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Some Finishing Touches

A project log for Trekulator - Where No Maker Has Gone Before

Phase One: Make a reproduction of the Mego Corporation Star Trekulator Calculator. Phase Two: Reimagine the device with a modern aesthetic.

michael-gardiMichael Gardi 02/03/2025 at 20:590 Comments

I added an ON/OFF switch. It's not wired yet but ready to go.

I recreated the Trekulator decal. I was going to have it printed white on transparency only to learn that my local copy place does not stock white toner for their printers, who knew. So I had to settle for grey which looks fine. 

For version 1, I reproduced the still image of Kirk, Spock, and Uhura and just mounted it over the TFT display. I had punched out the holes where the LEDs would have gone. My intention for version 1 was to light up the screen behind these holes red to simulate the LEDs, but while integration testing I noticed the following.

I was running "The Game of Life" to test TFT display.  You can see the "active" cells blinking behind the LED holes. Reminds me of static. I think it looks pretty cool so I will likely try to show tiny little "displays" where the LEDs would have been.

Finally I added a translucent blue gel over the 7_Segment display to tone down the bright red a bit and mask the display structure so that you only see the segments when they are lit.

I think I've been procrastinating a bit on the software side. No excuses now.

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