• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spock's Analog Computer?

^ Bingo! And there's a lot more information about it on the wikipedia page, including a note about Spock using it in "Adonais" and also in "The Naked Time" and "Mudd's Women".
 
Last edited:
Anyone know whose idea it was to use this as a prop? Matt Jefferies maybe?
In principle, Spock could do all of those calculations in his head.
 
Probably Jefferies since he was a pilot and would have had knowledge of such a device. Could have been Roddenberry too since he was a pilot as well. Doesn't seem to be the type thing a non-pilot would know about.
 
I have one that was my dad's. Not sure if he got a pilot's license or was trying to get one.

Edit: Mom says he flew solo (small planes), so I assume he had a license :lol:

 
Last edited:
feek61 said:
Probably Jefferies since he was a pilot and would have had knowledge of such a device. Could have been Roddenberry too since he was a pilot as well. Doesn't seem to be the type thing a non-pilot would know about.
Click to expand...
I was thinking Jefferies first, because did Roddenberry have the time to think of that detail? Adonis he only did a story premise. Mudd's Women story by him. The Naked Time had him uncredited.
 
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
ZapBrannigan, I edited the image out since it was hotlinked. You can repost it if you put it on an image host like Photobucket, but I left the original link.
 
Mr. Adventure said:
Worst. Video game. Ever.

Did this make any noises or anything or is it just a calculator with a Trek badge on it?
Click to expand...

It was just an old digital calculator 'dressed up' with Trek for marketing. My Dad was an auditor back in the 70's and I remember when he got his first digital calculator and gradually stopped using his old analog adding machine. Heady days on the digital front! A few years later the very first digital watches came out and those were ALL the craze! :p
 
Jedi Marso said:
It was just an old digital calculator 'dressed up' with Trek for marketing. My Dad was an auditor back in the 70's and I remember when he got his first digital calculator and gradually stopped using his old analog adding machine. Heady days on the digital front! A few years later the very first digital watches came out and those were ALL the craze! :p
Click to expand...

I remember my Dad buying his first pocket calculator, around 1977 I think. It had the red LED numbers, only a few basic functions. It cost about $70 at the time, which would be $280 in today's money. A serious purchase. I think it was an HP model.

And those first digital watches had red LEDs as well. It seemed cool at the time, like something out of Battlestar Galactica, but you had to push a button to turn the LEDs on briefly, meaning it took a free hand to check the time. And you could barely read it in bright daylight. They were stylish but impractical watches. When the LCD display watches came along, they were a huge improvement. I loved mine.
 
I think these strange props (which do things Spock could do in his head with no effort) were an attempt to give him something to do on the bridge besides looking into his hooded viewer or the viewscreen. Nimoy has a fantastic look of concentration while using these props that the camera can capture easily.
I like these aircraft calculators much better than that stupid box with a couple of buttons one director forced him to use for one episode (I forget which one, but it was distracting as hell)
 
Are you thinking of That Which Survives?

And yes, that's the same remote control doodad which was used to control Spock's zombie body in "Spock's Brain". Did McCoy not get the brain hooked up correctly after all, necessitating Spock to use these buttons to activate certain mental functions from time to time, perhaps? :lol:

(Thanks Phil Farrand)
 
I have a very small dual disk that I think came with a cracker jack box. I think Spock had one of these too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Star Trek Voyager: Theoretical Horizons (AU)
2
Replies
23
Views
1K
Deks
D
A
B5's Deconstruction of Falling Stars, Trek-ified (Part 2)
Replies
0
Views
115
Allah Gold
A
Starscape
Contest: ENTER April 2025 Art Challenge - Suggest Your Themes!
Replies
2
Views
649
Starscape
Starscape
Will_Carter
This Looked Easier on TV - A Star Trek Self Insert Fic
2
Replies
23
Views
3K
Toril Toran
Toril Toran
Starscape
Contest: ENTER March 2025 Art Challenge - Suggest Your Themes!
Replies
2
Views
444
Starscape
Starscape
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top