AA/Diamond $20 Star Trek Communicator: modified with metal parts

CessnaDriver said:
Well, not yet, but someone else had mentioned the problem.

They said they were glued in and not soldered.

I expect with repeating flippings most of us might just have it happen sooner or later.
Click to expand...
After reading that, I wrote 'em again and told 'em I'd fix it myself. Thanks again! :thumbsup

Edit: With the one side separated from the "wheel", the other side became loose as well. I removed the entire grille, put a drop of Zap-A-Gap in each hole, and replaced the grille. Solid as a rock now! :thumbsup
 
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CessnaDriver said:
Well, not yet, but someone else had mentioned the problem.
They said they were glued in and not soldered.
I expect with repeating flippings most of us might just have it happen sooner or later.
Click to expand...


I wondered why the front edge of the innermost two case halves were glued together where the lid hinge sits...
 
Observations and allegations...

I wanted this to be separate from my previous reply, so here goes...

I ordered and received two. I haven't opened both, only one, and so far it looks good. (Stupid place to put the 'Try Me' hole.) When removing the screws to take mine apart, I found that one of the screws was misthreaded and it broke in two when trying to remove it. I'll have to cut the molded-in nut out and epoxy a new nut in place...

I removed the jumper to enable the extra sound byte. Worked like a charm. I took some time and made note of some callouts next to open pads on the PC board. Those designatiors (PA1, PA2, PB1, PD0, PWM1, et cetera) sound like callouts for the chip-on-board I (COB) processor. I know the STTE comm used an Elan EM57P300AP chip so checked the datasheet and the callouts don't match. However, they sound like pin designators for a Microchip PIC processor. Now, which one? I have a PIC programmer but I haven't used it. I just may have to solder wires to those pads, hook it up and see if the programmer can tell me what type of chip it thinks the board has. Next, to see if the chip's program and memory can be read. Afterward, did they possibly forget to blow the programming/read fuse? Hmm...if so, perhaps the program can be read out and modified, or the embedded sounds can be changed to work more like the STTE or the MR comms, and reprogrammed again. Or something completely different, perhaps. My problem is time (as in, not tnough of it) and when I can get to it.

On a related topic...is anyone planning to redo some of the parts with metal ones (especially the moire ring) and make them available for sale? Has anyone heard of such plans?

Also, I read the 'plain' lid, when paint is scratched away, doesn't appear to be brass (pot metal, perhaps?). Does anyone know for sure?

Just things to ponder on a Wednesday evening. :love
 
hmmm

If we can ID the chip, maybe there is a drop in replacement with MORE memory for more sounds. Of course there is some resident code on the chip that tells it what to do when buttons are pushed and such, that would have to be loaded too.
 
CessnaDriver said:
hmmm

If we can ID the chip, maybe there is a drop in replacement with MORE memory for more sounds. Of course there is some resident code on the chip that tells it what to do when buttons are pushed and such, that would have to be loaded too.
Click to expand...

Impossible, I'm afraid. The STTE had an identifiable, standard-package chip that was replaceable. This new unit has it's "chip" under a black blob of epoxy and its part of the PC board. In short, non-replaceable. It's more cost-effective for a manufacturer to do that, but harder for reverse-engineering and hobbyists to fix/tinker with. I don't know why the STTE had a "standard" chip. The problem with Elan Micro is that they're based in Taiwan, no stateside reps, and they've never answered my query emails or request for login/password to their web site. The chip is highly specialized and I can find no replacement or sub for it. It also requires their expensive hardware to program the stupid things. :angry

It may be possible to ID the blob as I described above. It will take some work and may not produce results, but its the only way I know of (other than asking DST/AA which chip the design is based on). Anyone have an inside track there?
 
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Okay, so I just got mine last night. Overall I'm pretty happy with it. I don't get some of the voice clips. It seems like they just randomly grabbed sound bites from the show. The silver painted plastic pieces definately make it feel like a toy. I have the old calculator clock one and I like the finish on that one better. Chromed plastic and smoother grain. No spinning moire though, and it wasn't very durable. The clock and calculator died rather quickly.

My question for the more learned people on communicators is this: the body of this communicator seems very tapered with a wide bottom. Was the original prop tapered this much?
 
darthgordon said:
My question for the more learned people on communicators is this: the body of this communicator seems very tapered with a wide bottom. Was the original prop tapered this much?
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I compared mine to photos on Herocomm.com, and I'd say the taper on the AA/DST comm is definitely more pronounced.
 
I have one of the EE Exclusives with chromed lid and slightly glossy body and one of the "regular" editions with "painted" lid and duller finish body.

I think the regular edition is pretty amazing right out of the box -- the grid/lid is a GREAT color of brass -- it appears to match the real brass grids on the actual props...and yes, I do realize that in some EARLY episodes the grids on some comms appeared to be shinier (like the chromed EE version), but most of the time it looked like regular duller brass metal.

I debate replacing buttons/moires/etc etc -- but the piece is pretty nifty just as is...and as I have various other replicas (HMS, JTK, etc.) I will likely leave mine as is....but I have enjoyed seeing how everyone else is pimping theirs out with the upgrades.
 
Well.....

I flipped open my AA/EE comm this morning. And.....

The grid flew off across the room.

The small wire that goes into the pivots snapped on both sides.

Granted it's been sitting on my computer desk since I got it and the geek boy that I am have picked it up and flipped it open a hundred times or more and it is only $20. But beware.

I still love it. Especially the flipping open sound.
 
Yeah, I stopped flipping mine open, I just use my forefinger to rotate the barrel.

On the fat bottom issue, has anyone tried shaving one down to reduce that chubby profile?
 
Welp, I removed the solder for the extra sound and now... it stopped working. No sound. Moire still spins and the lights still function (the blue light still dims in time to the voice clips, just to mock me) but no sound. I triple-checked the connections to make sure the wires were still connected, and everything's a-ok, but I've yet to check the pics posted here to see if maybe I connected some saolder on another part of the board somehow.

Anyone else encountered this?

The left side of the antenna also contacts the control panel near the bottom corner, and it wore through the paint after just a couple of flips.

I also found a couple dabs of glue or epoxy on the inside of the cleare moire disc when I opened it up. :(

Any advice for any of these problems? Otherwise I love it.
 
Neon Sentry said:
Welp, I removed the solder for the extra sound and now... it stopped working. No sound. Moire still spins and the lights still function (the blue light still dims in time to the voice clips, just to mock me) but no sound. I triple-checked the connections to make sure the wires were still connected, and everything's a-ok, but I've yet to check the pics posted here to see if maybe I connected some saolder on another part of the board somehow.

Anyone else encountered this?

The left side of the antenna also contacts the control panel near the bottom corner, and it wore through the paint after just a couple of flips.

I also found a couple dabs of glue or epoxy on the inside of the cleare moire disc when I opened it up. :(

Any advice for any of these problems? Otherwise I love it.
Click to expand...

Double check the wires to the speaker is first thing that comes to mind.
Sometimes there can be a cold solder joint too, might look ok, but needs reflow.
 
I've already checked all of the wiring, I'm convinced I disturbed a connection on the board. Hey, if I can't get the sound to work again, it'll just be more accurate, right? :D
 
For the "jewel bezels", Thunderjet hubs are correct to what was actually used on the prop, but the holes in the toy's casing are too big and hubs would just fall through.

You could back them up somehow I suppose but then the holes in the hubs might not let a satisfying amount of light though.

My modified comm uses "N gauge train wheels" but my local train store couldn't match them either (I just used three wheels that I had for an unbuilt communicator kit I got years ago).

I used the train wheels to let the most light through. Also I liked the look.

- k
 
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