Trek Cage Communicator specs

they are vintage bulbs (obviously) and some had small white stickers on back with some kind of code writing...some were clear...and they had several thin silver wires coming out the bottom, which I believe were left on them in the actual prop

good luck...but really, the fuses look great
 
Thanks again, the encouragement is really appreciated. I'm getting very close, got the switch to line up so both the lid and left black knob will hit it, with a little ingenuity. I could finish tonight, but I'll take my time. Hope to post a short video on flickr showing it in 'action'
 
Thanks! I was pretty satisfied for what it is. Just have to had the screw and devise a small swivel switch for the black knob to be able to activate the chirp. Will try to post a video of it tonite.

I have the three hearing aid batteries lined up next to each other, with metal connectors hot-glued to complete the connection. If anyone has a more elegant yet still very 'flat' way to connect them please lmk. I'm not looking forward to ever replacing the batteries :)
 
Video up for the 'finished' product! Thank you guys for the support for this. I was able to configure it to chirp with turning the left black knob OR opening the grill.

Ted, thanks for all the tips and good feedback.

http://flic.kr/p/9StJwa
 
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Fabulous. Wonderful job.

I've owned three replicas of this prop over the years...sold off two of them many moons ago (one to a prominent Hollywood special effects/makeup guru) but held onto one that is the latest HMS/Roddenberry version, which is sweet. But as nice as it is, yours does something mine can't, and that is chirp at the twist of a knob just as it did when Pike activated it for the first time in THE CAGE.

What a fine addition to your collection. Thanks for documenting the build.

Now the question is....what's next??
 
Thanks again. Wow, three copies pretty amazing. If you know of a way for me to find a better kit for Pike's pistol, please lmk.

Next I think is the ST III communicator. I'm basically working through all the major props that have never been faithfully mass produced. I found two ST V walkie talkie shells on ebay recently for $10, and they are basically modified ST III comms.

I'll start a new thread with a flickr link, I've already 'erased' the two buttons inside with my Dremel :)
 
Yeah, i had one i got from a guy in australia who was doing a run of them about 6-8 years ago...he got every detail spot on, but the acrylic was a little hazy and the grid was a tad crude, but he had all the exact components, knobs, circuit board, etc.

then i picked up an early HMS...couldn't justify keeping them both. And to be honest, i forgot why i sold off the early HMS to get the more current version...maybe i had my eye on another prop at the time and sold them off to afford whatever else i wanted at the time.

anyways, nice build.

as to a CAGE LASER kit, I have no idea. Nicks Dad was selling them, maybe, but they were not cheap...but I will say they were spot on from the pics i've seen and the craftsmanship of materials looked great.

HMS/Roddenberry sells them as kits, I believe...but also, not cheap.

efx was supposed to sell Cage laser AND communicator, but that was over a year ago, i think, and I've heard nothing new about them.

good luck on comm builds...i used to own those walkie talkies. i'll keep an eye out for your new post on that conversion.

t
 
they are vintage bulbs (obviously) and some had small white stickers on back with some kind of code writing...some were clear...and they had several thin silver wires coming out the bottom, which I believe were left on them in the actual prop

good luck...but really, the fuses look great
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, they at first glance looked like neon bulbs to me.

22 Stars, sorry I didn't see your comment about the Cage Laser earlier...thanks for PMing me or I would have missed it entirely!
 
They've been identified as Nixie tubes
They certainly look like neon bulbs to me. They appear to have two long internal electrodes and a pinched glass base with fewer than 11 leads. A side-view 10-digit Nixie tube should have 11 leads (common and numerals 0-9) or more (dummy leads marked "NC" in a pinout), usually coming out from the base of the tube in a circular configuration. However, if the devices in the comm are Nixie tubes, they may be one of the specialized Nixies for displaying symbols or punctuation, which could have fewer electrodes.

Are there any Blu-Ray caps of the relevant scenes from "The Cage" that can provide more detail?
 
Thanks guys. I can easily replace my fuses with better bulbs if I ever find them, using clear hot glue turned out to be a genius move on my part :)

Thanks iams001efni, I appreciate that! I was going to paint the wires white or silver so they would disappear more, but i wount up liking the way it looked. And I am SO glad that Pike turnes the knob Counter Clockwise, because that is how my switch/knob position worked out, lol.
 
Sorry, I just caught this thread.

I do own an HMS / Rodd.com “Cage Communicator”.

I see there was a request for some measurements of the prop, earlier. Her are some quick and dirty pics.

I hope this helps...

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80733706-231B-48D0-9A34-50043B996D0D.jpeg
 
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