# Actual working Starfleet-style communicator to go on sale **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501 "2015-07-07T20:32:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/1 "2015-07-07T20:32:52Z")
Ooo, shiny! And very tempting… > **[First Fully Working Communicator Coming Soon](https://www.startrek.com/article/first-fully-working-communicator-coming-soon)** > > First Fully Working Communicator Coming Soon ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/2 "2015-07-07T21:57:57Z")
I am absolutely mindblown… that it’s taken so long for this to appear. And in a phenomenally uncharacteristic statement coming from my 13yo ST:TOS maven… _I want one_. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/3 "2015-07-08T01:15:10Z")
It’s to celebrate the 50th…FIFTIETH…anniversary of Star Trek. Gah. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/4 "2015-07-08T01:26:32Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It’s to celebrate the 50th…FIFTIETH…anniversary of Star Trek. > > Gah. I don’t know if to feel old for that reason or because I don’t think it can replace the (very) basic flip-phone I use. They finally build the item and its too high-tech for me to handle. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/5 "2015-07-08T01:29:00Z")
I’m getting in line for one. This is what cell technology was invented for. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/6 "2015-07-08T20:43:59Z")
OK, so the beam up is out. It was never reliable anyway, but what phasers? Can I order a phaser strike? If I pay extra can I get Uhura’s cell number? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/7 "2015-07-08T21:05:15Z")
The blasted things don’t ship out of the US. I wanted to get one to go with my phaser./ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/8 "2015-07-08T21:13:02Z")
How do you dial it? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/9 "2015-07-08T21:19:03Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > How do you dial it? Voice commands, no doubt. It’s basically a BT headset you hold in your hand. And I thought my StarTAC was so cool… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/10 "2015-07-10T05:34:27Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Voice commands, no doubt. It’s basically a BT headset you hold in your hand. Yeah, it’s not remotely a technical achievement. It’s not like it’s a handheld device that can communicate to a ship in orbit without any extra help. Personally, I’d rather have it in TNG form, so there’s actually some added convenience. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/11 "2015-07-11T01:07:58Z")
Yes! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/12 "2016-06-30T12:25:17Z")
I waited almost a year and they finally delivered. They had my credit card number (not even valid after all this time) but never collected any money, after a number of emails about problems sourcing parts, getting promised to have it delivered by the end of April, suddenly they said the unit was ready to ship, I gave them a new card number and received it Monday. It’s cool. Excellent looking replica. They claim they scanned actual props from show to make it. It’s got all the details. I can’t help myself, every time I receive a call I flip it open and say “Kirk here”. It’s a Bluetooth device, you use it along with a regular phone. It has to be within 30 feet of your regular phone, but it supposed to be able to communicate with actual starships up to 1 million km away. Apparently there’s no starship within 1 million km of here right now though. It makes beep-beep when you open it. There’s no dialing but you can use voice commands programmed in your regular phone. I get mixed reactions showing this to people based on age. The old geezers like me think it’s incredibly cool, we’ve been waiting 50 years for these things. The younger ones find it amusing, but the 30 and under crowd have had cell phones as long as they can remember, cool looking to them, funny even, but they don’t appreciate what it represents since far better cell phones have existed for a long time. Anyway, I’m really happy, this is the coolest cell phone ever, which means I win. ThinkGeek lists them as in stock now. I’m surprised it’s taken so long for anyone to do it, the phone technology is now old, it’s just been a matter of duplicating the design. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/13 "2016-06-30T13:01:49Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I don’t know if to feel old for that reason or because I don’t think it can replace the (very) basic flip-phone I use. They finally build the item and its too high-tech for me to handle. I remember watching Boston Legal one time. William Shatner’s charachter opens up his flip phone, and when he did, the phone made the same beep sound from the old ST communicators did. I got a kick out of that. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/14 "2016-06-30T14:22:30Z")
Thanks for the update! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/15 "2016-06-30T15:55:36Z")
Here’s a place to order: [http://shop.startrek.com/star-trek-the-original-series-communicator-bluetooth-handset/detail.php?p=866906](http://shop.startrek.com/star-trek-the-original-series-communicator-bluetooth-handset/detail.php?p=866906) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/16 "2016-06-30T16:40:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I am absolutely mindblown… that it’s taken so long for this to appear. I remember being able to order walkie-talkies styled like this back in the 80’s. But still, an awesome thing now. [Found em.](http://www.megomuseum.com/galleries/trek-toys/) I was also at a con once where someone had taken these and modded them to look more like the actual tv props. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/17 "2016-06-30T17:12:26Z")
Haha! I’m right in the proper demographic, so I think it’s super cool. Does the groovy swirly design move at all, or is it static? Do the knobs do anything? ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/18 "2016-06-30T17:46:04Z")
Bluetooth earpieces and speakers have gotten so small now that the Next Generation-style chest comm badge can’t be far behind, right? I would pay all the money for that. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/19 "2016-06-30T19:42:51Z")
Ooooo…how about a [Star Trek Original Series Phaser Universal Remote Control](http://shop.startrek.com/detail.php?p=616856&pa=PRF-STRK-000028&ecid=PRF-STRK-000028)? Available from the same site. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501/20 "2016-06-30T20:45:00Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#): > > Haha! I’m right in the proper demographic, so I think it’s super cool. > > Does the groovy swirly design move at all, or is it static? Do the knobs do anything? The moire thing swirls. The original props used a wristwatch mechanism to turn it, this one uses a miniature stepper motor. I’m disappointed that it’s not backlit though, but the originals weren’t either and it’s made to be as close as possible to the ones they used on the show and the real ones they use in the Federation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-working-starfleet-style-communicator-to-go-on-sale/724501.md?page=2)