The Scanners are based on Project X tech. Once you’ve handled their stuff a few times, you know which buttons to press.
Diode
Diode is a character appearing in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
Background
A veteran stalker, Diode is not much of a fighter, but rather a technological specialist. He has learned a great deal about Project X technology, as he assisted other stalkers in looting the X labs dotting the Zone. He understands the scanner technology used by Skif and is, in fact, one of the steps on the way to solving the mystery - the only issue is that recently his workshop was attacked by a group of thugs and Diode almost didn't get away intact.
He's an engineer by his own admission, and focuses on practical problems, rather than trying to figure out the mysteries of the Zone. When asked about Project X, he remarks "A network of labs. Beats me what the hell they were doing there, but I’ve seen a couple of papers indicating that they used to experiment on people. The labs are crawling with mutants to this day. You can put two and two together, stalker. As for me, I’d rather not. I’m an engineer, not a mathematician."
Appearances
Heart of Chornobyl
Diode is the technician for the Slag Heap. During the mission: The Price Goes Up, Skif questions Diode regarding the scanner and Nestor. Despite Diode working with Nestor even he has no idea what happened to Nestor, as he has been missing for some time now. Diode tells Skif to check his workshop at the Hydroelectric Station as it has been recently raided by Bandits. Skif returns to Diode with an evidence. A magnetic keycard used to enter the workshop. Diode tells Skif that it is the spare keycard for the workshop and it belonged to Nestor. Diode suggest to check Nestor's stash for any further clues.
Skif retreives the coordinates for two possible clues: One at the Maze and the other one at the Dig Site.
Skif's investigation eventually led to the Bandit leader, Varan, whom he had to kill regardless of Skif's choice during the mission: Deal with the Devil. Diode hearing this contacts Skif to return to the Slag Heap so he can see what he found. Before Skif can return The Ward shows up at the Slag Heap and Diode was detained for questioning but later he was released.
With Nestor gone, Diode assumes the role of leader for the Diggers.
Related missions
- The Price Goes Up: Diode is a vital stop on Skif's quest to figuring out just what happened with his scanner.
Trivia
- It is implied that Diode is in fact Nitro, the technician in Yanov Station from Call of Pripyat. This is indicated by his story about doing "some tweaking for Degtyarev" in Yanov.