Star Trek Communicator - Palm-sized communication
device used by members of the futuristic Federation on the
science fiction adventure STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69. Used for both
ship-to-ship and planet-to-ship communication, the crew of the
starship USS Enterprise carried a communicator device whenever
they beamed down to alien planet. The crew communicated back
to their ship to report their status, which eventually
involved some dangerous situation. The communicator was a
handy thing to have when a person needed to call in ground support or
be beamed off a planet in a life or death situation. ("Scotty,
beam us out of here!")
The
Star Trek Communicator looks
like a modern cell phone. When the lid is lifted to
expose the main dialing panel, a sharp chirping sound occurs
- indicating the phone is charged and functioning. The
communicator's housing is made of a black plastic like
material.
The flip-lid of the communicator is a
thin rectangular sheet of brass with many small
holes which covers the main control panel. The
control panel beneath the lid features a dial with a swirling
design. The center of the panel sports a row with three
lights (amber, red and green). And the bottom of the panel has
a wire-mesh grid that houses the microphone and two silver
metal knobs to the right for adjusting frequency and volume.
On later episodes of the STAR TREK
franchise beginning with the STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION,
the hand-held communicator was replaced by triangular-shaped
lapel pins that attached to the uniform. A simple tap of the
communicator opened a line of communication throughout the
ship or a general area.
TRIVIA
NOTE:
On the ABC legal drama BOSTON LEGAL, William Shatner (Captain
James T. Kirk from the original 1960s STAR TREK series)
plays the role of an attorney named Denny Crane. On the
January 10, 2006 installment of the show, the familiar sound
effect from a Star Trek communicator was heard when Denny
opened his cell phone.
