view of the user's current location, including location of hostiles, in real-time. The SATCOM can also analyze hostile movement patterns that leads them to being tagged as actively moving or not. However, the SATCOM cannot refresh an image while the user is mobile.

The OPSAT also has an alarm system, that will wake a sleeping Splinter Cell (this is mentioned in the first book of the Splinter Cell novels, written by David Michaels). The "alarm" is a T-shaped rod that protrudes from the OPSAT, the device rocks back and forth on the wrist of the sleeping Splinter Cell, nudging the pulse and awakening the agent. Sam Fisher describes it to be "similar to a device that he saw in a James Coburn film", at first he thinks it too stupid of an idea, until he uses a similar device himself.

See alsoEdit

• Splinter Cell program
• Sam Fisher