How can you tell real calc bubbles?

Is there any way to tell the diff?

They sparkle and should have a raised edge on the underside of both lengths where it attached to the board.

They are thicker than most repros.

I think the MR sabers have replicated this part perfectly...right?

No stupid questions, but if you can't tell, then what's the difference...?

This is semi-rhetorical -- I KNOW we have purists out there!

Well I can see how its good to know; if you are planning to buy what someone claims is the real thing.

<div class='quotetop'>(PHArchivist &#064; Jun 21 2006, 02&#58;57 AM) [snapback]1264870[/snapback]</div>

No stupid questions, but if you can&#39;t tell, then what&#39;s the difference...?

This is semi-rhetorical -- I KNOW we have purists out there&#33;
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I bought what was claimed to be real calc bubbles... and now I know that the raised edges and increased thickness (that do not appear on the Blastech version) prove that they really are real. Thanks everybody.

I think the harder thing is to know between a real graflex and a replica.

well mine I know for a fact the it is real cuz I bought the whole calculetor. It got it for .50 at a yard sale. I&#39;ve takein it apart now and got the bubble display out waiting for me to make a saber. I&#39;ve acturaly going to copy it so I can have however many I want. I din&#39;t see any differance between haveing the real thing or a copy. Copies are cheaper in some cases and easier to come by and they look just as good.

<div class='quotetop'>(franz bolo &#064; Jun 20 2006, 11&#58;33 PM) [snapback]1264690[/snapback]</div>

They are thicker than most repros.
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Any other size difference? Do they fit better in a Graflex clamp than Blast-Tech&#39;s reproduction?
Are they wider?
I wonder also if the plastic is different. Blast-Tech&#39;s scratches easily.

Copies and repros have their place...but I don&#39;t agree with the aguement that they&#39;re just as good.
The magnification properties are fantastic in a real set of bubbles...you just don&#39;t get that sparkle from a repro.
If you in fact have a real set next to a copy you can tell the difference without question&#33;



<div class='quotetop'>(cyrax037 &#064; Jun 21 2006, 06&#58;06 AM) [snapback]1265012[/snapback]</div>

well mine I know for a fact the it is real cuz I bought the whole calculetor. It got it for .50 at a yard sale. I&#39;ve takein it apart now and got the bubble display out waiting for me to make a saber. I&#39;ve acturaly going to copy it so I can have however many I want. I din&#39;t see any differance between haveing the real thing or a copy. Copies are cheaper in some cases and easier to come by and they look just as good.
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No, in fact the copies fit better than the real thing...
I&#39;ve sort of clamped the bubbles between the jaws, instead of sliding them under.
They&#39;re much thicker than the replicas made for a saber clamp.
They take a little work and minor modification but they&#39;re well worth it&#33;


<div class='quotetop'>(Darth Lars &#064; Jun 21 2006, 06&#58;54 AM) [snapback]1265020[/snapback]</div>

Any other size difference? Do they fit better in a Graflex clamp than Blast-Tech&#39;s reproduction?
Are they wider?
I wonder also if the plastic is different. Blast-Tech&#39;s scratches easily.
[/b]

I have a real one and it is longer than the replicas I have seen. Most if not all replicas are cast to fit the length of the graflex clamp. A real one will have to be trimmed to fit perfectly. Mine also has little posts on the bottom where it was attached to the circut board as well as the already mentioned slight ridge on the underside.

Real ones will be a flawless casting, while some repos I have seen have some minor imperfections in casting.

anyone care to post pics of both?

The real ones have the small wire Light Emitting Diodes wiring in them. Thats a dead give away more than anything else.

<div class='quotetop'>(tripoli &#064; Jun 22 2006, 01&#58;07 PM) [snapback]1265936[/snapback]</div>

The real ones have the small wire Light Emitting Diodes wiring in them. Thats a dead give away more than anything else.
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?? Not sure what your talking about here - the LED wiring is spider webbed over the PCB, not attached to the bubble strip.

In fact, I tried to replace the bubble strip in a calculator with a replica and smashed all the spiderwebs together - now the lights don&#39;t work too good. The wiring is very fine behind the strip, be careful if you plan to use the calculator again at a later date.

