Hello! Welcome back to The Utensils! Sorry for that outage that we've been having for the past couple of weeks. Technical difficulties. Luckily, that is all straightened out now. All the name servers are pointed at the right places, and we are back in business good to go! I have had plenty to blog about, so get ready to get back into gear in the upcoming weeks with many new and exciting posts!
For a long time now, I have been interested in Star Trek props. My first love was TNG props. Currently in my collection is a Phaser universal remote, two tricorders (one science and one medical), a rather nice metal etched PADD, along with some others. But, it is really much more fun when the things light up and makes sounds, and even MORE fun when they are useful! That's why I have decided to construct a real working TOS era communicator! I bought a pair of small walkie talkies for $20 at Radio Shack, and I ordered a TOS communicator from ThinkGeek.com for $29.99.
I think I can successfully transplant the circuitry from the walkies into the communicator housing. There is one thing I will have to alter, though. The "talk" button on the walkie is on the side of the case (a convenient place to put it for practical reasons), and it is soldered onto the circuit board. This means that I will have to cut out a correctly sized hole on the communicator housing to fit the "talk" button. This shouldn't be too hard. I just have to be careful not to crack the plastic in the process. I plan on using these things at the ST convention in Las Vegas this August. It's the official Star Trek convention put on by Creation Entertainment which I highly recommend. This will be a really fun way to keep in touch with the rest of the group while perusing the merch tables, or partying down in Quark's bar. According to DHL, the communicator should arrive at my apartment tomorrow, and here the fun begins! I will fill you in as things develop.