76 replies to this topic

[iams001efni]

aarrggggggggggg 6 days for me!!!!!!!!!!! lol oh well I am sure itll be worth it!!!

[Barney]

I bet we members here can figure out a way to get one there.

Thank you FHC, but as long as Rick is there for us I

[Hermey the Elf]

Can someone who has a bad sound chip on their medical or science tricorder post an audio or video file of it? I'd like to hear it (and DST needs to hear it too, cause you know they read this forum!).

[BadBunnyMike]

I wonder if TRU is going to get the ENT-D too?

Chuck said that TRU Will not be carrying the D in a Q&A a few ones back.

[knightone]

TRU is only buying TOS items from DST. The only reason they have the Enterprise-D from the Hot Wheels line is because they have to buy the case assortments. Even then, it's only one per case for every 3 TOS related ships. So the case ratio still prefers TOS.

[Zapp Brannigan]

Did we ever learn why DST scrapped plans to make the Geological tricorder?
The one on the right, http://i.toynewsi.co...ic=IMG_0436.jpg

[knightone]

They never found a retailer to carry it as an exclusive. At one time it was rumored that TRU would carry it but, if it was ever true, I guess the deal fell through. Hopefully someone comes through with one day soon and carries it.

[Zapp Brannigan]

Who do you think they had in mind to the voice phrases, Sulu perhaps?

[Hermey the Elf]

Who do you think they had in mind to the voice phrases, Sulu perhaps?

I don't believe the geo tricorder is officially scrapped as yet. Trekmovie.com, during their recent review of the med tric, gave a tease that it was still in the works. As far as voice phrases, the initial plan (as of Toy Fair) was to feature the voice of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as the Enterprise computer. Cool.

[knightone]

No, definitely not scrapped. It was just never officially announced. So it's not something we should definitely expect anytime soon, but it's something we all know is in the pipe and is just waiting for someone to put up the cash for it.

[onebuckfilms]

I think TrekMovie did a preview of sorts about upcomming products, and the Geo Tricorder was one of them.

[JMW326]

I saw the science Trics at TRU yesterday. I think they were 34.99. They didnt look bad at all. I may pick one up.

[Hermey the Elf]

I saw the science Trics at TRU yesterday. I think they were 34.99. They didnt look bad at all. I may pick one up.

It was $39.99 at the TRU's where I saw 'em.

[Gothneo]

I got my second Science tric from NewForce Today. It has the high pitched voice, so the dismantling has begun.

1st thing I've noticed is that when (if!) you pop the electronics out of the cover, the graphics is actually really well done. The visual can be greatly improved by properly aligning the LEDs in the mechanism. There are quite a few surface mount components, and I'm sure that the tolerance on them is what makes the voice sound higher.... the question is how to fix it??!

[Gothneo]

Ok, I've been messing around with one of Sci Tricorders all night... and I'm pleased to say that you can fix the bleed through problem, but it's not for the faint of heart!

Here is a couple shots of the one I modified, and the original. It's tough to get good lighted shots w/o a tripod, so I apologize for the picts, but I think you can see the difference.


Before


After

[knightone]

Gothneo, mind posting an instructional on how you did that, perhaps in the custom section? The same with a sound fix if you are able to figure that out?

[Hermey the Elf]

Nice work, Gothneo. There is an improvement.

[Gothneo]

Gothneo, mind posting an instructional on how you did that, perhaps in the custom section? The same with a sound fix if you are able to figure that out?

Yeah, Let me get some more "How to" Picts together and I surely will!

[Oxnard Montalvo]

Hi ...I realise that this is only tangentially connected to the tric.....but as it involves sound issues I'm tentatively asking in here (please dont shove me out of the nearest airlock!)... Can anyone point me in the direction of a tutorial (Preferably with pics) on accessing the 'exclusive' sounds on the Communicator? I tried, using a not very detailed set of instructions and ended up with my moire disconnected...luckily I manged to rejoin the connection.....

[Gothneo]

Ok, so here's the tutorial. Your most likely going to break some bits, so if your uneasy about that you might not want to perform this procedure!

First you need to remove the side panels. This is easily done using the slots on either side. You can see it in this shot. You can use a screwdriver, but I found I was able to get my finger nail in it and it would pop right off.



Remove both sides and pop the straps off. Set to the Side. Now your Tricorder should look as follows:

Right Side:

Left Side:


You will need to remove the hood pivot screw on the upper top of the right side.

The left side has grommet strain relief that needs to be pried out with a screw driver or knife. Depending on how much glue DST used on yours, you may have to break the collar of the grommet off. If your using a knife be careful not to cut the wires!

If you can pry it out it will look as follows:


Now you should be able to remove the hood by pulling the two side slightly apart and popping the hood out of from the right side first and then the left side (the side with the grommet). You may need to gather some of the wire up so you can pull it loose. If your want to disassemble the back, you need to remove the 6 silver screws on the left and right sides (3 ea side), which will make the whole assembly a bit more flexible, but shouldn't be necessary.

Now you need to pry the entire front panel of the Hood off along with the electronics. I simply inserted a screwdriver in the bottom and pried up the bottom. The pegs seemed to snap free and came out, but it looked really scary as the silver painted bit was bending in an almost 90 degree angle. I slowly worked it until the entire panel broke loose and I do mean broke! The pegs on the top were glued well and I ended up snapping them, but it didn't seem to matter really.

So here's what it ends up looking like when pried open...


Now there are two screws on the PCB that need to be removed (I already removed one in the shot above). Removing these will allow you to slide out the plastic light diffuser, the graphic, and front screen cover. The light diffuser is covered in foil on the back and has two "U" slots which the LED's should seat into.

Also the the Graphic is on a piece of plastic that also has some cuts in it to seat the LEDS properly.

So here's what I think the Issues are: 1) the LEDs aren't seated correctly in the light diffuser, and 2) the LED's are actually too bright when seated in the Graphic LED cut slot.

1st I (Gently!) pulled the two LED's forward and up



Then I used some tape to "add" a bit of diffusion of my own to the graphic LED slots... I put about 4 layers of the tape there to help dim and diffuse the LEDs right at the point where they are seated. The tape is still recessed slightly, and you should be able to see it in this shot.


Finally I re-assemble the parts. Now that the LED's have been moved they should stick up a bit and you'll have to work it a bit to get the Diffuser back on, but now the two LEDS's should be tight up against it where before they had a slight gap.


At this point I activated the LED's to see how bright they are using the switch in the side.


I then adjusted the LEDS down until then looked good without really bleeding through at the point where they seat into the graphic.

When your happy screw the PCB back down, and pop it back into the Hood. If your not going to take it apart again, I'd suggest re-gluing it.