An Invitation to Beta's New Owner

The open letter below was written by HeroComm co-founder, past Head of Research and Editor in Chief, and now our Expert Emeritis (EE), the world's foremost authority on the TOS communicator, posted here with our glad permission...

November 10, 2024

To the winner of the Beta auction,

Congratulations!  You now own a potent palm-sized avatar of mankind's boldest aspirations.  Only now the small prop barely resembles its old self, due to an inexplicably poor auction refurbishment.  Julien's conceded as much - quite likely prompted by the long list of flaws compiled by this website - when they said plainly the new replacement parts could be "completely removed."  So if you're hoping someone out there can do true justice to your hero communicator and return it to full glory, I offer towards that end my services.

My qualification... besides having far more detailed knowledge on Mr. Chang's ten comms than anyone alive, I've gathered up a complete collection of accurate vintage and recreated Beta parts just ready to go:

Plus I have the fine crafting skills, patience and passion needed to have already built the two most faithful replica comms ever:

 
Note: Giving credit where it's due, the two replicas I built above had many of their parts sourced from the talented Dennis Stines. Click over for larger versions.

Besides being an engineer with a perfectionist streak, I gained while authenticating Alpha hands-on insight into Wah's hero techniques.  I was the sole consultant for the Wand Company's Bluetooth communicator phone (when my replica above was taken to England to be their target ideal).  And for what it's worth, I've received commendations from the Smithsonian for my work in restoring the 11-foot Enterprise model; this for successfully identifying for Gary Kerr the last few missing parts that no one else could (it was Greg Jein who recommended me to the team).

You can expect from my efforts:


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1) The Moire Assembly – All missing parts shall be meticulously replicated and the assembly (outside and in) returned to full and accurate original visual and operating condition as per its “Day of the Dove” appearance (with handcrafting tolerances required within a few thousandths of an inch).  As an example, here's my recent quick mock-up:


And here's a mock-up of Beta made to illustrate features under discussion on that comm's Details page.

Wah's non-functioning Minerva stopwatch, with its ingenious beeswax gap filler on the back, shall be returned to working condition (a couple options exist here), reinstalled in the shell, and connected via a matching vintage hose (that won't deteriorate) to a protruding brass winder stem built exactly like Alpha's.

2) Top Shell Repositioning – The top shell is currently glued in a different location on the midplate than it originally sat, which may throw off where the stopwatch and moire bezel rings can be reinstalled.  Thus the top shell shall be removed and relocated as per its “Catspaw” screencaps.  Existing glues from the midplate and top shell shall be removed (as much as possible), and new glue shall be reapplied to approximately match what's visible in screencaps.

3) Bottom Shell Reforming – The deformations on the long sides from heat shall be corrected using short increments of localized heating, all guided by an outside mold from Epsilon’s 3D scan and./.or an inside casting of Zeta obtained from The Wand Company.

4) Jewel Replacement – the two outer aqua rhinestones shall be removed (with their glue) and replaced with correct vintage 8-sided Swarovski flatbacks; 20ss Emerald AB on the left and 16ss Crystal AB on the right.

5) Control Knobs – The recently-applied right knob replacement (with too much wear and a jewel on top) shall be removed and another NOS (new old stock) Aurora Type “C” hub attached in its place.  The surviving left knob shall have its inauthentic small clear rhinestone removed from its top.

6) Bottom Screw Replacement – the two missing screws shall be replaced with vintage stock of types commonly seen in other Wah comms.

7) Antenna Seating – it always sat skewed a bit to the left, but now this angle has been exaggerated.  A slight sharpening of the bend of the antenna wire as it exits the right hinge wheel should return it to original.  An effort will also be made to refasten the broken solder attachments to the wire near the hinge wheels using cyanoacrylates.
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All of the auction replacement parts shall be removed and returned to you if wanted.  A mild cleaning of the shell's textured surfaces shall be performed to remove embedded dirt, with otherwise no alteration to any surfaces.  My newly crafted metal parts shall be treated to age them in appearance, and any visible glues tinted, to best match the corresponding original parts and glues as seen today on other surviving Wah-built communicators.

The overarching goal is to make it seem as if the prop was ushered after its “Day of the Dove” filming into a safe deposit box and brought out only recently, enabling you to finally show off your small treasure with utmost pride.

Lastly, I can act, if both parties desire it, to connect you with Alpha's owner, in case the two of you ever want to bring your hero comm props together for the first time since 1969 (the HeroComm website shall receive the rights to publish first the best pics of that historic pairing).

Obviously there's much to discuss, including my fee and scheduling, but the first step is for you to contact my trusted friend and HC's new owner/Editor in Chief.  All correspondence and information shall be kept entirely confidential.

Best Regards,
-HC EE-
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HeroComm continues...

In case you want to see the Beta moire mock-up pictured above in motion for a full 30 seconds, a video can be viewed upon request.

Should you be open to further dialog with our EE, please email me at herocommactual@gmail.com, at which time I'll enable the connection.  Confirmation of ownership, such as a new photograph from you of Beta, will at some point be required.  Naturally all personal information shall be kept in the strictest confidence, and if you’d like, you don’t even need to share your name with me.

All the Best,
-Editor in Chief, HeroComm.com-

Note 1 - HeroComm.com and its owner & members offer this invitation to connect as a free courtesy only to both parties, and will not be involved beyond this initial pairing.  It shall be acknowledged that we assume no responsibility for any outcomes.

Note 2 - regardless of any response, this page will be posted until the end of the year.

Note 3 - The same refurbishment redo offer is extended to the owner of the Zeta dummy communicator auctioned by Heritage last year.

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