Right from the start, even by the middle of the first season, this comm had a big tarnish blotch marring the top surface of the antenna, making it easy to spot on screen.  By the third season, the moiré pattern insert was pushed in at the upper-left corner.  Then sometime later, it also lost its right knob.  This comm was one of four that Set Decorator John Dwyer recovered in 1969 from a studio dumpster.  He years later sold it to Mark English, from whom Greg Jein, the current owner, acquired it.  He has since refurbished the unit; the control panel was polished and a new knob (not the correct type) installed, the antenna got cleaned up, and the moiré bezel was removed and reinstalled with the paper moiré pattern pushed back into position.

This is the only original out of the four known surviving comms whose antenna flips open with ease as you're use to seeing it on the show.  It stops firmly with a clean satisfying "thwack."  Note a wide cutout in the lower shell for the antenna hinge wheels that allows us a really good view at the hinge rotation stop pin.  It is also still the only found original without screw dimples in the back shell.  The mic grill material has the raised diamonds in the pattern oriented upward (convex).

Both outer rhinestones are a 20ss size with an Aurora Borealis ("AB") coating, thus making them challenging to assess their true colors.  Our best guess from a combination of sources, including a short viewing by one of our trained consultants, has them as Black Diamond AB on the left and Emerald AB on the right.

Just about the only odd feature on this otherwise average comm is the center jewel; the 16ss Hyacinth rhinestone is not sitting on a raised hub rim like its brethren.  Reminiscent to Zeta's center jewel, the hub looks to be the same Type C hub as seen to the left and right, but the raised rim has been shaved down or drilled off, so that the jewel is glued to the top of the large flat surface (it isn't a classic "flatback" T-Jet hub either, since the flange is not thick enough).  It has also been noted that the antenna wire is steel and not the usual brass.

Thanks to Greg Jein for taking these above photographs (except for the last one) for our website.  For edge shots, he propped it up against some small jars with black lids, in case you were wondering.

A scale drawing that compares the left elevation views of Alpha, Zeta and Epsilon, layered right atop each other.

It is now known that the moiré bezel ring was once located much lower in the control well than it is now.  In This Side in Paradise, late in Season One, it was almost at the bottom fold.  The residue of the glue that held it on then is seen on the shell today.  We believe it is now centered over the hole Wah cut in the shell and thus where it was likely first placed:

<<<  And see Epsilon here as well next to Alpha and Zeta.

Star Trek is a Registered and Copyrighted Trademark of Paramount Pictures.  All Rights Reserved.  All subject matters referring to Star Trek are trademarks of Paramount Pictures.

This website has not been produced or endorsed by Paramount Pictures.  Any material belonging to Paramount’s Copyrighted Material that may appear on this site complies with fair and/or acceptable use for the purposes of review, study, criticism, or news reporting.