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A transponder code, also known as an identity beacon,[1] was a signal burned into the starship's sublight engines that transmitted the ship's name, type, owner, and other pertinent data. For most of the galaxy's history, the Bureau of Ships and Services issued and tracked transponder codes.
History
In use since the beginning of spacefaring societies, transponder codes could be duplicated or removed, though the procedures involved were difficult, expensive, and highly illegal. Ships without transponder codes could not travel in civilized systems without attracting intense scrutiny.
When she visited Nar Shaddaa in 3951 BBY, the Jedi Exile had the Sullustan mechanic Tien Tubb changed the transponder code of the Ebon Hawk.
Some starships, like the Millennium Falcon, had multiple transponder codes that allowed the ship to have multiple identities.
Dannen Lifehold's YT-1300 light freighter Lifeline had an identity beacon that identified the vessel as the Black Knight. The beacon were used aboard starships to broadcast their identities.[1]
Weapons such as FreiTek's CL-3 antistarfighter cluster bomb actively scanned for enemy transponder codes in range to determine when to explode during combat.[2]
