The Wand Company TOS Tricorder is coming!

[asalaw]

I dread receiving the email that tells me that it’s time for me to place my order…it’s all about the journey and not the destination.

I think you all will agree with me that the waiting is the best part of all; I love it.

Geez, I hope Spock was only speaking rhetorically in Amok Time! I fully hope that having is way more pleasing a thing than wanting!

As for the shipments, if I were Wand, I'd be trying to stuff every tricorder I could into that first planeload in a race to beat the tariffs. Anyway that's what I would do.

 

[mach7]

I'm willing to spring for some tariff price increase, but $857 for the tricorder is way too much for me. If that happens I'll wait until the tariffs become more reasonable or I find one in a discount bin in a few years.
I'm guessing that the US is the largest market for the tricorder and 145% tariffs will very much impact the sale of the tricorder in the US.

It's a sad situation. With a 37XXX number I'm hoping to be able to order a low tariff free/low tariff tric, but.....
It all depends on how many get built and put on a plane/boat before May 2nd.

 

[xlowes]

I've heard similar stories from others too. And I've had my own customer service experiences with Charlotte--twice--and she was wonderful. Once she replaced my comm when the moire motor died, and the other time she handheld me through a battery replacement. They're so responsive, and show genuine care for the fans. I'm a customer for life too.

She replaced the last generation Tricorder box because it was damaged. Not a big deal but she took care of it .

 

[Captain Dunsel]

I dread receiving the email that tells me that it’s time for me to place my order…it’s all about the journey and not the destination.

I think you all will agree with me that the waiting is the best part of all; I love it.

….that comment is one of my expressions of absurdity, everyone…

 

[asalaw]

Interesting thing I noticed. The Wand tricorder has a plastic sort of bracket thing on the top side of the disk compartment.

But on the original heroes, it looks like that space is just a void. Nothing back there at all.

Not complaining. I just think it's interesting. Honestly I'd hate to have just a void back there on the replica. It would give the prop an unfinished feel.

 

[Lanboy]

The Master Replicas tricorder has the same plastic bracket above the discs to avoid looking hollow. I've got a Steve Horch tricorder though that does not have it, just hollow above the discs.

 

[asalaw]

The Master Replicas tricorder has the same plastic bracket above the discs to avoid looking hollow. I've got a Steve Horch tricorder though that does not have it, just hollow above the discs.

Yeah, that sort of thing is fine for picture, since even if you happen to see back there, it'll almost always be in shadow. But on a replica that doesn't fly for me.

And on another subject entirely, I really, really hope the Harry Mudd "lies & truth" are the animated displays in the briefing room (or as I like to call it, the exposition room) in Mudd's Women. That would be awesome.

 

[asalaw]

And THIS! Hilarious now--the "20th Century substitute." Cuz in the 21st Century, all the electronics fit inside the hood...

 

[FANATICO]

And THIS! Hilarious now--the "20th Century substitute." Cuz in the 21st Century, all the electronics fit inside the hood...

View attachment 1924367

One thing that bothered me slightly was that the micro sd slot is on the topside of the hood, as I held it in my hands at Comic-Con. I mentioned it just didn’t seem right to be there, why couldn’t they put the slot low in the back of the case near the micro USB port. Of course, it would require a re-design they weren’t prepared to do.

Hopefully enough constructive criticism from others as well that have a keen eye for originality caught it as well and mentioned it to them.

Hopefully they capitulated, and moved the micro sd card slot where it can’t be noticeably seen. It may be a minor misplaced feature to some like me…but for me to mention it here, only means I haven’t been able to dismiss it and it’s still retrievable in my memory banks.

 

[asalaw]

One thing that bothered me slightly was that the micro sd slot is on the topside of the hood, as I held it in my hands at Comic-Con. I mentioned it just didn’t seem right to be there, why couldn’t they put the slot low in the back of the case near the micro USB port. Of course, it would require a re-design they weren’t prepared to do.

Hopefully enough constructive criticism from others as well that have a keen eye for originality caught it as well and mentioned it to them.

Hopefully they capitulated, and moved the micro sd card slot where it can’t be noticeably seen. It may be a minor misplaced feature to some like me…but for me to mention it here, only means I haven’t been able to dismiss it and it’s still retrievable in my memory banks.

My guess is it was much easier to add the reader to the circuit board in the hood than take up space with it down in the lower compartment. They've already got a sizable battery down there.

