Star Wars Telegraph -- the never-made toy
Bonnie sez,
Star Wars Telegraph (Thanks, Bonnie!)
Yes, a Star Wars telegraph. Some unproduced toy concepts cause fans and collectors to react "Why didn't Kenner make that back in the day?". Not so much on this one. Kenner's "Concept 2000" telegraph toy was branded with a Star Wars logo in the corner panel to mix the hit film with "high-tech" gadgetry for kids' product concepts. The color scheme could easily be representative of the Empire, but the toy definitely says "A long time ago...". Of course, telegraphs have not been high technology since the early part of the 19th century, yet kids wireless telegraph toys remained popular through the 1970s until they began getting replaced by wireless voice-transmitting walkie talkies.
the latest
latest episodes
-.. --- / -. --- - / .-- .- -. - / -.-.--
Red and white = Alliance.
/fanboypedantry
- .... . ... . / .- .-. . / -. --- - / - .... . / - --- -.-- ... / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / .-.. --- --- -.- .. -. --. / ..-. --- .-. .-.-.-
It is a wireless telegraph, somewhat more high tech than you let on. Still, it does not seem convey Star Wars, that's true.
--... ...-- / -.. . / .- . ....- .-. ...-
It should have been a ring-modulated voice transmitter.
-.-- --- ..- | .--. ..- - | - .... .. ... | .. -. - --- | .- | -- --- .-. ... . | -.-. --- -.. . | - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - --- .-. | --..-- | | -.. .. -.. -. | - | -.-- --- ..- | --..-- | | -- --- -.. . .-. .- - --- .-. |
So there was no voice transmission at all? Pity it wasn't made, we'd have an entire other generation able to do morse.
This is almost as good as my Star Trek marshmallow dispenser (real).
Thanks for posting the article, Cory.
I'm tempted to write all my Twitter messages today in -- --- ยท-ยท ยทยทยท ยท -ยท-ยท --- -ยทยท ยท now.
Actually, it should have been a single side band (SSB) transceiver, so the kids could sound like the rebel pilots.
Mock if you want, but you know if they had had enough insight to make it look and sound like an R2 unit, you'd be spending your free time hunting ebay for one.
RoyalTrux: yeah, that's what I was getting at..
@Bonnie
It's Haiku Thursday
Morse Code is a good idea
Perhaps on Friday?
#haikuthursday
I did have something similar as a kid. The photo is me about 1957ish... don't know if Kenner made it or not. I was complete with morse code headphones and missle launcher. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonsphotos/370513728/
Sci Fi communications are problematic. If you are traveling at some multiple of light speed how do you make your communications do the same? Also how do you know there's a chunk of something in your path that will rip the ship to shreds when the radar can't go faster than the ship; let alone return?
I learned the code three times but never used it. While ships at sea do their communicating by satellite there is a radio backup scheme for text that is highly redundant and works well even at low power. The ham radio operators created their own version and it is called AMTOR. The data rate is slow but it gives good copy.
It should have been in Aurabesh.
I think there had to be some minimal walkie-talkie tech in there. I had a set of Radio Shack walkie-talkies in the 1970s that had a morse code chart and a big red button on the handset. So you could talk/listen to someone speaking or you could tap out morse code.
Jondelorey
Is that a Fisher-Price My First Suicide Machine?
Robet Sheckley would be proud.
well, *i* would have bought one. (or badgered my mom into buying one for me, more correctly). anything with the star wars logo on it was instantly a must-have.
Jack, RTA :)
a Star Wars steam engine?
"Coming in 599, nice fist, Darth. Back to you"
"Ah, thanks, fine business, Luke. Your fist sounds rather, new?"
If you are traveling at some multiple of light speed how do you make your communications do the same?
Jane.
if it does THAT to bread, I'm getting one
http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=1307702;category_id=336&rid=SWHPFPROD
@ JACK #14
Hahah, my older brother had the same set when I was a kid. We never used the red button for code. The button was mainly used for hiding one walkie talkie somewhere and then using the other to transmit an annoying beepy tone to the hidden one.
This game usually resulted in a sister in tears and/or the walkie talkies being taken away :D
...Considering the time period, it's quite probable that these were 100mw CW rigs on CB Ch. 14. Can't recall all of my Part 95 these days, but IIRC 14 was the only channel where CW - "Morse" - mode was allowed.
...Still, I recall at the time Hams both praising and complaining about toys like this. The praising being that while it would train potential Hams in the merits and necessity of learning Morse Code(*) while causing havoc amongst the "Chicken Banders". The complaints came from those elder Hams and OM's - No relationship, mind you - who were so possessive of their frequencies that they'd rather the service die out before a bunch of unruly kids srrived and turned the bands into another CB craze.
(*) Which by the end of the 1980's such a "need" became 114% associated with the word "bullshit".
"It's an older code, sir, but it checks out. I was about to clear them. "
Am I the only one who thought immediately of that line?
PAH! And you call yourselves blog commenters! Seriously people, are you phoning it in?
"We shall double our efforts!"
@15
quantum nonlocality. problem solved.
One of the best walkie toys I had as a kid (read: the 80s) was a set that had morse code printed on the front and a beeper button so you could switch to 'covert' ops.
The sound was like a million baby birds screaming at once.
It was sweeeeet.
One last thought--will BB be enforcing the disemvoweling of comments left in morse as well?
All your dash are belong to us.
Be warned Cory (and any other parents)
Voice transmitting walkie-talkies for kids are, in my experience, absolutely crap. I stand to be corrected but I've bought 5 or 6 over the years and none worked further than the distance from upstairs to downstairs and some not even that far.
#32: I think that's completely understandable - personally the best thing these children's walkie talkies are used for is a source of relatively inexpensive parts.
If you really go out and start checking SWRs you can tweak these for some substantial improvements but they're clearly not produced to the same standard as a traditional ham or marine radio set if your child needs a walkie talkie capable of longer range then you should go for a non-toy CB or PMR446 or FRS set which is built to a higher standard and is both more effective at transmitting and also a lot less breakable (although not unbreakable).
That said, I remember as a child being perfectly happy with only being able to reach a short distance - it was talking without wires and I was a kid.
I'm thinking that they were 27MHz.. Just a wild guess.
This is the exact same base unit that was made for Star Trek just different colors. Also the unit had a plastic screen with blurry led lights behind it, almost like a piece of computer equipment from the enterprise. Had one, loved it, would buy it again.
WANT!