-Propcicle

The one thing I never like about these types of threads, (real vs. repro anything) is that every time we point out all the differences and nuances, there&#39;s a chance there&#39;s someone out there making a note of them and using the info to make a better fake to pass off as the real deal.

For instance, we&#39;ve gone over the graflex with a fine tooth comb in the past. If a bootlegger was smart to collect all the information we&#39;ve put out there, they could easily could produce a dead-balls accurate repro that could easily pass for real.

The need for super accuracy can be a dangerous double eged sword.

Sorry for the rant.

-Fred

I seem to recall that the Exactra 20 calculator also appears under another brand, but I don&#39;t remember which brand and model it was. Does anyone else do?

Real bubbles are CRYSTAL clear. I&#39;ve never seen any replica even come close to the clarity of real ones. If I can capture the clarity between mine and replicas WITHOUT removing the tape from under them, I&#39;ll post pictures.

<div class='quotetop'>(tripoli &#064; Jun 22 2006, 05&#58;07 PM) [snapback]1265936[/snapback]</div>

The real ones have the small wire Light Emitting Diodes wiring in them. Thats a dead give away more than anything else.
[/b]

What do you mean, tripoli?

<div class='quotetop'>(Darth Lars &#064; Jul 9 2006, 09&#58;00 PM) [snapback]1277594[/snapback]</div>

I seem to recall that the Exactra 20 calculator also appears under another brand, but I don&#39;t remember which brand and model it was. Does anyone else do?
[/b]

It was a european version I think.

FB

It was the Italian TI-2000

FB

<div class='quotetop'>(Gigatron &#064; Jun 22 2006, 11&#58;25 AM) [snapback]1266011[/snapback]</div>

The one thing I never like about these types of threads, (real vs. repro anything) is that every time we point out all the differences and nuances, there&#39;s a chance there&#39;s someone out there making a note of them and using the info to make a better fake to pass off as the real deal.
-Fred
[/b]

I understand this concern, but even with larbel, Parks, Graflex Reborn, MR, etc. all of whom have/do make replicas, even when they have an original in hand, I have not heard of a 100% perfect reproduction.

<div class='quotetop'>(seven &#064; Jul 11 2006, 01&#58;43 AM) [snapback]1278330[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>(Gigatron &#064; Jun 22 2006, 11&#58;25 AM) [snapback]1266011[/snapback]

The one thing I never like about these types of threads, (real vs. repro anything) is that every time we point out all the differences and nuances, there&#39;s a chance there&#39;s someone out there making a note of them and using the info to make a better fake to pass off as the real deal.
-Fred
[/b]

I understand this concern, but even with larbel, Parks, Graflex Reborn, MR, etc. all of whom have/do make replicas, even when they have an original in hand, I have not heard of a 100% perfect reproduction.
[/b][/quote]


I have a feeling it&#39;s only a matter of time. Most of these are guys are not after passing off fakes as genuine, so they go for the "close enough", either purposefully or otherwise.

MR went for an idealized version, so they&#39;ll never be mistaken for the real deal.

I&#39;ve never seen Parks&#39; graflex, but his MPP is damn near perfect. I believe there have been some members who purchased a Parks on ebay under the pretenses that it was original.

The real point though is, with this info out there, it won&#39;t take much for a malicious jackass to start feeding on the non-experts out there.

As for the other calculator, it was indeed the Texas Instruments TI-2000. It&#39;s a direct copy of the TI-19/20 made only available to the european market. It&#39;s the one I have in my collection (and snagged for a pretty low price ).

-Fred

Here are a couple pics.
You can see how much more clarity the real ones have (although the difference is greater in person).

I don&#39;t know about others but I had to file down the Exactra calculator bubbles on both ends and a bit on the bottom just to get it to fit properly into the Graflex clamp.

Reproductions fit much better--and the fact that the "real" bubble strips need to be modified to fit suggests there would be no point to replicating them exactly.

This may be a hair off topic, but thinking about the TI-2000 has made me wonder about which model they actually used.

The sabers were probably made in england along with the other props, correct? So wouldn&#39;t it make more sense that they used the TI-2000 for the bubble strip? I know everyone chases down the TI-19/20&#39;s because those were probably the first to be identified with the correct strip. But I think it would make more sense that the prop houses over in england had the TI-2000 (either whole or in parts) and that&#39;s what was used.

Of course, if the sabers were made stateside, then nevermind

-Fred