But dammit Jim, I'm a lawyer not an engineer...

 

[asalaw]

Better views of the void above the disks from the Wand blog. Definitely empty space back there.

 

[FANATICO]

My guess is it was much easier to add the reader to the circuit board in the hood than take up space with it down in the lower compartment. They've already got a sizable battery down there.

But dammit Jim, I'm a lawyer not an engineer...

Here it is on the right pic with brightness and contrast turn up…it even has the pin hole to manually eject the card in case of ejection spring failure. Between the slot and the hole….It just doesn’t look right.

If you go by this…..it appears to have been moved somewhere else presumably in the back…or removed altogether…..I hope.

Perhaps the manual addresses the micro sd card slot or maybe not.

 

[FANATICO]

Verbatim from the manual…..

“Factory reset
The Tricorder can be reset by gently poking a SIM card ejector tool into the small hole located on the left side of the hood, which is visible when the hood is rotated open by 90˚. Resetting the Tricorder erases the time and date setting, and any name or passcode or display settings you have entered.”

No other mention of the “SIM card” that I can read……hmmm

 

[asalaw]

Verbatim from the manual…..

“Factory reset
The Tricorder can be reset by gently poking a SIM card ejector tool into the small hole located on the left side of the hood, which is visible when the hood is rotated open by 90˚. Resetting the Tricorder erases the time and date setting, and any name or passcode or display settings you have entered.”

No other mention of the “SIM card” that I can read……hmmm

I think by "SIM card ejector tool," they probably mean a paperclip.

As for the SD card slot, I suspect it's still there even if it's not shown in the diagram in the manual. It's not meant for end-consumer use, so there's no reason to put it in the manual, and getting rid of it would have meant retooling the hood tool, which would be a massive expense. It comprises 207 precision parts, according to Wand Update #11. The caption to this image says it's "just a few" of the parts.

Now, having said that, I'd be very happy if the slot wasn't there--I read somewhere that toward the end they were updating the Tricorder's software via the USB-C connector. But again, the retooling aspect makes me doubtful.

 

[FANATICO]

Using as dual use for battery charging, the USB-C, is Logical to use ….as opposed to loading firmware changes on a card to then plug in and download/upload.

Yeah I figured the Ol Paperclip “tool”.

Just have to wait and see.

Here…you can see the SanDisk 1GB Micro SD card plugged in.

 

[asalaw]

Got that annoying IP block on the Wand site again. When you click the "Validate my IP" button, I think the checkbox should say, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

 

[asalaw]

Just got a response from Charlotte Pegrum at Wand after my message of support--basically I said many of us are still in despite the tariffs.

Charlotte Pegrum (The Wand Company) Apr 15, 2025, 10:04 GMT+1 Hi Aureliano, Thank you so much for your supportive message. This means a lot to us here. Your support is appreciated by us all. Our price will remain the same, the tariff will be calculated by Amazon on the day of purchase (currently zero for purchases under $800 value from the UK) and will depend on the tariff due at the time of purchase, but we are still considering our options based on the latest round of tariffs. Thank you so much Aureliano! Kindest Charlotte

The "from the UK" phrasing is interesting, since that tariff would only be 10% when de minimis goes away, but tariffs are based on the country of origin of the goods, not where they're being shipped from. I would really, really love to be wrong on this, but I don't think so. If I am wrong, though, that would definitely mean a second tricorder!

Also interesting that the tariff apparently will be charged by Amazon according to what's due "at the time of purchase," given that the tariff vests when the goods enter the country for consumption or are withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption. So I'm puzzled--what if I purchase on May 1st (no tariff) but it arrives in the US on May 3rd (tariff)? Maybe they calculate it based on the time it takes to ship?

I'm getting too old for this &%#^*.

 

[Ronldheld]

Too much effort to speculate now. I will buy at least one, and the other depends on the date and extra tariffs at that time

 

[finalfrontier]

Too much effort to speculate now. I will buy at least one, and the other depends on the date and extra tariffs at that time

I'm with you.

 

[asalaw]

Too much effort to speculate now. I will buy at least one, and the other depends on the date and extra tariffs at that time

I'm with you.

Yeah, that's where I'm at too. Trying to figure out this tariff stuff is feeling like chasing my tail, and without knowing when they go on sale and ship, it's kind of pointless.