Finally, an official Bluetooth 'Star Trek' communicator

Sourced from Engadget.com

For all of the fans who ever wanted a real communicator:

Star Trek fans have settled for toy prop replicas, DIY projects and the occasional off-brand (but functional) Starfleet comm-badge--but the age of compromise is almost over. In January of 2016, you'll finally be able to buy an official, screen-accurate, Bluetooth-enabled Star Trek Original Series Communicator.

Technically, the replica prop is just a simple Bluetooth handset with pretty basic functionality: it takes calls and plays music. That's about it. It's pretty snazzy looking though--the Communicator is a die-cast metal, aluminum and ABS replica modeled after a 3D scan of the original "Alpha Hero" prop, made and manufactured by The Wand Company. Its magnetic charging connector turns the unit into a pretty nice display piece, too. It's pricey, though: the Communicator will cost $150 when it starts shipping in January--the same price as the replica phaser (and TV remote control!) the manufacturer made last year.

Starfleet Phasers: Type II Dolphin Custom

The phaser throughout the history of Star Trek has been a futuristic weapon used to move the story along. Replacing the crudeness of the explosion powered firearm with the sleek and graceful directed high energy weapon with a graceful laser beam. So the closest we have come to this weapon is the Taser, but there's always hope.

A number of years ago when I was getting back into 3D modeling I was talking to a co-worker who had mastered solid modeling and he had a fantastic idea. I asked "how do you get your practice?" He responded "I just model things I like and what my kids like." So I took this into consideration and started my own models in the same manner. This was one of the results.

So the grip is not that refined and I'm not that happy with the angle of the handle, but if you have a 3D printer and would like to print it out it's available here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:498495

Graphics: LCARS

As I have taken a lot of time to study the graphics used on the star trek series, specifically TNG through Voyager, I've come across many references to Okuda and company utilizing Adobe Illustrator during production of the series. Although I have a copy I thought about all of those people to do not have Illustrator. There are other alternatives that can be just as effective if you are attempting to replicate screen used graphics, or just for creating your own custom ones.

I have Adobe Illustrator in my arsenal, but thought I would try Microsoft Visio. Amazingly it works rather well. You have a lot of control for the shapes although you may have to piece together you LCARS brackets. You have a complete color control which allows for input of custom Pantone colors. Visio also allows for a lot of image importing so that you can freely edit from screen capture to MS Paint and crop in Paint and paste to Visio.

With this being said you do have to watch out for a few issues. For example if you want to print your LCARS print directly out of Visio, or PDF then print. You can select and object and save as an image, but it does tend to come out as a lower resolution image. Save your work once in awhile. I learned the hard way that sometimes Visio 2007 will crash.

Sample of object saved out of Visio as a JPG:

Sample of a Screenshot out of Visio:

Sample of the LCARS brackets in Visio:

LCARS Visio Buttons:

Visio has a number of controls and after you are familiar you can manipulate it to create many of the graphics to match your desired look. If you have Visio and would like to use some of the templates I’ve already created send me a request!

Starfleet PADDs: The 4"x6" Deep Space Nine/ Voyager Era Circa 2369-2378

So as an engineer these devices are simplistic. They are simple touch screen devices that are capable of retrieving requested data from a local database much like our current WIFI touch screen tablets pulling data off of a cloud service. There are major differences though in regards to overall computing power. I suspect that these devices never lag or freeze unless the connection to the database is lost, and in this case the PADD would switch over to local memory. Another question would be the general power source. I would suspect that there’s a wireless power source that allows for use in land base facilities, space stations and while aboard a ship. As a secondary power source for when out of range of these systems would most likely be an energy harvesting circuit tied to a super capacitor of some sort. This would allow for extended use away from wireless power systems. Overall a very realistic concept with current technologies circa 2014 although the devices of Star Trek are much more stylish then our own.

As for a real version….well we have either static props or possibly some partially interactive props with LEDs and buttons to change the LEDs sequences and sounds. So I present for you a static prop kit as shown below. I will be building mine as soon as the weather improves and I can spray paint outside. If you want a kit as shown send me a message!

The current kit cost is $40 and includes the following: 1 top plate, 1 mid-plate, 1 bottom plate, 1 high quality decal sheet with clear gloss finishing laminate, and assembly instructions.

Kit Details: The plates that make up the PADD are laser cut from black Plexiglas. The decal sheet will be 1 of 6 styles of LCARS graphics design by myself and randomly chose for your shipment. If you order 2 however you will not receive duplicates. The decals are kiss-cut so no manual cutting will be required and full color digitally printed on 3M Brand white vinyl with and outdoor rating of 3-5 years. The decals also include a 3M Clear Luster UV Protective laminate custom kiss-cut to shape. The instructions call out recommended paints, and a short list of tools and materials needed to complete this kit as well as step by step instructions.

How to buy: Go to the Amazon link below.
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Voyager-Small-Replica/dp/B00S5NBR7Y/ref=sr_1_53?ie=UTF8&qid=1421680160&sr=8-53&keywords=Star+Trek+PADD

If you are looking for a different PADD design send me a message as I will be working on others in the future.

Welcome to the away team!

So along with passion for electronics engineering and creating thing is a longtime interest in the technological devices that are used to drive the story lines in the star trek franchise. Combining the interest with CAD and modern manufacturing using 3D printing I intend to share my interest with as many people as possible. Welcome to my page. Hailing frequencies are open!