Star Trek TOS Tri-Viewer is DONE!!

[MattMunson]

Hey gang! I've been asked to build one of these:

When I started doing my research, I realized something important: I do not know what this thing is called!!! lol. If it was the year 2012, I would call it a "Desktop Monitor" or something like that, but I do not find much information about it when I search under those terms.

So, does anyone know off the top of their heads what this contraption was referred to within the show??

Second, if anyone has any info, drawings, measurements, or anything like that about it, please point me in the right direction.

I will of course be blogging the entire build up at the usual location, so keep an eye open toward here:

mattmunson.blogspot.com

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Probably "briefing room tri-viewer" is the most descriptive - although I don't recall it being called anything in particular, either!

Mostly you want to differentiate it from the standard "desk monitor" used elsewhere on the ship.

 

[phez]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Well it is called "Tri-Screen" in the Star Trek Sketchbook but I am pretty sure it was just "The view Screen" or "Viewer" in most of the episodes

Edited, by the time I was back from the book shelf Phase Pistol had it covered. :lol.

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Proximity of the standard desk comm in this shot might provide scale reference. Note the shininess of the white screen when switched off (Shatner's arms visible in reflection)

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Phase pistol, you beat me to it. I was hoping to scale it off one of those. Awesome. Anyone have dims on the com?

Great screen grab, by the way. thank you kindly.

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

"Assignment Earth" HD screengrab courtesy of Trekcore's almighty screengrab archive.

My own pic of a screenused TOS desk comm with Moleskine notebook, to provide scale (Greg Jein collection, Worldcon LA 2006):

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

The standard diagram of the TOS soundstage MIGHT give you some insight into the dimensions of that coffin-shaped briefing room table... assuming that the set diagram is scaled accurately.

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Whatever you do, don't reference Star Trek Enterprise's re-creation of the briefing room monitor in "In a Mirror Darkly"... that thing is awful. :lol

 

[Roger Ramjet]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Karl, anyone tell you that you are a WEALTH of Trek Knowledge? If not I'm saying it, ok?

 

[deck5]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Just to start the discussion -- based on the size of the data card & switches, I'm getting an outer size for the side of the viewer of 16" wide, and 9" tall. The actual screen, including its frame is 10.75" wide by 7" tall. The frame around the screen is 1/2" wide, all around.

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Awesome stuff, everyone! Thanks. Good stuff so far. I'm probably going to throw together a quick mock up out of foam core just to make sure I've got dimensions right. I'll wager that the thicknesses are pretty standard, looks like it might be half inch stock.

Please keep details and insight coming if you've got it. Great stuff so far! thank you all!

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Unusual square-on views of the tri-screen in "Mudd's Women"

Blast that tin-plated pot! :angry

k

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Here's my first drawing of the face. I think the viewscreen is bigger than suggested in deck5's dimension. I like the overall width and height, and used those. They look really good. Here's what I've got so far. I used 1/2" as my measurement for the bottom and top lips of the box, and also as the width of the view screen surround.

I will be making all of these drawings available as a PDF once I'm done, seeing as how this is turning out to be such a collaborative process

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Interesting pics Karl. What I'm having trouble deciding is if the bottom and top lip are angled. I'll put together some sample drawings to show what I'm talking about.

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

check this out:

If you look at the first pic I posted, the bottom lip appears flat. Or should I say, the surface between the outer edge and the bottom border of the viewscreen appears horizontal to the table. I assumed it was the same for the top.

But seeing the two Mudd caps it gets confusing. Perhaps the bottom lip is flat, but the top lip is angled. One of the caps makes it look like both the top and bottom are angled.

thoughts??

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

For reference, the thing I've highlighted in red is the part I'm debating about whether it's angled or not. And the part above it.

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

I think it's like this:

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Something like this i think

 

[LepcisMagna]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

That... is a surprisingly difficult question to answer. I found every photo I could of the monitor, and I'm pretty sure it is just the shadows in the shots in "Mudd's Women" that make it look angled. The best stuff I could find was at Ex Astris Scientia. I wasn't sure until I rewatched The Corbomite Maneuver, but in that episode the monitor lip looked pretty flat. The bottom one definitely is - the top one is much more difficult to figure out, since that's where shadows always fall. It doesn't help that it only appears about ten times onscreen and that nobody seems to know where they went after the show.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Re: Star Trek TOS Assistance and Insight Needed.

Based on that front-on pic of Mudd's file, it definitely looks like a sloped top lip and flat lower lip to me.
With that slightly above camera angle, you wouldn't see the upper lip if it was flat, so that's definitely sloped. And comparing the angle/height of the top/bottom lip, they're definitely not the same. The bottom lip has to be either flat, or a much flatter angle at the very least.