This Star Trek Communicator Badge Actually Works
Clem Mayer built this Star Trek communicator badge that is actually a cell phone capable of making calls.
Many have rightly pointed out that the communicators in Star Trek (the original series) are kinda just cell phones. They may have slightly better range, but they’re less capable than even early “dumb phones” in most other ways. The brooch style communicators from later series were sleeker, if less visually interesting. Clem Mayer bridged the gap to build this Star Trek communicator badge that is the best of both worlds.
This is a functional cell phone wrapped up into a compact package that one can wear on their chest. It isn’t handheld like in the original series and it isn’t quite as nondescript as in the later series. But it does function like those later models: just tap it to answer an incoming call or to make an outgoing call to a preset phone number.
Touch works because the top surface of the 3D-printed enclosure is a capacitive touch sensor. Inside is a custom PCB hosting an ESP32-S3 development board, a SIM800L GSM module, a speaker, a microphone, and a small lithium battery.
It is worth noting that the GSM module is 2G and so it will only work in regions that still have 2G networks. But if you want to build your own communicator, Mayer posted all of the instructions and files on element14.