Hi there, I'm a Star Trek fan, fascinated by Tricorders. Especially the models TR-560, TR-580 and TR-590 from TNG, DS9 and VOY, but basically all kinds of Tricorders. I'm no expert in prop building or electronics, this is just a hobby of mine. Therefore, this blog should not be taken as a how-to guide.

End of 2019 I started my very first prop replica build of a TR-590, based on a hollow kit and with self-made electronics. I was almost done with it at the end of 2021, but put the final work on hold to take care of the blog first. I always intended to document my building process and took lots of photos.

I wrote and published most articles in this blog during 2022 to document my building process. The articles are backdated because I tried to add them in the order I worked on my TR-590 build. It took me quite a while to get the blog up to date, but now (end of November 2022) I'm finally done.

This blog is a personal website and it is NOT affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise. This website and the replica props shown are fan productions and were created for recreational use only. The shown replica is not for sale and I do not take commissions.

When I was a kid/teenager watching TNG, DS9 and VOY, I was always fascinated by the Tricorders used in the shows. Of course I had the Playmates toys "Tricorder TR-560" (the science and medical versions) and even as a kid I took the toy apart trying to add more flashing lights or build my own version.

At that time, unfortunately, electronic kits were still very limited and had a large form factor. Fortunately, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, etc. and companies such as Adafruit or Pimoroni have changed the maker market in recent years. In Winter 2019 I decided to start a new attempt after many years.

Since I don't have a 3D printer, I got a fan-made resin kit for the shell, model "TR-590" (at that time unfortunately no official kit was available) with the goal of making my personal Tricorder with self-made electronics. I had no experience with Raspberry Pi or Python, but it was fun to get into it.

In this blog I have documented my journey of building my personal Tricorder TR-590 Hero Prop Replica. You can read the articles in chronological order or sorted by the newest articles or search for terms in all articles. Near the end of my build, I made a demo video and took some pictures.

• Video: Michael Moore about building the Mark IX Tricorder for Star Trek
• Always a good source for inspiration: theRPF.com (Replica Prop Forum)
• Join the MyCorder community on Discord, initiated by the maker of Picorder

Stay save and take care
REDROCIRT